Project: From Seeing to Making

Images

Description

From Seeing to Making is a project designed to expand my creative process by connecting my photography, visual art, and Keepsake Box work through digital design.

Over the past several years, my work has grown from hand-painted and decoupaged Keepsake Boxes into a broader artistic practice that includes photography and original imagery. I am increasingly using my own photographs as inspiration and source material, and I want to begin incorporating more of that original work into my physical pieces.

Funding from the Vore Arts Fund would allow me to purchase a laptop capable of handling high-resolution photography, digital design, and print preparation. This would give me a dedicated tool for editing my photographs, creating original compositions and decoupage designs, preparing artwork for printing, and developing imagery specifically for use on my Keepsake Boxes and other mixed-media work.

The project represents the next step in my growth as an artist: taking what I notice through the camera, developing it digitally, printing it, and bringing it back into a tangible piece of art.

The laptop is not simply equipment. It would become part of the creative process, allowing me to move an idea from what I see, to what I design, to what I make.

My goal is to develop a digital to physical creative process using my own photography and artwork. I will create original designs for Keepsake Boxes, mixed-media pieces, and art prints while building skills in digital design and print preparation.

Late Fall of 2026 I will purchase and set-up the laptop, learn the design workflow, and begin creating and testing original designs. In January of 2027 I will complete new pieces incorporating photography and introduce the work through an exhibition scheduled for February 2027 at Cornerstone.

How will this loan be used? Please provide an itemized list of expenses that will be covered.

Business Class Laptop $1100

External Storage/backup drive $100

Digital Design/Photo Editing Software $150

Printing and design supplies for initial project testing $150

How will your project generate money?

This project will create new income opportunities by allowing me to turn my original photography and artwork into sellable products. I will be able to create photographic prints, original decoupage designs, limited-edition keepsake boxes and other mixed-media pieces using my own imagery. These products can be sold through art markets, exhibitions, commissions, and my online store. Creating my own designs will also reduce my dependence on purchased artwork and allow more of the value to remain in my business.

When do you expect to be able to repay this loan?

I expect to repay in 12 to 24 months. My goal is to make consistent payments as revenue is generated.

Do you have experience or support that will help this project succeed? Links to your previous work are helpful here.

Yes I have experience creating and selling through Belle Creations including hand painted Keepsake Boxes, commissioned pieces, mixed media work. I regularly participate in local art markets and community events and have developed and established an audience for my work.

My work has also received community support and recognition including a feature by Destination Muncie and previous support from the Vore Arts Fund . I have continued developing my photography alongside Belle Creations. This project is the next step in bringing those two areas of my work together.

Will generative AI be used in this project's outcomes, such as generated images, videos, music, speech, or text? If so, how will it be used?

I use AI as a tool to explore ideas, learn new techniques, and help bring my creative vision together. It doesn't create my artwork for me.

My Keepsake Boxes are handmade, and every one reflects my own creativity, attention to detail, and artistic choices. I don't use AI-generated images in my finished boxes.

The laptop I'm requesting will help me work with my own photography, create original designs, and have more control over my creative process. AI is simply one of the tools I use along the way, not the artist behind my work.