1. Identify a professional artist in Seattle—someone outside the Cornish community—that you are interested in learning more about. The person may be from your own artistic discipline or from another. (Make use of your Cornish resources by consulting your teachers, your department chair, and other faculty members for advice and referrals.)
2. Contact the artist and ask if they’re willing to participate in an interview about their life and work as an artist. (Keep trying until you find someone who is willing to participate.)
3. Make an appointment to interview him/her for about 30 minutes. (A day or two before the interview, call or email to confirm.)
4. Before the interview:
· Find out basic information about the individual’s artistic work by exploring the resources available in the Cornish library, visiting the artist’s website, and/or searching online (google.com, seattletimes.com, seattle-pi.com, seattleweekly.com, thestranger.com, etc.).
· Prepare a list of interview questions. Your questions should be open-ended (i.e., asking for more than a yes/no response). Consider asking about the artist’s working process, influences, artistic values, what inspires them, how they survive, how living in Seattle plays a role in their work, etc. (Come up with questions about topics that are of genuine interest to you.)
· Consider whether to record the conversation, simply take notes, or do both. Choose the approach that will allow you to be most present in the conversation. (If you plan to record, be sure to ask permission and double-check your equipment ahead of time.)
· A day or two before the interview, remind the artist of the appointment by phone or email.
5. At the interview:
· Be respectful of the artist’s time—begin and end the interview punctually.
· Ask questions and listen actively to the responses. Ask follow-up questions, if appropriate.
· Ask the individual if they have any advice they would offer to young artists just getting started in the field.
· Thank the artist for participating.
6. After the interview:
. Send the artist a thank you note.
. Freewrite your observations and reflections on the interview as soon as possible, preferably immediately afterwards.
. Type up your notes from the interview. If you taped it, listen to the recording and transcribe key quotations.
. Review your notes and consider what is most important for you to share about the artist. What perspective can you offer? What did you learn that was of particular interest? What does a person need to know in order to have a feeling for the artist's work?
7. Write a profile (2-3 pages) of the artist and his/her work.
. Include key quotations from your interview with the artist.
. Make use of vivid details and specific concrete images to communicate a sense of the artist and his/her work.
· Double-check the facts by referring back to your notes from the interview, consulting your research, or contacting the artist for verification.
· Read your profile aloud. Does it flow? Is it clear? Does it communicate a vivid sense of the artist? Revise as needed.
· Share your profile with another student or a tutor in the Writing Center. Invite feedback and listen to responses. Revise as needed.
· Type your profile, double-spaced with one-inch margins. At the top of the page, write your name, the date, “Seattle Arts Ecology,” and “Artist Profile.” Proofread for spelling mistakes, grammar errors, typos, etc. Make corrections as needed.
· Save a copy of the paper on your computer, and print a copy to bring to class.
8. Prepare a presentation about the artist based on your profile (5-7 minutes). Include visual images or other elements that will help to convey a sense of the artist’s work.
Due Dates
· Identify the artist you plan to interview by Friday, September 28
· Schedule the interview by Wednesday, October 3
· Preliminary research on the artist by Friday, October 5
· Develop interview questions by Monday, October 8
· Complete interview by Friday, October 12
· Write up notes from interview by Monday, October 15
· Write first draft of artist profile by Friday, October 19
· Revise artist profile and prepare class presentation by Monday, October 22
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