SNAG Educational Endowment | Entry 3

Beginning Balance: $771.16
Now that I had two new pieces to add to previously completed work, I was ready to install version 2.0 of my solo exhibition Home in the Main Hall Art Gallery at Kent State Stark. With my scholarship money, I was able to add some new components:

For my candidacy review exhibition of the same name that took place in March, I used a stool, a display mannequin and wall-mounted coat hooks to install the pieces Womanhouse 2012, Perilous Home and Womanhouse 2013. I wanted to use mounts typically associated with the home to reference a domestic space and emphasize the idea that these pieces were meant to be donned before walking out the door and worn throughout the rest of the day. In this second installation, I furthered the idea by adding a chair rail behind the works, $17.00 at Home Depot.

Jessica Todd, (left to right) Womanhouse 2012, Perilous Home and Womanhouse 2013
installed at the Main Hall Art Gallery, Kent State Stark

Labels for the work along with various hardware and mountings cost $25.09; a beveled mirror to go under the piece It's A Great Neighborhood, $10.39. The show turned out exactly as I imagined it to be and the entire process was an incredible opportunity and learning experience. I enjoyed sharing my work with the students, faculty and staff at Stark and loved hearing their interpretation of and feedback about the show.

Jessica Todd, Home at Main Hall Art Gallery, Kent State Stark

Jessica Todd, Home at Main Hall Art Gallery, Kent State Stark

Total Purchase: $52.48
Ending Balance: $718.68

SNAG Educational Endowment | Entry 2

Beginning Balance: $872.17
My next pursuit was another piece I had in mind for quite some time - a mini series relating suburbia to the body. Thanks to my scholarship, I finally had the money to pay a model to subject herself to the abuses of paint, flocking and strong adhesives to create the effects I was looking for. Fellow grad Rachel received $20.00 for her troubles, a small price to pay for the uncomfortable posing and skin damage she endured! Materials cost an additional $14.90. 

Jessica Todd, Suburban Growth Series, SLS, glass, paint

Jessica Todd, Suburban Growth Series, flocking

Jessica Todd, Suburban Growth Series, skin

For my solo exhibition Home at the Kent State Stark campus I purchased beautiful 20x24 prints of the work from AdoramaPix ($45.20). They looked fantastic on the walls and added visual diversity to the overall exhibition. I also purchased 8x10 prints of my performance pieces that I had previously only displayed in rotation on a digital screen ($20.91). Having the physical prints allowed my audience to view all the images at once and had a much greater visual impact in the space.

Jessica Todd, Suburban Growth Series installed

Jessica Todd, documentation of performance pieces installed
(Womanhouse 2012, Perilous Home, Womanhouse 2013)

Total Purchase: $101.01
Ending Balance: $771.16

SNAG Educational Endowment | Entry 1

Back in May at the SNAG conference in Toronto I learned that I had received a SNAG Educational Endowment Scholarship. I was, and am, honored, humbled and inspired to work even harder toward my goals.  It truly means the world to me to get this vote of confidence from the jurors and an organization I respect so much. Because people donate so generously to make these scholarships happen, I decided to track every penny on my blog and share the work and processes made possible by this funding. So, here's installment one:

Beginning Balance: $1,007.38

There wasn't even enough in my account for an ATM withdrawal before I deposited my $1,000 scholarship. An instant surge of excitement rushed through me as I processed the realization that I had guilt-free "art" cash, none of which would pay for a single grocery or water bill.

My first purchase was from Joann Fabrics - Cotton muslin, Rit dyes (20% off!) and PhotoFabric, a paper-backed cotton you can send through an inkjet printer (total: $100.36). These materials were for a piece I had in mind for several months - a set of eight dresses dyed to match the eight McCormick exterior Colonial paint colors permitted by my hometown's Community Guidebook for painting the exterior of houses. (Rit has a great Color Formula Guide on their website.) The concept for this series of work is the idea that our living environment influences how we think and experience the world. This piece critiques the notion of customization in suburban subdivisions which creates an illusion of choice and individuality without threatening uniformity, a practice I believe extends to the residents themselves.

Jessica Todd, 8 Exterior Color Choices for the Countryside Subdivision

Jessica Todd, 8 Exterior Color Choices for the Countryside Subdivision (detail)

To complete the piece I also purchased an online dress pattern ($5.44), a clothing rack and hangers ($12.56) and shipping ($16.85) to mail the fabric to my mom back home in Virginia who lovingly helped me sew the dresses. The final piece turned out exactly as I had pictured it and seemed to have a big impact on the audience who viewed it later at my solo exhibition Home, which took place at the Kent State Stark campus through the month of September 2013.

Total purchase: $135.21
Ending Balance: $872.17