Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation 2018 Individual Artist Award Grant

Sometimes we need to do things for no other reason than to push ourselves in a direction we never would have gone. Recently, I have been so blessed with career opportunities flowing my way for which I am totally humbled and grateful. Most of the time opportunities don't just present on one's doorstep; you've got to work hard, become vulnerable, and put your work out there for people to see. When you plant seeds sometimes they hit fertile soil and grow into wonderful things and sometimes they dry up and wither into nothing. Sometimes these opportunities spring up quickly and sometimes they need lots of time to grow and develop.

I am constantly on the look out for new opportunities to enter my work into shows, publications, and more recently, apply for grants. Last week I found out about the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation 2018 Individual Artist Award Grants which happened to be accepting applications for grants in the amount of $1,000, $3,000, and $6,000 in the category of photography. When I looked at the deadline for the application, it was this past Friday at 4:30 PM. Unfortunately, because of taking care of Brenna all week and then internet problems (rural life issues), I missed the deadline. I was disappointed because the grant only comes around about every 4 years in the photography category so I would have to wait a long time to try again.  However, as fate would have it, I received an email on Saturday morning saying that the deadline was extended to Sunday at 11:59 PM due to server errors on the grant application site. Now, I didn't have any more excuses. I had to submit. I decided to go with the theme of black and white photography showing rural/agricultural landscape in Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania. I had to submit 8 photographs that were taken after July 2014 to represent my body of work. These are the 8 photos I chose to enter.

Frozen Silo-Digital Photography-Black and White Photography by Tracey Grumbach

Farm At Rest-Digital Photography-Black and White Photography by Tracey Grumbach

Amish Farmer- Digital Photography-Black and White Photography by Tracey Grumbach

Flock Over Farm- Digital Photography-Black and White Photography by Tracey Grumbach

Wash Day- Digital Photography-Black and White Photography by Tracey Grumbach

Winter Mount- Digital Photography-Black and White Photography by Tracey Grumbach

January Silos-Digital Photography-Black and White Photography by Tracey Grumbach

Team of Four-Digital Photography-Black and White Photography by Tracey Grumbach

Competition for this grant is highly competitive. The winners are selected by a team of jurors from out of state. I will have to wait a really long time to see if I am awarded grant money because they will not notify the winners until April of 2018. I am so proud that I worked really hard to pull this together and submit. It was a long process on which I spent several days. I am so thankful to my family for their encouragement and patience as I was hooked to my studio and computer for many many hours. My chances of winning are slim to none as most people who win grants actually enter several times before being selected. This is the first time I've ever applied for a grant, so I am not expecting much. The good part, though, is it forced me to reach out of my comfort zone, go through several years worth of images (many of which I've never shown before), and try something new.

What goals do you have that you've been putting off? What box will you step out of today?

Have a beautiful Monday...stick around the rest of the week as I have some really cool digital art pieces, photography pieces, and announcements to make this week!

xo