I survived the first day of class!

[This is a comic I did for the CD cover of identidades.04 (I have to redo it for a square format but the basic idea remains intact), whose theme this year is Identity and Memory.] I had major anxiety before tonight's etching class at MGC. I'm a little perturbed by my extreme anxiety in general, but I'm happy to report that class went just fine. Everyone seems nice and it will be a pretty unpressured environment. I like that there's a huge range of people, from hardcore artists to people who have never made art in their lives. I now have a tiny 3x4" copper plate wrapped in newspaper, beveled and covered in ground, that I need to compose a drawing for. It's funny to start a class again after being out of that mentality for a while - picking a shelf, figuring out what supplies to buy, etc. The commute over was horrid b/c of my anxiety (I jumped off of a train I should have stayed on and ended up riding three more and running to class only to be early/on time).

In other news, I just found out that an artist I met online through Paulette is starting a project that I find interesting (go to her website for the contract that lays out the terms of the performance):

Dear Comrades,

I would like to announce the commencement of my new performance work entitled, das Deutschsprachliche Projekt: I think I’m turning German, I think I’m turning German, I really think so...

This notice also serves as a warning to all. For a period of 3 months, beginning the 1st of February at 6pm and ending on May 1st, at 6pm 2008, I am only allowed to communicate in German, a language I have only been learning for only a year and a half. Please see my website for more information: www.katehers.com

Best,
kate hers, Berlin, Germany 2008

That salt girl was right

I've been cutting words again, and this time in more forgiving material. This is something Elizabeth would say a lot, which I loved. I could use some clarity right now: I found out this morning that I won the scholarship at Manhattan Graphics Center! 3.5 months of workshop hours, a tuition waiver for a 12-week etching class, and a small materials stipend. Then, a few hours later, I find out that someone has cancelled at Ucross and they want me, as an alternate, to step up and take a residency in the spring. Yikes! This freaked me out so much that I immediately took a hot shower. Then I emailed back & forth w/a Jentel buddy (she had my studio the month before mine and we have never met in person, but she is a rockin' mail artist) for advice. No solid verdict yet, but I am leaning towards sticking it out in NY.

I find it hilarious that I was being showered with rejection letters and now it's pouring the opposite. I can only hope that the good fortune continues. I broke a wishbone w/myself and it said that great things are in store (I didn't cheat b/c my left, non-dominant, hand won). I also did an hour of yoga and visited my old music teachers to ask for referrals. 2008 is already kicking my ass! In a good way.