Soaring Above (In My Dreams)

Prior to relocating to the Baltimore area in 1997, I felt I was creating in a vacuum.  After the move, I felt encouraged and inspired in my artistic pursuits.  Here I found wonderful friends, teachers and organizations that have sparked insights and opened up possibilities I never could have imagined.

Baltimore fosters creativity and has so much talent to offer.  Now is the time of year when many artists in the Baltimore area are nominating themselves for the annual Baker Artist Awards.  These awards, started in 2008-2009 by the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, are for artists living and working in the Baltimore area.  Art entry categories include visual, performance, sound, cinematic, design, community, written and new forms.  Three $25,000 Mary Sawyers Baker awards and nine $1,000 b-grants will be given out.  The nomination process is digital and is encompassed on the Baker Artist Awards website.  Reasons for Baltimore area artists to nominate themselves, even if they have the “but I know I won’t win anything” attitude are (1) it gets you to organize your work and your thoughts about your work – always a good thing and (2) free exposure, how great is that?  Everybody looks at this website!  Gallery owners, curators, etc.  I know because I’ve been contacted by people because of it and I have contacted people because of it.

The best thing about the Baker Artist Awards website is that you get to see some amazing work, whether Baltimore is your backyard or a speck on a map.  It’s kind of a one stop shopping of what’s happening in the arts in the Baltimore area.  It also forms a community of artists as such and reinforces a camaraderie among creative individuals.   I like to see the evolution each year in the work of my favorite artists and to see which new works will catch my attention.

Please stop by and see my nomination at the Baker Artist Awards website by following this link and typing Carol McGraw into the “Find an Artist” box at the bottom of the page.  I am still building my nomination, so watch it as it changes and let me know what you think over the next few months until the deadline date on January 15, 2012.  Awards will be given out in the spring of 2012 and you will still be able to view the 2011-2012 nominations for some months after that until time to start nominations for the next year.

P.S. Thanks to my good friend and photographer, Joseph Hyde, who first talked me into nominating myself for the Baker Artist Awards.  Look him up on the site as well, lovely work!