After some consideration, I've decided to try for the Oregon Arts Commission's Individual Artist Fellowship that's due on October 15th, 2012. The Fellowship award amount is $3,000.
Here are some of the guidelines for any other fellow starving artists/Oregonians interested in it:
Eligibility
Eligible artist applicants must:
• be a current Oregon resident; and be a current resident when an award is made;
• have been an Oregon resident for one full year prior to the application deadline date;
• have not received an Oregon Arts Commission Fellowship in the five (5) years prior to submission of an application.
Full‐time students and non‐professionals who produce art as a hobby are not eligible. While the Commission acknowledges that many artists work collaboratively, each Fellowship will be awarded to only one individual artist. Individuals may submit one application per year.
Eligible Artistic Disciplines
The Oregon Arts Commission offers Fellowships in various artistic disciplines in alternating years:
• October 15, 2012 : Literature (creative non‐fiction, fiction, play writing and poetry) and Performing Arts (choreography, dance, music composition, music performance, theater and performance art)
• October 15, 2013: Visual Arts (crafts, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, mixed media and new media) and Design Arts are eligible to apply.
Deadline
Completed applications must be submitted online by 5:00 pm, October 15, 2012. Applications that are late for any reason will not be reviewed. All applications will be completed and submitted at http://oregon.culturegrants.org/.
I almost didn't go for this one because I haven't had much luck with other fellowship applications this year, but I figured I won't know until I try. I could be surprised, and finally be awarded something.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Venting...
I've spent all week going over my new poem's title in my head. Every day, it repeated itself at least once. This afternoon as I finally took the time to work on it, I got through writing two verses and stopped. I just couldn't go on anymore because there was so many directions to take it rattling through my head as I envisioned pages upon pages of emotions pouring out of me.
The subject matter of death and destruction still hard to deal with eleven years later as I thought of the people who went to work on a typical September day, and never returned home to their anxious loved ones. Some families stuck in limbo, and still hoping for that front door to open and their mom, dad, sister, brother, wife, or husband to walk in like nothing even happened. Safe and sound!
Then I thought of the Firefighters and men and women of Law Enforcement who rushed to the scene of the crime, and selflessly gave their lives to try to save someone they might not even know. Thinking of the firefighters and other first responders I heard about contracting cancer and either passed away, or still waging a battle against the disease who got it by inhaling particles of asbestos and other chemicals through their breathing apparatuses and by other means at Ground Zero that I learned about on the season finale of "The Secret Millionaire." The Ladder Companies, and their families are still suffering the ramifications to this day!
Finally, I thought about the Servicemen and Women fighting a war in a foreign land, a million miles from home and their loved ones not knowing if they are going to return home in one piece, or in a casket. All because some terrorists hijacked a few planes, destroyed buildings, and killed hundreds of innocent people.
I remember my own dad's memorial as my sister was presented with the American flag after he died from cancer almost three years ago. Yes he made it safely home from Vietnam, but not a day goes by that I wouldn't rather hear his voice, and feel his warmth when I hugged him more than anything in the world.
I have to end this now. The tears are starting to flow...
The subject matter of death and destruction still hard to deal with eleven years later as I thought of the people who went to work on a typical September day, and never returned home to their anxious loved ones. Some families stuck in limbo, and still hoping for that front door to open and their mom, dad, sister, brother, wife, or husband to walk in like nothing even happened. Safe and sound!
Then I thought of the Firefighters and men and women of Law Enforcement who rushed to the scene of the crime, and selflessly gave their lives to try to save someone they might not even know. Thinking of the firefighters and other first responders I heard about contracting cancer and either passed away, or still waging a battle against the disease who got it by inhaling particles of asbestos and other chemicals through their breathing apparatuses and by other means at Ground Zero that I learned about on the season finale of "The Secret Millionaire." The Ladder Companies, and their families are still suffering the ramifications to this day!
Finally, I thought about the Servicemen and Women fighting a war in a foreign land, a million miles from home and their loved ones not knowing if they are going to return home in one piece, or in a casket. All because some terrorists hijacked a few planes, destroyed buildings, and killed hundreds of innocent people.
I remember my own dad's memorial as my sister was presented with the American flag after he died from cancer almost three years ago. Yes he made it safely home from Vietnam, but not a day goes by that I wouldn't rather hear his voice, and feel his warmth when I hugged him more than anything in the world.
I have to end this now. The tears are starting to flow...
Friday, September 7, 2012
Lots to be Updated About...
The Authors Fair went as expected in the fact that my friend and I didn't sale any of our books. We had several looky-loos that complimented us about our book titles and cover designs. A few even went so far as to read the synopsis of our fiction novels. We left the apartment later than expected, and started setting up our table as the event was officially beginning.
I knew one of our old classmates joined the event nearer to the date of the Fair, but I was surprised to see him at the table directly across from me. He inks a comic strip for a free local magazine called Oregon Coast Today, and click here for a direct route to the comic strip itself. Anyway, he stopped by our table and we got caught up on part of each others lives after High School.
I also ran into a few more friendly faces I knew that stopped at our table to say hi to me. One was a local librarian from where I volunteer weekly, and another was a fellow author/former boss of mine that had a table somewhere in the row behind us. I saw another local librarian there, but she was in a hurry and didn't stop at my table to talk. My friend finally had a familiar face near the end of the event stop by to say hi and see how everything was going: her mom! I counted her as my fifth friendly face because I know her mom too.
The best part for me about being stuck in traffic was the white limousine that got ahead of S's car as we were halfway through Newport, and lost it somewhere around Lincoln City. I referred to it as "Stretch" and I kept wondering who the chauffeur was because they were booking it. We would see it rounding the next bend once in a while, but for the most part we kept losing then regaining visual of it. S wondered who was riding in it, and where they were going. I wanted to find out who the chauffeur was, so I could hire them when I became a millionaire someday.
My First Video?
I was thinking today about the anniversary that's coming up next Tuesday, September 11th, and might make the poem I wrote on the first year anniversary of the attacks my first video since finding my microphone for my computer. I haven't made any videos before now because I've been trying to figure out what I want to read, which book to choose from, and so on. I'm feeling hesitant to make this video because I get hit pretty hard emotionally every year by the commemoration of it. I have to think more about it over the weekend before I decide if it's a for sure thing I'm going to do.
I'm also thinking about writing a new poem to commemorate the day, and to vent the last ten years of emotions I've been feeling. It's been eleven years since the attacks on the World Trade Centers, but ten years since I wrote my last poem about it. I just thought up a title for the poem, so I'll probably work on that sometime today.
Other Writing Projects
After having a couple weeks of no writing, September started with an idea to further my novel. The problem was in stopping to do some research on a topic to make what I planned historically accurate, I now have to do a rewrite. I've been spending time this past week rethinking where I want the story to go and how to get there from where I'm at in the process. Don't worry, I have a firm grasp of where the story is going to lead, but I'm just trying to think of a new way to bridge the gap right now. I have an inkling of an idea in the back of my head, but I'm still trying to get a clear visual of it before I write anymore in the novel.
I have thought about taking some time this weekend to add a scene to my splice file to be inputted into the novel later because even though I haven't been able to think of a way leading up to a scene, I have thought of something that will happen later on in the book. This scene keeps popping up in my head begging to be written, so I must obey the voices in my head!
I knew one of our old classmates joined the event nearer to the date of the Fair, but I was surprised to see him at the table directly across from me. He inks a comic strip for a free local magazine called Oregon Coast Today, and click here for a direct route to the comic strip itself. Anyway, he stopped by our table and we got caught up on part of each others lives after High School.
I also ran into a few more friendly faces I knew that stopped at our table to say hi to me. One was a local librarian from where I volunteer weekly, and another was a fellow author/former boss of mine that had a table somewhere in the row behind us. I saw another local librarian there, but she was in a hurry and didn't stop at my table to talk. My friend finally had a familiar face near the end of the event stop by to say hi and see how everything was going: her mom! I counted her as my fifth friendly face because I know her mom too.
The best part for me about being stuck in traffic was the white limousine that got ahead of S's car as we were halfway through Newport, and lost it somewhere around Lincoln City. I referred to it as "Stretch" and I kept wondering who the chauffeur was because they were booking it. We would see it rounding the next bend once in a while, but for the most part we kept losing then regaining visual of it. S wondered who was riding in it, and where they were going. I wanted to find out who the chauffeur was, so I could hire them when I became a millionaire someday.
My First Video?
I was thinking today about the anniversary that's coming up next Tuesday, September 11th, and might make the poem I wrote on the first year anniversary of the attacks my first video since finding my microphone for my computer. I haven't made any videos before now because I've been trying to figure out what I want to read, which book to choose from, and so on. I'm feeling hesitant to make this video because I get hit pretty hard emotionally every year by the commemoration of it. I have to think more about it over the weekend before I decide if it's a for sure thing I'm going to do.
I'm also thinking about writing a new poem to commemorate the day, and to vent the last ten years of emotions I've been feeling. It's been eleven years since the attacks on the World Trade Centers, but ten years since I wrote my last poem about it. I just thought up a title for the poem, so I'll probably work on that sometime today.
Other Writing Projects
After having a couple weeks of no writing, September started with an idea to further my novel. The problem was in stopping to do some research on a topic to make what I planned historically accurate, I now have to do a rewrite. I've been spending time this past week rethinking where I want the story to go and how to get there from where I'm at in the process. Don't worry, I have a firm grasp of where the story is going to lead, but I'm just trying to think of a new way to bridge the gap right now. I have an inkling of an idea in the back of my head, but I'm still trying to get a clear visual of it before I write anymore in the novel.
I have thought about taking some time this weekend to add a scene to my splice file to be inputted into the novel later because even though I haven't been able to think of a way leading up to a scene, I have thought of something that will happen later on in the book. This scene keeps popping up in my head begging to be written, so I must obey the voices in my head!
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