Project development through grant funding

I was recently notified that I have been awarded an Artist Opportunity Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts. This grant will allow me to take my work to the next stage of development. As a part of this grant opportunity I will be creating a book maquette of the Constructed Realities project that I can submit to book dummy competitions and photo book publishers.

I have been working on new scenes for the Constructed Realities project over the past year, including a few new photos here that represent the development of the project, in particular the elements of change and passage of time. I have been thinking about how I can move this content into book form for some time.

I am excited about this opportunity as I believe that as an artist you need to continually learn new things in order to grow. This is something I have incorporated this into my creative process over the years. I will be able to learn book making skills and experiment with book cloth, paper, inks and new layouts of the work.

I have completed several long term narrative-driven photography projects over the years utilizing print on demand technology to create several self-published books and zines. While I am well versed in sequencing my work, I have not created an artist book where I print, bind and a create a cover for a single project. In this case, I am looking for a more hands on experience where I can learn how to create book signatures and create a finished bound book.

This will be an important building block to the progression of this work as I seek out future publishing and exhibition opportunities for this body of work. I am grateful to the Arizona Commission on the Arts for this opportunity where I can further my artistic endeavors.