Considering how many hats she wears, it’s unclear exactly
what stood out in Michelle Ellsworth’s repertoire. But something caught the
attention of United States Artists (USA),
a nonprofit that has selected the Boulder artist to receive a $50,000
unrestricted grant.
USA calls Ellsworth
a “dancer, choreographer, video maker, writer, cartoonist, and web designer,”
to which one could add professor and co-director of CU Boulder’s theater and
dance program.
Ellsworth will receive a grant Monday for her work. She is
one of 50 artists nationwide to receive the annual award.
Even months after learning she’d won — she found out in
September — Ellsworth seems bewildered by the award.
“I feel very humbled and grateful,” she says. “I’m very
shocked.”
She says the award means more than just money to her.
“It’s not just
about the money. Someone’s saying, ‘I like what you’re doing. Do more.’”
Doing more might be
difficult.
“If I could buy sleep units with the money, that’s what I would do,”
Ellsworth says. She’s doing quite a lot already, she says, to constantly
improve her art. She says she was “constantly unsatisfied” with her work before
she decided to put the work first.
“At the end of the
day, I could look myself in the mirror and say I did everything it asked,” she
says. “I try to be very devout about my pieces.”
This dedication
means lots of late nights — remember, she’d trade the money for sleep if she could
— but it also means producing art she’s proud of.
Since sleep units
are still in research and development, Ellsworth does have a few backup plans
for her award.
“I’d like to help my son go to college,” she says. “And maybe
put some into a retirement account.”
Ellsworth can relax. She can stop cutting her own hair. But unless her next piece paradoxically
calls for her to take her foot off the gas, she won’t be letting up anytime
soon.
Read more about
Ellsworth’s work in the upcoming Dec. 8 issue of the Boulder Weekly.
