CHAPTER 6 | Wrap-Up

We spend so much time, thought, and care crafting our images that it can be difficult to zoom out and see the work as a whole. This chapter emphasizes the importance of making conscious, consistent choices throughout the art-making and presentation process, because how you package and present your work will impact the responses you get from viewers. Strong presentation can support and elevate the work, but leaving it as an afterthought can distract, detract, or devalue it. This applies not just to presentation choices like frames and paper for printing, but also the big picture of what kinds of assignments you take, how you cultivate a series, and the medium that you use to showcase your work. Your relationship with your viewer is a two-way street, and this chapter also discusses considerations when soliciting and receiving feedback. Having a solid understanding of how the entirety of your work is experienced and understood by your audience relates directly back to your identity as an artist and the goals that you identified for your work.

The journey in this book started with a reflection on the legacy of the art you create. At the end of Chapter 6, you have arrived at the end of our journey only to find yourself back at the beginning again.