Residency: Week 7

I am unsure how weeks are now flying by. I am 90% recovered from being initiated into NYC …aka having my fragile immune system overloaded. With how the first 1.5 months of my residency unfolded, I realized I would be unable to accomplish my goals within the remaining time. I was given the opportunity to extend my residency. I am here now, and what I can give myself is to maximize my artistic development, growth, and to be able to have time to successfully accomplish what I am setting out to do during residency. I am very grateful for Tina and Tim at AlterWork Studios for their communication, support and just being really awesome humans. This did mean though, that I had to make a very difficult decision to postpone my solo exhibition in Victoria, BC at Arc.Hive. I was really excited and looking forward to it. I am very appreciative of their communication and support too! I’m looking forward to holding a show there in the near future :)

The collab with Niklas, amazing oil painter, is going super well and I am feeling excited for the finished piece! The process itself is my favourite part of the entire collab. Brainstorming, idea bouncing, working independently and then coming together to visualize. What a special unexpected part of this journey. More on this collab in a separate post soon. His exhibition is at the beginning of November! If you are reading this and in NYC, come through!! His opening reception is on Friday November 6th 2027 at AlterWork Studios. Check out his work —> Niklas Dorsch

There is a moon jar master-in-training at the studio. I admire his determination and discipline to throwing moon jars, specifically to meet his personal goals. It is very inspiring! We are also collaborating! I am honoured to carve one of his large porcelain moon jars (this will be a surprise gift - how sweet is that).

In the studio, I attempted (and “failed”) 2 days of throwing larger composites. The first day was because of not having thrown anything of that scale in a couple weeks, so my body-brain was out of touch. The second day, I was able to wedge and throw the pieces! But then received disappointing news which impacted my emotional state. Despite feeling …a lot, I continued to create. But what transpired was something that looked “angry - sad”, as my friend Brian shared. It was a visual representation of how I was feeling. I was tempted to keep it as more of an expressive piece, maybe as part of the process, even though it is not representative of the work I intend on exhibiting. After asking other artists for their perspective/feedback, I ultimately decided that it would be too much of a space commitment and that it served its purpose to help me process.

Another slight shift unfolded, where I am allowing myself/giving myself permission to take guilt-free days off when my brain/body requires it. I can be pretty stubborn and push beyond, which can be great! and also unhealthy. What this looks like for me is carving out a day and/or time to live/experience life outside the studio …which feels almost unnecessary because I love being at the studio - but I get it. Hanging out/having conversations with new friends, bringing myself on artist dates to museums, going to local shows… it fosters a different facet of inspiration, motivation, and energy.

Rolling into Week 8, I will be continuing to throw. I’m also continuing to struggle with sleeping through the night. I can feel it compounding.