Hola from Mexico

All year I worked hard not only on my last year of grad school work, but also on the sculptures that would eventually become my culminating body of work. (www.tanyamoniquejewlery.com) Along the way, I was thinking about my future as an artist, and how I wanted to develop beyond grad school. This involved applying to various residencies and jobs. I had many interviews, but nothing panned out. One morning in March I woke up to an email that said, "Congratulations, YOU'RE GOING TO MEXICO!" I was ecstatic. It was really the residency that I most wanted, and that I had applied to it last year and did not get it.

Well, I'm here! I arrived on May Day without any complications. It was a smooth ride, and I am incredibly grateful to be here. I'm in Lake Chapala, which is in the state of Jalisco in southwest Mexico. I am in a very large apartment with my own studio with a view of Lake Chapala, a destination for vacationing Guadalajaran's, ex-pat's, and retiree's from America and Europe! My spanish is getting better and the people are friendly. One of the other residents, Karen Cohen and I, braved the public bus to Ajijic--Ah-hee-hic, which is the next town over to explore galleries, amazing food and coffeee! Ahh, the coffee. It is absolutely amazing!

Chapala is a bustling little town that wakes up at the crack of dawn. There's fireworks that go off intermittently, trucks with very loud sound systems playing all kinds of music, construction and improvements happening on our street which will culminate in a beautiful brick walkway that is an extension of the malecon (boardwalk along the lake). There is an election that is happening, so there are trucks with loud sound systems belting out propaganda, and people are parading for their favorite candidates. We happened to arrive on a holiday weekend that celebrates Mexican Labor day (all weekend), so I'm curious what the actual work week looks like.

I hope to post daily, so come by and check out my pictures and adventures in Mexico!