finishing writing my grant

Today I made sure to squeeze as much good juju into the envelope before I sent it off as possible. I probably looked crazy just standing at the mailbox outside the post office… eyes closed, hands gripped tightly onto this pale yellow 9”x12” envelope. I don’t care, I need all the luck I can get. The grant is done, all the sheets are in place, and I have five slides joining the party. I would be so fortunate to get the grant. I’m not sure what my odds are.

How many artists are there out there who are ready, willing, and able to fill out a grant? How many are motivated enough to go through detail and research all the things necessary? I’m hoping that there aren’t many out there who’d go through all that trouble. That would give me a better shot, but I certainly won’t count on it.

My toes are crossed tightly. That grant could really help a girl out, it’s not big, but it would cover expenses for sure. This would be “Really Worth Doing!” if I actually got the grant.

No slides in the mail today. My toes are crossed that they’ll show up tomorrow. The sooner I get this out, the sooner my mind is at ease.

For a long while, this project took the back burner as art openings, vacation, going away parties, and live art demos became the focus of my attention. I’m back, and ready to get this rolling. Last night I hunkered down and once more reviewed the requirements and commenced to fill in the gaps.

I believe I have it all written; I just need to transfer it into my letterhead, and then label the slides when they arrive. Hmmm, I suspect that I’ll need to order more slides now too. Too many things going on all at once right now!

My plan is to get this out today. If I managed to get approved, it could help me out greatly in the supplies area. (crossing toes for good luck)

It’s due in July, I’m about 90% done with it… I just have to write what the purpose of my project is. Can you believe that I can write a statement, budget, even pull together examples of work that I plan to do, yet I am stumped on this whole “purpose” paragraph?

The purpose of my project is…

is…

is to get me working, get me into a gallery, gain me some much needed publicity, some exposure, some opportunities to meet new people, artists, collectors.

But truly the purpose of the work is to remain somewhat autobiographical while using symbolism and a dreamlike environment to speak of the frailty of the human condition and how we all try to fight the daily competition by either being the most prominent in the group or by becoming the wall flower. All attempts are attempts to become something we’re not, to cover up the places where we might fall behind, to masque our fears and become more bold and confident. I want my work to speak to that process while still using the work to attain that very same goal.