Earlier this spring I applied for my first grant. I hadn’t written a grant before. Much to my surprise, I found I loved reading through the application, sleuthing out requirements, researching and writing, writing, writing.
Needless to say, it was very rewarding to receive a Professional Development Grant from theRegional Art and Culture Council which is being used to develop my website. You may have already noticed some changes – my website is growing up from a blog to a full on site. I’m quite excited about the changes as I work with my wonderful WordPress guru, Emanuel Sferios. Stay tuned, because there’s more to come as the summer progresses!
A few more thoughts on my grant experience…
Georgia O’Keeffe once said I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for. I have to agree. It’s difficult to find words for all this “art stuff”…especially when it comes from a place that forms far before words ever do. This first grant made me dig for words and find a language to talk about myself as an artist and my work at a level that I hadn’t encountered before.
One of the surprising benefits of this intensive process was the quantum growth that occurred within. A few of the many things I learned are:
- I have a deep connection with the environment so my subject matter and materials and how I use them are essential to me.
- My love of drawing is the foundation for my abstract paintings. The drawings help me study my subject intimately so I can capture its essence as I paint.
- I enjoy the unexpected unity between the plants that inspire me, the bees that pollinate them and the beeswax in my medium.
I will be applying for more grants and similar opportunities (I’ve already recently submitted two others) because I like this process of finding words for who I am and what I’m doing. It’s another new puzzle to solve…very similar to those that challenge me when I’m painting.
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