I acquired an internship as Monique Crabb’s studio intern after approaching her at a local art gallery and asking her if she needed an intern. She was hesitant at first but eventually came around to the idea. Monique works in a variety of mediums including but not limited to natural dye, quilting, and sculpting. While working with Monique I had the chance to help lead a natural dye and eco-printing workshop, make floral arrangement sculptures, prepare natural dye vats, apply upholstery to material, sculpt with clay, and learn rug-making.
In addition to learning various practical skills during my internship, I was also exposed to the importance of networking and working collaboratively with other artists. We attended gallery events, worked with a local farm to organize a workshop, and consulted with other artists to inquire about framing. I was able to be immersed in the social network of other artists and see them talk about their practices with one another.
The process of interning taught me the importance of writing as an artist, keeping an updated website, documenting your work, how to find and applying for grants, and it gave me a clearer vision of my possibilities post-graduation. Maintaining an art practice goes far beyond just producing work, it involves a great deal of focusing on the “business” aspect of your practice, as well as keeping up on networking while consuming new media and researching to generate new ideas.
This internship allowed me to get a general understanding of how the art gallery scene operates on a local level. I was given insight into how galleries often accept artist exhibition proposals and what that process would usually look like. I was able to see interactions during studio visits between Monique and a local gallery curator.
This internship also gave me a better understanding of a schedule an artist might follow and how that timeline stretches out over months or even years; with many short-term goals in between. The art process is heavily influenced by planning, testing, and experimenting and often seems slow but is really an accumulation of skills and knowledge.
