Individual Artist Project Grant

This is the really fun part. Our little community offers a wide variety of nationality backgrounds. We are an inclusive community, and enjoy celebrating our diversity. This window-dressing high art will remind us all of the melting pot that Aitkin is, and how lovely it is to live and work here. It will also be a very successful vehicle to deliver the message of how art can transform the ugly to the beautiful - in new ways. I am hoping it can spur further artistic banners in and around the community - giving rise to the importance of an aesthetically pleasing environment. The real bottom line is economic development. Brainerd has its shopping and high-end vacationing, Crosby-Ironton has their off-road bike trails, and I believe Aitkin can become the little town with lots of art."Window Dressing" will dramatically cheer up a sorry but beautiful old building in downtown Aitkin. It will position me as a quality artist who genuinely cares about the well-being of his community. Because of the building's location, it will serve to notice travelers that Aitkin is on the move forward. I want people to stop and think about how our diversity comes together through art. Although the traditional origin of a simple image concept like flowers may be wide, the beauty of them all combined makes a bonding statement. I will delight if/when people ask the question; "What does this mean? What are these floral images from? What do they represent?" It will be a community-wide conversation-starter - about the diversity of cultures, and the importance of inclusion of everyone in building a strong and healthy environment for all. My own traditional background is German/Polish. We are stubborn, frugal, hard working, dedicated and loyal practitioners. I am a disabled U.S. Navy Veteran. I have previously/successfully built three artistic businesses in my career, and have assisted numerous other business entities in achieving their success. I have won many awards from peers in industry, been awarded "Citizen of the Year" for community achievements while living in Brainerd, am currently co-operating a successful publishing company, and am president of the Jaques Art Center. I have proven to myself and others that "where there's a will - there's a way." This is one way I can further develop my own artistic skills whilst serving the community in a positive, new way. I would like you to know that "leaving the world in a little better condition than when you got here" has been a strong mantra of mine for most of my life.There is obviously no way to pin-point an actual (especially financial) outcome of a project like this. So I see the success being manifested in positive feedback from residents and visitors, both by word of mouth, and through the press and media. The numbers of "beneficiaries" of this project are impossible to predict, so I have stated the population of Aitkin (city), and a guesstimate of youth who may be influenced. I believe both of these numbers are extremely conservative. I will have completed the paintings and installation, had a city celebratory event joined by city administration and locals - covered by the local papers. I will be requesting feedback in the brochures and will track this feedback on social media. I am confident this dialog will attract attention to - and conversation on - the Aitkin Facebook page. It will generate traffic to my own personal website (in construction now).