Free The Mind

I’ve been at Atelierhof Werenzhaim for 2 days now, working in a studio that was once stables. I’ve been experimenting with drawing in ink onto very large paper. I continued the technique from my last post, when I was drawing in Dresden. I just emptied my head of thoughts and allowed my hand and pen to do their own thing. My first drawings are done with a bamboo dip pen with a pointy nib. I’ve covered about a quarter of the paper with them. They’re a bit ethereal but that’s the way the pen draws. Why are they humanoid figures? That’s just the way they’re coming out, maybe it’s something to do with decades of life drawing

Ethereal Figure Drawings.

I’m in Germany on an artist residency with three other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins and Rhiannon Rees with support from Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area.

We’re at the Atelier-Werenzhain, founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany, in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

What Lurks Beneath?

I sat quietly in a park under the shade of a tree in Dresden. The temperature was 32°C and the other artists on the residency were visiting a museum. I decided to sit and draw, but not the view in front of me,  which is what I normally do when I travel.

Instead, I emptied the thoughts out of my head, took hold of a piece of graphite and drew. No idea, no concept,  no design,  just let my hand do its own thing. Then I added the blacks and oranges with Derwent Inktense blocks and a water reservoir brush.  This is interesting. I might do some more of this.

I’m in Germany on an artist residency with three other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins and Rhiannon Rees with support from Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area.

We’re at the Atelier-Werenzhain, founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany, in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

The Green Eyed Monster

I visited the Grafikwerkstadt Dresden Print Workshop yesterday, what an amazing place. I have Printing Press Envy. And Roller (Brayer) Envy. And Paper Envy. And Plans Chest Envy. It has a really interesting history, please check out the link.

Grafikwerkstadt Dresden Print Workshop.

I’m in Germany on an artist residency with three other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins and Rhiannon Rees with support from Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area.

We’re at the Atelier-Werenzhain, founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany, in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

Sketching Sculpture

I spent a couple of days in Dresden as part of my residency with the Agor Abertawe group and went to a free outdoor concert in the Neumarkt. I did some sketches of a fascinating sculpture. I haven’t found out the name of the artist yet, I’ll track it down and add it to the post

I’m in Germany on an artist residency with three other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins and Rhiannon Rees with support from Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area.

We’re at the Atelier-Werenzhain, founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany, in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

The Weight of History

Finally at the Atelier Werzenhaim, idyllic setting, sunny but not too hot. I settled in and let go, experimenting with Derwent Inktense blocks onto Khadi 320gsm paper. I held a thought but didn’t try to illustrate it. I thought of how events echo down generations. I grew up with grandparents who had lived through World War 1, and parents who experienced World War 2. I grew up during the Cold War and the ever-present threat of nuclear destruction. These huge events ripple through the years and I have no doubt that we are still experiencing their effects. I didn’t want to do an illustration of this thought, I wanted to focus on it, play with the materials and see what comes out. An expression of feeling. Let’s see where it takes me.

I’m in Germany on an artist residency with three other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins and Rhiannon Rees with support from Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area.

We’re at the Atelier-Werenzhain, founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany, in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate..

Solemn Stones

I wasn’t sure about visiting the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe for a third time, but I reasoned that my first visit had been in deepest Winter when it was covered in snow. My second was in late Spring, the weather mild, the sunlight kind. Today is high Summer, very hot, brilliant sunshine, and busy with tourists. It looked and felt different. I walked many of the intersections and observed the crowds doing the same. In the sharp light I had flashes of memory of old German Expressionist films, those harsh monochrome film sets. I took a few photos but mostly I committed the sights and feelings to memory. Back at the hotel I worked from the photos into a heavy Khadi paper (320 gsm) with Derwent Inktense blocks and a water reservoir brush.

I’m in Germany on an artist residency with three other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins and Rhiannon Rees with support from Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area.

We’re at the Atelier-Werenzhain, founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany, in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

Travelling is half the fun

The picture below was taken at Cologne Station en route to Berlin. It’s Cologne Cathedral taken through the station roof. The German trains are lovely and the train food is fantastic.

I’m in Germany on an artist residency with three other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins and Rhiannon Rees with support from Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area.

We’re at the Atelier-Werenzhain, founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany, in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

It’s A Dirty Job…

I’m heading to Germany in a few days, to do an artist residency with three other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins and Rhiannon Rees. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, that has been set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area. We’ll be working with artists at the Atelier-Werenzhain, a visionary space for contemporary art, culture, and cultural education, founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany, in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate. That’s part of it above. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it 😀

I don’t know what I’m going to work on while I’m there, I’ll go with the flow and see what happens. We’re grateful for the support we’ve received from Wales Arts International.

A Day Out In Mid Wales…

Husb and I went for a drive over the weekend and wound up in the little village of Llanddewi Brefi and then onto the small town of Tregaron. We stopped for a soft drink in a local pub and I drew this fantastic inglenook fireplace. The drawing of Husb is awful, he’s much better looking, but he wasn’t the focus of the drawing.

In These Stones…

A few years back, I worked with pre-historian Dewi Bowen and filmmaker Melvyn Williams on a series of drawings/paintings of ancient standing stones in South Wales. Stained-glass artist Deanne Mangold saw them and wanted to make some glass panels based on my originals. So she did. And now there’s enough to exhibit. Deanne and I, joined by sculptor Philip Chatfield, are exhibiting our work at Saint Elvan’s in Aberdare throughout August, with a private view on August 1st at 7pm. Would be lovely to see you xxx

Here you can see Deanne’s stained glass interpretation (left) of my drawing/painting (right). It’s Maen Llwyd, in Glan-y-Fferi / Ferryside.