Artist Access Grants
Artist Access Grants
"Baba's Macedonian Inspired Rug"- To hand punch a wool rug inspired by my great grandmother.
Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; 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; Tammy Mattonen: visual artist, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center. Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
The goal of this project is to step into my great grandmother's shoes and handcraft a rug that will last for the next 100 years. It will be to share the connection I have to my Macedonian heritage by creating the very same thing the Macedonians, in the village of Dumbany did centuries ago. The arts and crafts movement in Macedonia has been rug making, weaving, and textiles; maybe this is the reason this craft form is in my blood and I feel so strongly in the pursuit of this project. This project will be in her memory; however, using current methods and supplies. I do believe the outcome will be just as impressive as if I had a sheep to sheer and a spinning wheel to spin it into yarn. I would like to walk in her foot steps and create a rug using Macedonian colors and patterns and display them side by side along with my Baba's rugs and photos of my family from their village. I measure success when the vision, in my head, of the final piece just won’t escape me and I have to find extra time to work on it because there is a need to create something I truly love. It is just not holding a finished piece in my hands; it is starting the art and seeing where the journey takes my emotions and feelings. This particular piece is very visual to me because of connection with my family. I also measure success by learning new things, overcoming challenges, and comparing my vision with the final piece. When all of these come together, I know I will be successful.
My activities that addressed my goals are more than to be expected. I was so excited to see this project come to life and give honor to my Baba (grandmother). I love when I have a vision and a concept and I can see it through. It is amazing to me when I stand back and look at the big picture and say YES that is what I saw in my head. The library showings were even more amazing than I though and the reaction from the community was well received. However, as Covid got worse the library closed. I was a little disheartened that I did not get to share my accomplishments with others for the full three months; however, it did not hinder my enthusiasm for working on my rug. I continued to work on my own as stated in my original description, but I sure loved talking to the public about rug making.
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