during my second semester i was given the amazing opportunity to give a presentation to a lovely local organization, Women In the Visual Arts(WITVA) for the opportunity to be awarded a scholarship in the area of computer arts. this is a fairly large non-profit organization of about 250 remarkable women who are passionate about the arts & supporting women like me (in an MFA program) by offering scholarships, exhibition opportunities, & inspiration. they were excited & curious about my computer based work... which is highly encouraging. they laughed, smiled, & asked lot's of questions during my presentation. they also shared their wisdoms & criticisms with me as well, emphasizing that they did not like my artist statement... and that I almost didn't make it to the presentation portion because my statements was "snarky" & not an accurate representation of who they met on that day. (note: i hate artist statements... so I had the poem depot write one for me for $2)Never the less, I value their perspectives & willingness to be open to my area of focus especially when the majority of them are from another time/generation of traditional media. this made me respect, admire & appreciate them even more. they got it & they really liked it! P.S. ... I won a scholarship which I felt was also a win for computer arts/new media! WITVA's belief in me & what I am doing is greatly appreciated and propels me further to excel, grow, learn & create like many of the amazing women artist's I greatly admire. shortly after the presentation they invited me along with the other recipients to the WITVA luncheon with all of the members.
it was a lovely affair with delicious food & great conversation with many talented, smart & successful creative women. Grace Fishenfeld the coordinator of the Graduate College Scholarships made a special centerpiece for our table using the photo's of each of the scholarship recipients from the day we presented our work, which was super sweet. she is an amazing lady who has dedicated her life to education & the arts, she also has no reservations about telling it like it is. I love talking to her & can't help smiling right now as I think of how she tells me they all think that I am the "Wild One".
 |
| WITVA Luncheon & Grace Fishenfeld |
I am very fortunate & appreciative of the hard work, dedication & support of WITVA & Grace. THANK YOU for all you do & for believing in me!!!
wouldn't it be great if there were more organizations like this?!
"Dreams are like the paints of a great artist. Your dreams are your paints, the world is your canvas. Believing, is the brush that converts your dreams into a masterpiece of reality." ~Anonymous
Yes!! Congrats AdrienneRose Gionta!
ReplyDelete