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Landing + Exploring
I landed in Budapest, Hungry, midday and in a blanket of hot humidity. Outside the airport, I waited for my brother to find me, knowing that his tall frame, covered in brightly colored clothes, would be hard to miss. Finally, I spotted his smiling face peeking out over the other bus passengers, and I jumped up, wiggling into a sweaty hug. We took a cab back to Art Quarter Budapest, where I would be spending the next 3 1/2 weeks with Mark and mounds of clay. My first impressions of Budapest were concrete, graffiti, traffic, open space, industrial, ornate, and historic buildings. Our cab driver was stern and unsmiling, scolding Mark to keep his knees from touching the back of the seat, a near impossible task for a man of his height. Mark mouthed to me, "he is a relatively friendly man." I would soon find out that under an external stoic Hungarian face, most of the people I would meet were warm and inviting and curious.
Once we arrived to AQB, I was whisked around on a tour of its maze-like grounds. Building A, Building D, "the nest," the garden, the under construction brewery, the laundry machine, my little room with a big window, a gallery, another gallery, a shared kitchen and social area. AQB unfolded around me: a tumbling maze of artist studios and residences, a cafe and chocolate factory, welders and builders and creatives. There are mines and caverns, gardens and rooftops, stairwells and tiny doors, and elevators.
As I unpacked my little suitcase, I was fully aware of how much freedom and time were in the 3 1/2 weeks ahead of me. At home, I run my small business, I am a mother, a partner and an artist. Yes, I am still those things here, but from afar, I recognized the space that was forming in my brain. I had a cushion forming around the day-to-day of life in Portland, that was letting my list-checking brain relax. I felt my curiosity unfurl. I felt aware of an openness in front of me, and I was curious where it would lead. A good friend told me: trust the process, fall forward into your creativity and trust your practice.
Enticed by my brother, I spent the first few days following him around like a puppy, exploring the spaces at AQB and the heart of Budapest. We went to artist studios, and art shows. I was inspired by the gorgeous, the weird, the confusing, and the breathtaking. I felt like I was in a washing machine of creative output and intake. My mind was flooded with ideas, and at the same time drawing a blank for how to move forward.
We spent the first week deciding on a location for our show together, settling on an industrial, open court yard. The courtyard butts up to a gallery space on one side and has a tall concrete wall on the other. You have to enter the court yard down a narrow path of tall brick walls, tucked down among a planted area. It seems a bit like a secret area, a place a curious wanderer could accidentally find. Making the decision to use the court yard for the final show helped me start to form an image of our project in my mind. It gave me a literal foundation to build on. We both loved that court yard has gritty, but also organized, linear feeling that will be fun to play with. Also, because we plan on breaking most of what I create during the show, there is also the logistics of cleaning up, which may prove easier to do outside!
After deciding on our location, I was ready to get clay! We borrowed an electric van from Wolfie (the mastermind behind AQB), and drove it north to a clay store recommended by another artist. Battling traffic, honking and horrendous heat along the Danube River, we finally made it to the clay shop. I wandered the warehouse, poking bags of clay stacked to the ceiling, in awe of the various colors and textures. Because I won't be firing the objects I am making, I was more focused on the raw clay color as I explored. I decided on a beautiful black/grey and a yellow with a lot of grit in it. We loaded 200 kilos of clay into the van and headed straight to Obi, the Home Depot of Budapest. Mark picked out the plywood he needed, and got them cut in half to the dimension necessary for his part of the installation. We managed to drop all 8 sheets of plywood in a chaotic parking lot mess while loading the van, but ultimately made it back to AQB, anxious to unload and get a snack!
I used the common artist space to initially start experimenting and making. The different clays have been amazing to work with. One of the clay bodies is very yellow, and I have loved making huge forms with it. It is gritty, pliable, and sturdy. Realizing these big forms will be hard to transport, I moved my working area to the outside patio where our show will be. But working outside has been tricky with these super hot days. The clay is drying very fast, and sometimes cracking. I put down a huge tarp in the adjoining gallery space and moved my work inside. This solution was amazing, especially when we had a few days of rain. My work was protected!