This being my first post in 2016 I would usually make it a post all about my Goals as an artist so you can help me follow through and give encouragement with what I plan to do this year. However I have some exciting news that needs to be announced. Don’t worry I will get to my goals at the end of my post and you can still give me encouragement.

Months ago I announced that I did not receive a commission to create my sculpture for Meridian Idaho titled “Out on the Town”. You can read more about that HERE. It was a sad thing because Meridian is my home town and I really really wanted to do this sculpture.

Today I am pleased to announce that I will be doing the sculpture after all! And in many ways it is even better then what I thought I would be. Today I would like to tell you the story of this sculpture and my story of how I received this commission and hopefully it will inspire you to be persistent in your efforts.

Really it started back when I was a small child. I grew up in the wonderful town of Meridian, Idaho. Honestly this is a great place to live and grow up. My house was a couple miles away from down town Meridian. My older siblings and I would often walk or ride bikes the two miles to town so we could go to Albertsons Grocery store and buy some candy. Head over to the Burger den for lunch and Ice cream. Walk across the street to Payless drug store and look at toys. I loved these times and It made me feel so responsible and grown up.

Right in the middle of all these stores was an intersection where there was a large triangular shaped concrete area. I remember walking and driving by this area and always thinking to myself, “They should put a sculpture there.” I had no aspirations at that time to become a sculpture although I was very interested in art.

Years later I find out that the city of Meridian had plans to expand the road and restructure the intersection. They would be removing the triangle but with the new construction they also had plans to install a sculpture at the same corner. Not only that but I just happened to be a sculptor! Woo-Hoo! This project was meant for me!

I applied for the RFQ (Request for qualifications) but I didn’t make it past the first round. It was a bummer but I soon got over it realizing it was still very early in my career and I was up against many other much more experienced sculptors. About a year later they opened up the RFQ again! I wasn’t sure why  but apparently they didn’t end up commissioning any artists earlier on and now they were trying again. So I applied once again, sure that they re opened it because this project was really meant for me.

Just like the first time I didn’t make it past the first round. Yet again I was sad because I really thought this project was meant for me. I got over it and for a couple years I spent time studying sculpture and developing my passion for sculpture. In this time I had been a finalist for some public sculpture projects as well as did a few other smaller public art pieces. Just this past summer I received an email from the Meridian Arts council telling me that they Opened up the project but this time it was an RFP (Request for Proposals). However the entry deadline was just a couple days away.

If you have ever applied for a public art project before you will know that an RFP takes much more time and effort then an RFQ. I quickly came up with a concept for my sculpture, found some models to take pictures of and drew up some sketches. I sent in my application and hoped for the best. A little bit later I was notified that I was a finalist for the project. I was very excited! Looking at the other finalists I figured I had a pretty good shot at it this time. In fact I was confident I would get this commission. The time came and they notified me once again that I was not Chosen! This was the third time I had been rejected for this same project!

A few days wen’t by and I still wasn’t feeling any better about it. So on a whim I wrote a letter to the Meridian Arts Council. I said that I was really hoping to get the commission and that I am still interested in creating this sculpture for Meridian. If there is ever an opportunity to do a sculpture such as this I asked that they would let me know. to my surprise they emailed me back and let me know that everyone loved my sculpture and they already had on the next meetings agenda to talk about raising money to commission my sculpture for a different location. They said they wanted to put my sculpture in an area where people could get close to it and touch it and really interact with it. The street corner was not a place they wanted that to be happening.

After months of figuring things out, raising money, and working out the details I am pleased to tell you that the contract was signed on Tuesday and I will be installing the finished bronze sculpture in September.

The sculpture will be installed just outside of Meridian City Hall. Although it is not the same place I envisioned when I was a kid, It is a much more prominent location where people will be able to get up close and interact with my sculpture.

I am excited to document the process so you can see the work that goes into making a sculpture for a public area. And let me tell you… it’s a whole lot more than just making a sculpture.

So that brings me to this years goals…

Now every year I look at my goals in a different way. I have read all sorts of things about goal setting and how to set good achievable goals. And, although there are many good hints on how to do that I still feel like sometime you just need to do what feels right. Last year I only had one goal and that was to do a blog post every week. Did it happen? No. However, I did write many posts over the course of the year and it helped me and my art career in many ways. So here is my list for 2016

• Win at least 2 public art commissions (I already have one)
• Apply to 4 art shows

And hopefully do 3 of them, because two of them are on the same weekend. The shows I plan to apply to are the Jackson Hole Art Fair, Sun Valley Art Festival, Utah Arts Festival in Salt Lake, and the Park City Art Festival.

• Teach some sculpture workshops.

I already have one scheduled in Jackson Hole. If you are interested in attending that workshop click HERE. If you would like me to be a visiting artist and teach a workshop near you please notify me, and I can see what I can do.

• Publish at least 2 Online sculpture courses.
• Continue Blogging

I hope you have been inspired by my story and I hope you will continue to follow along with me this year. We can help each other with inspiration an encouragement. Thanks!