Thursday, September 30, 2010

Tatzelwurm lino cut

Today I printed the Tatzelwurm lino cut. To quote Melody:  "I'm underwhelmed". The middle part looks a little puzzling, whereas the clouds are clear enough. I should cut out more parts to make white zones stand against the black; but "Ketu who devours the moon" is a being of darkness. He symbolizes one of the moon knodes.
Uploading is a bit difficult at the moment; do you experience that, too?

Monday, September 27, 2010

Second cushion finished

Two cushions to go with the quilt, using the "pig knight" fabric and my dragons. The new one looks a little smaller. Also this one is hand-quilted allover.
Maybe I should have added an edge.
Rain and dark clouds every day.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Dad is a babysitter



While Mom is shopping. Gouache, unfinished

Cutting lino

Upcoming creativity can be like the return of one's strength after being sick. As a matter of fact, I caught a little cold on our long walk through Luebeck. 3 hours in the cold wind -- that affected me a bit, but it's over completely. Well, today my lino cut knives attracted me tremendously, and while J had a long nap on the sofa, I cut this one. Printing is a certain problem, I don't have a table for this purpose. But I'll try the kitchen working space.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

News from Tatzel

Fortunately, it is of no interest what the boss is doing. And so the Tatzelwurm has all the time in the world to surf on erotic sites, while the business report remains on the back burner.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Yes. Color.

After all, this blog is not named black&white research. So now there is a color album online.
Have to give a little explanation to the Holy Ghost Hospital in Lubeck. I added a photo of the large hall in which in medieval times people were put up in beds one beside another. The wooden cabins were built during the 19th century to grant the inhabitants more privacy. It is not much more than a box, but an example of charity in a Hanse town of the Middle Ages.

I have to apologize to my readers about dwelling on the same issue again. At the moment, I don't feel creative at all, and I neglect the unfinished things, but can't start a new one either. It is because the trip was a physical challenge, as well; not because of walking so much, which was a good thing to do, but being exposed to the wind and not being strict about my diet has consequences.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Nostalgic Look

Black and white looks like messages from the past to me, because I was born in a time when color photography wasn't yet prevailing. My father did his own prints in his darkroom, and I assisted him at the age of 6-8 years. That's why I made a little album of black&white prints beside my notes and scribbles, a journey diary. Here's the album for you.

Now the Beauty

"Field" is the name of this island.
What I enjoy most about such trips is the horizon. Life in Europe is very limited in space. Even in the country, the landscape looks like a mosaic in aerial view.
Postglacial landscape, scattered with rocks, and the coastline is in constant motion.
Boring for many! No sensations, no entertainment. Just landscape.
In Mecklenburg, most smaller places can be reached through alleys. Only very few highways connect the larger towns. Travelling is slowed down, no overtaking, but lovely views everywhere.
This is how the island said goodbye, and I swear I would have loved to stay!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Beach Fee and Oriental coloring

Beach life in Germany is orderly and regulated. The guests are kept in baskets -- no, not behind bars! These prevent that someone else uses the beach basket in absence of the tenant. It is about 6.50$ a day. And if you just want to sit in the sand? Oh, this isn't free either. 2.60$ per day and person, the "Kur-Taxe" (this is not an eastern thing, we had that in the west for ages). We found a free beach and lay on the sand, a little offside.
We could have afforded to pay that fee. But we found it thrilling not to.

Living in East Germany

Weren't 20 years enough to remove all differences? Of course not! Life in the DDR, in the Democratic Republic of Germany, was obviously dull and grey. All the houses were covered with a rough brownish-grey stucco which reminds me a lot of the skin which was popular during Nazi times. And what made it worse: The rough surface collected a lot of the soot and dust that was produced by unfiltered furnaces. All the towns, all the houses looked alike and made you depressive when you were there. But what amazed me most: I saw houses with fresh stucco of the same kind! Most people try to give their houses a fresh look, using bright and vivid colors when they paint them. A greenish yellow is quite popular. But some seem to look back in what we call eastalgia.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Hi, I'm back from East Germany

We spent a few days by the Baltic sea, near Wismar, on the island Poel. The name of this island comes from "polye" which means "field" in Wendish language. We lived in a cottage and saw wonderful places. During the days to come I'll show you more of my photos. The weather was sunny quite often, the rain fell at night, but it was rather cool and windy. We visited the gothic churches in Wismar and Doberan, shown here. On the way back, we stopped in Luebeck, saw more churches on a 3 hours walk. Now, we are very tired and I cannot post more tonight. More pictures are promised.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Tatzelwurms wakening

The.Tatzelwurm jerked up from his bed when he realized that he had forgotten to set his alarm clock. Would be be late? Would his boss bite his head off? Then he remembered that he was the boss, biting off his staff's heads whenever he was in the mood. -- Pen drawing with diluted ink, digitally overdyed.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

recently in the clothes shop...

I tried on a sweater and asked my husband: "Does it suit me?" He stared on the sweater like hypnotized. I said: "Look at my face!" -- J: "Your face suits you."

Monday, September 6, 2010

Starting a project with a fabric from Finland

Recently, I bought a fat quarter of this whimsical fabric: "Sikaritari", which means "Pig knight". The designer lives in Finland. She offered the fabric with a grey-brown background which suited the design quite well; I asked her if she would be able to present this design with a turquoise background, too, and she was so kind. I intend to use it for another pillow top in the style of the dragon cushion.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Have to show you something

Evening sky tonight. The day was rather warm; the nights are cold, temperatures go down into the 50ies F.
I've been thinking of my friends in the USA and the storm. In Europe, there was a tradition to ring a bell against storm and lightning. Some steeples still have a bell which was used as the storm bell. It is still contained in popular phrases. "Ring the storm bell" ("Sturm laeuten") means to ring a doorbell vehemently.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Ketu and Rahu

This Tatzelwurm, Ketu, tries to swallow the moon. When I had finished this ink drawing, I noticed that its shape resembled the astrological sign for the Lower Moon Node. This is one of two points where the moon crosses the ecliptic. In Indian tradition, lunar + solar eclipses come from the heavenly bodies being eaten by monsters named Rahu and Ketu (the lower and upper Moon Node).
P.S. I thought it would be fun to print this drawing out in b&w and color it with watercolors. But it is boring. I'm disappointed.
P.P.S. Would you like to paint out prints like we all did when we were kids?