Career Development Grant
Career Development Grant
Exploration in search of inspiration to create a series of 4-6 illustrations to be translated into screen prints on handcrafted canvas bags. Document the design development process to culminate in an open studio in the fall of 2019.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, cultural programming coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.
Karen Savage-Blue: visual artist; Karen McManus: musician, administrator at Mesabi Symphony Orchestra; Sarah Waddle: program manager for the North House Folk School, arts educator; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Kathy Neff: musician, director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
Exploring Park Point, on foot and by boat, to take photos and create sketches as inspiration for 4-6 illustrations. The illustrations will be translated into screen prints on canvas, which will then be made into functional canvas bags. The creative process will be documented and displayed during an open studio. The public will be invited to visit my home studio to see the inspiration images, development of illustrations, process of making a silk screen stencil, printing, cutting and sewing to create the finished bags. I have participated in juried art fairs for the past four years. Many people who visit my booth are interested to learn more about my unique creative process. By documenting the stages of my creative process, I will be able to display visual elements that explain both the aesthetic and technical aspects of development from concept to completion. This documentation will increase people’s knowledge of the roots of design and their appreciation of designers’ work. I will measure the project’s success in several ways: First, I look forward to seeing a coherent image of my own design process and crafting a visual narrative that will convey that process to others. This is something that I sometimes feel l lose track of, and I think it will place the perceptual and conceptual aspects of design at the heart of my process. As I gather ideas for future screened illustrations, I hope to build a kind of library of invention in my documentation. Second, I hope the documentation of process will create a more involving narrative for art fair and art show attendees. I create products that are valuable in part because they open their users’ eyes to their environment and create mindfulness of place in them. I will make a brief questionnaire available at my booth to gather responses to my documentation as part of my booth design. Third, I will gauge my success in this project by the number and quality of illustrations to which it gives rise.
Having the commitment and timeline to complete this grant made my creative process more of a priority than ever before. I scheduled time to gather inspiration and met the goal of creating a new design for each of the art fairs that I participated in from June and November. By making my creative time a priority, I was able to complete six new designs. Most important of all, these new designs have helped establish a more cohesive collection that showcases my unique style. Another important goal was documenting my creative process to share with the public. I started by photographing the steps of designing and constructing a Kingfisher sling bag. Then I arranged the photos into a storyboard sequence and had it digitally printed onto fabric. The fabric was sewn into a banner that will become part of part of my display at art fairs and in the studio. It's already been very helpful to show to studio visitors who are curious about how I print and sewn in such a small space. My final goal was to host an open studio on Small Business Saturday, November 30. Attendance was fairly good, considering that there was a blizzard later that day. There was a nice mix of people were familiar with my work and others who were just discovering Dock 5. I especially enjoyed the opportunity to have more in depth conversations than is often possible at art fairs. Overall, receiving this grant enhanced my awareness of prioritizing creative time and the process banner is a new way to engage with people.
Other,local or private