I see the world as one giant piece of art. Everywhere I go; I get some sort of creative inspiration or idea. Art gives me balance and a relaxing outlet from school and my job and helps to manage stress and anxiety. Even though my art forms (painting, drawing, pottery, clay and metal work) most often come from my own inspiration and ideas, it is also very important to self-check and collaborate with others. Sometimes collaboration with other women can feel a bit critical, but if you open your mind to seeing your vision through the eyes of your peers or customers, you can either feel validated or come to realize that your vision is not coming through as intended. You can then take those recommendations or learnings and be able to tweak or recreate before the final project completion. Most of my studio art classes at Ball State University require peer critique sessions for our projects. This is where we present them to our peers and instructors who can offer insights that I take with me to my next work. The critique does not always have to be on my project to gain learnings through collaboration. I have heard a lot of great recommendations during the presentations of others’ projects which I internalize for future craft. In addition to my formal studies, I have a small business that I started in high school where I create and paint detailed, custom artificial nails. (https://www.instagram.com/shelbys__nails?igsh=Nnh1Z2czd3ZnazR0&utm_source=qr) There is no better feeling than creating custom ordered nails for other girls or young ladies and seeing them feel good about themselves when they put on the finished product. To get them to the satisfied customer stage, I must spend time with them to get to know their likes and vision for the final nail design. If I do not listen and partner with them, then the product I produce will not excite them and in turn, I will feel unsatisfied (regardless of if my final product is still good). Lastly, the support I get from joint effort is phenomenal. No one should be siloed. Teamwork has so much benefit to our personal well-being. Having a group or even just one person you can be vulnerable with can help with the mental stresses of the world today. I also very much like being asked to weigh in on others’ work. There is almost a greater feeling in helping others than getting that feedback from them. This makes me feel relied on and valuable. I am currently working to expand that work to handmade jewelry. I hope to be able to expand my collaboration through an apprenticeship with local artists so I can craft my skills and learn new or different techniques during my college years, upon graduation, and as I am entering the workforce. My lifelong plan is to own my own business as an independent artist in my current community. I will need to continue to collaborate to make this successful and this will need to be a lifelong commitment of community and peer collaboration to maintain a business and sense of self-worth. Getting this scholarship will help me be able to concentrate on my studies for completion of college within 4 years (3 years to go) instead of having to divide my time (part-time student and part-time worker) which may extend the time it takes to complete my degree. I will work to assist in my college payment of books and supplies.

I see the world as one giant piece of art. Everywhere I go; I get some sort of creative inspiration or idea. Art gives me balance and a relaxing outlet from school and my job and helps to manage stress and anxiety. Even though my art forms (painting, drawing, pottery, clay and metal work) most often come from my own inspiration and ideas, it is also very important to self-check and collaborate with others. Sometimes collaboration can feel a bit critical, but if you open your mind to seeing your vision through the eyes of your peers or customers, you can either feel validated or come to realize that your vision is not coming through as intended. You can then take those recommendations or learnings and be able to tweak or recreate before the final project completion. Most of my studio art classes at Ball State University require peer critique sessions for our projects. This is where we present them to our peers and instructors who can offer insights that I take with me to my next work. The critique does not always have to be on my project to gain learnings through collaboration. I have heard a lot of great recommendations during the presentations of others’ projects which I internalize for future craft. In addition to my formal studies, I have a small business that I started in high school where I create and paint detailed, custom artificial nails. (https://www.instagram.com/shelbys__nails?igsh=Nnh1Z2czd3ZnazR0&utm_source=qr) There is no better feeling than creating custom ordered nails for other girls or young ladies and seeing them feel good about themselves when they put on the finished product. To get them to the satisfied customer stage, I must spend time with them to get to know their likes and vision for the final nail design. If I do not listen and partner with them, then the product I produce will not excite them and in turn, I will feel unsatisfied (regardless of if my final product is still good). Lastly, the support I get from joint effort is phenomenal. No one should be siloed. Teamwork has so much benefit to our personal well-being. Having a group or even just one person you can be vulnerable with can help with the mental stresses of the world today. I also very much like being asked to weigh in on others’ work. There is almost a greater feeling in helping others than getting that feedback from them. This makes me feel relied on and valuable. I am currently working to expand that work to handmade jewelry. I hope to be able to expand my collaboration through an apprenticeship with local artists so I can craft my skills and learn new or different techniques during my college years, upon graduation, and as I am entering the workforce. My lifelong plan is to own my own business as an independent artist in my current community. I will need to continue to collaborate to make this successful and this will need to be a lifelong commitment of community and peer collaboration to maintain a business and sense of self worth. Thanks for your consideration.

I am currently attending Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana where I am working toward earning my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a possible entrepreneurial minor. I have completed my first year at BSU with a 3.50 GPA while working 3-4 days at Dollar General to assist with tuition and supply costs. With this degree, I hope to expand my art skills in multiple mediums. I am specifically drawn to drawing, painting, and pottery and hope to be able to apprenticeship with local artists to craft my skills and learn many techniques both during my college years, upon graduation, and as I am entering the workforce. I have already learned so much and also enjoy art history and have also found a new love for creating handmade jewelry. My lifelong plan is to own my own business as an independent artist in my community. Before I own my own business, I think it is important to learn from others. Every piece of artwork, regardless of the medium, tells a story and that is important to me. It can share emotions, challenges, celebrations, and transitions in life that someone can continue to look at through the years and remember what was going on in their lives when the piece was custom created. Those pieces can also be handed down among the generations of a family with pride. This is my legacy through others’ joy and ultimately what I want my artwork to lend to society. I focus on excelling academically and and I am very motivated internally to do my best in everything. I have been fortunate to have participated in the Muncie Teen Works all through high school which exposed me to different community areas and helped me foster professional and leadership skills like teamwork, empathy, confidence in self, problem solving, and conflict resolution. I have continued to build upon those valuable skills in the retail industry which will continue to strengthen customer service and business skills I will need if I own my own company. I am already an entrepreneur on a small scale and hope to own my own business in my community. I like to combine my art side with my business drive. I have had several small, self-started businesses in my youth dating back to making and selling bracelets in elementary school. Recently, I have incorporated my abilities for art in creating and painting detailed, custom artificial nails selling for Prom/occasions and still make and sell sets today. I am now branching out into jewelry. While I do like making money for my work, I really enjoyed the sense of accomplishing something that makes others happy. Lastly, I enjoy volunteering. In the past, I have volunteered at Second Harvest Food Bank but have had to volunteer with smaller community/college events due to my work schedule. I receive a sense of pride and satisfaction in volunteering and hope to continue to make time to do this throughout the rest of my life. I believe all of the above attributes demonstrate my hard work, perseverance, personal drive, desire to challenge myself, and giving back to others which are key attributes that will make me the most successful in college and beyond. Getting this scholarship will help me be able to concentrate on my studies for completion of college within 4 years (3 years to go) instead of having to divide my time (part-time student and part-time worker) which may extend the time it takes to complete my degree. I will work to assist in my college payment of books and supplies.

I see the world as one giant piece of art. Everywhere I go; I get some sort of creative inspiration or idea. Art gives me balance and a relaxing outlet from school and my job and helps to manage stress and anxiety. Even though my art forms (painting, drawing, pottery, clay and metal work) most often come from my own inspiration and ideas, it is also very important to self-check and collaborate with others. Sometimes collaboration can feel a bit critical, but if you open your mind to seeing your vision through the eyes of your peers or customers, you can either feel validated or come to realize that your vision is not coming through as intended. You can then take those recommendations or learnings and be able to tweak or recreate before the final project completion. Currently at Ball State University, my studio art classes often have a critique session for our projects. This is where we present them to our peers and instructors who can offer insights that I take with me to my next work. The critique does not always have to be on my project to gain learnings through collaboration. I have heard a lot of great recommendations during the presentations of others’ projects which I internalize for future craft. In addition to my formal studies, I have a small business that I started in high school where I create and paint detailed, custom artificial nails. (https://www.instagram.com/shelbys__nails?igsh=Nnh1Z2czd3ZnazR0&utm_source=qr) There is no better feeling than creating custom ordered nails for other girls or young ladies and seeing them feel good about themselves when they put on the finished product. To get them to the satisfied customer stage, I must spend time with them to get to know their likes and vision for the final nail design. If I do not listen and partner with them, then the product I produce will not excite them and in turn, I will feel unsatisfied (regardless of if my final product is still good). Lastly, the support I get from joint effort is phenomenal. No one should be siloed. Teamwork has so much benefit to our personal well-being. Having a group or even just one person you can be vulnerable with can help with the mental stresses of the world today. I also very much like being asked to weigh in on others’ work. There is almost a greater feeling in helping others than getting that feedback from them. This makes me feel relied on and valuable. I hope to be able to expand my collaboration through an apprenticeship with local artists so I can craft my skills and learn new or different techniques during my college years, upon graduation, and as I am entering the workforce. My lifelong plan is to own my own business as an independent artist in my current community. I will need to continue to collaborate to make this successful. Thank you for your consideration, Shelby Brannon Sbrannon9045@gmail.com

I see the world as one giant piece of art. Everywhere I go; I get some sort of creative inspiration or idea. Art gives me balance and a relaxing outlet from school and my job and helps to manage stress and anxiety. It is hard to narrow it down to just one art medium in which I will make a huge difference to the world as the possibilities are endless if you are flexible and have the drive. There is something exciting and fulfilling in the art that is done by hand where no two completed works are the same! I work in different mediums like painting, drawing, and pottery, and more recently have fallen in love with creating abstract art forms and working with metals as an undergraduate at Ball State University. Drawing and painting were my first passions driving me to pursue my Fine Arts degree in Studio Art. I am inspired by things I see in the community, on campus, in videos, and in museums. I paint furniture, canvas and wood paintings, and I even have a small business that I started in high school where I create and paint detailed, custom artificial nails (https://www.instagram.com/shelbys__nails?igsh=Nnh1Z2czd3ZnazR0&utm_source=qr). There is no better feeling than creating custom ordered nails for other girls or young ladies and seeing them feel good about themselves when they put on the finished product. My art gives me satisfaction, but I enjoy it more when it allows others to also see the world differently. One painting attached to this submission is a night sky inspiration from the few times we could see the Aurora Borealis this far south. I also love mushrooms. No two on our country property is quite the same and I find it fascinating how they can persevere and grow anywhere. This has inspired me to use them in my pottery and other creative paintings. I also have attached a photo of my first necklace. I had to make my own jump rings and chandler chains along with cutting stars out of bronze and the moons out of nickel. I found that I really enjoyed using a coping saw to hand cut the patterns from sheets and using a manual stamping method. Lastly, I attached a picture of my “monster girl” which was a self-portrayal project using clay, fabric, elastic, ribbon, cardboard and acrylic. I hope to be able to apprenticeship with local artists to craft my skills and learn many techniques both during my college years, upon graduation, and as I am entering the workforce. My lifelong plan is to own my own business as an independent artist in my current community. Before I start my own business, I believe it is important to learn from others, and I am very flexible to do so which will pay off in the long run. Every piece of artwork, regardless of the medium, tells a story and that is important to me. It can share emotions, challenges, celebrations and transitions in life that someone can continue to look at through the years and remember what was going on in their lives when the piece was custom created. Those pieces can also be handed down among the generations of a family with pride. This is my legacy through others’ joy and ultimately what I want my artwork to lend to society. Thank you for your consideration, Shelby Brannon

I am currently attending Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana where I am working toward earning my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a business or entrepreneurial minor. I have completed my first semester at BSU with a 3.73 GPA while working 3-4 days at Dollar General to assist with tuition and supply costs. With this degree, I hope to expand my art skills in multiple mediums- especially those that my small high school does not offer. I am specifically drawn to drawing, painting, and pottery and hope to be able to apprenticeship with local artists to craft my skills and learn many techniques both during my college years, upon graduation, and as I am entering the workforce. My lifelong plan is to own my own business as an independent artist in my current community. Before I own my own business, I think it is important to learn from others, and I am very flexible to do so which will pay off in the long run. Every piece of artwork, regardless of the medium, tells a story and that is important to me. It can share emotions, challenges, celebrations and transitions in life that someone can continue to look at through the years and remember what was going on in their lives when the piece was custom created. Those pieces can also be handed down among the generations of a family with pride. This is my legacy through others’ joy and ultimately what I want my artwork to lend to society. I have focus on excelling academically and am an avid reader. I create my own art through different mediums as an outlet for my creativity and am very motivated internally to do my best in everything. I have been fortunate to have participated in the Muncie Teen Works which has exposed me to different community areas and has helped me foster my professional and leadership skills like teamwork, empathy, confidence in self, problem solving, and conflict resolution. I am currently an entrepreneur and hope to own my own business in this community. I like to combine my art side with my business drive. I have had several small, self-started businesses in my youth dating back to making and selling bracelets in elementary school. Recently, I have incorporated my abilities for art in creating and painting detailed, custom artificial nails selling for Prom/occasions and still make and sell sets today. While I do like making money for my work, I really enjoyed the sense of accomplishing something that makes others happy. Although I did not have a formal business plan, I have created some standard work with each business and always learned something new from each adventure. Lastly, I enjoy volunteering. At Second Harvest Food Bank I assist with gardening, sorting, and participating in a Tailgate to distribute that food as well as in volunteering at other smaller groups in need, I receive a sense of pride and satisfaction in volunteering and hope to continue to do this throughout the rest of my life. I believe all of the above attributes demonstrate my hard work, perseverance, personal drive, desire to challenge myself, and giving back to others which are key attributes that will make me the most successful in college and beyond. Getting this scholarship will help me be able to concentrate on my studies for completion of college within 4 years instead of having to divide my time (part-time student and part-time worker) which may extend the time it takes to complete my degree. I will work to assist in my college payment of books and supplies.

I see the world as one giant piece of art. Everywhere I go; I get some sort of creative inspiration or idea. Art gives me balance and a relaxing outlet from school and my job and helps to manage stress and anxiety. It is hard to narrow it down to just one art medium in which I will make a huge difference to the world as the possibilities are endless if you are flexible and have the drive. There is something exciting and fulfilling in the art that is done by hand where no two completed works are the same! I work in different mediums like painting, drawing, and pottery, but I do find painting the most relaxing and it was the spark to ignite my interest in earning my bachelor’s in fine arts- studio to begin with. I am inspired by things I see in the community, on campus, in videos, and in museums. I paint furniture, canvas and wood paintings, and I even have a small business that I started in high school where I create and paint detailed, custom artificial nails. I cannot always paint outside due to our Indiana weather, but I do get inspiration from walking on our nature trails around our property and our country block. One painting attached to this submission was a night sky inspiration from the few times we could see the Aurora Borealis this far south. I also love mushrooms. No two on our property is quite the same and I find it fascinating how they can persevere and grow anywhere. As I continue my schooling, I hope to one day be able to draw and paint the birds and animals I see as well.

I am currently attending Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana where I am working toward earning my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a business or entrepreneurial minor. I have completed my first semester at BSU with a 3.73 GPA while working 3-4 days at Dollar General to assist with tuition and supply costs. With this degree, I hope to expand my art skills in multiple mediums- especially those that my small high school does not offer. I am specifically drawn to drawing, painting, and pottery and hope to be able to apprenticeship with local artists to craft my skills and learn many techniques both during my college years, upon graduation, and as I am entering the workforce. My lifelong plan is to own my own business as an independent artist in my current community. Before I own my own business, I think it is important to learn from others, and I am very flexible to do so which will pay off in the long run. Every piece of artwork, regardless of the medium, tells a story and that is important to me. It can share emotions, challenges, celebrations and transitions in life that someone can continue to look at through the years and remember what was going on in their lives when the piece was custom created. Those pieces can also be handed down among the generations of a family with pride. This is my legacy through others’ joy and ultimately what I want my artwork to lend to society. I focus on excelling academically and am an avid reader. I create my own art through different mediums as an outlet for my creativity and am very motivated internally to do my best in everything. I have been fortunate to have participated in the Muncie Teen Works which has exposed me to different community areas and has helped me foster my professional and leadership skills like teamwork, empathy, confidence in self, problem solving, and conflict resolution. I am currently an entrepreneur and hope to own my own business in this community. I like to combine my art side with my business drive. I have had several small, self-started businesses in my youth dating back to making and selling bracelets in elementary school. Recently, I have incorporated my abilities for art in creating and painting detailed, custom artificial nails selling for Prom/occasions and still make and sell sets today. While I do like making money for my work, I really enjoyed the sense of accomplishing something that makes others happy. Although I did not have a formal business plan, I have created some standard work with each business and always learned something new from each adventure. Lastly, I enjoy volunteering. At Second Harvest Food Bank I assist with gardening, sorting, and participating in a Tailgate to distribute that food as well as in volunteering at other smaller groups in need, I receive a sense of pride and satisfaction in volunteering and hope to continue to do this throughout the rest of my life. I believe all of the above attributes demonstrate my hard work, perseverance, personal drive, desire to challenge myself, and giving back to others which are key attributes that will make me the most successful in college and beyond. Getting this scholarship will help me be able to concentrate on my studies for completion of college within 4 years instead of having to divide my time (part-time student and part-time worker) which may extend the time it takes to complete my degree. I will work to assist in my college payment of books and supplies.

I plan on attending Ball State University to earn my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a Business minor. With this degree, I hope to expand my art skills in multiple mediums- especially those that my small high school does not offer. I am specifically drawn to drawing, painting, and pottery and hope to be able to apprenticeship with local artists to craft my skills both during my college years and upon graduation and entering the workforce. I ultimately would like to own my own business as an independent artist in this community not only selling my own art but being a place for others to share their craft and to possibly offer pottery classes to those who want to learn to create great art for themselves. During my high school years, I have focused on excelling academically and am an avid reader. I create my own art through different mediums as an outlet for my creativity any chance I get. I am very motivated internally to do my best in schoolwork, my art, and my jobs. I have been fortunate enough to have participated in the Muncie Teen Works the last 3 years which has exposed me to different community areas and has helped me foster my professional and leadership skills like teamwork, empathy, confidence in self, problem solving, and conflict resolution. I am a natural leader and am courteous and extremely considerate of others’ feelings. I hope to take these skill sets and incorporate them in my future business. I am an entrepreneur and definitely hope to own my own business in my community one day. I am very artsy and have a creative side that is natural and relaxing to me. This is how I balance out my hard work (school and job) and to help me manage stress. I also like to combine my art side with my business sense. I have had several small, self-started businesses in my youth dating back to making and selling bracelets in elementary school. More recently, I incorporated my abilities for art in creating and painting detailed, custom artificial nails for girls for school events like Prom. While I did like making money for my work, I really enjoyed the sense of accomplishing something that made others happy. Although I did not have a formal business plan with these ventures, I did create some standard work with each business and always learned something new from each adventure. With my nail business, I learned a lot about presentation, having a good business sense so that word of mouth was the only marketing I needed, and learned about ordering supplies for the demand. I also found that I was not charging quite enough to come out ahead in the beginning but began adjusting the product amount based on how much time and skill I had to incorporate in the nail set completion. I think some of what I learned in this business will go a long way to creating a larger self-owned business in the future.

My creative side in the field of arts is how I balance out my hard work (school and job) and to help me manage stress. It is hard to narrow down to just one art medium in which I will make a huge difference as the possibilities are endless if you are flexible, but there is something exciting and fulfilling in the art that is done by hand where no two completed works are the same. This could be in a painting, drawing, pottery, or even in the small business I had in high school where I created and painted detailed, custom artificial nails for girls for school events like Prom. I have been accepted to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana where I will earn my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a business minor. With this degree, I hope to expand my art skills in multiple mediums- especially those that my small high school does not offer. I am specifically drawn to drawing, painting, and pottery and hope to be able to apprenticeship with local artists to craft my skills and learn many techniques both during my college years, upon graduation, and as I am entering the workforce. My lifelong plan is to own my own business as an independent artist in my community. Before I own my own business, I think it is important to learn from others and am very flexible to do so which will pay off in the long run. Every piece of artwork, regardless of the medium, tells a story and that is important to me. It can share emotions, challenges, celebrations and transitions in life that someone can continue to look at through the years and remember what was going on in their lives when the piece was custom created. Those pieces can also be handed down among the generations of a family with pride. This is my legacy through others’ joy and ultimately what I want my artwork to lend to society.