The Maynard Dixon Country Emerging Artists Scholarship
The Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts announces the 16th annual Maynard Dixon Country Emerging Artists Scholarship. This scholarship provides an opportunity for serious young artists to get exposure to the world of professional fine art and to gain valuable insights from working artists during a visit to the historic Maynard Dixon property in southern Utah during the annual Maynard Dixon Country art show and sale. Scholarship recipients will enjoy lodging and meals in Mt. Carmel, Utah, during the show in early Sept., and some of the nation’s best artists will be on hand to provide casual instruction to the Emerging Artists.
Who is eligible?
High school students who will be enrolled for the entire 2014-2015 school year in any public or private high school in the state of Utah. Students may not be scheduled to graduate from high school before the end of the spring term in 2015.
What is the deadline?
Completed application materials must be received by the Thunderbird Foundation no later than May 12, 2014. Three Emerging Artists and one alternate will be selected and notified by June 2, 2014.
What does the scholarship entail?
To be selected as an Emerging Artist at Maynard Dixon Country is quite an honor. The Emerging Artists Scholarship program coincides with Maynard Dixon Country, an annual art show and sale held at the home and studio of American artist Maynard Dixon that feature up to 35 of America’s best fine artists. Emerging Artists will spend much of the day on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014, receiving instruction from and creating art alongside some of the nation’s best artists as they work on location in and around Mt. Carmel in southern Utah, near Zion National Park. Thursday evening, each Emerging Artist and their chaperone will join these invited artists for an intimate casual dinner. On Friday, Emerging Artists will receive professional instruction in the morning. They will attend the annual Maynard Dixon lecture in the afternoon. After this, Emerging Artists are highly encouraged to venture out again to create art alongside the artists in the show. Friday evening, the Emerging Artists attend the Preview for Maynard Dixon Country. Emerging Artists attend the wet painting show Saturday morning, where the artists in the show sell works they have created alongside the Emerging Artists during the week, on location. Saturday evening is the gala and awards ceremony for the show, and Emerging Artists will be recognized at this time. Emerging Artists gain a rare insight into the workings of a serious national art show and get the opportunity to work alongside these professional artists and receive criticism and praise from them. This experience is invaluable in developing a young artist’s goals as an artist and in applying to art schools and colleges. Each Emerging Artist and their one adult chaperone receive lodging and evening meals in Mt. Carmel during Maynard Dixon Country, Sept. 3 -7, 2014. They also gain entrance to all of the events during the show, including the gala, preview, and intimate dinners that are closed to the public on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Emerging Artists and their chaperones are responsible for their transportation to and from Mt. Carmel, Utah, daytime meal expenses, and bringing art supplies for the paint-out. If selected, Emerging Artists must commit to attending all Maynard Dixon Country activities, Sept. 3 - 7, 2014; this time typically conflicts with the beginning of most school schedules, so Emerging Artists must clear their absence from school for this purpose.
How many scholarships are given?
Three Emerging Artists are selected each year, with one alternate who will attend Maynard Dixon Country in the event one of the three selected cannot attend.
Who is the ideal applicant?
The scholarship is designed for the serious high school art student who plans on becoming a professional fine artist as their career choice. The most competitive applicants are artistically talented and should have a few years of formal art instruction under their belt, which can include private instruction or art classes in school. An independent spirit, good attitude, and a serious drive to learn more about the world of professional fine art is a must. Experience creating art outdoors, on location—a technique sometimes referred to as plein air—is a plus, as is experience creating art involving landscape, still life, or wildlife as subjects, as this is the subject-matter most available during Maynard Dixon Country. Emerging Artists may work in any medium, so long as it can be done outdoors and on location; most often, these mediums include oil, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, and pencil.
How are Emerging Artists selected?
A committee of professionals involved in the business of art (including professional fine artists and art dealers) will select the Emerging Artists and one alternate for 2014. Emerging Artists are selected based on the quality of their artwork, the clarity of their vision to pursue fine art as a career, and the strength of their recommendation letter(s). Likewise, the committee will not discriminate based on gender, race, class, disability, religion, sexuality, or what high school the applicant attends in its selection of Emerging Artists or the alternate.
About the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts and Maynard Dixon Country
The Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering Maynard Dixon’s legacy by preserving his estate and educating the public about his immeasurable contributions to American art through educational tours of his home and studio, internships for working artists, workshops, artist retreats, and full-day art camps for people with special needs. Born in 1875, Maynard Dixon lived and traveled throughout the American West, drawing and painting its virgin landscapes and native peoples. In 1939, Dixon and his wife Edith Hamlin built a summer home and studio in Mt. Carmel, near Zion National Park in southern Utah. Many of Dixon’s artist friends found retreat and inspiration there, as Dixon did. Since his death in 1946, Dixon’s art, both his oil paintings and his popular illustrations for books and magazines, has become symbolic of the glory of the old American West. In the spirit of what Maynard Dixon found in Mt. Carmel at the end of his life, the Thunderbird Foundation holds an annual art show and sale at the property, Maynard Dixon Country, which has grown into one of the most important gatherings of art and artists in America. Visit
More information
For more information or questions regarding this application process, call or email Bruce Bell at (801) 598-0376 or .
Maynard Dixon Country Emerging Artists Scholarship Application
Please type or print clearly. Attach additional pages to answer all questions if more space is needed.
I. Basic Information
Name: ______Date of Birth: ______
Address: ______
City: ______ZIP: ______
Home Phone: ______Cell Phone (optional): ______
What high school do you attend? ______
If selected as an Emerging Artist, will you and an adult chaperone be able to attend ALL activities during Maynard Dixon Country (Sept. 3 - 7, 2014)? YES NO
II. Art and Academic Background
What is your current GPA (on a 4.0 scale)? ______What grade are you in? ______
List the art courses or any private art instruction or workshops you have participated in, including any courses or instruction currently underway or planned for this summer:
______
______
What kind of art do you most enjoy creating? Specify the subject-matter you enjoy most, the mediums you usually work in, and anything else that is pertinent to understanding the kind of art you most often create.
______
______
List any art shows you have participated in, any art awards you have won or been nominated for, and any other accomplishments.
______
______
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Maynard Dixon Country Emerging Artists Scholarship Application
(Continued)
III. Goals and Vision
a)What do you hope to be doing after high school to develop yourself as a professional fine artist? (300 words max.)
b)Do you think it is important for people to learn how to create art or learn to appreciate art? Why? (300 words max.)
c)Why do you think you deserve to be an Emerging Artist? (300 words max.)
IV. Examples of Artwork
Please enclose at least two (2) images of artwork that you are most proud of. You may include as many as five (5) images. All work that you submit must have been done by you and only by you—it must be your work. Images should be photographs of work you have done, and you can submit them as images on a CD (i.e. as JPEG files or other types of photo files), or you can include computer print-outs of digital photographs, or you can include actual photographic prints. Include the title, medium, and size of each artwork submitted. We will only be able to return CDs orphotographs if you include a return envelope (postage paid) and a request for your images back. We will use your images for selection purposes only and will not publish or distribute these images.
V. Letter(s) of Recommendation
Send at least one (1) letter of recommendation, but not more than two (2) letters, to the address below or include them sealed in an envelope when you mail your completed application packet. Letters of recommendation may come from any non-family member who can testify to your ability and seriousness as an artist. The best recommendation letters will probably come from your art instructors, but other academic or work references will be accepted.
VI. Sending in Completed Applications
When your application is complete, mail it to:
Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts
Attn: Bruce Bell / E.A. Scholarship
PO Box 58523
Salt Lake City, UT 84158
Contact Bruce Bell at (801) 598-0376 or with any questions.
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