Spotted in: The Mission, SF
Occupation: Visual Artist
What are you up to today?
We're going for a play date [motions to her toddler daughter in her stroller]. Well, she's going to hang with her friend so I'm going to have two hours off. It's my play date too. [laughs]
So this is your usual stroll?
Yeah, I think we've been down Valencia about a million times since she was born.
And what's your occupation?
I'm a visual artist.
What kind of projects do you work on?
Well right now it's project baby, but I do installation work—paintings and murals. It's kind of like an image that rolls from a wall onto a canvas and then sometimes it becomes three-dimensional sculpture.
Is there a particular project that you've worked on recently that you really enjoyed?
The last show I took part of was just before I found out I was pregnant, and that was at . . . this is post-pregnancy brain, it takes time—it was a group show called "This Will Never Work" at Southern Exposure gallery. I showed a sculpture with a video projection. It was from a series that I did at the time called Interruption. It was a series about motion.
How did you get started in visual art?
I started studying in Warsaw, Poland and Europe and then I did my Master's and PhD in visual arts in Tokyo. And then I suddenly found myself in San Francisco!
What drew you to San Francisco?
My husband is an architect and he started working here, so we moved out here for a little bit.
What are some of your favorite places to explore in the neighborhood?
It's a little bit different with a kid I guess, so definitely coffee shops remain a top priority! [laughs] I do like Four Barrel—that's where I usually grab my coffee. And then . . . parks, bookshops, and lunch spots.
Any challenges with being a new mom and being in the neighborhood?
Oh yeah. It's loud, as everyone knows it's dirty and disgusting and that's pretty much it. Besides that, San Francisco's great for kids. There's a few new art places opening up on our route—a little bit on the other side, on Gough. I'm also meeting a lot of great moms. There's a big mom/kid community that usually starts with Jane Austin's yoga place called Yoga Tree. Everyone meets there when they're pregnant and then that continues.
And the mom groups continue on from there?
Yeah, very often!
What kinds of things have attracted your interest lately?
It's tough because I feel like I do everything halfway. I don't have the time to actually research things properly right now. I subscribe to W magazine and I get it and I'm so excited and it's like, this is my 5 minutes! And I open it and that's it, that's as far as I get! [laughs] I'm also a travel freak.
That's been your obsession?
That's always been my obsession. So I spend a lot of time just researching new places to go and plane ticket prices.
What places have been on your radar?
We're going to Europe, and we're going to try to make our way to the Venice Art Biennale and then on the way back we're stopping in New York. So that's been my latest area of research.
So the whole family is going?
Yeah, we're going to start with my daughter, and then my husband is going to join us. She doesn't know anything about it though [looks at her daughter].
She's doing great! Hasn't gotten fussy about being still.
She has been, so far. She's teething.
You wouldn't know it.
That's her toothbrush in there [points to toothbrush near her daughter in stroller].
Does that help with her teething?
She just loves brushing teeth, I don't know why. My teeth, or her dad's teeth. She just laughs when we brush our teeth.
It is kind of funny-looking!
It is kind of funny! So she got her own toothbrush. But not like a baby one, she got a real one.
What's a recent challenge you've overcome lately?
Sleepless nights, of course! I've worked on art projects, on residencies that went on for months of 24/7 work not sleeping, eating unhealthy, drinking, smoking—and I thought I was tired. But I wasn't! The reason why parents talk about sleep deprivation is because it's a real thing. So that's what we're struggling with right now. And also rent—I'm gonna say it! Rent in the city is crazy.
Who or what have been some recent inspirations for you?
I've been looking a little bit recently into textile design. We were in Australia and there was a connection we discovered between Aboriginal art in Australia and this textile company called Pierre Frey—a French one, very established. They have their new collection on Aboriginal art, so that's been kind of interesting. I'm not saying that any of my work I'll actually be taking from that, but it's just something that caught my eye.
I also wanted to ask you about what you're wearing today—you look stylish but very comfortable!
These boots are Australian, I got these from my husband for my birthday.
Very cute!
They're from an outback Australian company, R.M. Williams. These pants are Levi's—they're the Made & Crafted line. And the t-shirt I just grabbed from Century 21.
