Home › Grants › Find a Grant › Artists › Creation Grants › The People’s Choice Award ›
The People’s Choice Award: Laurie Brooks
14: Laurie Brooks
Create an enamelware line using digital art techniques
I am a printmaker, illustrator, painter, who lives on a micro dairy farm in West Pawlet, VT with my husband of 41 years. I am inspired by the natural world, yet terrified for its future particularly concerning the degradation I see all around me caused by industrial agriculture. Much of the art I create is activist art which deals with racial and social justice, climate change, and lately a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of beavers and the ecosystems they create. I have witnessed the devastating effects of ignorance around this keystone species in the form of wanton and unwarranted trapping and killing, some of it occurring over and over in the same location. This has inspired me to create block prints which have been featured on T shirts to raise funds for wildlife protection organizations, zines educating the public on why beavers matter, and other art. Art for Good, I call it.
Project description
Starting with my original block print or illustration I will create a line of enamelware featuring one or more environmental images or concepts. The grant funds would be used to support the creation of this work as well as my learning how to create a vector image of it, which is necessary in the manufacturing process and which I normally have to hire a graphic designer to carry out. My goal is to be able to donate part of the proceeds from the sales of these enamelware products to environmental or social justice organizations.
American Redstarts. “This reduction block print is the first image for which I had a custom enamelware piece made. American Redstarts make their home on our farm.”
Enamelware mug. “This is the enamelware mug that I commissioned featuring my American Redstarts reduction block print.”
American Kestrel. “Another reduction block print featuring a bird that thrive on our farm. This is the type of print that I might want to feature on enamelware some day.”
August 3, 2023