Designed by Sarah: January 2025 Studio Recap

This email has 1 studio update, 1 neat aminal fact, 4 cool websites I think you should see, 2 workshops, and 10 (!) grant + residency opportunities.

January 31, 2025

Here are some random updates in no particular order: I’ve already learned some tough lessons this year: for starters, the average frost cloth only protects your plants by about 5-6° below freezing, so I’m sitting here writing this email while the low is scheduled to be 13° and wondering how many of the plants I planted for my wedding will be DOA in spring.

After writing this newsletter every month for 9 years, I finally got in trouble for something I wrote in December, and need to be a little more careful moving forward! Oops!

This month, I read a nice piece by Lauren Mazzo making the argument to have more unstructured hang time with friends in 2025. I do feel the siren call of inviting friends to do scheduled activities, but I also think there’s some beauty in just… shooting the shit with people you care about.

Also since I shared that I made and love working on board games, friends have been sharing links with me. I loved this look into the rise of design-led board games, and my friend Sonam sent me this absolutely sick-looking class at the New School on Designing News Games (“how journalists can use games to tell complex stories”). I can’t *checks notes* join a BA program in NYC right now, but if this is at all in your wheelhouse please consider yourself peer-pressured.

On February 28th, Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars will all line up in a row in the night sky, which is a cool phenomenon I’m looking forward to going outside to see but this also made me think about how it means the Earth might get stolen in a universe-spanning heist? Is that how that works?

And, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I finally opened up the paid tier for this here newsletter that I’ve been teasing – this is optional and there is no difference in content, but if you want me to send you fun things in the mail (like zines, hair clips, stickers, and other cool swag), you’ll want to sign up. It basically covers the cost of postage and tells me I need to make XX number of things. To start, though, I only have 10 spots available!

I have 2 ideas and can’t decide what to send first, and I’m really excited to share it all with you.

Warmly,
Sarah 

👉 Oyster South Symposium

I had so much fun working with Oyster South on their annual Landlocked fundraiser last fall that they brought me back in to work on the design for their upcoming Symposium. This year it’s in St. Augustine, and I wanted to go with a moody style that gently referenced the Fountain of Youth with a touch of some art deco and blackletter.

“This meeting brings together producers, gear suppliers, distributors, chefs, food writers, vendors, researchers, students and managers from the southeast and Gulf coast regions to discuss pressing issues and relevant, practical research on oyster aquaculture. “

Reserve your tickets for the Oyster South Symposium 2025 ➔

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“The Okinawa rail is Japan's only flightless bird — found exclusively on the island of Okinawa. Before nightfall, it uses its powerful clawed feet to climb trees, where it sleeps to avoid nocturnal-hunting pit vipers. In the morning, it drops back down in a graceless fluttering of wings.” Source

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Emotions of Color, a Workshop on Color Theory & Design with Caryn Grossman
Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA)
February 12th
6-8:30pm • $35

This workshop on color theory will help you design a room, build a set, design a brand, or style an event just right.

Abstract and Contemporary Florals with Gouache
Atlanta Botanical Garden
March 12th
6:30–8:30 pm • $85 – $90

“Learn abstract and contemporary florals with artist Janelle Martinez-Cruz using gouache, a French opaque watercolor that can be used for multiple types of painting styles. All materials will be provided.”

👉 PuppetsApp

Truly one of the funniest things to catch my attention lately is this paper (?) puppet (?) app (?) that you control with your hands (?) and your computer’s webcam (?) – it reminds me a little of LeapMotion if it actually worked, but this is the right amount of glitchy for me to really love it. My favorite part about PuppetsApp is that I can create my own shapes and my own set, to make the scene my own.

Honorable mentions:

  • Have I shown you the Public Domain Image Archive? This makes the rounds every few months because it’s sick as hell and super useful for artists, since it lets you easily find imagery you can use in artwork. The search feature is amazing but the real standout is the Infinite View.

  • Also, if you love the giant and ridiculous Arby’s cowboy hat outside the otherwise mediocre fast food chain (and every other fun light-up sign outside of a store), you might love this article on Googie architecture from the NYTimes.

  • This little website aggregates livestreams of stray cat feeders in Japan :’) (yes, it’s as cute as you think it is)

I give away a $1500 grant to artists once a year but want to help you find funding opportunities all the time. It can be hard to find opportunities that seem interesting and also reasonable (I don't personally think it's a great use of time to apply to some global program with 400,000 other applicants). Here are some with that in mind:  

Atlanta folks: 

I wanted to let you know that the Fulton County Public Art Futures Lab has opened their call for applications, and if you needed a sign to apply then please consider this That Sign. I loved being in this program in 2023, I made some really meaningful art and connections, and would strongly encourage you to apply if you do something in the realm of arts and tech. If you’re like “I’m not sure if my project would be a good fit,” then reply to this email and ask. I’d be happy to talk more about it. Applications close February 7th.

ADDITIONALLY, applications close on February 5th for this paid internship at Public Art Futures Lab and the Environmental and Sustainability Program at Fulton County Real Estate and Asset Management Department. These 12-week paid programs ($8,000 stipend) provide hands-on experience in arts and technology education, community engagement, and curriculum development.

And one more thing for Atlanta nonprofit founders: applications are open now for the Chick-fil-A Accelerator in partnership with Plywood People. You do have to be the founder or ED of a 501(c)(3), but you have the opportunity to join a 12-month cohort for training, development, and networking (and I think funding, too).

Upcoming Grants & Residencies – February 2025 Deadlines

Grants

  • Virginia A. Groot Foundation Grant ($20,000 - $60,000)
    For artists in ceramic sculpture or diverse sculptural mediums.
    Deadline: Feb 1 | Apply Here

  • Café Royal Cultural Foundation – Visual Arts (Up to $10,000)
    For visual artists.
    Deadline: Feb 3 | Apply Here

  • Café Royal Cultural Foundation – Literature (Up to $10,000)
    For fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry writers.
    Deadline: Feb 3 | Apply Here

  • South Arts: Cultural Sustainability ($50,000)
    For arts nonprofits, fiscally sponsored groups, private entities, and tribes.
    Deadline: Feb 5 | Apply Here

  • Southern Prize & State Fellowships – Poetry
    For poets in the 2025 cycle.
    Deadline: Feb 12 | Apply Here

Residencies

  • Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC)
    3-12 month residencies for artists in wood, glass, metal, fiber, and clay. Includes a $1,000 monthly stipend & studio access.
    Deadline: Feb 1 | Apply Here

  • Watershed Summer Residency
    Ceramic artists receive uninterrupted studio time in Edgecomb, Maine ($25 application fee).
    Deadline: Feb 1 | Apply Here

As always, please tell me if you participate in any of these so we can cheer you on!

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Hey! Thank you for reading. It means a lot to have this email in your inbox.

New this month:

A totally optional paid tier where you tell me you want to get cool stuff in the mail too!

  • What will it be? I don’t know yet. But I have some ideas and this tells me how many things to make or order.

  • When will it happen? When there is something cool to send. Here’s what I’ve sent to newsletter subscribers in the past:

Ridiculous interactive board game postcards that use AR

Silly bumper stickers (and other stickers from other artists)

Issues of Unfolded, my quarterly-ish newspaper about creativity