Artist Fellowship
Artist Fellowship
"In the Evening, We'll Dance" - The project features a mentorship that would move my memoir-in-essays close to completion. The essays consider enduring love, dementia, loss, and what remains.
Adam Guggemos: graphic designer, art events promoter; Michelle Ronning: jewelry designer and maker; Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, Cultural Programming Coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Jeanne Doty: Retired Associate Professor UMD Music, pianist; 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; Emily Fasbender: student liaison, visual artist.
Moira Villiard: visual artist, Cultural Programming Coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Scott Knudson: filmmaker, Legacy Producer at Lakeland Public Television; Amy Sharpe: weaver, writer, co-owner of Ripple River Gallery; Annamarie Gutsch: Executive Director at Arc Northland, musician; Nathan Bray: ceramic artist; Christian McShane: experimental musician; Brooke Boulton: poet, instructor of English at Rainy River Community College.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
My goal is to work with editor/mentor Patricia Weaver-Francisco. I'd research, write, and revise at least 5 new essays for my memoir-in-essays and consult with Francisco 6 times. We'd also work on the organization of the collection. I'd hire Scott Edelstein to review and edit a query letter. In addition, I'd give a public reading/presentation in Grand Rapids with Dr. Sylvia Olney on the persistence of self in persons with dementia. I'd also record 3 essay excerpts for "Stay Human Radio" (KAXE-fm) and hold a reading/discussion with college mythology students about how I came to employ myths in my essays. Lastly, I would purchase a MacBook to facilitate note-taking during meetings with my mentor and for working outside my home. As I write and revise essays, I'll receive evaluative comments from Francisco; I'll also seek comments on drafts from the accomplished local writers in my writers' group. At the project's conclusion, I'll provide both quantitative and qualitative measures. I'll tally attendance at the two presentations. Attendees also will respond to a brief written survey. For the mentorship, I'll provide the number of times I met with my editor/mentor and the number of new essays completed. For the qualitative measure, Francisco and I will agree that the work is publishable and of a high quality, emotionally and intellectually compelling, and written in a clear, yet lyrical, style. I'll also produce what Edelstein deems to be a polished query letter.
During the grant year, I traveled to Minneapolis 7 times to meet with editor/mentor Patricia Weaver-Francisco. I produced 6 new essays, including a Prologue and an introductory section, "Provisos." I now have completed a total of 17 essays. I also developed a provisional structure for the collection, organized around the headings: Dementia, My Husband, Me, and Us. The structure provides a narrative arc for the book. I received invaluable, positive feedback on essay drafts from Francisco as well as from my local writers' group. This gave me the confidence to submit 12 of my essays to the 2020 Graywolf Nonfiction competition for works-in-progress. In addition, I consulted with Scott Edelstein on my query letter and subsequently revised it. A public reading/presentation with Dr. Sylvia Olney, "I'm My Own Person: The Persistence of Self in Persons with Dementia" was held at the Grand Rapids Area Library on Nov. 13, 2018, during National Alzheimer's and Caregivers Month. I recorded excerpts from 3 essays for "Stay Human Radio" (KAXE-fm), all of which aired. During fall semester 2018, I held a reading/discussion with college Mythology students about how I came to employ myths in my essays. Twelve of those students were in the Post-Secondary Educational Options (PSEO) program, so they were under age 18. In addition, I purchased a MacBook and Magic Mouse to use while conducting library research and during the consultations with Francisco.
Other,local or private