What Submitting My Work Taught Me About Value

At the beginning of this year, I made a clear decision to push my work further out into the world. No more waiting for perfect timing, polished narratives, or guaranteed outcomes. I committed to submitting my work to larger exhibitions, publications, and galleries—especially the ones I had hesitated to approach in the past. I started with six submissions in February. Every time I received a response, whether it was a yes or a no, I submitted again. I didn’t pause to overanalyze or spiral. I kept the ball in motion.

The process became its own teacher. What I learned wasn’t just about getting in. It was about how I showed up in the act of offering the work. I was accepted into spaces I wouldn’t have imagined for myself even a year ago—not because I became a different artist overnight, but because I put the work where it could be seen. And while those acceptances mattered, the deeper shift came in how I communicated. I got better at submitting. Much better.

I refined the language I use to describe the work. I clarified what I’m actually doing in the studio—not just with materials, but with intention. And I stopped undervaluing the emotional and conceptual strength behind what I make. Each submission required me to articulate what the work means, what it offers, and why it matters. That repetition built a kind of muscle—creative, emotional, and professional.

Clarity comes through motion. Not through overplanning. Not through silence. Through showing up, offering the work without apology, and trusting that it belongs in the room. That you belong in the room.

This is about confidence as a practice. One that gets stronger each time you name what your work is and stand fully behind it.