This proposal was noticeably much longer than the 100–200 word limit* we have set in the guidelines for grant proposals; so much so that the BPAF grant committee nearly cast it aside immediately. Fortunately, one member made a motion to “at least glean it.” After a quick perusal, we composed the following list of choice words:

• “misc tiny combustables”
• “neighborhood”
• “The Forged City”
• “transformed by fire”

The BPAF grant committee vote was unanimous with most agreeing that the quoted words fit perfectly with the Balsa Man event, and one member who voted yes purely on the quality of the paper stock (Strathmore Imperial Watercolor 140lb Cold Press).

As a result, the Black Pebble Arts Foundation is proud to announce it’s first tiny art grant award of $5 to Nara Brados for her project Tiny Bed of Roses!

*UPDATE TO GRANT GUIDELINES: As a direct result of this proposal, the BPAF has now revised their grant proposal guidelines and the word limit is now 100–150 words in order to reduce eyestrain and work place injuries.

The Black Pebble Arts Foundation is open for tiny art grant proposals!

Last year, of the 33 tiny artists who applied for tiny art grants only one was turned down—I can’t remember why they were declined but I’m sure the BPAF committee had a good reason. And yet we couldn’t help but notice that there were a number of tiny artists who brought tiny art to Balsa Man yet didn’t submit for a tiny art grant. We encourage all tiny artists to submit grants for this years Balsa Man for there is no better way to be inspired and to inspire others than to see your awarded grant enshrined on the Balsa Blog!

Proposals should be sent to the BPAF on a postcard with a 100–200 word description and/or sketch of your tiny art project. The BPAF committee prefers to receive postcards in the mail; however, we do accept scanned postcard proposals or digital artwork. Please contact gro.namaslabnull@tra for the mailing address. For more details on how to submit for a grant is on the Tiny Art & Grants page.

And remember the tiny art budget depends on you! Donate to the BPAF to support tiny artists!

And yes Balsa Man 2010 Patchs & Stickers are in production!

We here at Balsa Man Headquarters (BMHQ) have been previously pondering about the potential problem for pantsless partyers and pontificating on proposing protocols to prohibit this practice. Luckily, Puny Pants Posse, aka The Society of Pants for the Wee, have come to the rescue. Here is their latest statement and grant request:

Pants Are Necessary Things - Seriously!

We, the Citizens who think Pants Are Necessary Things, Seriously! (PANTS) are concerned that tiny-person nudity is an epidemic sweeping the nation, causing wanton licentiousness, suggestive hoopla, blindness, and a corruption of the morals of our most precious asset, the children! Some little people have been known to lie around for days, weeks, nay sometimes months completely naked! I shudder to think what sort of lascivious thoughts might come unbidden to the unformed and malleable mind of a child who unwittingly happens upon such an obscene display! With just a tiny $2.69 donation for a tiny cause, you can ensure that such a scene will never mar the dignity and minuscule majesty that is Balsa Man! PANTS will fight tiny-person pantslessness with several specially-developed tools, including our PANTS Trebuchet and our PANTS Cannon, designed to render the pantsless incapable of exposing their hairless, bland crotches to the unguarded eyes of innocents. We will provide pants to any tiny-person without them, and will “convince” those who might be obstinate with the use of our arsenal.

In the name of decency,

Signed, The Puny Pants Posse, aka The Society of Pants for the Wee, aka What Part of Pants Don’t You Understand!

At first, the BPAF art grant review committee was hesitant to award monetary funds to “theme camps,” lest these “theme camps” become popular and get out of hand. However, we can all agree that pants are a necessary thing, and the word alone makes one giggle. Puny Pants Posse: APPROVED. pantspantspants!

YOU CAN PANTS IF YOU WANT TO – YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR PANTS BEHIND

And if you do happen to leave your pants behind, the Puny Pants Posse would also like to invite you to “The Party In Our Pants” which will take place at Balsa Man, from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Pantsocolodas will be served – BYO tiny reusable cup! Come admire the wall of tiny pants (pantitos?) and fire a pair of slacks from the pants trebuchet!

Gnomes, paper doilies, Bambi with an upside down Hebrew letter tav on it’s forehead, and nigh indecipherable psychotic chicken scratching. Oh and something about a Temple of Pet Peeves, so they might be building a temple… Or they might not.… We’re really not sure. Hell we’re not even completely sure that Sophia & Ray are completely sane.

Anyway, we had Joseph check the Balsa Man bylaws and it doesn’t say anything about how many temples Balsa Man is supposed to have. So, Balsa Man 2009 might go down as the year of the dueling temples: The Temple of Minor Irregularities Vs. the Temple of Pet Peeves.

Congratulations Sophia & Ray! The BPAF has granted you a tiny art grant of $2 for your Temple of Pet Peeves or whatever it is you are planning on building.

Now remember we gave you a grant so uh… if the gnomes tell you to do anything bad to us—or our pets—don’t listen to them!

This completely beautiful and well designed grant proposal came to us all the way from Minneapolis, MN! Sadly, Cali Mastny won’t be able to bring her Tiny Star Tree to Balsa Man as it’s a bit far—she’d only able to make it to the regional event in Black Rock Desert.

We wish her well in the dust of the desert and the BPAF is very proud to award her $5 for to make her Tiny Star Tree a reality!

We all love Michael Christian’s work here at the BPAF headquarters. Unfortunately, his artwork is often far too large and we sadly had to deny his art grant proposal to this year’s Balsa Man. We asked if he could reduce is vision, but he decided to bring his work elsewhere.

As unfortunate as this is, we did not fret long for in the mail we found this joyful grant proposal!

A homage to bit Michael Christian and Cute Overload! I didn’t know that was even possible! Our dispair dissipated, everyone on the BPAF grant review committee instantly raised their hands in favor of awarding Rachel and her art project Fleck a tiny art grant of $5.

UPDATE

Rachel has already crafted her adorable Fleck which can be seen here: Fleck on Flickr