A Wedding Ritual

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Inspired by a previous post about my interest in totem animals a friend lent me an intriguing book called Tafassasset – Regentier und Zauberbilder. Felsbilder der Sahara und Spurensuche nach dem afrikanischen Geist. (Which would probably translate as follows: Tafassasset – Rain animal and magical images. Saharan rock paintings and the search for traces of the African Spirit – by Edgar Sommer.

The book is beautifully written and contains some interesting ideas and concepts helping me to understand more aspects about the potential inherent power of the image and art making.

Loosely explained, the author implies that the ancient rainmaker or shaman would connect with the spirit of the rain through a ritual. The spirit first manifests through language and song and then materialises through dancing. Finally the painting of this process against a cave wall conserves and binds the ritual, and by that also the spirit, in time and space.

I love learning about different traditions, rituals and beliefs and then picking and combining the best parts or those that make sense to me in my own life. I improvise a lot – either out of necessity or out of curiosity. And also because I have never been comfortable with blindly following what others do… it has to fit and make sense for me.

So, today I wanted to share with you a wedding ritual, which I have made-up created for our wedding. I wanted to honour the role played by family and friends in a marriage and celebrate the joining of the two separate families and set of friends who have now been brought together (and met each other for the first time) through our union. I could not find any meaningful ritual that I resonated with, so I made up my own.

I mused over the ‘spirit’ I wanted this ritual to connect with and represent: love, an eternal bond and the interconnectedness of the people close to us…

Bond – binding together – different lives touching,
intertwining,
sharing and creating something new.
Weaving.
We are all like threads in a beautiful cloth…

I liked the idea of weaving and of threads representing each person.

We asked every wedding guest to bring along a ribbon. I created the symbol of eternity, an 8 on its side, from wire. I found a cord made out of three strands, representing my husband, myself and our union.

On the final day of our three-day wedding celebrations, we all joined on the beach at sunset, for everyone to weave their ribbon together with ours around the eternity symbol.

Getting started with our wedding ritual on the Swakopmund beach. © Imke Rust

Getting started with our wedding ritual on the Swakopmund beach. © Imke Rust

I had no idea how it will work out, but I guess that was part of the ritual too. I trusted that together we would find a way to make it work. It anyway needed joined forces to make it possible.

Yes, it was confusing and difficult to figure out, there were some struggles, some disagreements and lots of willingness to find a way to make it work. Advice was given and also rejected. Help was offered and accepted. Some were more involved than others. And eventually we completed the task. Together. Perfect.

My personal wedding ritual... weaving our lifes together. © Imke Rust

Our own wedding ritual… weaving our lifes together. © Imke Rust

Helping hands, weaving strands. © Imke Rust

Helping hands, weaving strands. © Imke Rust

It turned out to really represent what life as a couple and part of an extended family is about. The intention of a loving bond for life is set, and everybody in his or her own way becomes part of it. Problems are solved together and eventually we have an intertwined, beautiful, colourful, knotted, patched, perfectly-imperfect life and relation to show for it.

Everyday I am reminded of this, when looking at the final symbol of our love and the love of our families and friends, hanging above our bed. Its spirit contained in time and space.

The final object. Manifesting the spirit of honouring and celebrating the love and support of our family and friends. © Imke Rust

The final object. Manifesting the spirit of honouring and celebrating the love and support of our family and friends. © Imke Rust

I am grateful, that my family and circle of friends has grown in such a beautiful way through my marriage. I am grateful for each colourful, unique thread that weaves into my life and makes it so exciting and worth living.

And I know these threads are only a small symbolic part of all the invisible ones of all other family and friends in our lives. People who are touched by us and whom we touch, weaving our own threads into their spiderwebs. 

How to create miracles

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As you probably know, I am a big believer in miracles. They do happen, all around us, in big and small ways.

Happy by Imke Rust (Ink on 250g/m2 acid-free watercolour paper, 14,8 x 10,6cm)

Happy by Imke Rust (Ink on 250g/m2 acid-free watercolour paper, 14,8 x 10,6cm)

Very often we are waiting for that one big miracle to happen! Like winning the lottery or living in eternal bliss… And then we are upset if that never seems to happen.

That always reminds me of the joke of the guy who prays for weeks to win the lottery, until he really gets upset with God and vents his frustration about his prayers not being heard. Suddenly a voice thunders down from heaven, saying: Meet me half way – buy a ticket.

So, whenever I am waiting or hoping for a miracle to happen, I wonder if I have done my half? Have I bought the ticket?

Sometimes it is so very simple: I always wish for the miracle of being able to do what I want to do with total freedom. Just create whatever I feel like. Instead usually a little insistent voice in my head rumbles: NO – you can’t do that! That will not sell! That is too easy! No way, what will people think if you paint like that?! Now, really, do you think any gallery will take you seriously when you show stuff like that? Ok, that is pretty neat, I like that – BUT how do you think this will generate any money? Remember, you need to pay your bills…

And so it goes on and on, and sometimes I find a successful way to navigate through this and be kind-of-happy. Until I realise that I have more and more work, and still very little income. Then I work harder at doing things, which I think will be better suited to generate an income, improve my career options and become a successful artist. This usually ends up with me being frustrated and depressed. And feeling like lifting up my fist to the sky and say: I have done my part, now where is that miracle of total creative freedom without financial worries I have prayed for?

During one of those frustrated times a different, kinder and gentler voice suddenly popped into my head and matter-of-factly said:

Some miracles you just have to create yourself.

What? Me? How? (I have already tried all those little tricks which I have read about, such as visualisation, praying etc.)

And then I realised: Yes – I can!

Sure. Even if it is for short periods of time, I can just choose to be happy and do whatever I like. I will not starve immediately. No seriously bad things will happen if I take an hour or so of my time and create whatever I feel like… I just need to make the choice and do it!

And so I created this miracle. An hour or two of blissful and fun painting of pretty stuff and trying my hand at lettering – just because I felt like it.

Some miracles... 3 artworks by Imke Rust (Guache, ink and pen on 170g/m2 acid free paper, each 21 x 29,7cm)

Some miracles… 3 artworks by Imke Rust (Guache, ink and pen on 170g/m2 acid free paper, each 21 x 29,7cm)

Too often we are waiting for something outside of us to happen or change. From now on, I am committing to always find what I can do to bring me closer to create my own miracles. And do it. It is a blissful feeling to see all the potential miracles around me.

You might say: oh well, that’s too easy and not going to be a long-term solution. Granted, I have to keep repeating it. I think that would be possible, if I just choose to.

So here is another real big example from my personal experience.

Many years ago, I wrote down a list of things I truly wished for in my life. I read all about manifesting whatever you want and I decided to try it out. One point on the list was a real biggy. I had bad eyesight and needed to wear glasses. I hated that. And I wanted the universe to give me perfect eyesight so that I would never need glasses again.

You would agree – if the universe got that right, then I really would truly believe that nothing is impossible. It was on the list and so I waited. And waited. And waited. A few years later I found the list again, and ticked of some stuff, but the big wishes like the perfect eyesight were still unchanged. Nothing has miraculously happened. Maybe I just had to admit that it was a bit too idealistic of me to believe that it could happen.

I pondered about this for a few days until suddenly I had a small epiphany. I just received some money, which was owed to me for a long time, and I did not really expect to ever get it. I believed that it is not good to let money lie on a bank account, it would be better to invest it into something. But what? What would be a good investment for me? Something that would not depreciate in value? Something I really wanted or needed?

A few of my friends had done eye operations and were really happy with the results and suddenly it struck me that this money would be able to cover the cost of such an operation.

The miracle was there for me, I just needed to make the choice and buy the ticket.
I did.
Within a few weeks of preparation and five minutes of operation I had perfect eyesight. What a miracle!

Imke at the Goodman Gallery, Cape Town

My first public outing after my eye operation, celebrated with a visit to the Goodman Gallery in Cape Town. (March 2011)

I often thought miracles would have to come falling from the sky in some supernatural manner. There might be some that do, but most are pretty damn ordinary miracles. I mean, isn’t it just totally amazing that it is possible to laser your eyes and within 5min have perfect eyesight? Wow! I am still in awe and so incredibly grateful!

So, remember:

Some miracles you just have to create yourself.

And you can!

Panther Dreams by Imke Rust (Guache, ink and pen on 170g/m2 acid free paper, 21 x 29,7cm)

Panther Dreams by Imke Rust (Guache, ink and pen on 170g/m2 acid free paper, 21 x 29,7cm)

 

About Abundance

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Do you ever long for more abundance in your life?
I do.

Imke Rust Tree Glow
When I struggle with really grasping a concept, really feeling its truth in my body, then I try to look at it from different and unusual angles. Usually I stumble onto something that helps me to understand.

In this case, I looked at it in two different ways:
I looked at the word.
And I looked at my environment.

Abundance.
Abound dance
Ab bound dance       ab(away from) latin
Away from – being bound
Bound by what?
Spellbound?
Bound by the spell of scarcity.
So dance away from the scarcity spell!

Good Riddance!

Long ago somebody told me that the phrase of ‘Good Riddance’ actually stems from an old tradition of dancing when something has left your life or you want to get rid of something: a good rid-dance.

So dancing to break the spell and bring abundance into your life and dancing to rid yourself of things that you do not want in your life anymore…
So let’s dance and keep dancing!

In German it is called Überfluss.
In a way it is very similar and gives additional clues.
Keep flowing.
In the flow.
Over flow – move flowing-ly. Dance. Water. Move.

And then I have looked at the environment.

I grew up in a desert environment.
Desert is THE epitome of scarcity.
Of death, starving, limits, dryness…
Of barely surviving.
Backing down to the barest minimum.

Now I am in a lusher environment.
With forests nearby.
Forests are THE epitome of abundant life.
Of life, growth, exuberance, lush-ness, humidity, flow.
 
So lets dance the forest…

Dancing up a forest (Imke Rust)

Dancing up a forest (Imke Rust)

I have to admit, that I have written this several weeks ago, and just found it yesterday and decided to finally share it. Mostly to try to cheer myself up, to rid myself from my fears, from the pain that is keeping my body from dancing and my soul from believing in abundance…

The following would be a truer depiction of my current state:

Detail of a painting (Acrylic on Canvas, Imke Rust)

Detail of a painting (Acrylic on Canvas, Imke Rust)

I guess sometimes, we need to entertain the words, thoughts and images of a more positive state of being to try to get us back into that state. 🙂

Wishing you a beautiful, overflowing and abundant weekend!

Falling in Love With the Unknown

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Cherry Blossoms Close-up

Cherry Blossoms Close-up

On Easter morning we went for a cycle trip, when we noticed that the street was lined with thousands of pink flowers. More leaves were floating down from the pink blooming cherry trees with every new breeze. What a beautiful view!

A lady was watching from the window ( I heard that this used to be regarded as the favourite pastime of Germans for many years, before TV took over), as we stopped and started to pick up hands full of these fresh blossoms and packing them into my shopping bag. Curious about our actions, she asked, what we plan to do with it and was not too impressed when I told her that I do not know.

I really did not know. I just knew they were pretty, they were abundant and available and easy to collect. And I knew I would find something to do with it…

For two days I just did not have the time to even think about it. On the third, I knew the time is running out, as the petals will start to rot. I enjoyed watching the petals float from the trees, so I thought lots and lots of floating petals would be something fun to film.

Fortunately my husband and his daughter had a bit of time and were willing to assist me on the very vague idea and so off we went with some cameras, the buckets of petals and – in the last moment I thought of taking along our mirror as a large round shape.

The vague idea turned into a bit of frustration, as we tried to find a way of doing it and make it look good. Look good for me from an artist point of view and look good for my husband who is the expert in filming. But the beauty of creativity and working with what you have, is that if one idea does not work out, there are millions of possible alternatives. And there is always something one can do.

Maybe it is not the grandest of projects or delivers the most spectacular results, but we sure had lots of creative fun, excellent teamwork and a great time together. There might be a short video one day and there are some photos.

And we brought some excitement and beauty to the life of some people and dogs who passed by ‘a woman in a tree playing cherry blossom fairy’…

Being the cherry blossom fairy sprinkler

Being the cherry blossom fairy sprinkler

Alarmed dog who was not allowed to investigate

Alarmed dog who was not allowed to investigate

The camera crew seen from up the tree

The camera crew seen from up the tree

Creative assistants having fun

Creative assistants having fun

View from the tree

View from the tree: My favourite image…

Displaced mirror with petals

Displaced mirror with petals

Spring Circle

Finished Work: Spring Circle

The Ink Oracle

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Girl Playing withInk and Foxes (Watercolour 6 ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

Girl Playing with Ink and Foxes    (Watercolour 6 ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

It is a blessing to be versatile and enjoy working in so many different mediums, styles, sizes, themes and approaches.

It is a blessing to be versatile and enjoy working in so many different mediums, styles, sizes, themes and approaches.

It is a blessing to be versatile and enjoy working in so many different mediums, styles, sizes, themes and approaches.

Yes, neither you nor me are drunk, I DID repeat that three times.

I need to remind myself (and the world out there) about that. Too often, I get frustrated with the challenge of trying to explain who I am and present myself to galleries or other people who are used to people specialising in one thing. People love the simplicity of boxes, into which you have to fit nicely and which can easily be understood and stored…

And I understand…

I will never forget meeting the ‘plastic wrap artist’ in Beijing in 2008. He showed me several really thick catalogs of his work. All he painted was super-realistic renditions of people wrapped in see-through plastic. That simple. Nothing else.

Even if I do not remember his name, I will always remember what he does and if ever I need a painting of a person wrapped in plastic, I will know exactly whom to ask. That is the beauty of specialisation. And it is real easy and great for marketing and selling your art.

Every time I make art and do something different, I get extraordinary excited.
Every time I fall madly in love with the new work, the style, the medium and the subject matter.  But, no matter how successful the work or how much fun I am having, I could never imagine doing thousands of those same different-similar works for the rest of my life. Or even for the rest of the year, or month…

You might have noticed that I have changed my ‘job-description’ from political artist to environmental artist to painter to conceptual artist or a combination thereof. I have never been fully satisfied. I am or have been all of that, but never exclusively.

I am all of that… and so much more.

So my latest change is to this description: Multi-Passionate Creative Being. For now that seems to be the best short description I can find. Even if it is probably not as easy to understand as ‘The Plastic Wrap Artist’.

In celebration of my versatility I would like to share a small insight into one of my current explorations. The common denominator: working in a small square format and on paper. Mostly in inks and watercolours, but not limited to that.

What makes these works really exciting for me, is that I have promised myself to work as intuitively as I can, i.e. paint the first thing that comes to mind and then just continue with what the artwork dictates. It is kind of like a dialog.

Wildly scary is the second aspect that I have challenged myself with: just draw or paint what I feel, without any judgement.

In other words: banning the inner critic. (Which feels like overthrowing the lifetime president…) And no labouring to get things to look ‘perfect’. Rather let them feel right and let them be.

Thank you for bearing with me and my ramblings and reading till here! Finally you can have a look at a selection of these latest works:

Holding Rhinos (Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)
Shy Girl (Ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)
Why Are We Not Wild? (Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)
Giving & Taking (Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)
The Horse is a Problem (Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)
Untitled (Ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)
Leopard (black & red) (Ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)
Winter in Berlin (Ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)
Raven (Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

 

 

The Rise of the Phoenix

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Peacock Medicine by Imke Rust (Ink on paper, 20x20cm)

Peacock Medicine by Imke Rust (Ink on paper, 20x20cm)

Many old traditions believed that a person is guided and protected by specific animals throughout their lives. Not only the American Indians had totem traditions, but all over the world people believed in the power of spirit animals.

Some of you might already know from my last blog post, I have been doing an online ‘Totemic Arts Apprenticeship’ course with the wonderful guide-ess and teacher Emelie Archer Pickett, discovering my totem animals and how to work with their lessons and ‘medicine’ in our lives. We cannot choose which animal will be our totem animal, they choose us, according to our life lessons which we need to learn.

Believe in totem animals or not, I really think that at least considering them and their messages in our lives can help us find alternative insights and solutions to problems and added wisdom. Long before I have heard about totem animals, I often looked at my cats and thought: what would they do in this situation? (Usually their advice was to lie in the sun, stretch and roll over occasionally, watch the birds and most importantly: stay calm – unless you are hungry, in which case you go eat and then return to the sunny spot – a huge life lesson for me!)

Ok, now I have found out that we have a foundational or main animal as totem, supported by a whole gang of 11 other animals. There are many different views about this, so just stick with me on this one.

I call these animals my gang or circle, and the leader is a rather shy, sometimes grumpy black leopard…

During the course I found out that the peacock is a possible member of my gang, too. Sometimes we have resistance towards certain animals, or we wish for other animals that are not part of our totem make-up, ’cause they seem so impressive. So even though some of the teachings about the peacock resonated with me, I was not really convinced. Resonance to anything is usually a good sign that you are on the right path and to start further investigations.

Or you can just ignore it totally. Which is what I did.

Some weeks ago, I felt stuck in a certain situation in my life and I looked to my black leopard for help, but as usual the shy lady was withdrawing into her cave instead of coming out and being fierce (which is what I hoped for from my totem or power animal). But I learned that black leopards are pretty elusive and misunderstood… and well, they are the smallest of the large cats, so they might sometimes really be safer off in the cave or on a tree. (You can see a picture of her snoozing in her cave here)

Ok, I could not tempt her out of that cave and I had to go my own way. Which lead me past the communal rubbish yard. In the corner of these eyes I noticed a large frame in between the bins.

I just looooove old, discarded stuff like that. Cool stuff which one can possible re-use or recycle, and so I went for a closer look. It was an original oil painting of a peacock. The painting was in a perfect condition, just the frame was damaged on one corner. (At least it seemed that the leopard has lend me her eyes to easily spot the prey.)

A peacock… well, well – animals have strange ways to make themselves noticed in your life. And as an artist, I could never ignore a painting like this!

Found Peacock Painting by S (or V?) Wolters. Undated

Found Peacock Painting by S (or V?) Wolters. Undated

So I rescued the peacock and painting from the dumpsters and took it home, knowing I will now have no excuse to not look deeper into this totem animal. I also wanted to share my findings and excitement with the fellow tribe of people who are doing the course with me.

When I opened up our Facebook group’s page, the first thing I saw, was a picture of a peacock with the person who posted it saying: I just found out that my totem animal is a peacock – any other peacocks out there? And while I was writing about my experience, another person also shared that she found out the peacock is one of her totems. Three peacocks in one day… not bad. I just love considering this to be signs from the universe.

What is a peacock’s medicine you might want to know?

Here are some teachings: For one the peacock most resembles the descriptions of the phoenix, so it is considered a symbol of death and resurrection. The Peacock can also help you on your spiritual Path, and breath new life into your walk of faith and they can increase your self-esteem levels.

The bird is a symbol of integrity and the beauty we can achieve when we endeavor to show our true colours.

(Showing my true colours is the reason, why you suddenly get to read so much about totem animals and other magical stuff, visions or fun ideas from me.)

Because of the many ‘eyes’ on its tail it is connected to wisdom and vision – i.e. ‘seeing with a thousand eyes’.

Totem fun: Phoenix or the Peacock Eyes. (Ink on paper, 20x20cm. By Imke Rust)

Totem fun: Phoenix or the Peacock Eyes. Not exactly a thousand eyes here, but a start… (Ink on paper, 20x20cm. By Imke Rust)

You can connect to or use this animal medicine through meditating on the specific animal, wearing or surrounding yourself with images or objects of the animal or its colours, paint them or alternatively incorporate their lessons in whatever way makes you happy and feels right to you. There are no rules.

Even though most of the peacock lessons resonate with me, one stood out: the rebirth or phoenix aspect. Why? Since this bird (painting) got rescued from certain destruction, risen from the death and now has started a second life in our kitchen. A real phoenix!

Now he is playing with the other members of the gang, adding its strength and beauty to the mix. 😉

Totem Fun (Imke Rust, Ink & watercolours on paper, 20x20cm)

More totem fun (Imke Rust, Ink & watercolours on paper, 20x20cm)

Connecting the Dots

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I am on a mission to connect the dots of my life to finally figure out some important things. As part of that, and for some fun learning, I enrolled into an exciting course learning about totem animals and how they can help and guide us in our lives.

The course gives so much food for thought. Even though I initially I enrolled in the hope of ‘just some creative fun’ to add spice to my serious soul search for deeper answers, the course has completely drawn me in and provided such a lot of serious and exciting insights.

Between happily jumping into the fun world of the animals and wonderful kindred human souls who are part of the course or tribe and drawing back in resistance to so many different issues, I have managed to delve deep and hold on to this crazy ride.

I am trying to really let myself go with the flow and allow things to happen. And that is what I want to tell you about.

Black Leopard Sleeping

Black Leopard. Sleeping

Ok, so my main foundational totem is the black leopard. I guess I need to write much more about that at another time, but now I am onto something very different and more immediate. I had been thinking about how the leopard pulls its prey into a tree, to keep it safe from other bigger predators. Two other totem animals of mine move into trees (or live there) for safety.

Then it struck me, that I had a vision about myself as a tree two days ago and because it was so striking I made a small painting in my sketchbook about it.

I felt as if I was a tree growing from the top downwards, with the bottom trunk and roots missing.

The tree could not bloom or produce leaves until those parts eventually grow and connect it with the earth and its nurturing soil and water, its hold and steadfastness. A place to be.

Floating Tree

Floating Tree (quick sketchbook drawing)

I took a photograph, in order to be able to share it or continue working on it in a digital format. When I downloaded it, I realised that there were still a whole bunch of other older photographs I have taken, but not downloaded yet…

Interestingly they were mostly of trees – treetops in the mist and a wire baobab tree that we got as a gift for our wedding. And of the bottom of my coffee cup, where the residue has left…. You guessed it: the shape of a tree floating in the air.

Coffee grounds tree

Coffee grounds in my mug:  can you see the floating tree?

Wire Baobab from Namibia

Wire Baobab Tree from Namibia – another photo found still on my camera

My favourite tree is the Baobab. So I looked up its symbolism. Its protective, nourishing and healing and can survive in harsh climates, because it stores water in its trunk. It is also a symbol of strength…

It is also known as the ‘upside-down tree’ – according to myth, the gods planted the tree upside-down in error.

Which reminded me of my initial version, of the tree growing from the top to the bottom and also about something I created just over a year ago, when I felt depressed and generally pretty lost:

Sometimes the world seems upside down

Sometimes the world seems upside down

These are so many dots connecting and I will have to ponder about the lessons that entails. So I decided to write it down. While writing, I thought I could just as well post it as a blog. I thought that this is probably a bit too spiritual and way-out for my main art blog and I decided to post it first on my Baobabs, Magic and Art blog.  And then it struck me that even the title of this blog adds another dot to connect to the mystical tree…

And it led me further to another poem and image, which I had made and posted on there in June last year:

trying to grow new roots

Trying to grow new roots
In a foreign land
With my feet on unfamiliar ground

Trying to become grounded
Return to the earth
And feel at home

Drawing strength
From below
From belonging

I have no roots
Here
Yet

© Imke Rust

And hopefully I will eventually find or grow my roots so that this tree won’t be floating around in uncertainty anymore, but will find its place and grow into a big nurturing, protective, creative and healing tree. 🙂

Wishing you a beautiful start to the week!

When Angels Come to Town…

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… the mice are dancing on the roofs.

Another addition to the Hotel Deco Busting Series

Intervention Against Tasteless Wall Decorations in Hotels and Holiday Apartments.
Intervention gegen geschmacklose Wanddekoration in Hotelzimmern und Ferienwohnungen.
(Part 10 /Teil 10)
Since 2010 I have secretly been slightly altering tasteless or boring hotel or holiday apartment art whenever I had the chance to.

Recently we stayed at the Marriott Hotel in Frankfurt for two nights. You might remember that last year we were here too, and I made the piece ‘Love & Devotion‘ which is still one of my absolute favourites.

This time I came better prepared for working on artworks behind glass and with an idea for a new creation in mind…

And as life has it, I was surprised that they have renovated the rooms and added new and much more colourful and modern art (and my plans became obsolete). Now they had digital prints on canvas by some anonymous artist hanging on the wall. I actually thought the new art is not bad and really loved the colours, especially the deep reds. It works well in the room – compliments to the decorator!

But hey, even a good artwork can use some fun and magic…

This way it will stand out from the probably 50 exact copies of this print in the other rooms and hopefully add some sparkle to the lives of future guests who notice the small additions.

Without further ado, here is what happened:

BEFORE PIC (Digital print by unknown artist)

BEFORE PIC (Digital print by unknown artist)

AFTER Picture - can you see the differences?

AFTER Picture – can you see the differences?

Since I actually thought this artwork is not bad, I did not want to make huge differences and decided on many small interventions guided by what the images suggested to me…

Mice are dancing on the roof... how many mice do you see?

Mice are dancing on the roof… how many mice can you find?

Angels descending from the roof

Angels descending from the roof

Balloons and fireworks all over town

Balloons and fireworks all over town

Angels in town

Angels in town

New title of the artwork

New title of the artwork added to the bottom of the frame

I decided to add my new title on the bottom border of the artwork. If the guest has not noticed the slight alterations he or she might see this title when lying in bed and looking at the artwork and hopefully become curious.

If you ever stay in the Marriott Hotel in Frankfurt, you might want to ask for room 37-05 and enjoy the company of angels, mice and magic… 🙂

At work :)

At work 🙂

Secret Messages – Geheime Botschaften

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Sometimes books are just plain boring or badly written, but you can trust me in trying (and usually succeeding) to find a different and more positive way to look at stuff or spend time with a boring book.

Last year, during a rainy day we were confined to our holiday bungalow. A perfect day to read, and fortunately the bungalow had a shelve with some books. Unfortunately, you had the choice between really bad writing, really boring stories or really gruesome and tasteless horror novels. So I decided on a book which was both badly written, boring and a cheap paperback.

As I said: you can trust me to uncover the secret messages which it contained…

As usual I had my tippex marker  handy, which helped me to reveal these messages by getting rid of all unnecessary and boring words.

That kept us happily busy and today I am excited to share them with you.

It is a German book, so I will try to give the best possible English translation of the poems.

Das gute Omen - A Good Omen

Das gute Omen – A Good Omen

Das Aufleuchten
war ein gutes Omen…
In der Nacht
schaufelte er aus dem Loch
Eine Sonne
Irgendein
Tag
Erinnerte auch heute an eine
Letzte Nacht.

English:
The lighting-up was a good omen… In the night he dug from a hole a sun. Any day reminds us even today of a past night.

Das Kichern in den Fingerspitzen - The Giggle in the Fingertips

Das Kichern in den Fingerspitzen – The Giggle in the Fingertips

Aber ihre Seele drohte zu zerspringen. Eine Seele wusste, wenn ein Kichern noch sehr lebending in einem Körper hause – am liebsten in den Fingerspitzen.

English:
But her soul threatened to burst. A soul knew when a very alive giggle was still dwelling in a body –preferably in the fingertips.

Magische Zeichen - Magical Signs

Magische Zeichen – Magical Signs

Auch das Gefühl, erneut emporzuschießen – so hoch wie gleißend magische Zeichen, war eine Projektion! Und für einige Augenblicke, rasten rätselhafte Worte wie veränderte Strahlen durch sein Herz.

English:
Also the feeling to again ascend – as high as glistening magical signs, was a projection! And for some moments mysterious words raced like changed rays through his heart.

Eine graue Wolke - A Grey Cloud

Eine graue Wolke – A Grey Cloud

Eine graue
Wolke formte
Ein heiseres Lachen.
Er musste niessen… Und dann war alles
vorbei!
Die Partikel sanken wie in Zeitlupe zu
Tode.

English:
A grey cloud formed a hoarse laugh.
He had to sneeze… and then everything was over.
The particles sank in slow-motion to death.

I hope you enjoyed these little stories or poems!

Love, Imke

Ready to Shoot

4 Replies

If you are a regular follower of my creative experiences on my blog, you might have wondered what happened to the kudu painting. Yes the one that asked me to ‘Shoot it – if I can’. And as promised, here is an update.

If you have not read the other posts, you might want to just quickly return to them, to know what this is all about. Part 1- There is a Kudu in my Studio  & Part 2 -Shoot Me!

Shoot Me - If You Can (Digitally altered painting)

Shoot Me – If You Can (Digitally altered painting)

When I finished the painting, I had to wait for a stretcher frame to be made, so that I could transport it safely and easily. Unfortunately it was Christmas time and the framers were just ready to leave on holiday, but they promised to make it as soon as they return.

That gave me some time to

  1. Decide what I am going to do and
  2. arrange everything necessary.

I kept looking deep into the kudu’s eyes, to try and decide if I could shoot her. And if yes, how exactly would I go about it. She was silent and I knew the ball was in my court. She asked me to shoot her, and I had to answer.

Finally I agreed. If that is what she wants, I will do it. Yes, I will shoot her. She will show me how.

For the practical part of doing it, I have talked to a dear friend, and after some hesitation he agreed to help me take the painting out to his farm and shoot it. So everything was set. Just waiting for the frame, so that I could stretch the painting…

I realised that shooting the painting stirred a lot of emotions and questions in me. Why was her request so unsettling? And, on the other side, intriguing? Shooting to me is about killing. So I would have to kill this painting.  Why do I have such a problem with killing something that is not alive?

Oh, but wait. It is not alive? Who said that? To me a painting is very much alive. Artists are often asked, when they know that a painting is finished. I know mine is finished, when it suddenly feels alive, when it becomes an energised, almost breathing entity, when I have the feeling it has a identifiable personality that can survive on its own in the world. When it becomes separate from me.  (I know this sounds strange, but that is what it feels like to me.)

Anyway, I could write so much more on the thoughts and emotions that I had, but I am afraid this post will get too long. I hope to still share my insights in some other form later. I think the main thing was to go through the motions, make up my mind and trust life to take its course.  Who knows what will come from it.

So here I was, ready and well prepared to shoot. Honouring my part of the agreement. Shoot her – if I can.

I could not.

By some fluke the framers took longer than expected and the painting literally arrived back in my studio a few hours before I left to Europe. There was just no time to shoot.

She is save and I am relieved!  🙂

Preparation Sketch for the kudu painting

Preparation Sketch for the kudu painting