Ashleigh Braithwaite and Professor Fidalis Buehler, Department of Visual Arts
My show is planned for August 2012. The work I show will be used for graduate school opportunities, as well as submissions to juried shows. All this will benefit me in my endeavors to ultimately have my work represented in a gallery setting. I have the supplies for an entire BFA show and most of the work already completed. The rest I will finish in the time remaining. Art is made on a trial by error basis. Time and supplies and a good mentor are needed to create a successful body of work. This grant allowed me to use the resources I already had (mentors) and provided resources I didn’t have so I could achieve my end goal. The product of which will be a more streamlined final show. When it goes up, this grant will have been instrumental to its completion. The most difficult part of being an artist for me is spending money I may not have on something I don’t know will work. Taking this burden from my shoulders allowed me to explore the possibilities free of those restraints. I believe that those circumstances make better art.
Working with Fidalis closely about the concept behind my senior show, and critiques that were spent refining and editing work I will choose for that show. This grant enabled me to experiment on how best to display and show the work I have and have not yet created.
Everything went very smoothly. I can’t think of a better mentoring environment than BYU’s art department.
Fidalis believes in my ability, is brutally honest and wants me to succeed. The art program itself is run heavily on mentorship, and as an art student mentoring is crucial to begin with. This was an opportunity outside of the classroom, and became more of a personal exploration of the things i love and care about, and why I make art.
Thank you for providing me an opportunity to explore possibilities of what I can achieve, free from the worry and concern over how to come up with the supplies. Your contribution helped me to grow as an artist and helped me learn the process of art making. Your help was instrumental to my final BFA show. It will go up in August of 2012, please come!