Individual Artist Project Grant

When the work is complete, I will apply to regional (and national) exhibitions at art organizations such as the Duluth Art Institute and MacRostie Art Center. The greatest benefit to the community will be the resulting conversations related to mental health. It is my hope that exposure leads to sympathy and understanding, which leads to a destigmatization of mental health disorders. The goal of sharing my experiences through this work is to spark thoughtful conversations, to prompt people to ask questions, and to raise awareness of disorders which are often misunderstood and invisible. OUTCOMES: 1. By the end of this project, I will take a certification course with Duluth quilter Karen McTavish in order to learn quilting methods and skills. 2. I will use this knowledge to complete three, queen-sized quilts inspired by my experience with mental health disorders. 3. These quilts will be the next step in my artistic career as I will have a new body of work to apply to exhibitions with. COMMUNITY GOAL: To create work that raises awareness and promotes the destigmatization of mental health disorders. PERSONAL GOAL: I embrace the potential of the creative process as the locus for gaining knowledge. As I focus my attention on my experiences and internal battles, I learn more about myself and uncover memories and feelings that have been repressed. Through this work, I will continue healing and finding mechanisms to cope with my mental health disorders. In terms of executing the requirements of the grant: Since 2019, I have been working for non-profit art organizations. One of my primary responsibilities has been managing grant-funded projects by completing them in a timely manner, measuring outcomes, monitoring budgets, and completing grant reports. In terms of executing the project details: I am a very driven person who thrives with expectations and deadlines. I recently attended graduate school, earning a Master of Fine Arts with the completion of my thesis exhibition which was an installation of ten, eight-foot pieces of art that I made in about six months. I am confident that I am able to make work of this scale as many of the pieces took between 50-100 hours to complete. Additionally, one of these pieces was my first attempt at quilting methods, which inspired me to pursue learning the artform technically. SHORT TERM MEASURABLE OUTCOMES: I will know this project is successful and complete when I have finished the McTavish Quilt Studio certification course and when I have completed the three proposed quilts. I will create each quilt one at a time and l will ask Karen McTavish to provide critique of my completed quilts before moving onto the next one, taking note and learning to make the next quilt technically better than the one prior. I will document the work professionally for my website, social media, and future applications. LONG TERM MEASURABLE OUTCOMES (Beyond the grant timeline): I will apply to exhibitions with this artwork.