Artist Initiative

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$8,065
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
Elizabeth M. Blair
Recipient Type
Individual
Status
Completed
Start Date
March 2015
End Date
February 2016
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Hennepin
Itasca
Lyon
Roseau
Hennepin
Itasca
Lyon
Roseau
Project Overview
Artist Initiative
Project Details
Blair will create “The Bog Tapestry,” a photographic series that offers macro views of a northern cedar bog. She will print the work and learn to make custom frames through a workshop at Milan Village Arts School. She will show the finished work at venues in the Twin Cities, Marshall, Roseau, and Grand Rapids.
Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications
Ardell Brede: Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002.; Peggy Burnet: Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Chair of the Nominating Committee, Smithsonian National Board. Trustee, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Rebecca Davis-Lee: Touring pianist, piano and music theory teacher; Wendy Dayton: Arts and community leader and philanthropist.; Sean Dowse, Executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Music Coalition, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Treasurer, Minnesota State Arts Board.; David Glenn: Executive director of the Minnesota Project, ceramic artist; Ellen McInnis: Director of Twin Cities government relations, Wells Fargo. Member of Bottineau Boulevard Partnership. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies; Janice Sivertson: Gallery owner and visual artist
Advisory Group Members and Qualifications
Sara Belleau: Writer and photographer; Anna Eveslage: Photographer; Mark Jensen: Fine art photographer, founder and director of the Knife River Photography Workshops; Brett Kallusky: Visiting assistant professor, University of Wisconsin-River Falls Art Department, photography; Anthony Marchetti: Photographer, instructor; Terra Rathai: Artist and photographer, historian of 19th and 20th century western art and popular culture; Ellen Skoro: Digital photographer, Goldstein Museum of Design; Sarah Whiting: Commercial photographer, instructor at the Arts Institutes International Minnesota
Conflict of Interest Disclosed
No
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2013, Chapter 137, Article 4, Section 2, Subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$8,065
Other Funds Leveraged
$0
Direct expenses
$8,065
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

I will develop a website, purchase a printer, take a framing class, an Adobe Lightroom class, and organize my body of work. Successful completion of the framing class, making my own prints, learning Adobe Lightroom, and developing a website to showcase my work will enhance my ability to present my work more professionally to a wider audience. 2: I plan to present my work at public libraries in Marshall, Roseau, and Grand Rapids and mount a one-person show at Bell Museum. I’ll count the library audiences and ask them to leave written comments after the presentations. For the one-person show, I’ll include a guest book to record the names, addresses and comments of those who attend.

Measurable Outcome(s)

My photographic skills advanced significantly. I’m now able to organize, store and develop photos, produce professional prints, and build quality frames. By project's end, I hoped to gain more autonomy over my artistic process. In the past, National Camera printed my photos, I purchased ready-made frames, my photos weren’t organized for easy retrieval, and I couldn’t develop digital negatives so I had them printed as is. I can now organize, develop my work in Lightroom and build my own frames and my website will be up soon; my two-day Square Space workshop taught me the skills I need to produce and design my own website. 2: 400 Minnesotans engaged with my work during seven community events; most reported gaining new appreciation for the beauty and integrity of Minnesota bogs. I counted the audience at my shows, artist talks and the panel discussion. I provided guest books for the Marshall Area Fine Arts Council and Edge Center for the Arts shows. I gauged audience engagement by the questions asked. The Roseau audience stayed for an hour after the talk. Ditto with the 70 who attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design panel; the janitor finally came to shut off the lights. At Marshall Area Fine Arts Council, people stayed long past gallery closing time. Audiences were intrigued with the show and with our state’s most unique natural legacy, its bogs.

Description of Funds
Project Manager
First Name
Elizabeth
Last Name
Blair
Organization Name
Elizabeth M. Blair
State
MN
Phone
(763) 219-5746
Email
elizabeth.blair@smsu.edu
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