Artist Access Grants (INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS ONLY)
Artist Access Grants (INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS ONLY)
Fine art colored pencil drawings. Improve skills through online courses, critiquing and practice.
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; 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.
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
I will focus on fine tuning and better defining my style, and overall improving the quality of my work to that of fine art. My goals include learning to create backgrounds with a more dreamlike effect, how to successfully combine colored pencils with other mediums, and the use of different mediums on different layers to produce a professional work of art. In addition, through online instruction, experimentation and dedication I'll strive to understand and apply these techniques and others to improve the quality of my art. I'll be participating in a First Friday Art Walk program exhibition at the Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation on August 7, 2020. I look forward to establishing future art contacts and sales at this exhibition. I anticipate that I'll be able to arrange a second First Friday showing towards the end of my project. I will apply to MacRostie's Art Center Little Big Show on May 1, 2020 as well as their downtown Art Fair on July 11, 2020. I will be engaging Thomas Page, a well-known local artist to critique my art work. With over 40 years of experience in drawing, sculpture and pottery he brings a wealth of knowledge about creating fine art to my project. During an initial meeting and periodic meetings throughout the project period, I look forward to Tom critiquing and suggesting areas that can be improved. He will be made aware of my particular goals for the project and will be able to observe and verify progress towards and/or achieving those goals. In addition, through my own observation and through the responses of my viewers, I will experience a feeling of success as I become more confident in my skills and expertise. I have a heart to listen and believe art can be used to reach out to individuals. As my communication skills improve, a better rapport with my audiences/viewers will be established leading to continued interaction and an increase in sales.
Through instructions from Tom Page, as well as learning from the online videos and books, gave me the confidence to apply concepts of the balance of light and dark, shading, and application of texture to produce projects of fine art quality. I also took the concepts I learned to combine colored pencils with water colors and apply them to other mediums such as fabric. Towards the end of my project I shared with Tom Page a still life picture that I had drawn of a saddle and cowboy boots in front of a background of barnwood. He commented that it "was the best that you have ever done!"
Other,local or private