May 12, 2020
This spring, Amy Huser earned her Master of Fine Arts in studio art with an emphasis in painting. During her time at Wichita State, Amy served on the Student Government Association and as the graduate advisor for the ShiftSpace Student Group. She is the ADCI/Harvester Arts Launch Artist-in-Residence at Harvester Arts, and this fall she will teach art classes at WSU and Butler County Community College.
The title of my thesis show is “Casually Not Okay,” so that’s kind of how I’m doing. I’m grieving not having the graduation ceremony that we would normally have, but people’s health is obviously more important than that. I’m juggling those feelings.
With all the craziness that came with this semester, my first focus was finishing school. Now applying for jobs is my focus. I am open to moving anywhere, as long as it is not freezing cold. I have been looking at adjunct positions to get my foot in the door.
I have been doing a lot of dog sitting. Daily life right now is sort of learning a new normal, as most of us are. But after three long years of grad school, I realized my body had felt the stress the whole time. Even during breaks, you feel the stress of the next semester and the preparations you need to make. Having some time to relax from that is definitely welcomed. I was ready for it. I have been sleeping much better, so that has been nice.
I have been looking into nutrition to balance all the years of stress that added up. That’s the only new thing I have introduced. That’s something I worked on while training for my marathon this year, but I wasn’t able to put as much time into it between runs and school. I actually cooked yesterday and I felt like such a chef. I keep getting inspired by watching cooking shows.
Because of financial reasons, I had to move into my parents’ house for a few months. I was moving at the end of April, two weeks after having unexpected foot surgery. Right now I am kinda couch surfing with my parents. I am grateful that they live in town and I am able to do that. It’s not ideal, but it works for now. It gives me sort of a buffer until I find something new.
Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art, 2020
Thankfully, I was able to finish my thesis work before fully moving, but right now my floor loom is pushed up in a corner next to all my boxes. It’s pretty big, so I need a studio space, which I am looking for over the summer. I want to set that up and get back to the full-sized weavings. Right now, my work is dictated by size restrictions. I definitely want to get going on the large loom again. I want to get back into the process.
I will be continuing the thesis project for a long time, until I complete the concepts present in the work. (Insert link to exhibition page) I am doing some studies with a cricket loom, which is a little lap loom. I am not in full swing right now because I need a little bit of a relaxation period.
I have definitely realized I put a lot of value in how productive I can be, as though my worth is based on how much I can produce. During this time, I’m realizing the value of rest, whether that is rereading the Harry Potter series or learning about nutrition or sleeping. I’m giving myself more room to not be so hard on myself. That’s why I didn’t pressure myself to complete the goal I set with my thesis exhibition before I graduated. The whole process of my thesis work is spilling into my life, and it has been beautiful.
I came into grad school feeling so lost. I wanted to pursue art, but I didn’t know anything else. There’s a lot of things, like gallery work, that I did because of the great people involved. My community has helped me so much these past three years, so I’m excited to plug into the community wherever I end up next.
Graduation isn’t the end of my art making by any means — it’s a springboard for the future, so I’m excited about that. But it feels surreal to be completing a crazy, fast-paced time in my life.
Pandemic Portraits is a collaboration between the Wichita State ShiftSpace Student Group and the School of Art, Design and Creative Industries. Originally intended to document how members of the Wichita State art and design
community are coping and creating during a global pandemic, the project has expanded
to reflect on more than one ongoing crisis.
The structure of Pandemic Portraits is inspired by the exhibition and book To Survive on This Shore by photographer Jess T. Dugan and social worker Vanessa Fabbre.