Creative Pinellas - Emerging Artist Conversation

On Thursday, April 3rd, Creative Pinellas hosted the first Emerging Artist Conversation for the 2022 grant recipients. All the artists were live on a Zoom call, that was streaming on Facebook for family, friends and fans. It has been such a good and engaging conversation, and you can watch it here!

Being Supported by a Mentor

Each grant recipient has been assigned to a mentor. During the conversation, each artist explained their experience with the mentor.  Some people are having long talks with their mentor while having coffee in the studio, while others, due to the distance, have to work with video calls.

I personally am enjoying having a mentor. After graduating college, in May 2021, I felt a little lost. I was happy to finally being able to create outside of school assignments, but I was missing the support I was given by my professors. My mentor, Carla Bristol, has given me the support I needed. I love to receive feedback on my ideas, paintings and compositions. I have been working closely with Carla during this grant period to ensure that my concepts will be presented in the best way possible at the show with Creative Pinellas.

A Very Close Deadline

During the conversations, the artists also talked about how they felt about a deadline approaching very soon. Many issues have been brought up: supplies shortage, not enough time to brainstorm ideas, and different creative processes. On the other hand, a couple of people were happy about having not too much time, so they could focus and feel the "adrenaline" rush!

For me, a close deadline has been very scary at first. I got assigned to my mentor right before Christmas, and I also had to move around that time. My studio was all over the place, so I had a late start. My ideas were not clear at first, which made everything more complicated. Fortunately, I was able to go see the Gallery early, and that made everything easier. At this point, I like to have a deadline approaching fast as I have to hurry up and finish everything on time. Somehow, I work better under pressure!

I am very thankful for this opportunity, and I cannot wait for you to see the final product!