Signature Status Guidelines
Adopted by the PPS Board of Directors April 25, 2022
- A Philadelphia Pastel Society member may be considered for Signature membership after one year of membership in our organization.
- There are2 possible paths to Signature membership:
- Earned Signature status: Achieved by acceptance into 3 juried national pastel exhibitions.
- One of these shows must be a PPS national exhibition.
- Paintings accepted in these exhibitions must be three different pieces.
- Artist members who feel that they are ready for Signature status based on their acceptance into 3 national exhibitions may submit their application at any time. Their application will be evaluated by the Signature Status Committee and presented at the next scheduled Board meeting.
- Juried Signature status: Achieved when a candidate is accepted by a jury that examines a body of work submitted by an artist member.
- Beginning in March 2023, PPS will conduct a jury process once a year in March for candidates who wish to apply for Signature status based upon their body of work. Applications should be submitted by March 1 of the year in which an artist wishes to be considered. The Signature Status Committee will evaluate any applications submitted and present them to the Board of Directors by March 31
- Beginning in March 2023, the jury will be composed of 2 nationally recognized external jurors and one PPS member who holds Signature status in a national society. External Jury members will receive an honorarium of $250 for each service.
- Beginning in March 2026, we will form a committee of PPS Signature members to evaluate new Signature candidates.
- When applying to be evaluated by the jury, candidates must submit a representative body of their work along with their application and resume.
- Artists should submit their work according to the following guidelines:
- Paintings must be in traditional dry pastel, not oil pastel. If you use an underpainting, the surface must be 80% pastel.
- Photograph only the paintings, without frame or background.
- Copy your original high quality .jpg image, and name the file with artist name and the title of the painting. (Example: Jane_Smith_FlowersInSpring.jpg)
- Size the image to 300 dpi and at least 1200 pixels on the longest side.
- Size the file to no larger than 2 mb.
- Send your images as attachments to your online application.
- Include the title and the unframed size of each piece on your application.
- Your artwork should be original and not copied from other artists, published materials, or photographs not taken by yourself.
- Paintings should be completed within the last three years.
- All styles and subjects will be accepted by the jury, but there should be a consistency of artistry among the five images.
- Artwork may not be worked on in a school, workshop, or in the presence of an instructor.
- Artist members who wish to apply for Signature membership should keep track of achievements that may affect their qualification for Signature status.
- Regardless of which method a candidate uses to approach Signature status, he/she should submit a formal request accompanied by a one-page resume of their art-related experience. The application can be sent via email to the Signature Status Committee at PhiladelphiaPastelSociety@gmail.com A one time $20 fee will be required with the formal application.
- . The resume should include information about exhibitions, awards, professional memberships, and art-related education and training. The chairperson of the Signature Status Committee will present committee recommendations to the PPS Board of Directors for review and approval.
- A Signature status artist must maintain membership in PPS in order to continue as a Signature member. At the discretion of the Board of Directors a grace period of up to one year may be granted when dues are late