Again. About the last time I thought to post, some exciting news got in the way. I found out a couple of weeks ago that I was a Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Fellowship finalist...one of twelve. This is a $12,000 fellowship given to five artists in Minnesota every year. This was my third time applying or it, and really, I just thought it would be one of those awards I applied for in perpetuity. But I came home from school one day to find a message on the answering machine. I can't tell you what I thrill it has been. So after the initial shock and excitement, I went about getting some things started and finished to share with the jury....which left a lot of other things to get sidetracked. I got another large panel of sewing pattern paper made and started painting it...I strung the ball jointed doll I started this summer, and I started another smaller panel of sewing pattern paper without the fusible interfacing to see what kind of transparency I could achieve. Then, last Saturday I loaded a bunch of work in the car and went to MCAD to begin installing it at 5 pm for my meeting with the jury the next morning. It was a longer night than I have had in a while, but I got everything up that I wanted. l stayed over with a friend, and then headed back for my critique with the jury the next morning. Each artist only gets twenty minutes with the jury, and then they move on. We had a really nice conversation about my work, and it is funny to have people you don't know come in and look at your work and identify your blind spot immediately. The jury definitely left me with some things to think about. Unfortunately, I wasn't awarded a fellowship, but I learned a lot. I will be able to meet with the grant administrator and hear some of her notes from the Jury's deliberation. The fellows will be announced on 11/20/15. Early congratulations, all!
