Goshen printmaker Ida Mae Short, winner of a Little BIG Idea Grant 2.0 award, is using her funds to create a printmaking event to bring the community together
When the Ku Klux Klan scattered recruitment flyers around Goshen last fall, Ida Short knew she couldn’t stand by and do nothing.
In November, Short was one of many locals who showed up to a hastily assembled community meeting in the Maple City following the incident. As residents discussed and reacted to the flyers they discovered on their cars, lawns, and doorsteps, Short was inspired to do something to counter the hateful messaging the flyers conveyed. Now, as a winner of a Little BIG Idea Grant 2.0 funding, Short is using the funds to host a Community Print Event on April 26 from 2 to 5 p.m. at her printmaking studio in Downtown Goshen.
A practicing artist with a degree in printmaking from Goshen College, Short is investing her $500 micro-grant award into the event to peacefully counter negative messaging and extol the virtues of printmaking for good. The event allows Elkhart County residents to learn about printmaking and print signs of their own with positive and welcoming messaging. Pieces can be hung in windows, inside offices, next to desks, or outside homes. The event is free and open to the public.
“I’m grateful for the award,” said Short. “I love hosting events at my studio, and I feel this is a good way to show people how printmaking can be positive, rewarding, and unifying. I feel that print can connect folks and spark creativity. This medium can be something that you immediately see results of what you’ve done, and that’s exciting. I have seen faces light up, young people and older folks, when they pull a print for the first, second, or twentieth time. It’s a magical medium that is exciting and fun for adults and kids alike.”
An initiative of Vibrant Communities of Elkhart County and the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, the Little BIG Idea Grant encourages residents to submit creative, fun, and effective ideas for community events, projects, and gatherings that promote quality of place in Elkhart County. All ideas are welcome for consideration by the committee, with awards ranging up to $500. Fun and festive submissions that celebrate artistic creativity and offer the potential to increase unity and send positive, long-term ripples throughout the community are especially encouraged.
“This is another great example of what makes the Little BIG Idea Grant, and Elkhart County overall, so unique,” said Bil Murray, the program’s project manager. “Elkhart County is an area that is driven by unity. As a printmaker, someone who toils in fine art and messaging, Ida felt very strongly about wanting to use her medium to show the good that printmaking can do. She is an Elkhart County resident using the tools she has to improve her community, and we are honored to award her with grant funding. We encourage all Elkhart County residents to submit their ideas, and it starts by asking yourself: what skills do I have that can encourage positive change and make Elkhart County better?”
The funds will help Short source ink for the event at her studio, at 213 S. Main Street in Downtown Goshen, and purchase 350 sheets of green energy-produced paper from French Paper Co. in Niles, Michigan. Any extra funds will be allocated towards more color options for kids.
Short has volunteers lined up to assist with the event and has volunteers to translate for Spanish-speaking participants, but she is used to getting things done on her own. The Goshen College graduate has quietly—and single-handedly—organized a bustling print studio over the years with ten presses. Her studio hosts the Goshen Printmakers Guild and is outfitted with letterpress equipment and several machines, some of which are rare and old and require a steady and intricate maintenance routine on Short’s part.
“Ida’s dedication to her craft, and her dedication to helping others learn about printmaking is inspiring,” said Terry Mark, Director of Communications and Public Relations for the Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “This grant program exists to help Elkhart County residents like Ida feel like they can bring a good idea to life. So many people in our county have unique skills, and they have great ideas, and they want to do things to make the community better and bring our people together. Sometimes they just need some funding to get things off the ground, and that’s what the Little BIG Idea Grant program is all about.”
Residents of all ages who are interested in the Little BIG Idea Grant program can review the application form and submit their ideas via the program’s application page.
Ida Mae Short is using her Little BIG Idea Grant 2.0 funding to host a free, community printmaking event. The event, a peaceful counter to the recent dispersal of KKK flyers in Goshen, is open to the public and offers the chance for people of all ages—and from all backgrounds—to learn about printmaking and create their own positive and welcoming pieces for display.
