In May of 2018 I went to Germany for my first Artist Residency. I didn’t know anybody. Before I left home I had exchanged a few emails with a woman named Monika, the co-director of The Residency, but I didn’t know her or anybody else. I was going to be a stranger in a strange land. When I got to the Residency at Kunstort ELEVEN in Starzach Borstingen, it was both weird and exhilarating and required a period of adjustment. Kunstort was a big old school that had been converted into a Residency, so it was like being back in school – well…living in school – with about a dozen classmates. The other artists in the Residency were from all over the world. As you can imagine, when you throw a bunch of strangers together – especially artist strangers – it can take a little time to work out the dynamics of interpersonal relationships: Personalities, languages, spaces, and boundaries, like who ate my chocolate. (I know it was you Gamze! I know it was youuuu!) But eventually the chafing stops and you are wholly enriched by the strength and talent and uniqueness of all these quirky other artists. By the time I left Germany in late August, I had grown quite fond of everyone, and stayed in touch with many of my Residency peers as the years passed….
Artists like Gamze Zorlu from Turkey, Jamie McGhee from North Carolina, the Passepartout Duo‘s Nicoletta Favari from Italy and Christopher Salvito from New Jersey, Katrin Eichmann from Germany, Sarah Iris Mang from Austria, Luca Migliorino from Italy, Ranate Kletzka from Germany, Hiroko Oikawa from Japan, Gabrielle Nold from Germany, Kidong Kwon from South Korea, Gerald Fiebig from Germany, Ilyn Wong from New York and Germany, Andrew Burford from Berlin, Lim Jeong Soo from South Korea, Kyle Scheurmann from Canada, and Rochyne Delaney McNaulty from England, and Hui Huang from China. (Note: All of the preceding names are links to their websites. Click for more information)
Fast forward to 2022: I’m back in Germany for my second Artist Residency. This time, though, I’m not a stranger in a strange land. I know this part of the Black Forest. In fact I visited Horb am Neckar many times. But even more important: This time I know people…I have friends here…friends both old and new. Let me introduce you to some very special people!
Monika
Monika Golla and Frank Fierke were the co-directors of the Kunstort ELEVEN Artist Residency since 2015. The Residency was paused when the virus hit in 2020 and turned the world upside down, but for the five years prior they ran a first class international artist-in residence that enriched the lives of scores of people, including me. Monika and Frank are not just administrators, they’re both Artists – Artists with a capital A. Monika is a practicing sound artist and film producer. Frank is multi-talented and currently working with air objects/large scale inflatable art.
Shortly after I arrived back in May I had lunch with Frank, and a few days later, dinner with Monika at a delicious Middle Eastern restaurant in Horb called Projekt Morgenland. The picture below is of me and Monika. She has that wise old-soul look in her eyes, as though she’s been around for ever – seen everything, done everything, maybe even changed the course of history along the way. I could picture her visiting Davinci’s studio when he was painting the Mona Lisa and saying to him “You know what would be good – have her smile, but just a little bit…”
Monika lives in Darmstadt now, a university town near Frankfurt. She tells me I would love it there! I hear it has some magnificent Art Nouveau villas and thousands upon thousands of roses, with cafes, tall tress, shops, and big festivals. I must visit!
Monika has always been very patient and helpful to me as I acclimated to living in Germany, and not being able to speak any German beyond “Hallo” and “Bitte”. Plus there’s my awful sense of direction! Try taking a bus or a train when you’re not at all sure if you’ll get where you’re going. I remember her actually drawing maps and explaining things so that I would feel more confident. I’m just glad she didn’t have to resort to hand puppets
Frank
On Wednesday, May 18th I got a call from a German number that I didn’t recognize. In fairness, I don’t think I could recognize any German numbers. In this case it was Frank Fierke, and he asked me out to lunch. (Some people say I’m already out to lunch!) I told him I was still suffering from jet lag so instead we agreed to meet on Friday. We met at the Farmers Market in Horb. This is Frank in the center, introducing me to his new cauliflower friend. After the Framers Market we went to a lovely café on the Neckar River called Cafe Reinhardt. We had a lot of fun getting caught up at lunch. As it turns out we are both big fans of Wes Anderson movies – especially Grand Budapest Hotel! We talked for so long that he thought he was going to get a ticket. He texted later “Great News! NO TICKET! Yay!
Frank, as I mentioned, is multi-talented: a painter, a builder; he’s worked in the film industry behind the scenes so he knows a lot about cameras, booms, and equipment, which comes in handy with Monika and other artists partners when filming performance art.
Frank is currently working with inflatable art. So cool!
Steffi
This is Steffi Shöene. She is…a…trip! She won’t know what that means because not all English slang translates well in to German, but in English it means a person or experience that is unusual, entertaining and exciting, and really funny in a crazy way. That definitely sounds like Steffi! We hit it off during my last visit in 2018 when she was an artist in residence here at Antonie-Leins-Künstlerhaus. I was happy that I got to see her again this time. She stopped by Horb on her way back from a three week camping and hiking trip to Portugal. Well….that’s where she said she was. For all I know she could be a secret government agent like James Bond, or some crime fighting Superhero. At least that would explain the shiny red cape in her closet….
Steffi is a super talented photographer, a brilliant sculptor, and an innovative Artist. One day her work is going to make her a zillionaire! We’ve had a lot of laughs together – many with a beer in hand – and she is just a riot! Oh wait…she’s not going to know what that means either. Well, Steffi….a riot is just like a trip, only funnier!
When I was going through my photos to select a picture of Steffi for this post, I realized that in almost every shot she’s eating ice cream. How can somebody in such great shape eat so much ice cream? When I was on the ice cream diet it had a completely different effect. Go figure…
Walerija
This is Walerija Peter. She is a long term Artist in Residence at Antonie-Leins-Künstlerhaus. She arrived at the Residency in 2021 and she’ll be here until 2024. She is multi-talented visual Artist working in stained glass, installations, sculptures, graphics, video, and performance art. Her roots are in Russia and Kazakhstan, and her work has taken her all over the world! In fact she’s currently in Finland working on a sculpture and performance art piece with another Artist named Mimosa Pale. Later she’ll be going to Kazakhstan to do a performance art project.
Walerija has a heart of gold, is fiercely loyal to her many friends, and is an amazing cook too! (Yay for me, because she often shares her fab creations!) Walerija has been very kind to me in many ways. In fact she helped with the arrangements to make my visit possible. In the weeks before I came to Germany we exchanged both emails and voice messages and I got to know her voice quite well. It’s deep and resonant, and you could picture her being a late night disc jockey for a blues or mellow jazz station…
This is Walerija, Steffi, and I enjoying dinner a couple of weeks ago. We had so many laughs and such great conversation that we continued our little party back at the house with Walerija’s amazing tea. After some time, Walerija pointed out that we did not bring back our leftovers! OH NOOOooooooooooooooo!
As you can see Steffi’s smile is very mischievous. My friend Cliff said she looks like the type of girl in school who could get you in to trouble but get off scot free. “You’re sure it’s okay that I borrow your mom’s car to pick up the keg, right??” Yes, yes, of course, don’t be silly…
Mimosa
Speaking of Mimosa: Mimosa Pale is a dynamic Finnish artist working in the field of sculpture and performance art. And she plays a mean saw! No, seriously. She plays the saw so beautifully it will make you fall to your knees and weep. Mimosa is an award winning Saw player. She once went to a competition filled with lumber Jack type men (so the story goes) and as they were poking fun at her very presence, they fell silent as soon as she played. And yes, she won the contest! AMAAAAZING!!!
Mimosa is living a fairy tale life: She recently fell in love and is going back to Finland for some super creative endeavors with her soon-to-be Artist husband. She was one of the Artists in Residence here at Antonie-Leins-Künstlerhaus and it was her early departure that created a vacancy. I applied to the Call and I was blessed by the opportunity to take her place.
I first met Mimosa back in 2018. In fact she was one of the first people that I became friends with here in Germany, other than my fellow AIR’s at the time! After attending an event at Artpark Horb, a bunch of us went out to a lovely restaurant in the old town marketplace. Sitting across from her, I couldn’t help but notice her super cool arty earring, and when I complimented her, she immediately took it off and handed it to me. “Please, it’s yours” she said! Whaaat? Who does that?! Oh I couldn’t…She insisted. So now I have the Coolest and Most Precious keepsake from my first trip to Germany! And I will always cherish it!
Mimosa has a natural larger-than-life comedic talent, and brings that sense of humor to much of her work!
Helena
The young lady behind this sweet smile is Helena Hartmann, and she is the other resident Artist at Antonie-Leins-Künstlerhaus. Her residency here comes to an end in August. She works between Horb, Munich, and also Northern Germany, up near the border with the Netherlands. She is a visual artist, sculptor, photographer, and an avant-garde performance artist. She was classically trained in singing, I believe, but then in art school discovered a whole new way of performing and never looked back. She often partners with other artists like Stephanie Müller and Klaus Erich Dietl – partner artists, and they call themselves Rags Treasure. They are all former residents of Antonie-Leins-Künstlerhaus, which is where they met. Helena also collaborates with the very talented Sarah Ines Struck, who is an Author, beat poet, performance artist. Stephanie, Klaus, Helena, and Sarah just recently performed Saturday July 2nd as part of the “Alligator Gozaimasu Collective” at Die große Parade, München 2022”.
Before my Residency in 2018 I wrote to Helena and a few other former residents of Kunstort ELEVEN. I thought it would be smart to reach out and ask questions of other artists before I went to make sure everything was all on the level. After all I saw the movie Taken and there was no way that I was going to end up pole dancing for some fat old Saudi sheik. Wait a second – how big is the yacht?? He’s got how much money?? Hmmm…..
Anyways, Helena and I kept in touch, mostly on Facebook, but we had never met until now! OMG! What a doll! We have had a marvelous time getting to know each other and she will be coming with me on July 6th to the German American Institutes, or d.a.i.’s, big summertime/Sommerempfang 70th anniversary bash in Bebenhausen. The event is a really big deal! I…cannot…wait!!
The first night Helena and I went out we had dinner at the Kulturgaststätte Kloster, which is just up the hill and around the corner from the Residency. Their name means Cultural Restaurant Monastery, or something like that. They’re not just a restaurant – their building also houses a museum and art gallery. The stone walls of their restaurant reminded me of Steeple Street in Providence, which was one of my favorite hang-outs back in the 80’s. The Kloster was nice that night because we had the place to ourselves. The food was delicious, and the conversation was lively and fun!
Gudrun
Speaking of the DAI: During my last Residency in 2018, I visited the nearby town of Tubingen and met with Dr. Ute Bechdolf, the Director of the German American Institute. Dr. Bechdolf put me in touch with Gudrun von Funck, a brilliant Artist from Tübingen who did a Residency/Show in Ann Arbor, Michigan through the D.A.I. (http://www.g-v-funck.de/index.html) On that very same day Gudrun was kind enough to show me and my friends Jaime and Gamze around Tübingen. You can read about our adventure in my Blog Post: https://www.bonnieleeturner.com/travel/tubingen/
So every year the German-American Institute hosts a big gala called a Sommerempfang, which means Summer Reception. It’s an exclusive event, and it’s by invitation only. Back in 2018 the Event was held on July 11th at the Cloister of Bebenhausen, a former Monastery that was once a Palace. It was built by Rudolph I, Count Palatine of Tübingen, probably in the 1100’s. Attending the D.A.I.’s Sommerempfang at this amazing historic Monastery/Palace is like one of those fairy tales that you see in the movies or read about in a Shakespearean play! But who can ever go? It’s by invitation only. Well….Gudrun invited me as her guest, and even offered to put me up for the night so that I wouldn’t have to travel back to Starzach really late! How great is that! You can read about that adventure here: https://www.bonnieleeturner.com/travel/sommerempfang-in-bebenhausen/
This year when Dr. Ute Bechdolf heard that I was coming back to Germany she invited me to the German-American Institutes Sommerempfang in Bebenhausen on July 6th. I asked Gudrun if she would like to attend but she was going to be out of town, so I asked Helena. Happily I still got together with Gudrun! In early June Gudrun and her nice friend Klaus treated me to a wonderful day in Baden Baden, a spa town about 30 miles to the northwest. We went to the Museum Frieder Burda and then to a big manicured park filled with sculptures (One of Johannes Brahms!) and trees from all over the world. It was a great day!
We are planning to get together again at some point in her beautiful hometown of Tübingen.
This is Gudrun and Klaus on our big day out:
Josef
This is Josef Nadj, the Director of the Antonie-Leins-Künstlerhaus Residency in Horb. He’s also a brilliant Sculptor who does large scale stone installations! Check out his amazing work at https://www.nadj-bildhauer.de and also https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Josef_Nadj
Josef came to pick me up on the very first day that I arrived in Horb. I was at Gleis Sud, the outdoor coffee shop at the train station, and I was wiped out from traveling for 20+ hours. So I called Walerija and told her I wasn’t sure that I would be able to lug my heavy bags up a steep hill on cobblestone streets. She said she would call Josef and he would come and pick me up. As I looked out across the plaza and drank in the beauty of the pristine buildings and houses, I saw a light haired man with a kind face waving in my direction. I looked over my shoulder to see who he was waving at, but there was no one there. Then I see him walking across the plaza towards me and he’s holding a small bouquet of flowers. How sweet is that! What a wonderful welcome to Horb! After we exchanged greetings he looked at me and said “You’ve arrived but your spirit has not arrived yet…” Well, y’know Josef…airlines lose everything. But he was right. When you’re that tired you’re just not you. You’re not even Betty White. You’re on some sort of auto-pilot operating solely on adrenaline and will. He grabbed my bags and we took the short drive to the Residency on Wintergasse Street, which sits at the top of a steep hill.
This is Josef. This candid photo was taken at Walerija’s big birthday bash. He reminds me a little of a young Gordon Lightfoot…
Picasso
This is Picasso. I call him Picasso because when I first saw him the markings on his face made him/her look like a Cubist painting. I don’t really see it anymore, but the name stuck. Picasso is either a stray or a very social cat who likes to mingle. She showed up almost at the same time as I did. One day I was resting my knee in the courtyard and she wandered in and plopped herself down next to me. She wasn’t particularly hungry – although I did give her some cheese. She seemed more like she just wanted to hang out. She’s been a frequent visitor – and again, not starving, just wants company. What a pretty kitty!!
Liza
There are old friends and then there are really really old friends! That’s how it is for me and Liza Cameron Wasser. We grew up together. This picture is blurry because it was taken before cameras were invented, but even so, take a look at me and Liza back in the day:
We haven’t seen each other since we were teens, but we stayed connected on Facebook for all these years. Liza traveled the world and lived in places like South Africa and Hong Kong. She finally settled in Frankfurt, Germany with her husband Dave about a zillion years ago and now they have a huge family.
The last time that I was in Germany we tried to arrange a get together, but it was a busy time for the both of us and things just did not work out. So when I announced on Facebook that I was returning to Germany, Liza immediately inquired about our getting together! Yay!
When she told her husband Dave that she was going to Horb for a few days he asked “Is this some sort of Facebook friend???”. Maybe he thought she was on her way to meet Günter the Pool Boy, but she told him “I’ve known her as long as I can remember. She is a childhood friend. I can’t remember not knowing her!” :). And that about covers it.
She came down on Friday, June 17th. It was the weekend of the big annual Renaissance Faire in Horb called the Horber Ritterspiele. We went that first night. Well….we pretty much had to. Almost the whole village was taken over by knights, maidens, wenches, acrobats, musicians, fortune tellers, dancers, jugglers, stilt walkers, sword fights – you get the idea. We felt like extras in the movie The Princess Bride.
There was a huge crowd at the Faire! Since Covid, seeing that many people packed together makes me nervous. Both Liza and I are still wary of the virus so we wore our masks as we moved through the crowd, although most everyone else did not. At one point some character wearing a tunic, breeches, and stockings asked why we fair maidens were wearing masks. I said “Pray thee, good sir, by my troth I will not go to seige with ye olde monkeypox, now fare thee well, God spede you! Anon!” Yeah that’s right….nothing like throwing a little shade 14th century style….
After we left the Faire we walked around the quieter streets that were not part of the fanfare, and just enjoyed being here in Horb am Neckar, and spending quality time together. We also spent time here at the house, mostly sitting outside in the courtyard…reminiscing and learning about what’s been happening in each other’s lives. She is an awesome Mom to six – yes, SIX – amazing kids and now she’s also a Grandmother! How is that possible when we’re both still in our 30’s???
Liza is a brilliant Writer and right now she’s working on a mystery novel! The title is ‘Byrne Your Bridges’, – and it will be Book 1 in the Byrne Sisters Mysteries. I cannot wait to read it as I have so enjoyed her many short stories that were posted to her former Patreon Account. Liza has always had a clever and razor sharp wit, and it’s only grown with the passage of time and wisdom of years. It certainly shows in her stories! Check out her new website: https://www.lizacameronwasser.de/
Kunstort ELEVEN
On May 25th, Monika wrote and asked “What are you doing tomorrow afternoon? Y’know, it‘s a festival day and all stores and offices will be closed. Would you like to come to Börstingen? Did you meet Hanna & Uwe? They will visit us at 5pm. We want to eat something and enjoy sitting in the yard like we did with you and the other residents. I think they don‘t know yet that you are around, so this will be a nice surprise. What do you think? I could pick you up at Eyach Station at 17:00 (train leaves Horb station 16:52 in direction Tübingen). You 9€ ticket is not valid yet, but wouldn‘t it be nice to see us old friends in this old place? Let me know, xoxo Monika”
YES! YES! YES! Back to Kunstort ELEVEN for meeee!
I arrived at Eyach station, the same train station where I first arrived in May of 2018. Monika picked me up and we rode to Börstingen. I was so excited to see the Schloss Haigerloch Castle in the distance – it was my landmark that always let me know when was home.
I was delighted to be invited back to ELEVEN, and to see Frank and Monika again! Being back was just like the old days! It made me miss everyone with whom I resided last time! The building itself is still basically the same but now its purpose has changed. Kunstort ELEVEN is an Arts Lab now. There are studios – Frank still has his studio there – and Artists can use the space to work or practice or rehearse, but you have to be local and you cannot live there.
We settled in the backyard for dinner. Joining us was Dr. Uwe Petruch and Hanna Smitmans. I had met them both the last time that I was here. They were doing an environmental project on the grounds of Kunstort. Then back in August of 2018 I was part of a group show in Tubingen. I was doing what I call Automatic Drawings – that’s where people will sit for me and talk and whatever they say will influence what I draw. Dr. Uwe was one of the first people to sit for me that day. He told me that he’s not only an artist, he’s also a pediatrician. He said that he asks his young patients what animal they would like him to draw, and then he draws that animal with his eyes closed. Pretty amazing! This is a picture of him at work – or maybe I was in the middle of a long story and he just wanted it to end….
Hanna is multi-talented; She’s a photographer and visual artist who also does curation of art and shows. She has often partnered with Dr. Uwe on a variety of projects, including environmental art. Hanna also partnered with Monika on starting an Artist Residency in Tubingen, but then Covid hit and everything stopped. Hanna’s sister Ava Smitmans is also an Artist – an acclaimed painter in Tubingen – and I met her the last time too. Hope to see her again before I leave.
Hanna Smitmans and Frank Fierke and Dr. Uwe Petruch and Monika Golla and me. As much as I would like to say that alcohol played a role in this selfie…it did not…
Elizabeth Kaiser
Another Artist who sat for me at the group show in Tubingen is Elizabeth Kaiser. Elizabeth is a performance artist, active in film, with an operatic singing voice. She often visits the atelier here at Antonie-Leins-Künstlerhaus to rehearse, and her voice sounds like silk dipped in honey. It’s always a treat to hear her sing!
Elizabeth also has a mystical connection to plants that defies explanation. At one time I thought I had a mystical connection to plants but one day I played “Machine Gun” live by Jimi Hendrix way too loud and it blew the leaves right off my jade. After that the rest of the plants wouldn’t speak to me. I would walk into the room and they would all get really quiet. Okay if that’s how you want to be…
Anyways, you have to check out some of Elizabeth’s work. It…is…mind blowing! Click this link to see some videos of collaborative pieces with Monika and Frank: http://jaborose.com/rosa.ht
Michael Widmann
There is one more special friend that I would like to tell you about. His name is Michael Widmann, and he was the curator for Art Park Horb, an arts-in-the-park program in Horb am Neckar. We met back in 2018 and it was through him that I created the public art installation called “Park bench #47”. You can check it out on my blog: https://www.bonnieleeturner.com/travel/metallische-parkbank-im-artpark-horb/
And here is a link to find out more info about Artpark Horb on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/468852620134475/
Michael is a prominent businessman in Horb and one of his main businesses is Textiles. Check out some of his gorgeous high end fabrics: https://www.tuchweberey.de/
Michael is a tireless promoter of the arts! He’s helped artists bring their visions to life, and brought art to the community at large.
The Best Part of Germany
When I got back home from my first Artist Residency in 2018, a lot of friends and family asked me “What did you like best about Germany?”. And that was always such a tough question for me to answer. Was it the breathtaking beauty of the landscape, or the ever-present history, or the architecture, or the culture, or the food, or the beer? How could I ever choose? Well, I’m sure that I’ll be asked that same question again when I get home from this Residency. This time, though, I will have an answer. Germany has much to offer in so many different ways, but I think the very best thing about Germany – what makes Germany so special – are her people! They’re smart, funny, creative, friendly, kind, caring, and in ways both large and small, always trying to make the world a better place. And I say this not just about the people that I’ve been blessed enough to meet and become friends with, but it’s also about the people that I’ve observed only in passing; Strangers who shared a smile, offered assistance, engaged in simple acts of kindness, were compassionate, and loving, and showed a genuine respect and appreciation for life – a Love of life”, or as they say in German, Lebenslust.
In my heart I will always cherish the best part of Germany!
Bonnie