Mickis artist residency at the Fundacion Gruber Jez in Mexico, funded by the kansas city artists coalition.

hello everyone. just a little note to let you all know what i am up to down here on the yucatan peninsula. i am doing a 3 month residency at the fundacion gruber jez in cholul, yucatan in mexico. i feel very fortunate to have this residency funded by a generous lighton international artists exchange program grant from the kansas city artist coalition. you can find out more about both programs through their respective websites, www.fundaciongruber.org and www.kansascityartistscoalition.org.

the foundation is located in the little town of cholul just outside of the big city of merida. i love living in a little village, but it is nice to have access to the conveniences of a big city when needed. the residency program has a sculpture facility which is equipped for ceramics, bronze casting, welding and any other material one would like to work with. i came here with a big ceramics project in mind, but after arriving and realizing the opportunity to learn about different materials like crystal resin and fiberglass in particular...my plans have changed. gerda gruber, one of the founders of the foundation is a sculpture artist and also a teacher who is very generous with her time and knowledge. i made my first polyester mold and have been casting crystalline resin forms. my plan is to combine clay forms with these other translucent materials. a whole new world of possibility is opening up. it is exciting. i am so happy to be here in mexico making work.

the program here was started by gerda and her business partner maricarmen castañera.(photo) in the way that gerda is available to help us with our studio work maricarmen takes amazing care of all of our daily necessities. she provides us with a great little apartment just down the street from the studio, a bike, (with a bell and a basket) to ride all over town, access to a car if we need to use it and countless other things. she also is very generous with her time and has a lot of patience in helping us navigate our daily adventures.

at the moment there is one other artist in residence from holland, jacomijn schellevis. she is a mixed media artist and is working on a project about the rituals surrounding dia de los muertos. she is a great artist and a really nice person and it has been really good to see her process of making work, which is so different from mine. you can view her work on her website www.jacomijnschellevis.nl

As far as the weather goes...its hot and humid with the threat of a hurricane always looming in the air. the yucatan so far has been out of harms way. it rains most days in the afternoon, which is nice because it cools things down a bit...but unfortunately it brings out my new blood brothers, the mosquitoes. besides the mosquitoes, i love all of the wild life of the yucatan and look forward to seeing more. i have been working a lot but also taking time to explore the city of merida and the surrounding ruins and caves. there is so much to see here. the history of the mayan culture is really prevalent in the landscape and in the people. i will be posting to my blog regularly so if you are interested you can check it out.

well, what else can i say...i am in heaven...i´m in mexico and making art.

i hope all is beautiful in your lives, micki


the pathway and door to the studio

and look who is always waiting on the other side of the door...nena, she wandered into the yard one day and after washing her and pulling, i kid you not, about 90 ticks off of her gerda decided she could stay.
















gerda gruber, right, and maricarmen castañer, middle, the founders of the foundation and jacomijn schellevis, left, the other artist in resident are all sharing a traditional yucatecan meal that jacomijn and i prepared.

my ceramic wall form and the very beginnings of the fiberglass preparations.

curious pancho

making a silicon mold using plasticine for my form





















pouring a crystal resin drop and drying it in the sun
















comes out a little crusty but after only about 2 days of sanding...

que bonita!

view of metals area

view of ceramic area... and my studio space

tanto and pancho making themselves at home on my studio suitcase

miguel, the jack of all trades at the studio, working on a resin piece of gerdas

gerda is head of the sculpture department at a small 5 year old university in merida, that specializes in visual arts, music, ballet and theater. she started a program where a small group of university students are able to come and work on projects at the foundation thurs, fri and sat mornings. on these days, i have the opportunity to work along side these students.

3 student from left: edgar, sandra, vanessa and miranda...not a university student, but a student none the less.

gerda with gabby

the two resident apartments with our little car out front

my side of the apartment with the beautiful garden















the street in front of our house looking both ways. i have only seen 2 cars, besides ours drive by.

my kitchen

tempermental storm

after the storm

Getting to know the neighbors

these ladies like to frequent the patio at dinner time


he sings to us at night


the guy down the street


dinner guests


this little guy came in to visit


this is the neighbor lady, she stopped to give birth to the hundreds of babies on her back


this is the family who lives across the street. if you zoom in you will see 6 family members laying out.


he is the bravest of the family, he rarely hides


but mostly they are kind of shy. he thinks i cant see him.


this little guy decided to join me in the shower

this little guy decided to join me in the shower