Artist Access Grant
Artist Access Grant
"The Shore's Absolute Edge" is a self-published collection of poetry.
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.
Tara Makinen: executive director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Kathy Neff: musician, director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
I’m a poet nearing the completion of my chapbook manuscript called The Shore’s Absolute Edge. A chapbook is a small book of poetry. Of the poems I envision crafting, I have a minimum of twelve more to write. Once these are completed, I will enter the self-publication phase of my project. However, I inherited a used laptop in 2012 and it’s unfortunately wearing out. As a result, I’ve been creating my manuscript on a borrowed MacBook Air laptop and saving my work on a flash drive. Therefore, I would use this grant to purchase my own MacBook Air. It would be compatible with quality printing standards and allow me to self-publish my new poetry collection. It would also provide me the current technology I need to pursue my writing endeavors in earnest well into the future. My goal is to use my writing experience to help people understand their connection to nature. My next artistic phase toward this begins with publication of The Shore’s Absolute Edge. I have the time to participate in between 5-10 online classes a week depending on the length of the class. With individual classes averaging between $20-50 but as high as $199 this pass would pay for itself in the first week.
On October 17, 2019 I was the featured reader for a Poets and Pints gathering in Ely to promote the book's arrival in spring; a receptive audience of 35 people attended. After publication, my poem ?Nest" was featured on the WELY radio program Back Home, April 12, 2020. On April 30, 2020, I was interviewed by KAXE radio's morning show host to celebrate the book release and National Poetry Month. Due to the pandemic, my book release party was postponed from April 22 to July 23, 2020. It took place at Ely Folk School. The building was filled to Covid-capacity with 25 people. The audience was enthusiastic, purchasing copies of the book. Thus far, The Shore's Absolute Edge has been placed in Piragis Books and Art and Soul Gallery in Ely, Minnesota. Books are also available through my website. More locations will be pursued. In addition, some of my poems will be broadcast on KAXE's program, Stay Human. Next summer, Art and Soul Gallery in Ely has offered to host a reading of my work.
Other,local or private