Folktale Week Favorites: Part 2
Plus the Bittersweet Side of Hosting a Challenge
Hosting Folktale Week is a labor of love. My co-hosts and I spend time organizing all the details months before the actual event, and then the week of is basically a full-time job.
There was a point when we were paid in promotion. I think I got 2000 followers the first year we did it! These days it’s closer to 200 (which I recognize is nothing to sniff at). But that’s how Instagram is now, and that’s not why I do it. To be honest, I’m not totally sure why I do it.
I suppose it’s just nice to be part of something that so many people connect with. I really love the Love Fest aspect of it (see Part 1 for the glossary of art challenge terms). And I definitely get Challenge Grin when I read people’s comments. And occasionally I’ll see a Challenge Discovery hit the algorithm jackpot. That’s really cool! They’ll go from virtually unknown to suddenly everywhere. I love seeing people level up! I’ve even seen a few agents and book deals come out of it. Knowing I’ve had an eensy weensy hand in supporting an artist’s career is a really nice feeling, something I want to really tune into. Because Folktale Week is a rollercoaster!
For every Challenge Discovery, there are countless artists grinding away without much fanfare. Occasionally I’ll get a message from one who says something like “I’ve followed all the rules, but I don’t think anyone is seeing my work.” Assuming they’re polite about it—and they usually are—I’ll engage right away and often share, too. But the truth is, it’s just too hard to keep up with all the art. And of course Instagram is making it harder to surface new work every year. It’s really frustrating. I want to see and engage with everyone, but I’ve had to let go of that responsibility. All I can do is my best.
I’m not really sure where I’m going with this. I think I just wanted to talk about that feeling of wanting to support everyone and not being able to.
I got a rejection a couple of weeks ago. It was a thoughtful and warm-hearted one, and I got the impression the sender was feeling the same as me, speaking from that genuine desire to support everyone while knowing you need to prioritize what’s sustainable for yourself. It was such a nice letter, I’m not even bummed.
Rejection comes with the career, so maybe I’m just used it by now, but I wonder if running a challenge is a good way of helping you cope with rejection when you find yourself on the other end of the equation.
Could this be a hidden benefit?
If any of you are thinking about running a challenge and want to know what we did to make Folktale Week special, let me know. I think timing was a factor, as there weren’t any group challenges in the Illustration world at the time (that I know of), and it was much easier to get seen on Instagram back then, but there was also some real strategy that went into it.
And now for some more of my Folktale Week favorites! I’m only scratching the surface; there were so many excellent pieces! But I had to draw the line somewhere or I’d be here all day!
As with Part 1, all images are linked, so feel free to check out the rest of these participants’ pieces and show them some love.
Did you discover any new artists this Folktale Week? Did you connect with any new followers?
Until next time!
Thank you for your commitment to folktale week. It’s incredible what you and the hosts are doing for the community.
A beautiful selection of folktale week art Jennifer ♥️ Lots of artists feeling very grateful to have been inspired by you and your co-hosts hard work and dedication to this wonderful annual drawing challenge ✏️✨