The Harold Artists Residency
I strongly believe that the Harold Artist Residency is an appropriate community to help further develop my artistic practice, and also provide many new opportunities and experiences for my growth as an artist. The unique setting of the Harold Artist Residency will further inspire my artistic practice because a lot of my work as a whole has been connected to nature. Another significant aspect that I believe will further develop my artistic practice aside from the setting of the Harold Artist Residency is having the opportunity to work with and around other artists. Even if the other artists at the Harold Artist Residency have different conceptual or technical approaches to art making than mine, I still believe interacting with this particular community of practicing artists will inspire and motivate my own artistic practice.
The work I intend to produce at the Harold Artist Residency could be completed in either a one or two-week span. However, since I believe in interacting with a practicing artist community to be very important, a two-week span would be more appropriate and suitable for me. The work I plan on creating at the Harold Artist Residency is a series of abstract paintings related and inspired by the many various beauties of nature. I intend on creating a minimum of one painting per day during my stay at the residency focusing critically on many different locations of the environment. There will be many times where my studio will become nature, but I will definitely require the art facilities at the residency in order to make my work a success. In particular I wish to use the 2D studios, 3D studios, and even the wood shop to help create my paintings. I believe these facilities will provide the resources I need to create the best work I possibly can within a two-week span.
At the Harold Artist Residency I believe the setting will help me reach a further development in my artistic practice, but more importantly being able to work with and around other practicing artists. I believe the structure of this residency offers a really close an intimate community of practicing artists, and being out in nature in my opinion intensifies that connection. Being able to work with other practicing artists in nature allows for more quick and close relationships to develop. Since I am attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago the city does become a beneficial environment, however it also just as equally becomes a distracting setting. I think the distractions of the city sort of come in between people at times from further making connections. Often I crave some sort of transcendental experience after constantly being surrounded by man made buildings and technological creations. I really believe that nature helps break down that isolationist sort of state that the city sometimes can have. Therefore, the Harold Artist Residency is an appropriate environment for me in order to break down that sense of isolation I have developed from the city and help allow my artistic practice mature through my interaction with other practicing artists.
An example of the kind of work I would like to continue at the Harold Artist Residency:
Art of X-ing '09 
December 3, 2009 at 8:41 am
Ted,
It’s great that you talk about your belief in the kind of community that Harold offers and that you would benefit from the community. There might be a better placement for this content, though, because the meat of the proposal is talking about your work. The only things we know about the work is that you will create an abstract painting a day, that the paintings will be inspired from nature, and that you will use open air studios and the 2D and 3D studios. Talk about the work more. When you mention craving a “transcendental experience” in the last paragraph, I wonder if that is an aspect of your work and what it means specifically to you.
Be careful of overly long sentences, especially if they repeat material. An example: “Another significant aspect that I believe will further develop my artistic practice aside from the setting of the Harold Artist Residency is having the opportunity to work with and around other artists.” Try to avoid statement like “in my opinion” which can already be assumed by the reader.
The image of your painting is worth a thousand words, but you’ll have a stronger proposal if you can add at least a few more words about you’re your work.