I'm on a new journey!

Annamarie Dober

5 days ago

5 min read

Hey there! It's been a while since I've posted, and even longer since I started this website journey! 2 years ago I left Switzerland, sublet my apartment to three young Irish business students (a whole story in itself...), and embarked on a journey to Latin America without a concrete end date in mind. I used this website as a place to store some snapshot moments: witnessing International Women's Day in Mexico, seeing the migration of the monarch butterflies, finding long lost relatives, finally making it to the Southern hemisphere, and so much more.

After 9 full months of travelling, seeing the world, and experiencing so many amazing things I was able to come back home and re-intigrate into the Swiss way of life. I have to say, it was way easier than I expected it to be. It was a soft landing, a smooth transition, which I am extremely grateful for. And while the different jobs and projects I started working on/for have been amazing, I realized pretty quickly that one topic kept popping up after my trip: Art. I started to realize how much I missed art in my day-to-day life. Yeah, I'd pick up a brush every once in a while and paint something, or I'd sketch in my sketch book once a week or so, but I felt I wanted to do more. So, on a whim, I googled art schools in Switzerland and saw that a local institution was accepting applications to their preparatory course - due in three weeks. Naturally, I filled out the form. I got the details for the application a few days later, which included instructions for the assignment, the portfolio, and the interview.

The Assignment

The topic of the assignment was "Protest". They gave us 4 art forms, and we had to choose 3 to submit. I chose a photo series of 5 photos, a fake news article, and a painting. The topic I chose for all three was women's rights. Since I had experienced International Women's Day in Puebla in 2025, I had some great photos of the day. I selected my favorites and printed them out to submit.

Next up was the news article. This was easy. I knew exaaaactly what I wanted to write about - Klaustag in Küssnacht. I won't go into detail about it since the can read the article here :) All I can say is, it's a topic that has bothered me for quite some time. So much so, that I actually snuck myself in to the men-only-women-strongly-excluded cultural event.

And finally, the painting. I knew I wanted to match the theme by sticking with purple and violet tones as used for International Women's Day. I then decided to paint a mandala using various forms as stamps. For example I carved a design into a cork from my parents' old restaurant. I used the rim of a glass I had bought on vacation in Colorado to create circles. I used the back of the paint brush to create little dots. The thought behind the painting was to create an abstract self-portrait that included elements from my life. The different colors showed where protest was happening against family, tradition, and cultural expectations.

The Portfolio

This was what I was most afraid of. A portfolio?? Me?? I had looked into applying for this same course back in 2006 after high school. But the dang portfolio scared the bejeeses out of me and I didn't believe I had anything to turn in. This time around I still didn't quite know what to turn in, but started to look around my apartment to see what I could submit. Sure enough, I had plenty to pick from! Some prints from a print-making class. A large abstract painting about my feelings made in an art therapy session. Photos of some of the cakes and cookies I had decorated over the years. Hand made cards and invitations, and a few other odds and ends. Turned out even though I had been making art all along, I never felt like I could call myself an artist with a portfolio.

The Interview

I remember the interview vividly. It was a sunny, fall day in 2025. I was nervous and had absolutely no idea what to expect from the process. Keep in mind, I applied on a whim, had to scrounge together all these things in 3 short weeks, and hadn't attended an info event about the school or anything. So, I went into the process completely blind saying: if I get in, great. If not, no biggie.

I arrived at the school with my items and so much excitement. I was briefly greeted, then told to leave all my things with them so they could sort through it all. Meanwhile I had to wait in the hall for 10 minutes. Longest 10 minutes of my life!! But finally they called me in and the conversation started. They asked what brought me there, why I had brought certain pieces, and what their meaning was to me. They asked me why art was important to me and how it transpires in my day to day life.

I had so much fun talking about my art journey from Summer Theater Arts camps as a kid, to currently carrying around my sketch book on the daily, just in case I want to stop and capture fun shapes or cool buildings. I talked about working at Alphorn Bakery during college, and how much I enjoyed decorating cakes. I talked about how I liked to match feelings with colors, and even brought along my high school thesis which was about the use of colors in advertising. It was a fun 30 minutes, but I had absolutely no idea if what I had brought would cut it.

By November 2025 I got the email - I had been accepted!!! From that moment on I knew I was going to be an art school student 🥲 A seriously amazing moment.

The First Module

Now, as I write this, I’m 5 weeks into art school and absolutely love it. We’ve just finished our first module - objects and space - and had our final presentations yesterday. It was very cool to see everyone’s styles and personalities transpire through their work. I, for one, am not an exact or detailed worker when it comes to creating things. I’m messy and make things that break and have tears and stuff. But I've learned: that’s ok! It’s my style.

The premise to this module was taking a fruit or veggie and modifying it. We started with clay and then worked with plaster, wax, silicone, and epoxy. Molds were made. Things were cast. Hands got dirty and sticky. It was a messy affair, but soooo much fun!

For my final presentation I created "Bell Pepper in Four Courses". But before we dive in, here's a little background to it: As a kid of restaurant owners, food, the kitchen, and hospitality are important parts of who I am. So, I pretty quickly knew my presentation for this module would be in some kind of dining setting. My thought behind each piece was to identify the main shapes of a bell pepper and reconstruct/ reorder/ reshape them.

So without further ado, please enjoy the culinary journey of "Bell Pepper in Four Courses"

STARTER - FRAGMENTS

Bits and pieces of a bell pepper

(an invitation to take a seat, have fun, and enjoy the journey)

PLATED - FORM

The geometric bell pepper in 3 forms

(trials and errors with ceramics, wax, and epoxy)

MAIN - ESSENCE

Suspension of a deconstructed bell pepper

(The essential shapes of a pepper removed from the ground and strung into air)

FINALE - MATTER

Soft forms and cold material