Artist Access Grants (INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS ONLY)

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2020 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$1,000
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Rita J. Morris
Recipient Type
Individual
Status
Completed
Start Date
April 2020
End Date
June 2021
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
St. Louis
St. Louis
Project Overview

Artist Access Grants (INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS ONLY)

Project Details

Ceramic Surface Inquiry-Exploring image transfer techniques and mark making on ceramic wall pieces.

Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications

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.

Advisory Group Members and Qualifications

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.

Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2019 First Special Session, chapter 2, article 4, section 2, subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2020 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$1,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$1,000
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

In creating this series of ceramic wall pieces, I hope to push myself out of my comfort zone and into a place of curiosity, honest markmaking, vulnerability and growth. I hope to be able to figure out ways to visually juxtapose imagery inspired from my personal engagement with the natural world and dynamic abstract line, form and color. The process of creating and learning from this body of work will give me tools to apply to future art making, including the acquiring of specific image transfer techniques that will enable me to bring more creativity and self-expression to both my functional and wall hanging work. Since my current ceramic work is collaborative, this project is crucial in providing me with a solid group of ceramic wall pieces that are solely my own, providing a foundation of solo work for me to build off of in the future. I will know I've been successful if my completed ceramic wall hangings demonstrate experimentation and a variety of new mark making techniques. The completed pieces will illustrate a familiarity with screenprinting on clay, transferring underglaze on clay and using stencils to create blocks of color or pattern on clay. They will play with imagery both familiar and unfamiliar, from the natural world and my interior world of personal imagery, and will show an incorporation of abstract line and form. After this project, I will have completed ten pieces that pulled me out of my comfort zone by challenging my art making process, encouraging my creative curiosity and growth as an artist. I will feel confident with my new skill set and I'll be ready to prepare for demonstrations in the future for others at the Duluth Art Institute's Ceramic Studio.

Measurable Outcome(s)

The artistic goal that I proposed was to create a body of work consisting of two dimensional ceramic wall hangings that explore the surface, incorporate new techniques and experiment with process and I believe that I achieved this goal. I played with screenprinting onto clay, used handmade stencils out of newaprint paper, made block prints to print onto clay, experimented with underglaze transferring and employed the technique of sgraffito with black underglaze and white slip to play with realistic and abstract mark making. I pushed myself creatively by juxtaposing images created with a stencil and hand painted or carved imagery and line. I began to approach the clay canvas in new and exciting ways, working with composition, incorporating abstraction and personal subject matter

Proposed Outcomes Achieved
Achieved Proposed Outcomes
Source of Additional Funds

Other,local or private

Project Manager
First Name
Rita
Last Name
Morris
Organization Name
Rita J. Morris
State
MN
Phone
(206) 890-0692
Email
ritajmorris@gmail.com
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency