Individual Artist Project Grant

Being in a shared community art space means that what I work on is visible to many people; other artists in the building, students of all ages and teachers. These people provide me with input and advice along the way as well as a chance to pique curiosity and share the things I'm learning. In my clay community people are especially curious about using Lake Superior clay and I plan to invite interested people to fire it with me. I am also excited to share what I've learned about harvesting clay with the patrons of the Edge in Bigfork. Bigfork is a rural location where people seem very connected to and proud of their land. Several people I know living in that region have mentioned finding clay deposits. If I can provide a starting point of knowledge perhaps harvesting and using clay could be an avenue of expression and connection for them. My overarching goal with this grant is to hold a solo exhibition at the Edge Center for the Arts in Bigfork, MN, with the outcome of building a connection to the arts community in that area. In my experience small, rural communities like this are often extremely supportive and generous in sharing opportunities to teach and exhibit work. My goal while producing a body of work for this show is to develop my skill in creating multi-component sculptural ceramic pieces that incorporate ?wild,' harvested clay. The outcomes will be exhibiting several (3-5) of these pieces and creating a descriptive guide to share the process of harvesting and using the wild clay. Finally, in creating the work for this show, my goal is to photograph the pieces and use those photos to apply for another exhibition space, with the intended outcome of lining up another show. In April 2022 I created my first multi-component piece incorporating Lake Superior clay for an exhibition in Redwing, MN. I landed on combining wild clay with my stoneware/porcelain sculpture while trouble-shooting with the same mentor I'd be working with for this project. It took four attempts and I learned a lot! This experience and my 2021 MacRostie exhibition helps in laying out a realistic timeline, allowing for experimentation as well as completion. Having a mentor and working in the Duluth Art Institute's community space provides creative advice which will be particularly helpful with the multi-component pieces. I'm working with Gail Blackmer at the Edge who has so far been encouraging and accommodating. Currently, I'm documenting how I harvest clay and will use this in the descriptive guide. I'm also using wild in my teaching which is helping me sift through what is informative versus pedantic. I'm excited to use these experiences and support to complete this project. For my goal of holding this exhibition, success will mean timely installation of my work at the Edge. I will gauge interest through conversations at the opening as well as through an email/mailing sign-up that I'll follow-up with after the exhibit. I will assess whether the connections I made with the staff or patrons at the Edge lead to collaborations, teaching opportunities or group shows. As I create the work I will be assessing my second goal of developing skills using wild clay. I will meet with my mentor at the Duluth Art Institute, whom I see on Thursdays, to discuss and trouble-shoot the process of building the multi-component pieces. Additionally, creating a descriptive guide on harvesting/working with wild clay will help me consolidate and further assess the knowledge I've gained. Success in these areas will mean installing the pieces and displaying the guide at the exhibit. For the last goal, I will be successful if accepted by another art center to exhibit this series.