Sunday, June 30, 2019

Vacation: Bavaria, Germany


The Munich Airport...

We departed State College, PA at April 30th at 2:45 pm and arrived at the Munich airport at 7:40 am May 1st. Thus we arrived in Munich with little sleep and immediately drove to and checked into our hotel in suburban Munich. Great location - we could actually see the Alps off in the distance from our room! There is a nice wooded walking path with a little stream which we enjoyed after all the hustle/bustle of flying, landing in the immense airport, and then driving on the autobahn to our hotel! They drive really FAST in Germany!

Spring had arrived and it was sunny - after a rainy spring in Pennsylvania, I was thrilled to see and smell the lilacs, which had yet to bloom at home without any sunshine!




We left the Munich area quickly to drive northwest to the Rhineland region of Germany, where my BEIHOFFER, MUELLER, AND SCHMIDT ancestors lived prior to coming to the US in the 1800's. They lived in tiny towns in very rural areas near the now bustling city of Karsrhue.

Our first stop was our hotel outside the small medieval town of Ahrweiler. The Hotel Zum Zanger is surrounded by vineyards and across the street is the River Ahr- a beautiful creek winding through the valley and into the nearby town of Ahrweiler. The surroundings were beautiful, tranquil and breathtaking! Vineyards climb both sides of the roadway as the area is well known for its wines. The river attracts wildlife of all sorts - I loved the bird song serenades we heard there. The friendly and gracious hostess could understand and speak enough English for us to communicate successfully on the important things! Her husband was the chef, and a very excellent one, at that. There is a restaurant attached and the couple resides within the building.







Ahrweiler is a beautiful little medieval town surrounded, in part, by a stone wall that was common practice in the 1200's. The town has grown beyond the walls, but retains the historic feel of days long past. Inside the city wall, most streets are for pedestrians only and much of the city is a shopping mecca for tourists, older homes and historic buildings, plus the gorgeous Church of St. Laurentius, built in 1269.








The Church of St. Laurentius, within the city walls, was built in 1269 and is celebrating the 740th anniversary of it's existence. It's a magnificent example of the architecture of the time, with some newer windows, possibly damaged during the war. Here are a few photos to show the expansive beauty and grandeur of this church.



Outside the city walls, the rest of the town is still quite old, for the most part. However, the new wine industry has changed this area to a thriving community. Newer homes are springing up, sometimes right in the midst of the vineyards. The vines are everywhere, stair stepping up steep hills and remaining stately in the valleys of Bavaria.


To Be Continued: resuming next time with our adventures from May 3-6.


Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Clematis Pounding to Naturally Dye Papers/Cloth


My lovely Clematis in full bloom on a rainy day!

I've been away on vacation - and I'll post some photos for that trip a bit later. But today I'm excited about trying a natural dyeing technique using plant material pounded by a wooden mallet onto a polyester interfacing material that was on top of watercolor paper. These are 6x9" papers pounded with the wooden mallet (an antique that was in my Dad's collection of tools) on the concrete patio floor!

Here are the images to (maybe) inspire you to try something totally different and spark your creative drive! Above is the plant products that I used. Below, just different views of the "finished" print.





I was inspired to play today as I was cleaning up my office so that I may return to painting once again. I found an article that I tore out of my Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine (July/Aug 2016 issue, p. 77-81) by Dorit Elisha entitled: Eco-Dyed Collage - Artist & Nature Collaborate."

One of the "problems" or perhaps "happy accidents" occurs after the drying of the pounded images. Once these are completely dry, they will have faded some or perhaps changed coloration. When they are dry, I will add either watercolor or maybe acrylic paints - or maybe some pen & ink - to work up the image of a Clematis vine hanging in full bloom - or maybe decayed bloom! We'll see later! Stay tuned!