Joya: AiR / Kathy Bussert-Webb / USA

Participating in the Joya: AiR residency changed my practice. I went from having every machine and tool in my U.S. studio to improvising, e.g., making paper with no blender, mould and deckle, or fabric (for blotting and couching), and using only a gallon of water total (3.8 liters) to conserve Joya resources. The texture and found objects on the Joya-made paper were more compelling! And since I had no sewing machine, I hand-stitched on paper, fabric, and sticks. Having access to every comfort in my U.S. studio made me complacent, so Joya pushed me to reveal my mark-making, making me feel vulnerable - naked, yet free as an artist. This opening in tools and materials also shifted my didactic work on eco-feminism and veganism to abstraction and playfulness on the same themes. I thank Simon and Donna for their hospitality, rides, conversations, input, and divine food, as well as Joya residents and hiking buddies for risk-taking with me. Last, I want to thank nature for being so generous.

Kathy Bussert-Webb

Dr. Kathy received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in studio art in May 2022. Kathy was a fellow at the Chautauqua School of Visual Arts (Chautauqua, NY), Azule (Hot Springs, NC), Art Farm (Marquette, NE), Elsewhere Studios (Paonia, CO), and Joya. She will complete a September 2023 national park residency at the Homestead National
Historical Park (Beatrice, NE). She has exhibited in several national/international juried and non-juried shows and has initiated several socially engaged art experiences with children and adults. Her solo shows include her MFA exhibition at UT-Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV, March 2022), the Art Hub (May 2022), and the Brownsville Performing Arts Academy (June 2022). She published her art and poems/essays about it in U.S. peer-reviewed journals and two art reviews and an interview in GlassTire, a Texas art magazine. Dr. Kathy holds a Ph.D. in
Language Education from Indiana University, Bloomington. She is Professor Emeritus in UTRGV’s Bilingual and Literacy Studies Department, a Slemp Endowed Chair of Community Engagement, and a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Honduras). In May 2023 she walked 200 miles in nature on the Camino Portuguese (from Porto) and received a Compostela certificate in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Simon Beckmann19 June 2023