NEA Announces Recovery Grants to Support Arts Jobs

from the Americans For the Arts

Yesterday, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) was one of the first agencies in the federal government to release grant guidelines for applying for economic stimulus and job recovery arts funds. As you may recall, the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama on
February 17, 2009 provided $50 million to support jobs in the arts through NEA grants.

This recovery funding is a direct outcome of the hard work of arts advocates across the country. It is a major accomplishment that Congress included direct support for the arts along with increased funding for several other federal programs that can indirectly support the arts, such as Community Development Block grants, the Rural Development program and Transportation Enhancements.

The arts community is undergoing enormous challenges right now - like much of the workforce. Earlier this week, USAToday ran a front-page story titled, "Fine Arts Are In Survival Mode As Funds Dry Up." These recovery funds are intended "to focus on projects that preserve jobs in the arts."

On the NEA Recovery webpage, the new guidelines provide application dates, eligibility criteria and potential project outlines. In order to get money out to the arts field as quickly as possible, the NEA is fast-tracking the process. The deadline for applying for the direct grants is April 2, 2009, with grants being awarded as early as July 1, 2009. These direct grants will be available to arts organizations as non-matching one-time grants of $25,000 or $50,000. Local arts agencies are provided $100,000 or $250,000 for re-granting activities.

One immediate issue of concern for Americans for the Arts is that the NEA is requiring that any applicant for the direct grants must have received an NEA grant within the last four years. The agency has set this requirement as a result of direction from the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB). OMB has recommended obligating funds to existing award recipients as a method of ensuring that the applicant pool can be considered quickly and to ensure quality. Complete details on applicant eligibility and the rest of the recovery grant program are available on the NEA's Recovery website.

What is Art?

This is a wonderful discussion about what art means to different people...err...animals.
I hope you enjoy it!

Know what's in your art supplies?

I found this article to be very educational. I hope you will too.

This is a segment of a featured story from www.EmptyEasel.com (a wonderful resource!)

The Vegan’s List of Art Supplies: Art Products Free of Animal Ingredients
by http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com

Do you know what ingredients are in your paints, pencils, inks and dyes? If you do, then you have a great head start in knowing what materials you are working with on a daily basis as well as the broader actions you are participating in.

For example, some artist pigments are made from plants, minerals, or synthetics—but many are not. Ivory Black and Bone Black pigments come from charred animal bones. Lampblack, on the other hand, is pure carbon and not from animals at all.

Here are some other pigments that are not made from animals: ochre, raw umber, burnt umber, burnt sienna, cadmium yellow, zinc oxide, gamboge, indigo, madder, cobalt blue, naphthol crimson and diozine.

--article cut---

Art products made from animals:

Cochineal is a scarlet dye made from ground up female cochineal insects.

Ox gall is obtained from cows and used as the wetting agent in most watercolour paints.Thankfully, Holbein has some watercolour paints that do not contain ox gall, including Cadmium Red Deep, Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Lamp Black, Opera, Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Deep.

Rabbit-skin glue comes from rabbits and is used for sizing oil painting canvases.

Gelatin is made from boiling animal skins, tendons, ligaments, etc. The highest-grade gelatin, made from the skins, hoofs, and bones of calves, is used in gesso, while many watercolour papers are also sized with gelatin. Accent Vellum, construction paper and most handmade papers usually don’t have gelatin. There are also some papers available now that are sized with starch—ask for them at your art supply store.

Sepia ink is made from the inky substance found in the sacs of squid and cuttlefish.

India Ink or Chinese Ink is made of carbon or lampblack pigment, and a shellac binder which is obtained from secretions of an insect.

Water resistant inks usually contain animal ingredients. Water soluble inks, on the other hand, seldom contain animal ingredients. In almost every case you can check with the manufacturer via the internet using a contact form or email address posted on their website.

Bone charcoal comes from animal bones. Regular “charcoal” comes from vines and willow trees. The word “bone” is a dead give away—if you’re unsure, ask.

Artist’s pencils may contain beeswax, but not always. Derwent (for example) does not use beeswax in any of their products. Their charcoal pencils are made from pure charcoal, clay and pigment, the wax used in their pencils is from a plant source, and the binding material is from a mineral source.

Derwent’s Coloursoft pencils, Graphitint pencils, Aquatone pencils, metallic pencils, graphitone and even Derwent’s Pastel Blocks are free from animal ingredients. You can ask them for a complete list of animal-free art supplies if you’re interested.

Natural hair brushes use hair harvested from farm-raised or trapped animals, particularly sable (marten), squirrel and mongoose. Less expensive natural brushes are made of horsehair, pig bristles, or hair from ox snouts and ears.

There are now high quality synthetic brushes that are just as good as natural brushes. Winsor & Newton is just one of many manufacturers who make synthetic brushes.

Oil pastels are made by combining raw pigments with animal fat and wax. Soft pastels on the other hand are usually free of animal ingredients, and you can even make your own, if you’d like. Here’s some additional information on that.

...article cut - to read article in its entirety go to www.EmptyEasel.com
For more eco-friendly information please visit ReduceFootprints.blogspot.com.

I'm back and Dreaming in Color

After a long hiatus from blogging due to moving, starting a business, and running after a toddler it feels good to be back.
And what a way to start again with these creations. I was invited by Amanda at PersistentGreen.etsy.com
to check out Natasha's blog at Thursday Sweet Treat who hosts weekly creativity challenges.
This past week's challenge entitled, Dreaming in Color, stirred the painting muse who has been hibernating.
The excitement filled as I produced not one but four mini paintings for the challenge.
Which one resonates with you?