Lichterzauber im Königstal

Es war die letzte Nacht des Lichterzauber im Königstal, der seit dem 19. November jeden Freitag- und Samstagabend stattfindet. Es war ein magischer Spaziergang, der nur von Kerzen und Lichterketten mit wunderschönen Lichtinstallationen entlang des Weges beleuchtet wurde. Unter anderem gab es ein Pilzhaus, einen Hai, hypnotisierende Figuren, die in leuchtenden Farben von Blau, Rot und Grün kamen und gingen und eine wunderschöne Lichtinstallation auf dem verschneiten Waldboden. Zum Abschluss gab es eine herzliche Begrüßung mit Feuer, Ambient-Musik und einer Glühweinbar.

Künstler: Nicole Chenevard / Monica Koch, Katharina Henking, Hans Frischknecht, Hubus, LETO, Vivi Linnemann, Ulti, Erwin Schatzmann, Martin Schmid Caiazzo, Kathrin Severin, Marion Strunk, Spike, Conny Wepfer.

Die Inspiration hinter der Ausstellung wird als solche beschrieben:

Im mystischen Königstal kann am Abend ein ca.1km langer Weg begangen werden, durchs Bannholz dem Zellerbach entlang bis Nähe des Giessens, es ist ein winterliches Erlebnis für die ganze Familie, ein Staunen und Sich freuen Lichtobjekte in der Dunkelheit zu entdecken. In der düsteren Jahreszeit, inmitten des Winters, können sich Besucher verzaubern lassen durch die Stimmung im dunklen Wald und die künstlerischen Installationen und Licht-Interventionen welche eine individuelle Poesie entfalten. Die Ausstellung im Wald kann Bezug nehmen zur Geschichte der Umgebung. Ziele der Ausstellung: Einen Diskurs anzustossen zwischen den Besuchern und Künstlern, ein Miteinander, ein Entdecken von Kunst in der Natur, sich Unbekanntem gegenüber öffnen. Kunst erforschen auf einer Freilicht- Bühne, inmitten des nächtlichen Waldes, an einem rauschenden Bach. Das sich verändernde Licht in der Dunkelheit erleben, die sog.“Blaue Stunde“, ein diffuses Dämmerlicht wodurch sich die Sinne öffnen. Dunkelheit, Schatten, Silhouetten, Konturen der Bäume und Geräusche werden intensiver wahrgenommen, wie auch die punktuell erleuchteten künstlerischen Interventionen. Alle Sinne schärfen sich und zugleich werden sie empfindsamer und zentrierter. Der Erlebnisweg sensibilisiert für Natur, Licht und Kunst.

kulturschmittezell.ch

Comic Jam!

We had a great time at the Comic Jam. We made badges, beermats, comic stories, drew pictures out of blobs and painted on windows! There was a wealth of artists from around the city doing their thing....

Comic Jam!

COMIC JAM 2021 | Sonntag, 22. August

Offene Halle 142 Lagerplatz 14:00-17:00

Am Comic-Jam treffen sich Menschen, die sich für Comics interessieren und gemeinsam zeichnen wollen.
Eingeladene professionelle und passionierte Comiczeichner*innen stellen verschiedene Disziplinen der 9. Kunst vor.

Alle dürfen mitmachen, Stifte und Papier liegen bereit. Eintritt frei.

W: comicpanel.ch

Schweizer Vorlesetag

Lots of events taking place at libraries and online today for Swiss Reading Out Loud Day. In our village the local library is holding an open air event up on the hill. Check out Winterthur Bibliothek website for further events around the town and you can tune into a special online reading at 3pm to read a prize:

Winterthur Vorlesertag

Schweizer Vorlesertag

Exhibition: the philosophy of two great wood carvers

Winterthur’s own Erwin Schatzmann will be exhibiting his work alongside that of fellow wood carver and thinker Wilhelm Lehmann at a beautiful location in Niederhefenschwil, where the latter lived and worked until his death in 1974.

From Sunday 4^th April, the new exhibition will be open to visitors on the afternoons of the first Sunday in every month at the Kobesenmühle, where they will enjoy a unique insight into the dialogue of these two great artists.

Wilhelm Lehmann, born in 1884, moved to the Kobesenmühle with his wife Klara in 1918, where they raised their three children Lukas, Urban and Verena. Wilhelm was convinced that everyone can shape the world freely and responsibly. He saw himself and mankind committed to the good and the beautiful, accepting that human weaknesses such as ignorance, malice or indifference, can always get in the way. Although he communicated with people from near and far, from the quiet seclusion of Kobesenmühle  he could view the world critically from a distance. When he died in 1974 at the age of 90 he left behind an impressive, diverse array of work including root carvings, sculptures in wood and tuff, drawings, woodcuts and texts of various kinds that can be viewed in the exhibition.

Erwin Schatzmann is best known as the creator of monumental, colourfully painted wooden figures from which he has made a living for more than 30 years from his studio Morgenland in Hegi. Morgenland is an evolving kind of settlement serving as a place to live, work and exhibit. In his capacity as a social sculptor, thinker and art animator Erwin spends a large part of his working time on the structural development of this site using reclaimed and recycled materials and his simple way of life leaves behind a very little carbon footprint. Around town he is easily recognized by his extravagant, self-made clothes, which he uses as a form of communication and as part of his work. He has also published a book, Unverblümt, on his thoughts and philosophy of a diverse range of subjects from love and nature to politics, religion and death.

The exhibition and museum, which also has a beautiful garden, will be open from April to October on the first Sunday of the month between 2pm and 5pm.

Kobesenmühle, Kobesenmüli 60, CH-9527 Niederhelfenschwil

By public transport from Winterthur: IR13 to St Gallen, disembark at Wil SG, catch Postbus 725 to Niederhelfenschwil, Neudorf. At the bus stop turn right (signpost Kobesenmühle). At the fork with the linden tree keep left, and after 300m you will find the Kobesenmühle (the lower building).

kobesenmuehle.ch

erwinschatzmann.ch

On top of the world - Hörnli

We'd spent a quiet Sportsferien not doing much at all, with just about everything closed down but just before the end we decided to make the treck up Hörnli -which, Bebe informed us, stands at a height of 1230m. This mountain is incredibly easy to find - you take the Rüti train from Gleis 2 at Winterthur Hauptbahnhof and just 40 minutes later you can begin your walk, right from the platform at Steg im Tösstal! It took us a couple of hours to climb to the top, passing llamas, piglets and chickens with funky hairdos on the way and we enjoyed a lovely picnic at the top. I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone of average fitness. 

Learning languages at Winterthur Library

Winterthur Library is open - and it has a fabulous Language Section on the 2nd floor, with a whole host of fiction for learning languages, from classics to crime novels, from A1 upwards. I also recently noticed there is a Tandemsprache wall for pairing up with a partner to enhance your learning, while at the same time teaching someone your own language. Go forth and babbel :D

I have been painting

I have painted a baboon! These are very stressful times and we all need to find time to enjoy our little pleasures in life. One of mine is painting. I follow an art page online which lays down regular challenges. The latest is to paint anything beginning with the letter B. Weirdly, the first word that came to my mind beginning with B was baboon. Although a baboon did feature in one of my favourite Spike Milligan poems when I was little and I thought this is a painting that will make me smile. So here it is - my latest painting :)

Viel Schnee!