Residency Envy

Have you heard of studio envy? What about time envy?
Well my sister and I were traveling through the family tree and stumbling through Wartburg castle outside of Berlin in Germany, when we both agreed that the reason Martin Luther got as much as he did done was because of his forced seclusion under the protection of Frederick the Wise.
After the 1521 Diet of Worms trial the Roman Catholic Church announced Martin Luther an outlaw and, hoping to avoid angering the masses, put off determining the punishment for two weeks. Records now show that they were hoping to quietly assassinate Luther. Frederick the Wise, (who earned that name), 'kidnapped" Luther on his way home and took him to one of his secluded mountaintop castles, a stronghold, for safety.
Luther managed to get out a message to his buddy Cranach that he would have rather died than agree to be whisked away for safety, but that upon seeing the accommodations at Wartburg, he put his mind at ease and started to get to work.

This is a sketch of his room where, for a little over half a year, Luther worked on translating Latin and Hebrew new testament sources. In a phenomenally quick time he produced a German language New testament translated Bible for the Cranach presses! The room was wood paneled- the yellow and tally marks are my imagination at work.
There was a whale vertabrae in his room for use as an apparent footstool, an elaborate ceramic heater, and a carved wooden cushioned arm chair. The amenities at the castle included hot baths, a theater, 360 degree views and an extensive library.

Mountain top stronghold

Luxurious digs

Inside the castle grounds

What would I give for a forced retreat/residency like that?

Entrepreneurial Success with a Printing Press

Here is a story about the first German Bible:
Martin Luther's translation in 1522 was not the very first German bible, but it was the first that was translated from Greek and Hebrew original texts rather than from the Latin Vulgate, and it was translated into the common street language of Luther's time. So any German who could read in 1522, could study the word of God in their own language. This was a tremendous event, for it not only codified a national language, it personalized the relationship of the Word for the people.

Luther's Bible

 The first edition of the New Testament (3000 copies)published in September, sold out almost immediately. The December Testament sold out as well. By Luther's death 100,000 complete copies are sold...in a way unifying the country in that everyone was now reading and discussing the same text.

 Lucas Cranach's 21 wood cut illustrations of the Apocalypse were patented to be the only ones used in the first and subsequent editions. The art and translations were not without controversy. Accused of being a heretic, Luther, who was in hiding, hoped to gain the support of the people. He authorized Cranach to publish a pamphlet of full page illustrations showing the contrast between Christ and the Pope as a contrast between good and evil. The illustrations are wildly clear to anyone regardless of their ability to read. The pope is demonized. The Catholic church immediately retaliated with pamphlets attacking Luther as a 7 headed devil. Each side starts fervently publishing opinions on the matter.

The bible and subsequent printed pamphlets were a phenomenal success for Cranach's office. Between 1500 and 1530 more than 10,000 pamphlets with estimated 1000 copies per edition are printed in Germany... that's almost 20 pamphlets per literate German. And Cranach's press is responsible for creating 15% of all German books in the country!

Cranach's Wittenberg workshop and press

Check out a copy of "Luther's Bible" on Amazon--- collectible for around $725, or used $203.

Wittenberg Printmaking History

The home of Lucas Cranach and his workshop was a dream destination for me.

Wittenberg Castle, home of the patron of Cranach

my sister on the streets of Wittenberg

Map of the center of Wittenberg

The Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise, hired Lucas Cranach to be his court painter in the early 1500's. Cranach made his entry into that employment by preparing the hunt fields (trapping and sealing exits for the animals) and then painting very quickly the trophies and catches for all involved. He was very quick and able to convey a sense of abundance in his souvenir paintings so that he soon was in high demand by all the participants. That caught notice of the Elector. Once hired as the official court painter,  ( a position he kept through out the life of Frederick the Wise and his two successors), Cranach's responsibilities increased tremendously. Not only was he in charge of the castle decor, documenting historic events, embellishing and highlighting the nobility of the Saxon family by placing them in scenes of biblical and mythological settings, but he designed the fall and spring uniforms for the staff, created the themes for entertainment, decorated all horses, wagons, and squares for the pageants and tournaments, designed the wedding beds, painted alter pieces, murals and portraits, worked as ambassador and politician and printed pamphlets for both the Roman church authorities and, most famously, Martin Luther and the reformation.

 

 

Cranach was awarded a family seal of a winged serpent to show all the world how amazingly fast a painter, Pictorus Cellerimus, Cranach was!

 

 

The Cranach seal on his press

me inside Cranach printing office

The workshop is now an art school, exhibition space with an apparent resident printmaker. It was great to be able to stand in the space and smell the ink!

Night printing on the streets of Berlin

The sewer caps in Berlin have these marvelous images etched into them of the landmarks of the city, from the Reichstag to the Brandenburg gate. Our hip hotel, the 25 hour Bikini Berlin, was right across the street to the Kaiser Wilhem Kurch, which was one of the memorials on the street cap as well.

Tools needed-
 baby wipes, ink plate, water soluble ink, new German-bought hand roller, sheets of paper and a look out person.

new roller bought first day in Berlin

the Reichstag image

adding pressure and being nonchalant

My sister was a great look-out person, and even took these pictures. So ended my first day in Berlin, a fantastic city to play in.

Cranach tomb

Im in Germany searching out my ancestors works and workplaces. Cranach was called "fast brush"... " pictorus cellerimus" on his tombstone. That's me!!! I love the family tree.

Self-funded art retreat, here I come!!!

I am taking off for Berlin this afternoon. While there for the next week (my winter break from school) I will be researching history and my family tree.

While most of the week will be about my great great great great great great (x15) grandfather's printmaking workshop in the 1520's, some of it will also be spent on my great aunt's Helene's escape from a concentration camp in the 1940's for a book my sister Gwen is writing.
It is going to be wonderful working with and having the inspiration of my brilliant sister along side me.

A Lesson in Taking students to the darker side.

One of my passions in teaching art is to drive home the idea of a wide value range in student work. So many kids feel confident working in the middle (2B) range and need to be prodded, pushed and more, just to get them to add the darker points of interest, the shades. I tell them I am not their grandmother and so I will not say their work has value just because they made it. They have to prove it to me.

 This assignment makes the drill of value scales a little bit more interesting. First the students create three nesting shapes that cannot touch the edge of the paper or each other. Then they divide each shape into 5 or 6 strips. Marking one strip side as light and furthest away as the other dark, they alternate the direction making the shape above or below it light where the other will be dark, and dark where the other was light. In this way, the darks- juxtaposed against lighter values, will be darker, and the lights against the darks will look even lighter.

This is also quill and ink wash practice for the Moon Flower assignment coming up next.

Highways are a work in progress

All the roads, streets, drives, lanes and highways you need to take to get anywhere in Miami still fascinate me. In the nine years I have lived in this city, the concrete keeps piling up higher and higher and even above my head. They tear things down and build things up at a constant pace of crushing coral and smoldering tar.  This weekend I squoze down the asphalt ripped up road, between the orange cones and the giant dump trucks, to arrive at my quiet studio. Once there, I decided to layer another highway painting over a previous road scene canvas.

 Here is how it started

It is finished, for now! Anyone recognize this intersection?

Comfort food after a Bee sting

These are two of my three class demo's working in Prismacolor and tea stained ground.
Small 3 inches on the short side. I don't know what to do with them now! (A page holder in my book?)

New puppy commission

Can she get any cuter?
Her name is Milly, and Tilly is going to paint her!!

Still accepting commissions for small pet portraits. Email me your picture and I will send you a quote.  tillystudio@aol.com

Students produce Produce

Having fun in my art studio classes with this Prismacolor pencil assignment.

We used tea and coffee to stain the ground, and the emphasis was in pairing a loose mark-making with a tightly rendered image.

 This assignment followed a week of drawing objects from life using light and dark charcoal on grey papers. (You can see some still hanging on my board above the Produce). My classes are big, and this kept them busy enough that I could make the rounds, give individual advice and get a clue as to their strength and weaknesses.

Because of the produce loosing it's freshness, each student did their own photo shoot and used a light-box to trace the outer shapes. 

Everyone of them looks awesome. It's a notable source of pride and many students have asked me to hang their work up in the display cases outside.  #goPTSfalcons

12 days to Valentine's Day

Making valentines to help those in need of an expressive unique gift!

Faculty Retreat

Some days are just better than others. Today was a pretty wonderful day hanging with my brilliant colleagues. Our sweet headmaster answered a request many of us had shared a year or more ago,... that we lacked time to connect and collaborate with our peers.
The students were sent home and we started this Friday at the Deering Estate watching a cool history movie and then took a fear-filled chance to pet a snake (with the staff herpetologists nearby)!  After that the Deering staff broke us into groups and led us in some bonding exercises and a scavenger hunt.

 I was moved by all the cross department and staff inclusiveness.

 You could hear the laughter as we ate lunch under the palm trees ...

  and enjoyed the bliss of being on Biscayne Bay.

It was a good chance to reconnect with each other and soak up the nature.

 I saw 9 manatees in the boat turnaround!

At the end of the day, I feel rejuvanated, blessed and inspired by my work relationships. I am convinced again that Palmer Trinity school is an excellent holistic place. So filled with gratitude and love.