Individual Artist Project Grant (INDIVIDUALS ONLY)

This project will benefit my community through education about a historical and cultural art form. Not many people with whom I have spoken are aware of the history and culture surrounding arborglyphs. I will further have the opportunity to speak of the ethics of arborglyphs versus ?tree graffiti? and the impacts that these practices have on culture, wilderness experiences and tree health. Furthermore, I believe that my community is comprised not only of the people which whom I interact but also the earth, water, plants and animals that are around me. I view this project as an opportunity for me to be in collaboration with the saplings I carve, etch and wrap in various ways. This project will connect me more deeply to this community and will make me a more responsible member of this wider community since I do not want my art form to impact my surroundings negatively. Through this project I will bring an art form that has been practiced by indigenous and immigrant cultures worldwide into a new conceptual landscape and continue to explore ways to stand out in a growing field of broom artists. I will develop a unique style of embellishments for my broom handles and I will also create a platform for conversations about arborglyphs versus ?tree graffiti? and the ethics surrounding these practices. Measurable outcomes for this process will consist of the number of handles I create through the use of these arborglyph techniques and other methods for influencing the growth form of the saplings, as well as the income from sales of these brooms. I will track the number of educational brochures distributed as well as opportunities for conversations about arborglyphs. Throughout my artistic career I have received a few grants and have been part of a two-year residency program. These experiences have taught me about the importance of spending money wisely, carrying a project through to completion and reporting on the project. Last spring, I applied to hold an exhibition of artistic brooms and dustpans at Johnson Heritage post-Art Gallery in Grand Marias, and my acceptance for a show in January of 2020 gave me the opportunity to create a vision and follow through to create something truly unique and well-received. My pure interest and excitement about this particular project is another confidence-builder. I have envisioned these ideas for a long time and I am ready to make this a priority.To understand whether this project was a success, I will track the number of broom handles successfully created through the processes of using arborglyphs and other unique forms as compared to the number of attempts. I will track my time invested into this project and the number of sales and resulting income from this new style of broom. I will also track public response to the work through tracking feedback in person, through social media and through the comments section on my website. If I can deem this work a success this year, I plan to submit one of these brooms to a competition held next year at the national broom makers gathering, which will allow me a further gauge of the success of this project.