Exhibition at Other Nature, .02 Nov .12

Posted here are a fey photos from my PJ's Pussies exhibition at Other Nature!  I have sold two pieces already, and on Saturday night I got inspired to start doing much larger work.  Now to find space and funding...

The Last Cats

These are the latest kitties!  Please visit Other Nature and see my work, up until January 2nd.  The Opening Party is this Friday.  Go to my website for details!

Crowdfunding in Germany, not as easy as Kickstarter

I have started a crowdfunding campaign on Startnext, the German Kickstarter, to help me with the costs for my PJ's Pussies exhibition at Other Nature (Mehringdamm 79 10965 Berlin) and I have finally reached the financing phase! 
If you've used Kickstarter before, you know that the platform is relatively user-friendly and autonomous.  You put everything up all at once, you link it to your Paypal account, they approve it, and you're good to go.  Not so with the ever-bureaucratic German culture.  I swear, this place is impossible!  Here are the steps I had to go through to get this campaign up and running.

1) Put photos and English Language description of campaign online.
2) Get email encouraging German version. Robert translates everything.
3) Register with Fidorpay, the bank that is connected to Startnext.
5) Have technical difficulties with Fidorpay.  Need to call and see what the problem is but have to wait until native German speaker is available during bank hours to make phone call.
6) Work out technical problems.  Send in PostIdent (special form, requires me to go to post office with my passport and proof of address)
7) Find out something is wrong with my PostIdent, have to do annoying post office trip again.
8) Make HORRIBLE video where I ask people to donate to my campaign.
9) Wait several days for my Startnext campaign to be activated for finance phase.  Accidentally send out email saying that folks can support my campaign early.  Am embarrassed.
10) Email Startnext several times to try to get account activated.  Wait.
11) Call Startnext.  Luckily the person on the phone speaks English.  She tells me I can add days to my account since I have not started the financing phase yet.  I do.  Then she starts the financing phase for me.

And after 2 days, I am more than halfway to my funding goal!  Honestly, I am hoping to exceed my funding goal because I asked for the bare minimum and that was before I knew that I would have to provide refreshments at the exhibition and also get my sewing machine fixed.  So, if you can, slip me a few Euros, will you?  You'll be rewarded with lovely gifts and undying gratitude.
Also, if you can't support my project financially but would still like to let me know you care, you can become a fan of my project by registering with Startnext.de.  Becoming a fan is free,and you can register with your facebook account!  
If you live in or near Berlin, I'd love to see you at the opening.  The official invitation for the opening is here.

 
 

Cats! Cats! Cats!

A few weeks ago I had a photo shoot of my and my artwork, which I'll be exhibiting at Other Nature in Berlin from November 2nd to January 1st.  Pieces will be 25€ or 40€ for a pair.  This work very underpriced considering the amount of care, detail and time put into each figure, but I really would like it to sell.  If you would like to own your own piece, contact me and I can make one especially for you.

I am looking into getting some postcards and stickers printed also and have applied for a very small grant to help me cover these costs.  If you feel the urge to support the arts, and get a free postcard and some free stickers, please consider hitting the donate button on this page.

And now, photos!

Language Mistakes

The every-growing family of cats!

I used to be such a regular blogger!  But lately I've been so busy I can hardly chain a sentence together.  Since I last wrote, I taught a six-hour clown intensive and had a small, non-speaking role in a film.  It's nice to get paid!  Other then that, it's been me, the sewing machine, and the hopes that my art will sell.  In a few hours, I'll have a photo shoot of me and my work with Nathan Wright at Cozmic Photos. Nathan is a really nice and non-sleazy individual.  If you're in Berlin and looking to get some high-quality photos taken, give Nathan a call.  I suggest him!
I'll be sure to post the best pictures from today here on the blog.
It's come to my attention that I have not been writing at all!  What a shame!  It used to be something I was so good at.  But now I don't find the time, dear audience, to share with you the incessant ticking of the white plastic clock in this German kitchen, or the children's temper tantrums that ricochet from the yard below up the walls to my 3rd story window. 
But I'll share a brief story with you now.  (Before you read this, you should know that in German, the vowel set "ei" is pronounced like the English "I," whereas "ie" is pronounce like the English "ee.")

A few days ago, while walking down Badstrasse in Wedding, I saw a sign at a produce stand: Feigen , 3 Stuck 1€. (Translation: 3 figs, 1€) Yummy! I held out a Euro and said to the produce man, "3 Fiegen, bitte!"
Robert mumbled "Feigen," under his breath.
"Oh!" I turned bright red, because what I had said sounded an awful lot like Ficken.  (Look it up.) "Feigen!  3 Stuck Feigen, bitte."  I could hardly look the young man in the face as he handed me my fruit, for with my mispronunciation, I had just requested this man to do an incredibly intimate thing to me. 3 times! For 1 euro! Oops.

Wedding

Wedding

Wedding

Chained to my sewing machine

I know I haven't updated in awhile.  It's not that I've forgotten about you all, or that I don't care.  It's just that I have become a workaholic.  There's the online TESOL course, that will certify me to teach English as a foriegn language anywhere in the world (including Berlin!)  This course is kind of dull and time-consuming, but I believe it will pay off in the end.  I've been at it for just a few days over a month and am almost half done. 
And then there is the art.  I have my first public exhibition on November 2nd! (Details at www.harveyrabbit.net) While the exhibition is still over a month away, I have a photo shoot with a professional photographer on September 25th, so I am trying to finish the majority of the work by then.  I've been pretty much living behind my sewing machine.  It makes me really grouchy at times, this pulling 10 and 12 hour days with the hope (but not the gaurantee) that my work will sell.  But I also find great fulfillment in actually turning out a physical product.
Yesterday, I took a break in the afternoon to hang out with Robert.  We on my bed talking.  "Ich liebe dich," I said to him.  (It means "I love you" in German.) He looked at me sweetly and then corrected my pronunciation.

Beautiful Prague and No More Trust In the System

Welcome to Prague.  This is what's in front of the National Museum.

This is the National Museum.  It's a beautiful old building.  It's closed until 2015 for renovations.  Bummer.

Sporilov, a different Prague then you read about in the tourist books.

Robert and I went to Prague on Monday to meet my old friend Buffy, who was visiting a friend there for two days and had volunteered to haul my lime green hardshell suitcase across the Atlantic for me.  We used airbnb.com to rent a beautiful studio in Zizkov for two nights and Robert bought our roundtrip tickets on Berlin Bus Linien.  The bus ride there was quite nice.  The bus had WiFi, comfortable seats and a toilet on board.  The only stop before ours was Dresden, so the ride was a mere 4 and a half hours.  At the bus station, I changed currency, Robert bought a toothbrush and we took a short bus ride to our apartment.  Buffy, who has known me since I was 19, was there waiting for us and took us out to a delicious dinner of Budweiser (it is originally a Czech beer and it is QUITE light, bubbly and delicious) and Czech food.  I had Knedlicky, a traditional Czech dumpling and a pile of various meats. Buffy ate something that looked like spring time and Robert ate two steaks.  We three talked for a long time about, well, everything!  It was really wonderful to connect with someone who has known me so long and to introduce her to my new life.  Thanks for being you, Buffy.

 The above video is this automatic toilet cleaner at a restaurant that Robert and I went to.  If I hadn't already taken care of my business, this thing definitely would have scared the crap out of me.

The next day I contacted Pavla, who I became friends with when we worked in a collaborative team at Cesta as part of the 2007 Waste Festival.  Pavla could not meet us until 5:30, so Robert and I had a day of wandering, beer drinking and eating and then met Pavla at a metro station.  We took the tram out to Sporilov, which is on the outskirts of Prague and quite different from the urban landscape we had been swimming in for the past 24 hours.  Pavla took Robert and I on a marvelous walk around Hamersky Lake with her dog Fruktas.  We went to a really beautiful Biergarten and had delicious Czech beer (Robert had wine) and food.  Mmm, knedlicky and pineapple chicken.  We continued our walk at dusk, attempting to go to a wine cellar on the other side of the lake, but when we got there it was closed.  So we kept walking.  We came across these crazy murals that Pavla said were painted by high school students and had a quick photo session, then went to some pub that was right next to a playground.  As an American, this type of thing always makes me go, "No way!"  I mean, we have to put our booze in a plastic bag when we take it outside.  And drinking on a playground?  For shame!  But it makes sense.  Your kids want to play, you want to drink beer, and now you can spend quality time with your children while relaxing after work.  Everyone gets what they want.

Pavla and Robert in Sporilov

Sporilov. If I where going to live in Prague, I wouldn't mind living here.

***I feel it is important to note that Czech beer has a low alcohol content, so you can drink a lot of it and still function reasonably well.  It is also cheaper than sparkling water in some instances.

Thomas, Pavla's partner, came to meet us as the pub was closing their outside seating.  We walked towards a restaurant that was next to our bus stop, where we sat and of course drank more delicious, sparkling Czech beer.  (It really is the best.)  After much talk we said goodbye and Pavla promised to come visit Berlin sometime soon.  It is really cool to be closer to her.  We have seen each other twice this year already!

Sporilov

Fruktas tries to see what the yellow letters say

Art from trash in Sporilov

Sunflowers in Sporilov

Hamersky Lake, Sporilov

The bus ride back to Zizkov was uneventful, but when we got off the bus we could not find our street.  After asking several really nice people with varying English language skills for directions, we finally did arrive home safe and sound.
The following day we slept in, went out for a late breakfast of eggs, fried cheese and sausage with some vegetables thrown in for good measure, took a short walk and returned our guest apartment to it's original order.  We got to the bus station at Florenc early, so decided to get some coffee at the only place around, McDonald's.

This pretty much sums up how I feel about McDonald's. Thanks, buttcrack man!

Here is where the story turns.  Remember how early on in the story, I had said that Robert bought our round trip bus tickets online from Berlin Bus Linien?  Well, he did, and we got to Prague just fine.  For this journey outside of Germany, Berlin Bus Linien had partnered with Eurolines.  So we go to the Eurolines Bus that will take us back to Germany, and the bus driver says, "Sorry, the bus is full.  You're not on the list."  I wave the tickets in his face.  "You're not on the list.  You have to take your complaint to the German bus company.  You must buy new tickets."
"When does the next bus leave?"
"Tomorrow."
At this point, I admit I flipped out a little bit.  A lot of little tiny annoying things have been going wrong for me.  First, Air Berlin lost my luggage for 4 days.  Then, my birth certificate that, all in all cost about $100 to get and send via USPS Express Mail, was lost.  DHL, supposedly a very good delivery service, just straight up LOST my mail and USPS sent me a letter saying that they had no idea where it was, either.  Isn't the reason that you pay the extra money to get a tracking number attached to your post so it doesn't get lost?  And now, the bus tickets that Robert already paid for were no good!  I was beginning to feel cursed.  I tell you, I have positively no more trust in the system.  And I'm not talking about the government.  I'm talking about trusting someone who works for an airline, a postal service, a bus line, to do their job.  No more trust. 
Robert goes to the Eurolines counter to try to figure out what's happening.  Evidently, no one gives a shit that we have tickets because we are "Not on the list."  The bus pulls away and I let out an audible squeaking scream of frustration.  I probably threw something, too.  I don't remember so clearly.  I was just livid.  Robert decides he's going to handle it.  (Have I mentioned I love Robert?  He is often my hero.)  That's when we meet Mandude.  Mandude is some pretty, jockish-looking German dude of mixed ethnicity with dark skin.  He doesn't speak a whole lot of English and refuses to talk slow enough for me to understand.  If I had been by myself, it would have been a whole different story of him trying to "hey Baby" me with his macho-maleness.  Robert, who wants to be friends with and help everyone (he reminds me of my father sometimes) suggests we go find some internet access somewhere and hunt for a rideshare, including Dudeman in our plan.  We can't find anything.  Also, there are no trains until the next day.  I go to the bus station office and approach the Student Agency counter.  "Do you have anything going to Berlin tonight?"  I explain my story about how Eurolines has left us in the cold.
"There is one bus at 11:00 tonight," the blond 20-something man behind the ticket counter smiles.  He is our beautiful angel savior.
"How many seats available?"  I brace myself to hear 'only one.'
"33," says the angel.
"Moment."  I gasp breathlessly, running back to the bus station cafe as if my toes are on fire.
Robert says yes.  Dudeman follows my back to the ticket counter.  I buy two tickets.  Dudeman buys one.
We have five hours to wait and I have a big, green piece of rolling luggage, so we hang around the station.  Unfortunately, Dudeman hangs out with us.  He basically occupies my traveling companion the whole time.  Talking in only really fast German about some music festival, not letting Robert get a word in edgewise, asking no questions, and completely ignoring me.  Seriously, this guy was an ass.  I tried to understand what he was saying for awhile before I just decided to read my book.  For 5 hours.  I go to the train station once to use the toilet and get Robert and I something to eat.  I don't want to be rude and unfortunately this Dude man seems to be part of our group now, so I buy him a sandwich, too.  They are only 45 crown, which is less than 2€.  Sometimes I am too nice.
At 10:30 we go over to the platform and wait for our bus.  Dudeman sees some chick he wants to talk up and quickly abandons us.  Thank god.
10:55 and no bus is at the platform.  I am wondering if a bus will show up at all, especially because it is still not there at 11:15.  "No more trust."  I mumble.  "No more trust."  For some reason, this cracks Robert up.  I feel like Gene Wilder in the Producers when they find out that "Springtime for Hitler" is actually a hit and he's going through all the receipts of the money they owe the stock holders and just MOANING.  I couldn't find a clip of that online, but you'll get the idea of his character from this one:

I construct a story about how no bus arrives, or when it does, they won't accept our tickets either and we will have to walk all the way back to Berlin.  Robert laughs harder.  I keep telling myself everything will be fine, but all I can see in my head is more disasters of annoyance and extreme inconvenience.  Ugh.
At 11:35 the bus FINALLY shows up!  We get on it and promptly fall asleepnot waking up until a woman comes by and says, "Berlin."  It is 4:05 in the morning.  We stumble sleepily off the big yellow bus and I notice Dudeman is chatting up the same girl from the platform earlier.  Robert says that the guy has a girlfriend in Rostock that he's having a baby with.  Real quality guy you are, Dudeman.  Robert and I head to the S-Bahn.  I come home with Robert and sleep for a very long time, so thankful to be back in Berlin.

Zizkov

Robert and the Trash. This man HATES to wear his shirt!

Fountain outside the National Museum.  Your really not supposed to stand in it, but it was SO HOT!

All the old buildings in Prague are so gorgeuos.  And then there's the new ones...

In German they are called Feuerkäfer, in Czech, I don't remember, but aren't these bugs cool?

Laundry through leaves, Prague

The art of everyday objects.  Park Bench, Prague.