The Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance (SEFAA): New Fiber Arts Center in Georgia

There's a New Kid on the Block!

Written by:
 

Suzi Gough

President, Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance

Have you heard? The Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance (SEFAA) will be opening a fiber arts center in Atlanta this July. There will be low-cost artist studios and communal space for classes, meetings, exhibitions and informal gatherings. It will be a place for anyone interested in the fiber arts - individuals with a desire to learn a new skill, fiber artists who are expert in their field, organizations, businesses, educators, and collectors. It will be a place to connect, learn, create, share, and explore. It will be a place to engage the public, to inspire and support artists, to teach and display all aspects of the fiber arts, and to celebrate and perpetuate all fiber art forms. It will be your fiber art center.

TAFA Member, Leisa Rich, teaching a sewing class.

So, who is SEFAA? 

SEFAA is a 501(c)(3) that incorporated in July 2009 to provide a unique and all-encompassing fiber art experience. It is an alliance of all facets of the fiber art community who are collaborating and cooperating to foster the fiber arts. You can learn more about SEFAA at their website and their blog and on their Facebook and Twitter pages.


How can you support SEFAA? 
Volunteer, join, donate and spread the word.


• To volunteer, just email. A desire to help and a little spare time are the only job requirements. Right now SEFAA is looking for individuals to audit their 2010 accounts and to organize a fiber garage sale in May.
• To join, print out and mail in the membership form. Individual memberships are only $50 and are good for a full year from the date you join.
• To donate, click on Crowdrise, where we have a fundraiser for the SEFAA.

Spread the Word

SEFAA's goal is to raise $6,000 by April 1st through Crowdrise to finance minor renovations, to purchase tables and chairs and to ensure that they have adequate working capital prior to opening the SEFAA Center. As of today, they have raised $1,765. That means they need to raise $4,235 in the next 23 days to make this architect's rendering a reality.

Proposed space for the new fiber arts center.

Spreading the word is easy. Talk to your friends, blog about SEFAA, and post about SEFAA on your social media sites. Help SEFAA reach out and touch everyone interested in the fiber arts.
You already believe in the fiber arts community. Believe in the Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance and you'll be supporting both.

You'll be glad you did.

The Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance (SEFAA): New Fiber Arts Center in Georgia

Call for Artists: 2010 Lower Town Arts and Music Festival (Paducah, Kentucky)

Call for Artists!  May 21 - 23, 2010

Living in Paducah, Kentucky, normally means a pretty quiet life for me.  I don't go out much, focus on my web business and projects around the house, and time flies by.  Two yearly events are a lot of fun for me, though, and I make a point of getting out there and joining in the fun.  The first comes in April, our AQS Quilt Show.  The second comes in May: The LowerTown Art and Music Festival.  Artists from around the Paducah area set up their tents, display their wares, while visitors dance in the streets to the rhythm of visiting musicians.  Now is the time for artists to apply for their booth spaces, so I am including the info here.

Lower Town Arts & Music Festival 2010 

Show Dates: 5/21/10 - 5/23/10 

Application Deadline: 4/1/10 Midnight CST

You can enter online at
https://www.zapplication.org
You will have to register, but it's free.

REQUIREMENTS:

Images: 5 (a booth shot is required)

Jury Fee (Jury Fee): $25.00

JURY DETAILS

2010 LOWER TOWN ARTS AND MUSIC FESTIVAL CALL FOR ARTISTS

The Lower Town Neighborhood Association of Paducah, Ky., announces a call to artists for the 2010 Lower Town Arts and Music Festival (LTAMF), May 21-23, 2010. This juried festival is open to all emerging and established artists residing within a 200-mile radius of Paducah, Ky.

The emphasis of this festival will be the cultural richness of our unique region. Drawing, painting, fiber, ceramics, wood, glass, sculpture, photography, jewelry and mixed media will be accepted. All entries must be received by April 1, 2010.
Works will be chosen on the basis of creative excellence and quality of execution. All submitted works must be original and completed within the last two years.

To apply, go to www.zapplication.org. Registration to Zapplication is free.
Download the prospectus (PDF format) or send a SASE to: Stefanie Graves, Festival Co-Coordinator, LTAMF, N. 8th St., Paducah, KY, 42001. For any questions about the event, contact Stefanie Graves, at 270-908-0755 or Michael Terra at 270-908-0090. Applications are available online at https://www.zapplication.org.

Stefanie Graves, Festival Co-Ordinator, 

often paints downtown during the summer.

Festival Dates: May 21 - 23, 2010
Festival Sponsor: Lower Town Neighborhood Association
Venue: Outdoors
Awards: $3,200 in nine categories
Jurors: TBD
Eligibility: Open to all artists within a 200-mile radius of Paducah, KY.
Painting, drawing, fiber, ceramics, wood, sculpture, photography, jewelry, and mixed media accepted. Work will be chosen on the basis of creative excellence and quality of execution. All work must be original and completed within the last two years.
Fees: $25 jury fee, $150 booth fee if accepted (all booths are 10' X 10'
outdoor spaces with electricity)
Email: lowertownartsandmusicfestival@gmail.com

About the Festival: Buy Local? By Locals! This show will be an enthusiastic supporter of the 'Buy Local' campaigns that are revitalizing America... The festival will focus on the amazing and creative folks that live in our region (approximately 200 mile radius of Paducah, KY) and draw people from much farther away who want to know what kinds of artistic talent comes out of our region!

Lower Town in Paducah, the site of the Festival, is one of the oldest established neighborhoods in the region - many of the homes have been converted into work/live artists' studios and galleries. We will be using this historical setting to do things like Balcony Theater and Comedy (really, neat, yes?). The neighborhood is compact (not a long wandering
street) and offers guests a comfortable and easy day where they can see everything we have to offer. This is a fantastic opportunity for you, as a participating artist, to place your work within this nationally neighborhood in the midst of recognized working artists' galleries and participate in the national attention this unique show will receive.

Special attention is being paid to every aspect of this festival: the food vendors will be bringing their best - many of the finest local restaurants will use this as a 'taste of Paducah' venue - even the beer and wine will be regional (and boy, did we win the lottery on this!). The Symphony will be coordinating the performance and presentation stages (3), and there will be many tie-ins to benefit local charities and non-profit organizations. What does this mean to you? It means that many different people have many different reasons to come and see you in Paducah during the festival!

Come join us this weekend - the weather should be warm and sultry, the neighbors are friendly, and we want everyone to see how talented you really are...


What you are getting:

- 10' X 10' booth with 300 watts of 110 volt electricity
- Booth sitting service
- Artist hospitality area
- Artist home-stay opportunities (limited!) with local families
- Booth Fee is $150.
- Festival hours are Friday 3pm to 8pm, Saturday 10 am to 8 pm, Sunday noon to 5pm
- Set-up and break down details will be mailed with acceptance package.


Submission requirements:

- Completed application
- Jury fee of $25, non-refundable
- 5 digital images in the Zapplication format (1920 pixels by 1920 pixels, JPEG, non-compressed): 4 images of your work, 1 of your fully stocked display.
- DEADLINE: April 1st, 2010
- All submitted images may be used for festival publicity without any additional compensation to the artist.

Jury Process:

All applications will be juried by independently contracted qualified jurors from outside of Paducah. All of the selections will be made on the basis of your digital images, so please take special care to show us your best!

- Letters of acceptance will be sent on April 16th, 2010.
- Information packets will also be sent at that time.

Sales:
The artist must handle all sales and all proceeds go to the artists. Artists are required by law to pay taxes. Kentucky sales tax is 6.00%. Forms for sales tax through the Kentucky Department of Revenue will be available on site at the time of the event. 

Not an artist?  

Then come visit and join in the fun!

See photos and videos from past festivals here. 

Call for Artists: 2010 Lower Town Arts and Music Festival (Paducah, Kentucky)

Intarsia Concept Offers A Basic Online Product Photography Course

by Tara Agacayak, Intarsia Concept Co-Founder

My partner Figen Cakir and I met through our love of art and craft which is ironic considering that our husbands work together - a fact we didn't learn until months later! With two separate businesses selling handmade, culturally-inspired products from Turkey, we naturally began projects supporting local artisans in our community. Figen runs The Knit Box, featuring natural Turkish yarn, handknits and knitting accessories. I started Citara's Handcrafted Boutique to highlight modern home and fashion products reflecting traditional Turkish techniques and motifs.

In building our online businesses, we conceived of Intarsia Concept (IC) as a venue to share our experience and learn from the experiences of others. IC is for people who want to turn what they love into what they do. For us it is our love of Turkey, art, design and culture. For you it might be rugs, quilts, tapestries ... (fill in the blank here).

One of the things we learned working in a digital environment is that selling products online is vastly different than selling them in person where visitors can see and touch our products. In person they get the full impact of color and texture. Because they are handmade, our customers understand the care that goes into each product because they can see all the detail imprinted by the artist.

But selling online is completely different. In this two-dimensional environment your potential customers are people who click away in an instant if there is nothing to keep their attention. So when we started IC, one of the first things we wanted to do was put together a course teaching basic product photography skills. We're proud to report we have finally done this with Diana Brennan from D.S. Brennan Photography. We hope that this course will not only help independent designers and artists like you take good photographs of your projects and products for the purposes of selling, but more importantly that it will also help you present your work in a way that honors the love and care with which you have created it.

Because it's not just about what you do, it is also about how you communicate that to others. Good photography is one way to broadcast your artistic message. Whether you are selling something or not, a well-photographed image speaks a thousand words.

If you're interested in attending the Basic Product Photography Course to learn how to present your work at its best, registration is now open. The self-paced e-course begins Monday, February 22nd but is only open to the first 50 students who register. As a special thank you to Fiber Focus readers, anyone who registers from this blog will receive a $5 refund with the coupon code {prodphoto10}. In addition, for each registration that comes through this community, member Catherine Salter Bayar will donate $5 to Nest, a nonprofit that gives micro-loans to female artisans.

Tara Agacayak

 Figen Cakir

Note from Rachel:  Catherine has contributed several posts on life in Turkey and her business, Bazaar Bayar.  Click here to see them.

Intarsia Concept Offers A Basic Online Product Photography Course

Cross Cultural Collaborative: Textile Workshop in Ghana!

Kente cloth strips sewn into a larger textile.

Fiber Artists!!!

Come join us in Ghana!

Aug. 2 - 15, 2009!!!!

by Ellie Schimelman

Ghana is known for it's rich history of art and culture and although it has adapted some Western ways, Ghana still has spectacular festivals to celebrate it's heritage. Part of each festival is a durbar which is comparable to a parade where all the important people, like chiefs, dress in their regalia. This is where you can see Kente cloth in all its glory. Even if you don't know anything about Kente, when you see it you know that it is special.

Asafo flag, appliqued and embroidered.

"Dancing the flag"

Each year we organize a workshop at our cultural center in a suburb of Accra where participants can learn to weave Kente, stamp adinkra, learn about Asafo, do tie and dye, batik and other fabric decorations which are taught by master artisans. This is a unique opportunity to experience African textiles in the context of their culture. Participants visit galleries, museums, cloth markets, crafts villages and dealers in antiquities.

Many traditional approaches to cloth are being lost because young artisans want to be modern and don't want to do the tedious work required to be authentic. There is a saying in Africa that each time an elder dies a library is lost... and each time a traditional artisan dies a technique is lost. There was a time when it would take a Kente weaver 3 months to weave a piece. Now, many weavers rush to get cloth ready for the 5 day market. Another reason we offer this workshop is to show indigenous artisans that their traditions have value and should be continued.

Adinkra stamps from Ghana

Sometimes the Ghanaian artist will find a modern way to work with the traditional techniques. An example of this is making the symbols on adinkra cloth using silk screen. This is certainly much faster than the traditional stamping of the symbols onto the cloth. Each way has a different look and it's up to the buyer to decide which one they prefer.

A man wearing adinkra cloth in Ghana.

There is no doubt that there are universal connections in art. In reference to African cloth, all you have to do is look at the quilts of the Gee's Bend artists. African cloth has always had symbolic meaning. Men and women taken from Africa to the diaspora had memories of cloth designs and the meanings they carried. It's easy to see how African American story quilts retain traces of African fabric techniques.

If you'd like details about the textile workshop please download a brochure at http://www.culturalcollaborative.org and any questions can be directed to aba@culturalcollaborative.org

If you come to Ghana, we'll give you an African name. Many people are named after the day of the week on which they were born. Aba is a female born on Thursday.

About Ellie Schimelman:

I graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a minor in apparel design and a major in art education. Always drawn to African art, I decided to see it in Africa and by a process of elimination chose to start in Ghana. I had really wanted to go to South Africa, but because of Apartheid, decided not to. Ghana was a good choice... English is the official language and the culture is intact.

One thing led to another, and now 20 some years later, I am the director of Cross Cultural Collaborative, with a mud house next to the ocean, about 50 Ghanaian children who call me Mami and a mission to introduce people from different cultures to each other through the language of art. The photo shows Aba House which has eight guest rooms.

My fantasy is to someday visit every African country....

Keep in touch with us through our blog!

Cross Cultural Collaborative: Textile Workshop in Ghana!

Denise Felton: Networking Needlework Queen on CraftGossip

Tatting by Jon Yusoff, Malaysia

Let’s say you love needlework so much that you’d like to be able to scan lots and lots of blogs and web sites every day for new trends, examples of inspirational work, and free patterns and tutorials. Do you have time for that? Yes, you do. At least, you have time to check the results of my research on your behalf.

I follow about 600 personal and commercial blogs that focus on a huge range of needlework topics—hand embroidery to tatting, quilting to goldwork, candlewicking to weaving. If a needle or fiber is involved, I want to know about it. Then I post my favorite finds throughout the day so you can find information about the new, the fresh, and the different quickly and easily.

I edit the Needlework News Blog of the CraftGossip Blog Network. What else can you find on my blog? Links! An absolute treasure trove of links. With each little news story, I post the name of the artist concerned, a link to the main site of that artist, and a link to the complete story I’m citing so you have several options for finding out more. And my blog is categorized. Suppose you’re primarily interested in quilting and you don’t really want to have to scroll through stories about bead embroidery, chicken scratch, and needlepoint to get to the juicy quilting tidbits. Just click the Quilting category in the sidebar, and the stories about your favorite topic pop up. You can also search my blog; so, for example, if you just want to see recent stories about crazy-quilter Allison Ann Aller, you can enter her name in the Search box, and all articles containing her name pop up.

Allison Ann Aller, Crazy Quilt, Full Photo and Detail

Some other features that are in the works: a new blogroll of sites that are featured regularly on Needlework News, and a list of sites that include information about crafting for a cause. And I’m expecting other excellent features to come from my favorite and most knowledgeable source: my readers.

It rocks my socks off when I log on and find comments from readers. I love their questions, their ideas, their suggestions, their tips, and even their corrections. It’s a good day, indeed, when I find a message submitted through the site’s Send Us Gossip feature or by e-mail, sharing a bit of news with me or just chatting about the art we love. I always follow up on reader-submitted suggestions. Let’s face it, even if I could scan 2,000 blogs a day, good stories would still slip past me. Readers also help me discover artists—including themselves! I get up and do the happy dance when readers invite me to look at their new tutorials, new products, or patterns.

But what if needlework isn’t your thing? Where do you get this kind of news about scrapbooking, or sewing, or knitting, or edible crafts? CraftGossip blog network is still your go-to source. Shellie Wilson and Vikram Goyal have assembled experts in a huge variety of crafts, each editing a blog in her own specialty, all tied together under the CraftGossip logo. There’s probably a blog for your favorite artform. And if not, why don’t you start one? The CraftGossip family is a rockin place to be!

I do a few other things when I’m not blogging for CraftGossip. I’m a writer, editor, and designer for a major IT company. I teach on line for a local community college. I’m a working artist—I market my collages and handcrafted greeting cards through a couple of local brick-and-mortar stores and through my Etsy shop. And once in a while, I manage to make a post on my personal blog. I can’t wait to retire so I can spend all my time crafting and blogging!

Denise Felton, Maumelle, Arkansas

Denise Felton: Networking Needlework Queen on CraftGossip

Grants, Foundations and Other Great Resources for Artists

Drawing by Van Gogh, Weaver

Over the years I have accumulated a list of great resources in my grants and foundations folder. I thought I would share them with you. Many are specifically for artists, but my interest has been in the economic development potential that craft production can have on low income populations, so there are also many that are targeted towards non-profits or efforts working in under-served communities.

Please let me know if any links quit working in the comments area. And, if you have some favorites you want to share with anyone, you can leave links and info there, too. Funding opportunities for artists and non-profits have become increasingly harder to obtain, but there are still places out there that can help give that financial push needed to start or grow a good idea. Also, as I am in the Unites States, my list will serve mostly those living here, although some do have an international focus or have branches in other parts of the world.

The link is embedded in the photo or name of the organization, followed by its mission or description. It is in alphabetical order.


Community/Artists Partnership Project was initiated in 1984 by Alternate ROOTS. Since its inception, the project has supported over 38 projects in eight states, convened a national gathering of community cultural workers and initiated a training program for the advanced study of community arts practice. Projects selected for funding focus on social issues in a variety of community settings.

The Alternate ROOTS Resources for Social Change Program directly supports the CAPP by hosting Learning Exchanges that share ideas, methods, and techniques for creating social change through the arts. The core method used to share information are learning exchanges that engage emerging, as well as established art partners in sharing best practices toward partnerships that incorporate the five key principles forcreating sustained projects with deep impact.



This link will take you to a list of resources for women provided by Awakened Woman. There is a section on women's art.


The Banff Mountain Grants Program supports projects that communicate the stories of mountain landscapes as places of ecological, inspirational, and cultural value, and that celebrate the spirit of adventure. Its concentration on communication of mountain stories is unique in the world.

Individuals or organizations may apply for grants of up to $5000 (Canadian dollars) to fund projects that creatively interpret the environment, natural history, human heritage, arts, philosophy, lifestyle, and adventure, in and of the mountains. Projects must include a communications component (such as film, literature, photography) that brings the project before a public audience. Projects must show respect for mountain landscapes as places of ecological, inspirational, and cultural value. Projects should be world class in execution, celebrate the spirit of adventure, and reflect our mission statement.

Black Rock Arts Foundation: The mission of the Black Rock Arts Foundation is to support and promote community-based interactive art and civic participation. For our purposes, interactive art means art that generates social participation. The process whereby this art is created, the means by which it is displayed and the character of the work itself should inspire immediate actions that connect people to one another in a larger communal context.


The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design (CCCD) is a regional center of the University of North Carolina with a strong nonprofit support organization. It is located on the fifty-acre UNC Asheville Kellogg Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina. CCCD convenes national meetings, supports research in the area of craft and design, and curates exhibitions for a small gallery space and the sculpture and public art on the property's one-mile Rudnick Nature Trail. CCCD also manages an adjacent Conference Center, a multimedia rental facility serving area nonprofits, educational and corporate needs.

Mission: The mission of the regional UNC center is to advance the understanding of craft by encouraging and supporting research, scholarship, and professional development.

The mission of the nonprofit is to support the regional center through funding, programs and outreach to national and regional artists, craft organizations, schools, and the local community.

Founded in 2000 by Craig Newmark and others, Craigslist Foundation (www.craigslistfoundation.org) is a publicly supported, non-endowed 501(c)3 operating foundation (i.e. not a grantmaking institution). Just as craigslist.org is about 'people helping people' by facilitating online connections, Craigslist Foundation creates community in the nonprofit arena by 'helping people help', regardless of cause or sector. We are uniquely positioned to support nonprofits by providing free and low cost education opportunities to emerging nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs, thereby fulfilling our mission of "Providing knowledge, resources and visibility to the next generation of nonprofit leaders."



Creative Capital, a nonprofit organization, acts as a catalyst for the development of adventurous and imaginative ideas by supporting artists who pursue innovation in form and/or content in the performing and visual arts, film and video, and in emerging fields. We are committed to working in partnership with the artists whom we fund, providing advisory services and professional development assistance along with multi-faceted financial aid and promotional support throughout the life of each Creative Capital project.


Cubs Care: Cubs Care is the charitable beneficiary of the Chicago Cubs and a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation (MTF). Cubs Care focuses it's giving in the city of Chicago and makes monetary grants to organizations that aid children who have special needs, victims of domestic violence and youth sports programs. Most of these grants are to specific programs. Cubs Care also focuses on a wide variety of charitable and social service agencies located in the immediate neighborhood of Wrigley Field. This includes Lake View, Uptown and Lincoln Park. To help stimulate giving the fund, the MTF provides significant matching dollars to all funds raised for Cubs Care.

Note: Cubs Care funded the quilt project I worked on with Chicago artist, Allison Svoboda. See my Fiber Focus post on it.


Digital Women has over 17,000 International members. We provide information on starting a business, business finance resources including small-business loans for women and non-government business grants for women, along with a networking community for women-in-business.


Echoing Green: To accelerate social change, Echoing Green invests in and supports outstanding emerging social entrepreneurs to launch new organizations that deliver bold, high-impact solutions. Through a two-year fellowship program, we help our network of visionaries develop new solutions to society’s most difficult problems. These social entrepreneurs and their organizations work to solve deeply-rooted social, environmental, economic, and political inequities to ensure equal access and to help all individuals reach their potential. To date, Echoing Green has invested $27 million in seed funding to over 450 social entrepreneurs and their innovative organizations.




The Foundation Center's mission is to strengthen the nonprofit sector by advancing knowledge about U.S. philanthropy.
Established in 1956, and today supported by more than 600 foundations, the Foundation Center is the nation's leading authority on philanthropy, connecting nonprofits and the grantmakers supporting them to tools they can use and information they can trust. The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. grantmakers and their grants — a robust, accessible knowledge bank for the sector. It also operates research, education, and training programs designed to advance philanthropy at every level. The Center's web site receives more than 47,000 visits each day, and thousands of people gain access to free resources in its five regional library/learning centers and its national network of more than 340 Cooperating Collections.


Sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Program provides funding for students, scholars, teachers, and professionals to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. The flagship international educational program sponsored by the U.S. Government, the Fulbright Program is designed to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and the people other countries.



Idealist.Org: This is an incredible resource if you are looking for a job with a social mission. It also has resources that are very useful. Idealist.Org is a part of Action Without Borders which connects people, organizations, and resources to help build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives. AWB is independent of any government, political ideology, or religious creed. Our work is guided by the common desire of our members and supporters to find practical solutions to social and environmental problems, in a spirit of generosity and mutual respect.

International Quilt Association: The International Quilt Assocation is dedicated to the preservation of quilts and the art of quilting, the attainment of public recognition for quilting and for quilts as an art form, and the advancement of the state of the art through continuing education services for members, public education activities, and professional and artisan
development programs.

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation provides fellowships for advanced professionals in all fields (natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, creative arts) except the performing arts. Fellowships are not available for students. The Foundation only supports individuals. It does not make grants to institutions or organizations. The Foundation selects its Fellows on the basis of two separate competitions, one for the United States and Canada, the other for Latin America and the Caribbean.

MetLife Foundation was established in 1976 by MetLife for the purpose of supporting educational, health and civic and cultural organizations. Our goals are to strengthen communities, promote good health and improve education. The Foundation continues a tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement begun by MetLife in the 19th century.

The Kentucky Foundation for Women offers two grant programs: Artist Enrichment and Art Meets Activism. The Artist Enrichment grant supports feminist social change artists to develop their art making skills. The Art Meets Activism grant supports feminist artists to engage in art making directly involving social change. KFW awards $200,000 in grants annually, $100,000 in each program.

They also have a good links page.


Lindbergh Foundation: Each year, The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation presents Lindbergh Grants to individuals whose proposed research or education projects will make important contributions toward improving the quality of life by balancing technological advancements and the preservation of our environment. Awarded in amounts up to $10,580 each (a symbolic figure representing the cost of the "Spirit of St. Louis" in 1927), the Grants are made in numerous areas of special interest to Charles and Anne Lindbergh, including aviation/aerospace, agriculture, arts and humanities, biomedical research and adaptive technology, conservation of natural resources, education, exploration, health and population sciences, intercultural communication, oceanography, waste disposal management, water resource management, and wildlife preservation.

Nathan Cummings Foundation: The Foundation’s core programs include arts and culture; the environment; health; interprogram initiatives for social and economic justice; and the Jewish life and values/contemplative practice programs.

The Foundation seeks to work with partners in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. We make efforts to document the outcomes of our projects and share with others the results of our work and the work of our grantees. Several basic themes run through all of these programs and inform the Foundation’s approach to grantmaking:

• concern for the poor, disadvantaged, and underserved;
• respect for diversity;
• promotion of understanding across cultures; and
• empowerment of communities in need.
• 
  

NYFA's mission is to empower artists at critical stages in their creative lives. NYFA is the largest provider of grants, services, and information to artists working in all disciplines in the United States.



Open Meadows Foundation is a grant-making organization for projects that are led by and benefit women and girls. Open Meadows Foundation funds projects that do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age or ability. It offers grants up to $2000 to projects that: * Are designed and implemented by women and girls;
* Reflect the diversity of the community served by the project in both its leadership and organization;
* Promote building community power;
* Promote racial, social, economic and environmental justice;
* Have limited financial access or have encountered obstacles in their search for
funding. Organizational budget should not exceed $150,000.


The Puffin Foundation Ltd. has sought to
open the doors of artistic expression
by providing grants to artists and art organizations who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their race, gender, or social philosophy.


We seek to promote the well-being of humanity by addressing the root causes of serious problems. We work to expand opportunities for poor or vulnerable people and to help ensure that globalization's benefits are more widely shared. We are one of the few institutions to conduct such work both within the United States and internationally.


We partner with investors, donors, and social enterprises to realize financial transactions that enliven consciousness and enhance quality of life. With our clients, we cultivate environmental, social and financial sustainability, and provide access to capital for organizations committed to fair practices and improving economic conditions.


The Foundation gives cash awards to individual artists and craftspersons, selected by a panel of judges. Our winners have told us that our grants have made a significant impact on their ability to continue their work. We take great pride in the fact that many of our grantees have gone on to receive increased public recognition and appreciation. Some have work in the permanent collections of prestigious museums including the Smithsonian and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition, winners have had their art displayed in numerous local museums and public spaces across the United States. Some of our artists have earned Fullbright Scholarships to study and teach art abroad.


United States Institute of Peace: The Grant Program, part of the Grant and Fellowship Program, increases the breadth and depth of the Institute's work by supporting peacebuilding projects managed by non-profit organizations including educational institutions, research institutions, and civil society organizations.

In over twenty years of grantmaking, the Grant Program's Annual Grant Competition and Priority Grantmaking Competition have received nearly 10,000 applications and awarded almost 2,000 grants. The Institute has provided funding to grantees located in 46 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and in 81 foreign countries.

The Foundation’s mission is to enable institutions to expand learning and enrichment opportunities for all people. We do this by supporting and sharing effective ideas and practices. To achieve our mission we have three objectives: strengthening education leadership to enhance student achievement; improving after-school learning opportunities; and expanding participation in arts and culture.


List of artist resources built by artists for artists. Part of The Pauper, Starving Artists Online.


Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources.

Winrock matches innovative approaches in agriculture, natural resources management, clean energy, and leadership development with the unique needs of its partners. By linking local individuals and communities with new ideas and technology, Winrock is increasing long-term productivity, equity, and responsible resource management to benefit the poor and disadvantaged of the world.


Women of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America): Women of the ELCA awards grants annually. The organization encourages applications addressing a broad range of issues within rural, urban, and suburban sectors.

Grants, Foundations and Other Great Resources for Artists

That creative chick, Susan Sorrell, teaches online!

I first saw Susan Sorrell's work on Etsy, several months ago. Immediately, I found myself drawn to it. Then, when I first started Fiber Focus, I invited her to write an article. She said, "Sure, I'll try." No word. Several weeks passed and a friend invited me to join Fiber Arts/Mixed Media, a social network, in fact, a very cool group. Guess who started it? Yep, that creative chick, Susan Sorrell. I joined and then decided to form my own, more informal network, as a companion to this blog, Fiber Focus, the group. Some time passed and then I got this e-mail announcing that Susan was teaching online classes. Huh? How does that work? I e-mailed her again and asked her to explain it in an article for this blog. Which she did. Scroll down. It's below...

STOP!
First you have to look at some of this woman's work. Let's take a look at some of her sermons (Click on images for a larger picture):





Take the time to ingest the message. Susan is a Southerner (that's the lower half of the United States). Preaching is a Southern thing. As a pastor's daughter I am drawn to it, especially if it makes you think twice and is full of color and bead work. About 20 years ago I was managing an artisan's co-op in Chicago. I was sick of the traffic, or all the "issues" and decided to go on a pilgrimage. I went to Howard Finster's Paradise Garden, in Georgia. He was still alive, but barely. He was a preacher who got zapped by God and started painting. Susan definitely got zapped by something and spews out paintings and textiles. She obviously has a message. In her words, this is it:

Who Is SuSan SoRrELL???

With a needle and thread I will turn the art world on its ear.

I raise abandoned beads that people have discarded in thrift stores.

I color outside the lines….and do it with permanent markers.

I like the color red, because it is obnoxious, vibrant and loud.

Fiber art is not something you eat for breakfast….you hang it on your wall.

I am inspired by lots of artists and creative people…living and dead.

I pull my ideas out of the air like a magician.

I have a college degree in Visual Arts, so that makes me know less about how not to save money.

All my clothes are from Old Navy and have paint stains on them.

I am an artist…..watch me paint the world clueless.


Much of her work shows women or portraits challenging the world up front. Look at me in the eyes!



So what do you think? Can you learn something from this woman? I happen to LOVE her work, but maybe you think it's too busy, too cluttered, to full of something. Still, don't you think she could help free up that wild woman (or unlikely man) inside of you? Don't you think it could be worth a $60 or so investment to find out what demons (or unlikely angels) might be released? This is where the classes come in. Here is what she wrote:

Online Classes??

by SuSan SoRreLL

That is what people say to me when they ask me what I do for a living. First I have to explain to them what a Fiber Artist is and then how I teach classes over the Internet. “This is the wave of the future and pretty soon you will be able to do all types of classes on the web”, I tell them. People that have grown up with a computer see this a future trend, but people around my age….44….are still leery about the computer and a hacker stealing their ID. My great aunt, who is 91, just can’t get over the fact that I am making a living as an artist, plus this computer monster that has taken over the world. But now, computers are getting so simple to use that several years ago I was approached to design a Fiber Collage class for an online website. Now, I have a Masters in Art Education and had taught for 12 years in the public school system, so I saw this as an excellent opportunity not to waste this expensive diploma hanging on my wall.

Online art classes come in 2 categories, Projects and Creative Learning, in my opinion. Some classes that you can take will show you how to make a project, so you end up with the teacher’s example. (To me that is like coloring in a coloring book or following a dress pattern) The 2nd category is what I like to call Creative Learning. This is how I was trained to become an art teacher…to help the students think out of the box and try new techniques. I write my lessons like I would like a lesson plan in a classroom and shoot a lot of photos to go along with the lessons. Keeping it simple and using a lot of visuals is the way I like to do my workshops. I guess I write the lesson as if I was going to take it. I have taken many online classes and the teachers are really creative, but their lessons are wordy and don’t make sense. So, you will encounter a lot of different teaching styles out there, like you would in a classroom.

The Pros in taking an online class is you can do it on your time schedule. You don’t have to waste gas and drive anywhere. You don’t have to drag around all of your art supplies, they are right there in your studio. You can download the lessons and you have a mini book to keep of the class. You meet other students from all over the world and see how they interpret the lesson. You can experiment without feeling like you have to make your project perfect, so there is no pressure. The cost of the workshops cannot be beat!! I charge around 60.00 for a 6 weeks workshop and if I had to teach it in person I would have to charge around 350.00 a student.

Yes there are some Cons to taking an online class. No immediate feedback from your teacher and other students. No one on one, in person learning while you are working on your project. That is the biggest Con and there probably are several more, but I can’t think of any.

How I teach my online class is everyone in the class are given a password to an online forum and you can download the lesson from the forum. The forum is there for students to share, ask questions, and make comments about each lesson. I download the photos that are in the lesson, that way you can get a clear picture of what I am demonstrating. Plus, in the future I am working on having videos accompany my classes. The forum isn’t in real time, since there are students from all over world in different time zones. But if there is a new way for me to communicate with my students, I will find it. I am really big on the learning experience and want to make it a positive experience with all of the students. When the class ends, I have a Yahoo group and Flickr.com groups set up for everyone to keep sharing their work. Just because the 6 weeks might be over, doesn’t mean I am not there to help.

If you are considering on taking an online class, choose something that really interest you and you will be more apt to do the lessons. You need some motivation, but it is a really inexpensive way to try out new crafts and meet wonderful people.

Hope to see you online!!
Susan Sorrell
www.creativechick.com

I'm not going to list all the classes because I have a feeling this is a post that will be searched often. Here is the link info:

Creative Chick Studios-Online classes:
http://www.creativechick.com/classes.html

I wish I could let Susan unleash the demons/angels inside of me... Let me make this clear, though. I've never met the woman, have had very little contact with her, but all I know is that if an artist's soul speaks through their work, then that creative chick, Susan, is someone I like. I mean, look at how she ends her e-mails: "Laugh, Love and do the Hokie Pokie" I can't dance and have no clue what the hokie pokie looks like, but if I could and I did, I think I would want to try it out with her.

Disclaimer done, I need to add one more thing. Susan joined the little itsy-bitsy network I started, Fiber Focus, the group! Hubba, hubba, try-very-hard-to-dance-something! I have a good feeling that we will get to know each other better over time. A cyber-relationship I look forward to! (OK, I'll let you know if it turns into a nightmare, chuckle, chuckle...)


Now, to her links. The woman is all over the place! I've been spending a lot of time trying to learn this blogging/networking thing (with the supposed goal of promoting my store on Etsy, ha!) and there she is... I've given you some active links above, but here are more that you will have to cut and paste in your browser:

Http://www.myspace.com/creativechicksc
Blog: www.chatterbox.creativechick.com
Studio: http://www.littlehouseartstudios.com
Shop: http://creativechick.etsy.com/
www.cafepress.com/creativechick

The weirdest and funniest?
Need to get hitched quick? www.weddingsinaflash.com

Definitely an entrepreneurial woman! I will study her closely...
Following you will find her bio, but I just need to say one more thing. It's been like pulling teeth to get people to leave comments on this blog. I have no clue why. Traffic is growing and people spend an average of 5 minutes here, so that means interest is being captured. But, I look at other blogs and they have 26 or 52 comments. Why? I have no clue. But, here is something that might tweak your interest.......... Ask Susan (lowering voice to a whispered tone) about the Bigfoot sightings in her area. Let's see what answers she comes up with....


Susan Sorrell has always had a “wild imagination” growing up. Traveling all over the world with her father’s job, she has had to entertain herself with all kinds of arts and crafts. She didn’t become serious about art, until she made it her major at Winthrop University. Earning a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Design, Susan worked for a short time as a graphic artist, then decided to get her Masters in Education at Converse College, to teach art. Being around children was a great way to get her creative juices flowing, so she quit after 12 years and became a full time artist. Susan calls herself a “mixed media” artist, since she likes to dabble in a lot of different medias. She has been working with textiles since 1998 and hasn’t tired of it yet. Combining painting, sewing, beading and embellishing on fabric has opened new avenues to express her self. Her pieces are whimsical, colorful and have a personal theme. Susan likes to draw her inspirations from her life and what is happening in the world. Her recent series of work, “Southern Fried Fiber” is inspired by her “Southern” roots. Susan lives in Greenville, South Carolina,USA. To view more of Susan Sorrell work visit her website www.creativechick.com.

That creative chick, Susan Sorrell, teaches online!