2024 Merit Scholarship Recipient: Katie Weston

Describe the work you submitted for merits.

This was my first time doing merits and my last chance before I graduate this fall, so I wanted to make sure I submitted the best work I’ve made and show the range of my studio practice. I displayed photo documentation of my performance pieces accompanied by a QR code that people could scan to watch the video documentation of my performance art work. I also installed 2 painting series that I’ve been working on, one of the paintings from the series I am working on currently is in the Made at MCAD show!

Why did you decide to come to MCAD?

I graduated high school in 2018 and I started college that fall. The university I attended was not the right fit for me and after 3 semesters I decided to take some time to reflect on if I even wanted to continue to pursue a degree. I left school thinking I’d never go back. At the start of 2020 I began my time away from school, the lockdown that began 2 months later was a blessing in disguise. I started to make art every single day and after a while something clicked, art wasn’t just my lifelong hobby, art is apart of who I am. I decided that MCAD would be my best chance at making my dreams a reality.

What are your plans for your senior year? And beyond?

This is my first semester of my senior year here and the ideas for my senior project are becoming more and more clear as I work through them with faculty. Part of my idea for my project is coming from an installation I did earlier this semester where I filled a room with beach balls! I am applying to the 148 student gallery with the hopes of transforming the space into an immersive playscape. My Art in Community class with Avigail this semester has had a huge impact on what kind of an artist I want to be for myself so I can show up for my communities and serve them. As a transfer student it was hard to try and find my place on campus during my orientation because I was with first year students. It is important to me that I become the kind of person I needed during different parts of my life. I’m applying to become a peer mentor this fall and I hope that if I am chosen I can lead a transfer student orientation group and help those students establish a sense of community and belonging.

Favorite thing about college life (so far)?

The studios! The sense of camaraderie is palpable in them!

What inspires you?

For me, art has become a way to help me position myself in the world, I am inspired to create paintings, installations, and performances that can help me blend the real world with the imaginative worlds I often find myself thinking of! I’m inspired by surrealist and humorous art similar to the style and work of Mika Rottenberg. Radical empathy and radical generosity are at the forefront of what is driving my practice right now.

Do you have a favorite piece you've made? Describe it!

One of my favorite pieces from this year is a painting of my pet fish Brenda in a coffee pot! It’s a 3x3 foot oil painting in a fauvist style. What most people don’t know is that Brenda actually lived in that coffee pot, her bowl broke one day while I was cleaning it!

Anything you're obsessed with at the moment?

Ultra Strength Tiger Balm, Hotdogs, and Neon Colors

Lastly, do you have a favorite question we didn't ask? Tell us and answer it!

What do you call a lazy baby kangaroo?

A POUCH POTATO!