C4ward Blogathon March Day 13

Quilts presented to VA hospital

Contemplating Communities

Think about your relationship as an artist or artistic entrepreneur to your neighborhood, city, and region. Then respond to these two questions:
Question 1 (Artists Contributions):

• What does your creative work contribute to your communities?
• In general, what do the arts do for a city?
• What do you do for your city or community?
• What SHOULD you do, if anything, that you don't already do?

Questions 2 (Cities Contributions):

• How should communities develop and support their artists?
• What is your city or community doing, if anything, to help you develop and support you as a creative?
• What areas are creative communities nurtured in your area? Coffee shops? Galleries? Museums? Government spaces? Nonprofit spaces? Corporate spaces? Etc...  

Rainbow quilters after a charity quilt session

I had mostly decided to not write for this blog prompt today because I am not an entrepreneur nor in the business of selling art thus my thinking was that I had nothing much to contribute to the idea of today's prompt 'Contemplating Communities.But after giving it much thought and not wanting to quit now when we are almost finished and it is too cold outside to work on my art I decided to go ahead and give it a go. I have always felt and continue to feel that a person should give back some of their good fortune and I have been one of the most fortunate of all. To be on the giving end and not on the receiving end.

Etta Mae charity dolls for the homeless children at Christmas

Artist Contributions: The answer to the first set of questions... Over the 12 years I have lived here in this area I have spent more than a few years as chairperson of our community outreach program in the quilt group I belonged to. During that time made hundreds of quilts for the homeless, Ronald Mcdonald House, breast cancer quilts to auction, Cruiser quilts for the sheriff's department and the VFW's.  I have taught and facilitated  many charity workshops making  dolls and teddies for the homeless children, children's cancer wards in Shands and Monroe hospitals. Even though most of my contributions have been charitable and not entrepreneurial  I feel I have made a difference in our community.

Teddy bears for the children's ward in hospital

My community is a rural community so we do not have an abundance of art venues to visit so I go to other cities within  driving distance and enjoy them. We are getting more artist related venues and showings happening. There are concerts, farmer's markets, festivals and craft shows...My contribution to the success of all of the happenings taking place is to attend  and support those of interest to me.

My doll club with a few of the dolls we made for the homeless children

One of the 3 quilts we made for the online breast cancer auction