Saturday 6 April 2019

Climate demonstration in Winterthur today

So we've made our banner and we'll soon be on our way to Winti for the Climate protest. It begins at 2pm in Neumarkt and continues until 4.15pm when there will be lots of events and concerts. And all this because of one person. One girl. Greta Thunberg. What an amazing little lady. What a role model. Go Greta. Go us!


Another one bites the dust...

I'm always sad when old buildings get demolished. Especially old community buildings that have seen so much life and history in their time. And of course people have memories there. They can walk past an old building and have their memories triggered, thrusting them back into an earlier, sometimes, happier time when they had none of the worries and struggles that can come in later life.

So I am documenting the latest victim of progress in our village with a heavy heart - it is 200 years old and has a beautifully carved wooden front door which I would love to take to Erwin's to carve myself but I have no transport to do that. I hope it won't just become firewood. It's not just a door but a symbol -for so many people have passed through that door and experienced happiness and togetherness. When it first became empty I asked around to see if there was any chance of turning it into a new kind of community space but I was told the building had already been sold to developers for yet another apartment building - there is a glut of these taking place around our village right now.

I am also taking pictures of this event for a future art project. Many years ago when I took my A-Level art exam in the UK, for the final exam piece we could choose one from a series of questions to explore. I chose the question about chiaroscuro which used Pierre Bonnard as an example of pursuing a piece based on his work of showing light and shade. This suited me because I loved painting the human figure and loved to explore ways of painting light, in particular sunlight (I went on to get a great mark for this) but for a while I was torn between this question and another which asked for a final piece based on an exploration of demolition which threw up a whole host of possibilities, and an opportunity for a great abstract piece.

From time to time I have mulled this over and now it seems I have my muse to finally pursue this project. I have the dramatic images, the crane 'monsters' the authoritative yellow-clad workmen and of course the mist of dreams and feelings and lost memories to incorporate into a piece. So, I have a brand new artwork to focus on. Very exciting!

Tuesday 2 April 2019

Fame at last!

I've been featured in the latest edition of our local magazine 'Dorfblitz' A lovely reporter came round the house to interview me just before Christmas and I was very proud of myself, conducting the interview mostly in German, just lapsing into English now and again.

I have worked as a reporter in the UK and it was interesting to see the differences in style between the two forms of interview and editorial. The reporter wanted to know my life story right back to when I began work and what I did year by year, which took some remembering!

I initially trained in Hotel and Catering Management because I wanted to travel the world. Of course, it was/is a high pressure environment, with extraordinarily long hours (usually unpaid) and the wages are tragically low. So as soon as I saw an opportunity to leap into the field of Journalism I took it, without ever looking back. I do miss working on newspapers and would love to work on a Swiss journal as soon as I master the language. I'm thinking cartoon work may be the way forward while my German is still at the basic stages...watch this space...

I should add I have had a very nice response to the Dorfblitz article from friends, the most wonderful being: 'WE are happy to have you here!' Life here in Switzerland has had its challenges for sure, but we have been welcomed with open arms in every way and I really, truly do not feel homesick for the UK. This is my home now and I am very happy to be here.