Welcome! If you are thinking of participating, great! Please do. Below is some information about how the ACoLab works. Please let me know if you need any other information or have questions about how to go about submitting. Thanks for visiting the Artist's Collaborative Laboratory, the ACoLab!
The Artist Page
If you are joining
for the first time know that there will be an artist page made for all
who participate. This page will have the name you submit with and all of your submissions to the ACoLab. If you would prefer not to have an artist page just
let me know. Additionally, if you want to share a bit more about yourself or add any links to share please send me that information. I also encourage a brief bio or description of your work and a profile image, whatever you want to share. Again, these options are all available to you whenever you would like to add or edit your page. I want this place to be something your are happy with and proud of so just contact me with any edits, concerns, or questions.
To enter your submission
Email me using the "submit here" link on the left sidebar. If you have any problems with the link you can email anikatoro {at} gmail {dot} com. You can send me an image, MPEG, HTML (as is the case when submitting a YouTube link), mp3,or text with the following information: your name, the title, and if you'd like a brief summary of the entry and a link to your site or shop. Please include the name of the inspiration you are submitting to in the subject line of your email.
Example:
Name
Title of my work
This work is about (If you don't want anything added as description please write "No Description")
Any blog link or anything to accompany the entry
And if it's your first entry, any artist statement, web information, profile image, etc...again, this is optional.
Remember to also add the name of the inspiration you are submitting to in the subject line of your email.
Image guidelines
Please send me a JPEG, word document, MPEG, mp3, etc... For JPEGs please keep the image small. This is for the web and not for print so a dpi of 72 and a size of 5x7 is good enough. If you can't figure how to re-size your JPEG contact me and I am happy to help out. Sending me a smaller file helps save some work for me too, so thank you in advance! If your image is via a blog post and you would like to link up to the
post I would still love to have the image(s) sent to me via the listed
email. Blogger programs sometimes keep a formatting which makes it
very frustrating to copy and paste. If you want to send me an accompanying blog post link I am happy to attach that to your
submission.
Submit at any time!
All of the
inspirations are open to submit to at any time. A day or two after you
submit for a particular theme I will create a post all your own
showcasing what you have created. I will also add your work to the main
page for that inspiration.
You may also submit more than once to a particular prompt. I often think of something after submitting that I like even better...now, without deadlines, you can submit as often as you like.
Other information
The idea of this blog is to share and to be inspired but for some it can
be a great way to connect with other creative people and also to
promote yourself if you'd like. Following this blog is another good
way for people to go to your site as well as for you to know when new
themes are posted. You can also subscribe to know when new posts, inspirations, or ACoLab news are posted. Various subscription methods are located on the home page. There is also a button on the home page if you would like to add it to your blog and spread the word. Remember, the more the merrier!
This site is less about rules and restriction and more about letting your imagination lead you. Isn't it interesting how we all view the same inspiration in different ways? So while one person's entry could be a digital photo, another could be inspired to write a song or poem, another could be inspired to sew, write a play...whatever comes to mind is welcome!
Example:
Say the theme idea is "the number three". You could take a triple exposure, create a triptych, write a song with that in mind somehow, write three lines of text, cook three different items that came to mind... limitless possibilities. Just because the inspiration is in one format it doesn't mean that your work needs to be the same format. Let your imagination go wild!
I am always trying to think of ways to better the Lab- make it inviting, interesting, and to make it a nice place for promotion as well. I am also open to any suggestions for this site and for future inspirations. Do you want to make one of the inspirations and see what people will create? Just email me.
Questions
Please feel free to contact me. (Just use the "submit here" button at the left or email me at anikatoro {at} gmail {dot} com.) Thanks and have fun! Don't be shy...whatever comes to your imagination is worth sharing.
Happy creating!
Anika
