For this last post, I wanted to start with a shot of one of the pieces from our newest (and current until September 10) show--Deborah Arnold's Quite a Pear. Above is a work entitled, "Pages from a Pear Diary: First Draft." Out of the entire summer (excepting the Member's Show of course!), this is my most favorite exhibit. Why, you ask?
1. It features a food.
2. It FEATURES A FOOD!!
How serendipitous that this is the last show I will enjoy as an intern! Perhaps my most favorite piece, however, is more of a metaphor than literal:
This one is entitled, "Pear Party Garden Dress" and as you can see, was created around a McCall pattern for a pear-shaped dress. I was enchanted when I first saw it. If only I didn't have a live on a graduate student's budget, I would have already bought so many pieces from the NAA! Every single show touts works that I end up adoring daily when I go in.
In other news, Friday was the day of the opening for Deb's show. Guess what she brought for refreshments?! That's right, a completely peary menu!
Below are some shots from the table of delicious goodies (and to the right is a shot of a work called, "Red Bartletts"):
There was pear upside-down cake, pears over brie, dried pears and gouda, hot milk sponge cake with pears in champagne, mango/pear salsa, pear chutney over cream cheese--you name it, if it had pears, it was on that table! Everything was delicious and the table was beautiful. I really enjoyed talking with the members and Deborah about her show. Here are some shots showing the crowd enjoying (both literally and figuratively) the "ripe metaphors of pears":
Over the summer, I have to say that I've learned more about grantwriting and how non-profits are organized than I ever thought I would. I am sad that today is my last day--it was a truly wonderful experience. Although I'm not at liberty to say right now, it seems that Terry and the board of the Newark Arts Alliance has made some arrangements for me to stick around and be involved. I shall update the blog one last time when I find out for sure what their plans are.
For now, here's a tally of all the grants I either wrote, edited, or assisted in researching this summer:
The Lenfest Foundation, Chichester duPont Foundation, The Brandywiners, Gannett Foundation, The Christmas Shop, Delaware Supermarkets, Inc. and Chipotle are all grantmakers for which I mailed in applications--that is, their goals match our needs most aptly. What this list doesn't communicate, however, was the time and effort put into researching (and some writing before I learned that they really wouldn't fit our needs) around 50 or so other foundations that do NOT provide funds for our organization. Lesson learned: researching and grants is no joke but if you can learn how to spot funders and how to write effectively using rhetoric, it can be a very fulfilling job.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Terry, Carol, the board of the NAA and the members for allowing me to have such a fantastic experience at this wonderful organization. If nothing else, you'll surely see me around taking some classes--if there's one thing this place has done, it is inspire my artistic side!! :)
P.S. Check out THIS link to see a clip from WHYY (I'm the one doing the tie-dye in the video) about our Camp Imagine!!!!
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