Wednesday, January 30, 2008

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

Thursday, January 17, 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.