Artist Initiative

I achieved my goal to work with a mentor to produce a final draft of a short story. In addition to participation in the mentorship, I organized a public reading for youth and families in South Minneapolis. To evaluate this achievement, my mentor and I met five separate times. During each session I took careful notes of his consultation and saved all copies of read drafts with attached comments. I used all the drafts to mark my growth as a writer. I feel great pride for my final draft and was excited and confident to read excerpts from the draft for my public reading event. To evaluate the success of the public reading, I noted how many people attended (23). At the event, my mentor, Matt Burgess, introduced me. He commented on some of my struggles and successes. Following the reading we held a brief Q and A which enabled the audience to ask questions about the process and give feedback on the writing. The Q and A was the best measurement of audience response to the work. 2: The experience of balancing my budget was a first step for me. With the money I budgeted for mentorship, I explored resources for writers, including the Loft Literary Center, I networked and interacted with other artists, including The Equilibrium poets, and I was able to learn from my mentor what steps to take in terms of incorporating myself. My mentor provided me with the foundation on which business savvy is built. In our second session Matt said to me You are a writer now. OWN IT!" From there I was able to start taking myself seriously. I kept a journal of all my grant related activities. I kept good books, noted every penny I used, and this process gave me ideas about how much things cost and how much I need to get myself going as a business. When tax time came, I got to see what self-employment in the Fine Arts meant financially. Overall, this grant brought me closer to producing income from my art."