Artist Initiative
Artist Initiative
Erik Johnson will complete “The Outliers,” an atmospheric graphic novel that tells the story of a twelve-year-old autistic boy who befriends a woodland giant and flees a captor who endangers them both. An exhibition of the artwork and an artist talk are
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; 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; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies; Janice Sivertson: Gallery owner and visual artist; Dobson West: Senior advisor, Spell Capital Partners Fund
Pamela Davis: Visual artist who combines weaving, metalsmithing, beading, and needlework; Paige Guggemos: Freelance graphic and web designer; printmaker; Andrew Messerschmidt: Painter; Julie Sirek: Visual artist; Eun-Kyung Suh: Art and design professor, University of Minnesota Duluth; Liza Sylvestre: Visual artist and educator; Willicey Tynes: Oil painter and sculptor
ACHF Arts Access
The artist will complete all writing, drawing and color work on a 70-100 page work, The Outliers, a graphic novel. At the end of the grant period, the graphic novel will be ready to go to press. The exact number of pages of the book will be determined through a thumbnail sketch process before the grant period. 2: The artist will exhibit finished art and sketches and give a public talk about his artistic process and the work's themes, publicized via social media. Attendance at the event and online views of the event announcement will be tracked. Comment cards will be circulated and online comments recorded.
The original artwork for a graphic novel The Outliers was successfully completed within the Artist Initiative grant period. Throughout the grant period I evaluated my progress on The Outliers by scanning my drawn pages and assembling them into a digital book layout program to get an overview of the project as a whole. As well, I prepared for an exhibit the final work, and I meticulously organized, arranged and sometime re-drew artwork until I felt I had completed my artistic goals for the graphic novel, creating a complete visual and narrative work. 2: The Outliers project was promoted on social media throughout the grant period and the finished art was exhibited to the public with an artist talk. Social media posts on Facebook and Instagram gave me real-time feedback on the parts of the Outliers project and also allowed me a forum to mark, review and evaluate my own progress throughout the grant period. Paired with the artist talk, exhibiting the completed artwork was the biggest outcome achievement. I tracked audience interaction with the project on-line, and through messages and comment cards written by attendees of the show.