International guild of miniature artisans

[Anya]

Have any of you heard of this group? I was thinking of joining and I was wondering if anyone on Greenleaf is a member and is it worth it? I have read that you can even submit your own work to have it evaluated and if it's good enough you can achieve artisan status.

[Minis On The Edge]

I must say Anya, your items are WONDERFUL and I think you should join up. I have never submitted my work to them but have thought about joining ;)

[Charlene]

Hi Anya --

Yes, I belong. The Guild offers super classes every year, publishes a newsletter and, yes, you can submit your work for judging and be admitted as an Artisan.

Attaining artisan status is not easy, but CERTAINLY worthwhile. Even if you don't get admitted on the first try, they give excellent constructive criticism and you can always re-apply. And, just being a member, your in the company of a huge number of recognized artisans.

[hydroped]

Hi Anya,

I've heard good things and bad things about IGMA - there are a lot of policies that I don't quite ring right to me but if you have any questions you should write to them directly - the gal who handles the main email for them is really nice and really quick about answering! She was really helpful to me when I was thinking about joining. I'm not really sure how many benefits there are to joining.. I think in some cases it can really help. For instance if you shop on Ebay type in IGMA and see who's selling there - the nice thing is that If someone says they're an IGMA artisan you can look them up! You'll KNOW if they're telling the truth or not and if they've made artisan their work should be pretty darn good! A lot of really big names are IGMA artisans or Fellows. The bad part is that some people put IGMA in their listing because they're a memeber and not an artisan. The other thing is you're only an artisan as long as you continue paying your yearly dues. One other draw back and this came straight from the gal at IGMA is that it's harder to make artisan status now than it was a few years ago- what she told me was that you can actually be better than some of the artisans but still not make artisan because the standards have gone up and like I said once you're an artisan you're an artisan as long as you pay dues you can Never lose that status. So it has good points and bad points and it just depends how much being able to list those inititals means to you. If you want to make miniatures your career then I think the dues are a pretty reasonable price.

I think it is definitely something you should check into and like I said the gal that answers the emails is really sweet and they do have an informational packet they can send you that tells about member benefits and the different classes they offer and best of all Guild School which is once a year in Maine and a real bargain if you can get in - just to let you know though you don't have to be a member to attend the guild school. I'd definitely look into it if I was as tallented as you! ;)

-David

[Anya]

Hi Anya,

I've heard good things and bad things about IGMA - there are a lot of policies that I don't quite ring right to me but if you have any questions you should write to them directly - the gal who handles the main email for them is really nice and really quick about answering! She was really helpful to me when I was thinking about joining. I'm not really sure how many benefits there are to joining.. I think in some cases it can really help. For instance if you shop on Ebay type in IGMA and see who's selling there - the nice thing is that If someone says they're an IGMA artisan you can look them up! You'll KNOW if they're telling the truth or not and if they've made artisan their work should be pretty darn good! A lot of really big names are IGMA artisans or Fellows. The bad part is that some people put IGMA in their listing because they're a memeber and not an artisan. The other thing is you're only an artisan as long as you continue paying your yearly dues. One other draw back and this came straight from the gal at IGMA is that it's harder to make artisan status now than it was a few years ago- what she told me was that you can actually be better than some of the artisans but still not make artisan because the standards have gone up and like I said once you're an artisan you're an artisan as long as you pay dues you can Never lose that status. So it has good points and bad points and it just depends how much being able to list those inititals means to you. If you want to make miniatures your career then I think the dues are a pretty reasonable price.

I think it is definitely something you should check into and like I said the gal that answers the emails is really sweet and they do have an informational packet they can send you that tells about member benefits and the different classes they offer and best of all Guild School which is once a year in Maine and a real bargain if you can get in - just to let you know though you don't have to be a member to attend the guild school. I'd definitely look into it if I was as tallented as you! ;)

-David

Wow ;) I never knew that if you stopped paying your dues you lose your artisan status. But don't they send you a certificate? I mean it sounds a bit phoney to me if you lose your status once you stop paying fees. To me it sounds as if you earn a certificate because of the money you pay and not for your artistic talent. I thought that a certificate was for life. :lol:

Well... I see what you mean about the drawbacks. I love the idea of joining IGMA but on the other hand if I could lose my status if I stopped being a member than is the title of being an artisan for real or not?

Tracy. I am telling you what you do to those houses is magnificent I think IGMA would give you artisan status no problem. Maybe Greenleaf should start up its own artisan group or something. Hey we could have exams every year for people to send in their work and get judged just like IGMA but without the drawback of having your title taken away.

I looked up some of the artisans on IGMA and I think many people on Greenleaf are much more talented.

Just had to dig my claws in there, hehe. :lol:

Charlene> I'll be honest though I'm still tempted to join but the only thing that bothers me is the fact that you can lose your artisan status if you stop paying your fees.

[Minis On The Edge]

huh.gif

Well... I see what you mean about the drawbacks. I love the idea of joining IGMA but on the other hand if I could lose my status if I stopped being a member than is the title of being an artisan for real or not?

That is why a lot of Artisans refuse to sign up with IGMA but I persoanlly would love to support them because it does support our industry which is why I have been thinking more about joining latly. Our hobby as a whole has slowed down a lot and shops are closing everywhere.

CDHM.org is supporting artisans of every level and adverising to help promote the hobby too. Here on Greenleaf is a great resource too I have had people who are not members to email me through webshots & ebay about my items and they found me here and they just like reading the posts which I think is cool.

Whhatever you do, don't limit your advertising to one place. Many people join IGMA because they want to be called an artisan because usually with that title comes more money which is a motivator for anyone ;) I think you should go for it :lol:

[hydroped]

To me it sounds as if you earn a certificate because of the money you pay and not for your artistic talent. I thought that a certificate was for life.

That's one of the things that bothered me too but to be fair to IGMA there are lots of members who never make artisan. There is a panel of judges that looks over your work and judges on your artistic tallent and skills but be aware there is a fee for this too. When I looked into it the cost was 50$ but that covered you for 3 tries at getting the judges approval. So if you didn't make it the first time you could resubmit your work when the next pannel of judges meets and I think it was every 6 months unless they've changed it since then.

When I was thinking about joining I made a list of miniaturists who's work I really admire - some of them are Fellows with the IGMA and some aren't members at all - So to me it doesn't really matter if someone is rated as an artisan by them or not - I think I can recognize artisan quality work when I see it. But there will always be some who feel that having a title makes your work better or at least more collectable. And there is always something about seeing your name on a list of recognized artists. So the thing is if you want to join them then you should go for it. But there's no obligation in getting the informational packet and that should explain everything. I think most of the info is on their web site but you can also write to them to ask any questions you might have and I don't think there is anything wrong with asking about an organization before you join them

I'd definitely contact them and ask for more information - the information packet they sent me was really great and like I said the gal in the office was wonderfully sweet ;) So don't be afraid to contact them.

-David :lol: