Friday, April 24, 2015

RAW Showcase Recap

art display in black and white

Hey friends!

I know I've kept you all waiting farrrr too long to hear how the RAW Showcase went a few weeks ago, and I apologize. However, I've just received the link to the official photos and video from the event, so without further ado, please allow me to share a quick overview of the evening with you!

My wonderful mother and I arrived in Columbus at around 3:00 p.m. to set up my display. We set up, met some of the other artists, and ate dinner. The doors opened at 7:00, and very shortly after that, a number of my best friends from college arrived. I'm so grateful to them all for buying tickets and driving from Cincinnati to Columbus just for me, and on a school night, no less! Seriously, they are some wonderful people.

I loved getting to see such a variety of art. It was a very new experience for me on a number of levels. I was rather sheltered growing up, and art can be very strange, so there's that.

In addition, I am definitely an introvert, so being surrounded by large numbers of strangers all evening was exhausting.

Cailey Blair portrait
Unfortunately that tiny camera is just a prop!
And plus, I chose to list myself as a photographer. Half my display was photography, but I don't actually know a lot about the mechanics of photography (ISO and aperture and different kinds of cameras and such) so I stumbled over a lot of words whenever people would ask me technical questions about my photos. Some were probably tempted to write me off as an instagram-junkie iPhone photographer...

...They wouldn't be wrong about that.

 It was a long evening. But overall, I loved it. I received so many compliments and pieces of advice and encouragement, it was a really great experience. And for once, I didn't feel like the weird artist in the room--I felt like a normal person in a crowd full of artists! That's a rare thing for a girl attending a college of 1,100 students and no art department.

If you'd like a little sneak-peek at the event, here's the official video from that night, created by the very talented Mike Harmon. You'll find me at 3:01.


Once again, thank you so much to everyone who bought tickets, shared facebook links, told friends, prayed, and/or encouraged me as I prepared for my first RAW showcase! 

I hope to be a part of a few more RAW showcases this year, as they have this sweet deal where for a full year after their first show, artists can participate in any out-of-state RAW event for free. I'll keep you posted on that. 

-Cailey

*photos in this blog post were taken by the extremely skilled Manda Morre, a photographer who definitely knows her way around a camera and is much, much more than just some instagram-junkie like me!

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