So much has happened in the last eight months. I started producing more original drawings and found a style of representing wildlife and nature that was enjoyable and appreciated by others. I continued working with Chris Cunningham to produce a 5 song album. I applied for the Montana Artreprenuer Program (MAP) in July and was accepted in August. I set up my first booth to sell art at the Farmer’s Market in Harlowton through the summer and fall. I also started cleaning up an adorable little building to use as a studio.
In September I attended the first of four workshops for MAP. It was everything I had hoped for. If you are a Montana artist who struggles with the buisness side of art…apply for it. In October I attended the second workshop and applied for the Helena Holiday MADE fair in Dec. At the time I had two original works of art and knew I would need to make so many more. I had no idea how I was going to make a professional booth but trusted that my MAP instructor Liz Chappie-Zoller would cover everything I needed to know and help me learn the tools to get there. Now halfway through November I have a solid checklist, a plan for an epic and probably over engineered booth and 7/8 original drawings I planned to create. I’ve also upped my game to make 18 drawings by then. If I even get close I will have blown my original goal out of the water.
There is one MAP session left in December, the week after my first big booth show! After that I have the big task of fleshing out and producing each tool from the program so I can become a certified MAP artist. That means that other established, certified artists have witnessed my completion of all the tools outlined through the program. Liz likens it to getting your black-belt. It doesn’t mean you have nothing left to learn, just that you now have all the tools you need to be successful at what you do. I still have to put them into practice and plan to. The certification deadline is May 1 and it is my goal to submit my toolbox for evaluation by then. I am so hungry for this…