As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I’d ordered an EZRest mahl stick from Amazon/Jerry’s Artorama. Well, it arrived the other day, and while it’s a good idea and invention, it wasn’t for me. The wood block on the clamp is pretty big, and it wasn’t easy to attach it anywhere on my easel. When we got it on there temporarily, the stick/arm kinda wiggles and has enough give to touch the painting, defeating the whole purpose of resting your hand on it. I’m returning it. 

Instead, I ordered another mahl stick with a clamp, but it looks like a cheap piece of shit. However, it clamps onto the back of the painting itself. Maybe I can modify it in some way. I’m not sure how yet, but I bought it anyway to see what I can see. It won’t be here until a week from Tuesday, though.

In the meantime, while waiting for the first one and working on my Guggenheim application, the bigger painting has been drying, and I can work on that one today. All I really have to do is finish the black outlines, do some touch-ups, and it will be done. But it will take some days. 

I’m still deciding on whether to put black outlines on the inside (and maybe the outside) of the frame that hangs above their heads. If so, I need to do the inside carefully with a thinner line. It bothers me that some of the Sharpee marks show through on the wee edges of the painting. I could just leave it alone, but I’m sure I’ll screw with it a little. I just hope I don’t ruin it. 

Working on my Guggenheim application has not only been time-consuming, but it’s also been exhausting. All I’m doing is writing all day. No physical exertion. It’s surprising and interesting that using your brain like that can wipe you out. However, it’s been a great exercise in knowing more about yourself, or my self, rather. I think it’s pretty well-written, if I do say so myself. I’ve received a lot of feedback from other artists, and so far, it seems like I’ve done good. Ha ha, I mean well.

The application window opens for 30 days from August to September. Most people work on gathering their materials before this. There’s a “Career Narrative” to write (3-4 pages), followed by a “Statement of Plans” (a shorter document), and a CV-style document detailing all your exhibitions. You don’t have to submit your images (about 20 images) until the end. Then, all your references have 30 days to write your recommendation letters. The window closes in mid-September, and then you wait for your rejection letter! Ha. I don’t see winning it, but I think it’s a great effort on my part. I can also use many parts of these documents for other grant applications, which is awesome. I am still unsure about which images to submit, as they are supposed to cover the whole of your career, showcasing a progression/evolution in your style. That is fucking difficult for me. I have so many bodies of work. I mentioned them in my career narrative, but it’s impossible to include samples of all of them, as I can only submit 20. I can do two for each series, but then the work is all over the place!

Aside from that, I decided to go for Skowhegan again. I’ll submit 10 of my newest pieces. Much easier. I was sour after I didn’t even get an interview last year, but there’s a different panel for every application period. I read that only 80 applicants are selected for an interview. Then, 60 are invited. That’s out of the thousands of applicants, so I came close in 2024. Especially because they were trying to fit me in. If one person had cancelled, I would have been in. That is the top finalist. You can’t get much closer than that. Such a major bummer that was. This year, they have a new application requirement: submitting a short introductory video of yourself. That makes me more nervous than the interview with the director. I don’t know how I will go about that yet, and I don’t have all the details about it until the application window opens on September 1st. 

I’ve already submitted for a different residency at the VCCA (Virginia Center for the Creative Arts). I did that because I missed the Yaddo deadline. You can only submit once every two years, and the same goes for MacDowell. I usually have it timed to apply to one or the other every year. I guess I’m not giving up afterall. And if you’re an artist reading this, you now have links to places to try for. You can’t get these things unless you try in the first place.