k.w. is a performance artist, writer, and filmmaker, among many other things. i had first heard about her in college when i came across a clever website she had published. i met her this fall when she came to austin. she was working on a performance piece that focused on mental illness, race, and politics. one of k.w.'s aesthetic strategies is to use humor to tackle very contentious social issues. when i saw her work-in-progress, i was impressed by how the humor invited the audience to feel both discomfort and compassion. meeting k.w. was one of the recent events that helped me quit my job. it was inspiring meeting a working artists thinking and creating things. often, she will focus on ideas that seem very quirky at first, but they somehow lead back to a larger, significant picture. her work-in-progress show featured pieces of yarn suspended from the ceiling. she also would knit while also tugging at loose threads on her sweater. the length of embroidery thread on this piece is a reference to her many "threads" in the piece i saw. i can't wait for her piece to be done.