File Oct 30, 1 46 41 PMClaudia Bach presents her segment on Communications and Marketing to the EDGE class in Port Townsend, Oct 2015. In 2012 I was selected to participate in Artist Trust's EDGE Professional Development Program for visual artists in Port Townsend: an eight-day residential program for about a dozen Washington state artists. For just over a week we met at Fort Worden, in an old schoolhouse classroom with professional artists and educators from all over the state to learn in-depth issues related to the business of being a visual artist. After a week and nearly 50 hours of instruction, we each presented ourselves and our work in a public event - in a kind of final exam.

Now, three years later, I am coordinating and presenting to a new group of visual artist students. We've been living and studying here at Fort Worden, in a CENTRUM residency program, now for seven days. The final presentations are tonight, and our wrap-up session is tomorrow morning. We've worked hard to get to know each other, worked hard to refine how we present ourselves as artists, worked on websites, massaged artist statements, reviewed tax practices and intellectual property practices. We met several professional artists, gallery owners and curators, and have slept very little! It's been a challenging and transformational week.

As a leader and instructor, I've learned a ton. Plus, today's students are tomorrow's peers. And each time I review this intense curriculum, I learn more. If you don't know about Artist Trust and are interested in the arts in Washington state, take a look at their programs.

The students in this track were:
Roldy Ablao
Debbi Commodore
Heather Cromwell
Savvy Dani
Patric Donohue
Malayka Gormally
Tom Hausken
Julz Ignacio
Beth Kehoe
Ray Mack
Tara McDermott
Katie Miller
Janis Miltenberger
Eric Olson
Ann Quinn
Rebecca Seymour
Sarah Beth Smith
Susan Walker

Congratulations to them all on their EDGE graduation!