Kaleidoscope Dreams

So, you may have heard me mention this grant a time or two…and you might be wondering what I’m going to create or do with the money. Here’s the answer. My older sister (who has amazing taste and great design skills) collects antique and unique kaleidoscopes. What a cool thing to collect right?!? A couple of years ago I found myself deep in thought about kaleidoscopes - how they transform the view in front of you to a beautiful display of shapes and colors. At the time, I was listening to audiobooks and podcasts that focused on changing mindset and creating new perspectives. From there the ideas for different paintings snowballed in my mind. The reality was…in 2021, when I left my teaching job - I needed to make income. For me, that meant accepting lots of commission jobs and doing lots of in person pop up shops, which didn’t leave a lot of time for me to work on my own ideas for my art. Flash forward to 2022, I spent 2 full days working on my grant application. And ya’ll, I got it !!!!! The Samantha I was five years ago wouldn’t even be able to digest this information. It just goes to show that mindset and perspective really can shape our worlds! So with this grant, I will:

• paint 50 paintings that relate to perspectives, views, and kaleidoscopes.

• create an outline on canvas for a large community painting that will be part of my interactive Kaleidoscopes painting exhibit in April 2023 in downtown Jackson, Tn. It will later be on permanent display in a local public building downtown.

• create a make and take kaleidoscope station for children to participate in at my exhibit…because more than anything I want to broaden the perspectives of the children in my community to see that being an artist doesn't just have to be a dream…it can be a reality.

  *This project is supported by the Jackson Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.