Individual Artist Project Grant

My goal for this project is to benefit my community by expanding the concepts of what a broom is and what a broom can be. Not only are brooms functional objects in our everyday lives, but they can be intricate artistic pieces that can be displayed while not in use. Through highlighting the tactile experience of sweeping, and other ?housework? for that matter, my community will become more aware of the deeper connection between what is typically thought of as a mundane action and the ritualistic and meditative nature of cleaning out physical and emotional debris. The brooms in this series are fully intended to be used, but they are also intended to initiate conversations about daily interactions with everyday items in the home and encourage my community to fill life with art in unexpected ways.Through this project I will blend a variety of craft forms, including leatherworking, beading, knitting, and ropework, into my main focus area of broom making, thereby bringing broom making into a new conceptual landscape while continuing to explore ways to stand out in a growing field of broom artists. My goal for this work is to expand the awareness of the tactile nature of sweeping and to introduce artistic concepts into the conversation about housework. Measurable outcomes for this process will consist of the number of methods for creating unique broom handles through the use of these various techniques, as well as the income from sales of these brooms. I will track the number of gallery visitors and opportunities for conversations about the tactile experience of sweeping, both in person and through social media. Throughout my artistic career I have received numerous grants and have been part of a two-year residency program. These experiences have taught me the importance of spending money wisely, carrying a project through to completion and reporting on the project. In 2019, I applied to hold an exhibition of artistic brooms and dustpans at Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery in Grand Marias, and my acceptance for a show in January of 2020 gave me the opportunity to create a vision and follow through to create something truly unique and well-received. I received an ARAC grant in 2020 to start a long-term project exploring methods for influencing the shape of saplings' growth while still alive, to create unique broom handles. Though the project period has long past, I am still exploring these methods because of my deep personal interest. My pure excitement about this project is another confidence-builder. I have been crafting these ideas in my mind for a long time and will make this a priority.To understand whether this project was a success, I will track the number of broom handles successfully created through the various methods I am envisioning, as compared to the number of attempts. I will track my time invested into this project and the number of sales and resulting income from these new styles of sweeping brooms. I will also track public response to the work through tracking feedback in person, through social media and through the comments section on my website. I plan to submit one of these brooms to a competition held next year at the National Broom Maker's Gathering as part of the Arcola Broom Corn Festival, which will allow me a further gauge of the success of this project.