Artist Initiative

I was able to advance my compositional skills and techniques through the research and development of a painting medium that is less toxic than turpentine or Odorless Mineral Spirits based mediums. This recipe is based on the use of Oil of Spike Lavender which I discovered as a solvent through doing the research enabled by this grant. The new medium that I developed dries slower: it allows more flexibility in working time, more translucent layers, and allows color to be manipulated in interesting ways. I was unable to do these things with alkyd mediums (a less toxic alternative but one which dries very quickly and has some other hindering qualities). I gauged my success by my own satisfaction and audience reaction. Studio and exhibition visitors responded well to the new depth of color and the more intricate painting surfaces. I was fortunate enough to sell a very large piece right off the studio wall the week it was completed. This told me that my efforts were fruitful. 2: I had hoped to be able to expand my audience reach by exhibiting in other areas outside of the Twin Cities. Though I was unable to secure an exhibition in space outside of the metro area during the grant period I do feel that I successfully reached more Minnesotans with my work based on some of the media attention around my events as well as with my blog that tracked the project results. By keeping a mailing list, tracking visitor numbers to my studio and exhibition events, blog site and Facebook Page I was able to see that my reach had grown during the grant period. I was able to connect with other artists statewide, nationally and internationally, through my bi-weekly blog mostly evidenced by the location from where the responses/questions were coming from. Website visits turned out to be an unreliable judge as they typically spiked when there was press related to a show but not necessarily related to grant activity.