Mill Pond in Fog, Rowe, Mass. — May 2005 by Ellen Blanchette
I want to thank everyone for their kind words. Your support means so much to me. It is surprisingly difficult to step out into the world with your art. I don’t think most people realize that. All my fellow artists here do, and that has been so helpful to me. When we make art, whether it is painting, photography, writing, any of the arts that are done alone, it is a personal and ultimately very private process. Taking it out of the realm of a private pleasure and sharing art with the world, that seems to require a certain kind of courage. I can be very bold and sometimes even loud in my opinions yet with much of my artwork, it’s been something I’ve kept to myself. It has been so helpful to me to get to know other artists in my community, giving me a group of people to whom I could turn with questions but also getting to hear their own struggle to find their way in a world that claims to appreciate art while really offering very little actual support to artists in the development of their own businesses.
I want to acknowledge here Amy Shapiro and the Franklin County Community Development Corporation in Greenfield, Mass. for offering the business course for artists last year. I wouldn’t be doing any of this without the knowledge and gift of community that program gave to me. Suporting the development of arts in the community has become a central concept here in Franklin County. Other communities around the country are also beginning to see the value of investing in the creative economy.
Thanks to all of you for your kind words here. I especially want to thank Diane Clancy for her work on the development of this website, and her continued encouragement. And patience. This is a process I look forward to sharing with all of you.
I hope you continue to enjoy this site and make your comments.
Ellen Blanchette