Mimi Czajka Graminski & Bibiana Huang Matheis
Websites
mimigraminski.com
bibiphoto.com
bibiandmimifridayadventures.blogspot.com
Social Media
Instagram Mimi
Instagram Bibi/Mimi Day Memo
How would you describe your work?
The project @bibimimimondaymemo is a collaboration between two artists- Bibiana Huang Matheis and Mimi Czajka Graminski which has been ongoing for several years. This current iteration of the project started at the beginning of Covid on April 6, 2020 and we have over 100 collaborations. In Bibi Mimi Monday Memo we create collage, video, drawing, photography – whatever comes to us during that specific hour.
What inspires you?
In this project we are collaborating remotely and work intuitively during our weekly session. Our instincts are our main source. Each week it’s different and we try to remain open to whatever comes to us. We usually create work outside of our individual art practices and have found that relying solely on our intuition is a hugely enlightening and liberating experience.
Can you speak about your process?
In our original blog we describe it:
“Two artists work in their separate studios (an hour’s drive apart) during the same hour each week with the intention of ‘tuning into the same creative channel’. They don’t speak or plan beforehand and create whatever comes to them. They try to focus on their intuitions rather than their minds. At the end of each session, they compare notes on their inspiration, state of mind and work produced.”
Bibi: It is something I look forward to every Monday with Mimi and it is different from anything else I do. We meet at 10 and do whatever comes to us without our brains intervening. It’s like I become a puppet and am guided to what I’m supposed to do. It flows through whatever I create. The real magic is afterwards - to see the work side by side.
After the work is done, and we do talk, we find that the feeling of the work is related or there is a similar vocabulary of colors, lines, shapes, or materials. Each time we collaborate, we learn to be in the moment, follow our instincts, to trust and respect the process. We are always amazed at the connections which are sometimes subtle and other times very direct.
In an earlier version of the project Bibi wrote a poem each week, and this is one that describes our process:
Bibi – Mimi
Mimi – Bibi
11/2011 - 12/2012
Every Week
Mimi - Bibi
met under a tree
same time
Every Week
Bibi - Mimi
anticipate - await - a fruit of an idea
to drop on their lap
Mimi - Bibi
Bibi - Mimi
open their heart and soul
embrace whatever inspiration comes along
Bibi - Mimi
Mimi - Bibi
Inhale the idea in
see it with their clear eye
and breathe out art
same time every week
In our weekly collaboration we often find similarities in the work, the processes, thoughts, titles or recent events in our lives. Below are abbreviated summaries of many week’s observations, conversations. (As the project went on, we made fewer notes.)
Bibi-Mimi Monday Memo
April 6, 2020 to May 22, 2023
How did you become interested in art?
Mimi: I have been interested in art since I was a child where I found it to be a pleasure and a refuge. I have always loved making things with my hands, creating something where there was nothing before - sculptures, drawings, paintings, photographs. I find that many of my earliest ideas are still percolating in my work today.
Bibi: I came to art in a roundabout way. I was an immigrant and could not speak or write English so I started to doodle in class because I needed something to do with my hands. (In Maryland, at the time, there were no ESL classes for non-English speakers.) My geography teacher asked me to draw an image from a text book which was skewed, as it was on the inside bend of the book. She gave me tracing paper to do it as homework. I worked diligently on it but the tracing paper got ripped in the process. So, I decided to just draw it instead of tracing. I was surprised to learn I could draw and brought in a beautiful drawing of ancient Egyptian art. After that, everyone in school asked me to draw things - stage sets, images from biology labs etc. I was asked to copy the entire constitution which was in old English, without being able to read it. I learned that art is vital to my life and often is very meditative for me. If I’m not creating, I’m miserable. In my photography practice I feel like I get three endorphin rushes- first taking the photo, then developing it, then printing the image.
Do you have any favorite artists, movies, books or quotes?
Mimi: Some favorite quotes- (The first three are of unknown origin.)
What is for you, will not go by you.
Only you are the bearer of your stories.
Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.
The longing is the thing (we are longing for.)- Rumi
Bibi: There are too many artists that I admire and love to choose a favorite. They are all my favorites.
What advice do you have for younger artists?
Mimi: Our advice to younger artists is to keep working no matter what, even if it is a small drawing or sketch of an idea. Find a job that allows you to keep your artistic practice going. It’s very important to find or create a community of artists for support, friendship and long-term encouragement.
Any more thoughts about art, creativity, or anything else you would like to share?
Bibi: Creativity, as an individual, is so important. I feel passionate that we all need it in our lives - like food, water, shelter. I feel so strongly about it that I created an international arts organization to promote joy, hope, and creativity called Inspiration Art Group International (facebook and Instagram).
Our mission: The Inspiration Art Group is a New York based, diverse collective of artists, locally and from around the world, united with the common objective of positive interchange, collaboration, and fellowship. We welcome artists in all media to share, contemplate, create, work and communicate their artistic expressions.
We inspire each other and create community across all borders and boundaries. We foster creativity and innovation for all ages through virtual and physical exhibitions, performances, educational workshops, multimedia, poetry and essays.
