Friday, Friday, Friday, September 30, 2016

Friday was a studio day of printmaking and some picture taking. I brought my 2 1/4 with me to the studio to do a little photographing and to show it to Peter. Peter, who is also a photographer, uses his photography as a way to create a visual diary of his life. He tried a 2 1/4 for the first time. The results are below...really nice!

Photography by Peter Stephan

Other then doing a little photographing it was a normal studio day before the long weekend.

Steps:  10073

A Great Day at The Studio, an Opera Ticket, and Another Goat, September 29, 2016

I am finally getting a rhythm and settling into a routine. It is really nice to be able to have a plan and to be able to follow through with it, daily. 

After the studio today I went over to the City Centre to the Semperoper to purchase a ticket to see Die Zauberflöte. (thank you David and James). I am very excited to sit in this landmark Neo-Renaissance building. A see my first European opera in Dresden.

Lastly, no day is complete without a picture of a goat.

Steps:  10370

A Good Day at The Studio and a Pile of Postcards, September 28, 2016

What a studio day...the Plexi worked! One composition finished, three more to go. I love when things start to fall into place. This may be a good time to mention a day at the studio. Arrival time is between 9:00-9:45am. At 10:00am is tea. There is a large round table that can seat 10 comfortably. There is a large teapot of green tea made every morning to share with all. We all sit around the table talking, eating, and drinking tea. It is a lovely way to start the day. The next three hours are focused on creating. At 1:00pm it is lunch, tea and more conversations. Then back to work until 4:00pm. It is a very communal and welcoming atmosphere and a nice balance of socializing and creating

The best part of the day happened when I arrived home, there was a nice pile of postcards waiting for me...they were greatly appreciated and greatly need. Even though Wednesday was a good studio day it also translates into a mentally exhausting day. As you may have noticed I am playing catchup this week with my posts. I came to the realization on Wednesday that there is a balance I need to find between the mental and physical energy used on any given day. Something I will work on over the next few days.  

Steps:  7744

The Studio, a Birthday and a Goat, September 27, 2016

Today was the "Birthdate of Calvin". It was strange not to be in the States today to celebrate Calvin. Today was also the day of the goat. First, I saw a video on the tram about the man who spent time with goats in the country. It made me think about Movie Frank and the movies we have seen over the years at the CIFF with goats. I then received my Cinematheque email about the movies they would be showing over the weekend. Nuts! (a movie about a quack doctor in the 1920's who thought he could cure male impotence by implanting goat testicles) would be showing. It was a goat kind of day.

Tuesday was also a good day at the studio. I felt like I was starting to figure things out which meant I needed to make a trip to Gerstacker Dresden a very large, beautiful art store. I needed to purchase four cheap frames for their Plexi glass to use as the base for my images for the plates. Things are moving along.

Steps:  10021

A Busy Day in Dresden, September 26, 2016

It was the start of week two today and the day started with a trip to the Grafikwerkstatt.  I am very excited to finally get started and know that there will be some technical issues that will be needed to be worked out before I can make my plates and print. My goal is to produce four Algraphy plates to print from. I will also continue to work on smaller square prints and my photographs.

Tonight was my group show opening at Alte Feuerwache Loschwitz. The work in the show was by myself, Dora Kourtesa from Greece, Carina Fogde from Sweden and Kate Snow from Ohio. There were speeches in German and a few words by each of us. It was a great turnout with about 50 people including Nina and Suntje back from Ohio after their five week residency at Zygote Press. Later that evening we sat around a lovely fire on a beautiful Dresden night and then Carina and Natalia (from Poland and our fifth artist in residence at the Grafikwerkstatt) walked over the Blue Bridge together to end a wonderful evening.

Steps:  10684

I Died and Went To Richter Heaven, September 25, 2016

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...it was all about the museums in the City Centre. First, I visited the Albertinum, a mostly contemporary and modern museum. Oranginally it was the royal arsenal. It houses two collections, the Galerie Neue Meister, paintings from the 19th one 20th centuries and the Skulpturensammlung. A small collection of sculptures.

The best part of the museum was the rooms of Richters...

The second museum, Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, houses old masters that include Vermeer, Rubens, Titian, of course Durer, and so many others from the art history books.

In between the two museums I walked through the very crowed and touristy City Centre square, stopped for lunch and people watched. It was a much needed and relaxing Sunday.

Steps:  10473

Walking To The River, September 24, 2016

Walking to the river

Flee Market-an amazingly dangerous flee market. It had EVERYTHING. Thanks god I don't live here or have an affordable way to get things home.

Breakfast of German champions

Tram ride home

Grocery shopping

More walking around the city-NYC is never far away

Dinner at a lovely Indian Restaurant with Kate and Carina

Steps:  12792

Studio Day, September 23, 2016

Today was a GREAT day! A full day in the studio. It was a beautiful fall day in Dresden with lovely light coming through the studio windows. I mostly spent the day doing prep work. I will begin to print on Monday and then Peter will run some tests to figure out the best way to create the plates I will be printing from.

At the end of the day I decided to walk around the neighborhood for a while, to go beyond my two block radius. I came across two interesting buildings, first

A closed Agfa store.

I instantly went back to the 80's and my darkroom days. I also thought of John Reuter and Eelco Wolf from Polaroid.. When I first met Eelco he was the Worldwide Director of Communications, for Polaroid. A lovely man who I enjoyed talking to very much. He then moved on to be Vice President Corporate Communications at Agfa Corporation the printing paper of my choice back in the day. Needless to say Germany is bring back a lot of old memories. 
 

The other surprise I loved coming across was this store Ulrich Kretzschmar. I sent this to Sabine (Kretzschmar) and she said that these are definitely her people.

When in Germany do as the Germans would do.

In NYC you have a Gap or Starbucks on every corner. In Germany it's a bakery and I finally broke down and went into one to specifically get something yummy to go with my tea when I got home. This could become a very bad habit if I let it. 

The rest of the evening was uneventful. Fighting off the start of a cold. This is usually my MO after flying. Day 5 and I become congested. Time to find some cough drops. 

Steps:  7677

Installation, September 22, 2016

Today's adventure began with a trip to the Alte Feuerwache Loschwitz Gallery. It took one tram ride and three different buses because of going in the wrong direction. We could see the river Elbe...we just couldn't get over the river Elbe. Now that we have a proper map with the end of the line names, this should make bus riding much easier. What I loved about this experience is that I got to see the areas outside of where I am staying. There is much of that north of San Fransisco feeling to the homes and the people were also very helpful with directions.

The other thing I love about public transportation in Dresden is that everyone uses it. Very few people drive you either walk, bike or take public transportation.

A few installation shots.

The area outside there gallery.

Tonight's post will be a short one...I think I have finally hit the wall of tired. I'll  blame it on jet lag, the busy day and exploring Dresden.

Steps:  9560

Walking Around Dresden, September 21, 2016

Today was beautiful in Dresden. Sunny, clear and in the mid 70's. This morning we had a walking tour of where I live, the area known as AulBer Neustadt, we also walked around the Old Town and on the Augustusbucke over the Elbe River to the City Center. Our tour guide was Suzanna, who was full of interesting facts and could answer any of our questions.  

This is part of a courtyard who's walls are decorated to represent the elements. 

Everywhere you look you see painted walls, posters, tiles or tagging/graffiti areas.

Today we had a little introduction to this area that I hope to explore in depth this Saturday. 

After the tour I caught up on paper work and then gather plants to take to the studio this Friday. I am very excited about finally having my first full day in the studio. 

Steps:  17467

Studio, Studio, Studio! September 20, 2016

Today was the day to see my second Dresden home. We arrived at the Grafikwerkstatt around 9:30am (3:30 am Cleveland) after a very easy tram ride into the Striesen area. The tramway, actually all of the public transportation systems are very easy. The trams themselves are clean and easy to understand. The most interesting part is that it is run on a trust system. We purchased a monthly pass for 59 euros. You stamp your ticket when you first get on the tram and that is it. Periodically someone may come up to you and ask to see your pass, but it has not happened yet. Also my pass is good for the bus, ferry and train. I can use it as many times as I like in a day. 

The building of the Grafikwerstatt Dresden...originally the "Ernemann Building”, later known as the “Zeiss Ikon Factory.

The studio...it is a beautiful, clean work of art. Peter, Torsten and Udo run the shop. Each with their one areas of interest.

Udo: Letterpress and Hand-typesetting

Torsten: Etching/Intaglio

Peter: Lithography/Algraphy plates.

This is Peter with Dora (the artist in resident from Greece

We start our day at the studio with a  tour and then a lovely tea/breakfast. Tea is at 10:00am everyday and then tea/lunch is at 1:00pm. I can't stress how impressed I am with the organization of the shop.  Everything has a place. Every inch clean and beautiful. 

I am so excited to start working at the studio. My next two days are chopped up with a city tour Wednesday morning and Thursday installing my work for the group exhibition at the Alte Feuerwache Loschwitz. So Friday will be the first full day of work....I can't wait.

Steps:  4184

Monday, September 19, 8:07pm (2:07pm Cleveland)

We made it! We left Cleveland yesterday at 2:10pm (8:10pm Dresden). One 58 pound bag check all the way through to Dresden (not a word was said about the extra 8 pounds). First stop, Toronto. We arrived in Toronto at 3:40pm our flight began boarding at 3:50pm and the security lines were incredibly long. This is when I decided to as the Air Canada employee, who was standing next to a policeman, what we should do? Her answer was to stand in the long line and when our flight was called to go over there (she pointed to a security person). Our flight was called and the policeman came to get us. He escorted us pass everyone in line and up to the short friends and family line. We made it through security and as we were approaching our gate the Air Canada employee yelled out our names and then got on the phone to the plane to not close the doors. I finally became that person that everyone was pissed at because she held up the plane.

I'm happy to say that the 7+ hours from Toronto to Frankfurt was smooth and uneventful. With no possibility to sleep it allowed me to go through two inflight movies, Joy and The Bose and three very funny episodes of the Canadian t.v. series Schitt$ Creek. In Frankfurt we had over a three hour layover until our final flight, to Dresden, left at 9:15am (3:15am Cleveland). There was time to regroup and much to look at in the Frankfurt airport.

We arrived in Dresden a little after 10:00am (4:00am Cleveland) and our bags were also there. Martin met us outside baggage claims and took us to the Pension Raskolnikoff. Kate and I checked into our rooms, took a few minutes and then met Martin downstairs to be taken on a 2.5 hour walking tour of the area around us. He pointed out things like coffee houses, bars, and different stores that might be of interest to us. He also took us out for lunch and talked a little about our exhibition and the other artists who'll be here from Sweden, Greece and Poland. After Martin left, Kate and I walked to the Elbe River and then back to our rooms to relax, shower and unpack.

Tonight was just a short walk around the city, a visit to the grocery store and then back to our rooms by 8:00pm. Tomorrow we meet Martin outside the Pension at 9:00am to learn our tram route to the printing studio and our 10:00am tea with the printmakers

STEPS today:  19373

Starting September 19th this will be home for the next five weeks.

The reality has set in that I will be boarding a plane for Dresden, Germany in less then 72 hours. Have I packed yet? No! Have I checked off more things than not on my to-do list? No! Am I excited and a little bit nervous? Yes! I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to be a working artist for five uninterrupted weeks and to be doing this in a foreign environment that will influence and inform my work and me. It's a dream come true. This is the first time I am trying my hand at blogging, but I think that it is important that I document my experiences in as many ways possible. So, this will become my Internet diary, my way of sharing with my friends and family my adventures in Dresden and Beyond (or the alternative title, suggested by Mary Kay, Debbie Does Dresden).