During my two months traveling in Central Europe this spring, I found a way to make art without holing myself up in the Air BnB: I cut silhouettes! The sabbatical offered a great opportunity to hone the skill while meeting locals and fellow travelers. It was also a great host gift for those who we visited! I ended up cutting 44 silhouettes, which you can see on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/mkehoss/
Fun fact: I discovered, quite by accident, that when you iron a receipt, it turns dark gray or black! I used only receipts as my silhouette material, instructing recipients that, if it ever fades, they can just iron it again!
Well before arriving in Graz, Austria, I had discovered Uptown Art and reached out about a collaboration. I never heard back, but still felt like a visit would be worthwhile. Andreas welcomed Kaveh and I, giving us a tour of the gallery and inquiring about our travels. After I showed him my website, he invited me to work on papercutting at the gallery as a visiting artist!
Culminating my micro-residency, I left behind a small piece from my nascent Sewervenir series, featuring the Graz panther on a manhole cover. This piece will be on commission at Uptown for a year, and we will see where else the relationship goes!
