week 27 Photos Part 6

View from our friends building in Ceska Kamenice, looking toward Kamneicky Senov. On top of the hill(mountain) in the background is the remains of a castle.

week 27 Photos Part 4

Harolds Cafe/Pub in Ceska Kamenice

week 27 Photos Part 3

Detail of crossroad marker

Week 27 Photos Part 2

Elias Glass Factory, Kamenicky Senov

Week 27 Photos

Crossroads in Kamenicky Senov, restored by Pater Rath

I will try to upload some more images. The site is giving me some difficulty right now.

Week 27

I and my family have been quite busy lately. Even though the last month is a little bit shorter it has been fairly eventful. I went to Weiden, Germany to help my friend, the director of the school here, with and exhibition. We have been spending a lot of time around Kamenicky Senov and the neighboring city of Ceska Kamenice. I have also taken the chance to do some wondering around Senov to see some things that our friend Peter Rath recommended we see. During all of this I have found some time to write and work on my personal work. Finally, I have been spending the last few weeks with some students from Reinbach, Germany.

The exhibition in Weiden started with a trip to Mr. Janak's summer house about an hour south of Prague. We went there on a Thursday in the evening. I had the great pleasure of driving his car. It is a Skoda, Octavia. I mention the car because we do not have these in the states. I understand that the Skoda company is now owned by Volkswagen but they are producing a bit more economical vehicles with about the same quality. 

We went to the summer house to pack and load the work. Then on friday we drove to Weiden. We unpacked and installed the exhibition. The other artist, which was chosen by Janak, is Jens Gussek. We spent the weekend here and left on Sunday. The opening for the exhibition was on Sunday at 11am. After the opening I had the pleasure to have lunch with Jiri Harcuba, a world renowned Czech Engraver. Mr. Harcuba is teaching at many places, especially in the United States. This summer he will be teaching at Pilchuck Glass School just north of Seattle. 

On the way back to Senov we stopped at a very nice castle. This was the first castle I have seen that still had the moat partially intact.

Here are some websites that you might find interesting. The first is from the Bavarian/Bohemian Cultural Center in Weiden, Germany.

www.bbk-weiden.de

This second site is for the German Glass artist Jens Gussek.

www.jens-gussek.de

The weather has been very warm lately. We have been taking advantage of it fully by taking some walks around Senov and spending time with some friends in Ceska Kamenice. Here in Kamenicky Senov, we visited Prachen, the basalt outcropping at the top of the mountain. Later, my son and I took a walk to find a crossroad marker that Mr. Rath recommended we see. This marker was reconditioned by Peter Rath. It marks the original crossroads here in Senov. If you are facing it and look to the right you will see the old road to Vienna and to the left is the road to Poland. This according to Mr. Rath. (See Photo)

Not far from this crossroad is the old glass factory of the Elias family. This was one of the largest factories at the time of its construction. Unfortunately, it has not been in operation for quite a long time. I am not sure how long but I would estimate at least 50 years. You can see by the photos that this was a very beautiful factory at one time. I have to say it is a great shame that some of these old factories were not taken care. It appears to be beyond saving now.

Our friends in Kamenice own a pub. They are very incredible and friendly people. One is from Canada and the other is Czech. They also have a beautiful daughter which just happens to be the same age as our son. It is so wonderful that we met them. Our children have developed a beautiful friendship. These friends own a pub in Kamenice and a shop that is joined to the pub. The pub is called Harold's. It is an American/Canadian/Czech pub. They play great music and in the summer have outdoor concerts. It is also non-smoking, which is a bit of a rarity here. Currently they do not have a website but please contact me if you will be visiting the Czech Republic and I will be happy to help you get there. By the way, Ceska Kamenice was voted as the most beautiful city in the Czech Republic a few years ago.

So I have started to do some writing in preparation for documenting my experience here in the Czech Republic. I hope to post some of this information in the future. It would be nice to get some feedback from others about the content. the writing is based on my experience and practice of cutting glass. I have been taking notes about the new work I am making in hopes to have a very accurate account of the traditional processes I am using. 

This new work is very exciting to me. I have been flooded with ideas, greatly due to my experience here. I recently sent the first sculpture made her in Kamenicky Senov to a gallery in Seattle, Washington. The gallery is Pacini Lubel. 

I have been working with 10 students from Reinbach, Germany. The school in Kamenicky Senov and Reinbach have a special relationship. About 50 years ago the teachers at the school in Senov were "encouraged" to leave. They did not have any place to take there talents. My understanding is that they went to Reinbach and were greeted with open arms. The locals in Reinbach were very clever to understand that valuable treasure that had befallen them. 

After 1989, the schools were back in contact. Now they have an exchange that is supported by a European arts foundation. Every year students from Senov go to Reinbach and students from Reinbach come to Senov.

When the Reinbach students come they are taught some things that are traditionally taught here but not so much in Reinbach. They have classes in drawing, modeling, mold making (for casting in the kiln) and vitreography. Vitreography in this case refers to using glass plates for printing. The plates are cut and engraved, then rubbed with ink and ran through a printing press. I have been teaching the students modeling and mold making.

Today I am headed off for Prague. There is a lecture in the evening about the new visa regulations imposed by the Schengen states of the European Union. The Czech Republic entered into the Schengen boarder agreement at the end of December 2007. Since this time the situation for Americans in Czech Republic and the European Union has changed. It has created some difficulties for American that we were unable to have knowledge of until after we came. If the information tonight is significant I will post it. The intention would be to inform those coming here in the future so that they can avoid some of the misinformation problems and have a nice stay.

February Image

Here is another image of this new work.

February

So now it is the beginning of February. I have been finding it difficult to sit down and update my posts regularly but I am trying to get back into the groove of it. We have been quite busy having to do some paper work. I have had to travel to Prague a few times for official translations and getting some things notarized. I don't want to go far into it. I will just say that it has been a little frustrating and very time consuming.

One of the things we had to do for this paper work was to travel to Vienna. We were very fortunate to have a friend there, Peter Rath. He was extremely generous and it was incredible to spend a few hours with a person from such and important glass family. You can see what his family has been responsible for the past, almost 200 years at www.lobmeyr.at

This trip to Vienna was very nice and comfortable. We took a train from Prague to Vienna. It cost a bit but was well worth the comfort, ease and scenery. Lately we have be relegated to taking the trains when we can. My wife gets motion sickness and my son has become sick a few time on the buses. The drivers here have a lot to work as for driving skills go. Some example would be when following other cars and going around curves. When they follow other cars they like to come within a foot or two of their rears. You can imagine what this causes. A lot of slamming on the brakes and very quick stops resulting in everyone in the bus being jerked around. This is not only the bus drivers though. It seems to the style of driving here. The next situation of going around a corner is also interesting to say the least. Usually it is common to slow down as you approach a curve and speed up as you round and complete the curve. However I have witnessed the exact opposite almost 100% of the time, even amongst other drivers. So the scenario is this. As you approach the curve speed up very quickly then as you complete the curve slam on the brakes. I am not sure what the rational is but we have not been the only ones susceptible to this. We have been on the bus as other children have gotten sick as well.

Enough of my digression. What else is going on?

 

We are preparing for a conference for Fulbright in Velke Bilovice, south of Brno in Moravia.(Unfortunately I cannot add the appropriate marks for the pronunciation.) We will be meeting with current and new Fulbrighters from The Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. We anticipate this to be a very exciting time. It usually is with these fellow Fulbrighters. It is wonderful to share time with other professionals, scholars and educators from other disciplines. One event I am looking forward to is a wine tasting at the Templar Knight's Wine Cellars. You can see more about it at www.vitejte.cz/objekt.php?oid=5899&j=en

Among the other things I have been doing, I have also been working on some new work. If you know what I was doing before you will see a big change. Either way I hope that you appreciate what I am doing. I have been doing some reading about geometry and how beauty is assessed from the points of view of different professionals in varying fields. One is talking about different states of consciousness. One of which is the collective consciousness that goes back thousands of years. He is talking about forms that we use today as well as the past but have their roots in the distant past. This is why people of multiple cultures seem to be drawn to the same or similar shapes and forms. I have been finding inspiration in these thoughts as well as what I am seeing in the old architecture here. In addition, I am trying to utilize different surfaces for directing light and the viewer. 

 

Happy New Year

Hesky Novy Rok! Happy New Year!

Well I am finally back. We received our internet connection just a couple of weeks ago while we were away for the holiday break. For those of you that have been checking in I am sorry for the lack of entries lately. Now that we are online I hope to be able to keep up more regularly.

We left of with our trip to Vienna. We are actually preparing to go again here very shortly. We have to submit some visa information to the consulate there.

Since then we have had a pretty mellow time. I think most of it has been spent with day-to-day experiences. Both my wife and I have been learning a lot about the culture and the nuances that accompany any move to a different area of the world or even to a different part of the country. I have to say that I think that we are getting a very unique and special look at Czech culture, having spent the last few weeks in Prague.

As I have mentioned, we live in a more rural area. There are less English speakers here and it seems, from their reaction to us, that they do not see foreigners often either. This being the case we have the chance to witness a more candid look the people we are around. For me this is a very valuable experience and I am very happy that we chose to come to this area opposed to remaining in Prague.

That being said I do not want to take anything away from Prague. It is a very wonderful city and I take every chance I have to go back and see new things. It is said to be the jewel of Europe and I totally understand why.

So enough of my rambling. What have we been up to?

As I was saying we are spending most of our time staying busy with daily activities. I spend my days a school in the cutting workshop and working on a new body of sculptures. (see photo) One day a week my wife is traveling about ½ an hour to Ceska Lipa for a ceramics workshop where she is taking advantage of an opportunity to make some new small sculpture as well. Then once a week I am working at a small glass factory in Novy Bor called Ajeto. They make mostly reproduction gothic style, forest glass there so the scale which I am working is small and more utilitarian. It is nice though, because I have the chance to learn some new styles of blowing glass such as Czech style mold blowing.

We went to Germany in November to see Meisen Porcelain factory and then later that day went to Dresden. This trip to Meisen was interesting but they really “glazed” over the information about their products and processes. I can’t say much about Dresden because my son ended up being a little sick and decided to take a nap during the stay there.

I guess the last thing of significance was our stay in Prague for the holiday break. My wife’s parents came and we had a very special Christmas in Prague. Then we spent New Years with the other Fulbrighters in Prague. The only drawback was I ended up being sick for about two weeks.

Week #9

This posting has been past due. We are still patiently waiting for our internet connection. This being the case it is very difficult for my wife and I to update our blogs on a regular basis. Thank you for continuing to follow our activities.

In the last few weeks we have had a few events to note. On the weekend of October 19 we went with the school for a trip to Vienna, Austria. The following weekend was a school holiday. This was good for me being that my birthday was that Friday. This last weekend, which would be the first one in November, was spent at home with my family.

Trip to Vienna
Our trip to Vienna started out on Friday, the 19th of October. My family and I left the town square at about 7 AM on a bus with students and teachers from the glass schools in Kamenicky Senov and Novy Bor.

After traveling for a couple of hours we made a stop for relief. I mention this because I bought a wonderful DVD for my son to watch during the drive. For those of you who do not know we have a portable DVD player for these type of occasions. The DVD was a Czech claymation program of the characters Pat and Mat (Pat a Mat). There is no talking, just action so it is delightful even if you have no knowledge of the Czech language.

Our first scheduled stop of interest was in Trebic. We stopped here to visit a very beautiful basilica of Saint Prokopa. It was an interesting stop. However, I and my wife did not get a chance to see much of the interior. Our son is intimidated by the dark and overwhelming interiors of some of the cathedrals. After this we made a brief stop in Brno to visit Moravske Gallerie to see works primarily from Czech and Slovak artists that emigrated out of the Czech Republic during the communist period.

Finally we arrived at our hostel in Mikulov, just north of the Austrian boarder, still in the Czech Republic. We used this hostel as a base. Saturday and Sunday we would travel about an hour to Vienna and back in the evenings.

The first day we started by visiting the J. & L. Lobmeyer Firm. This is a very important glass company that has a close connection to Kamenicky Senov. Lobmeyer has worked with artists, primarily in Northern Bohemia for the last 100 years. We were very honored to have a guided tour of the gallery and showroom by Petr Rath, one of the decendents of the Lobmeyer family, and his son. Petr Rath has also continued his family tradition of working with artists in Kamenicky Senov. He started his own private venture and opened a small glass cutting studio in Kamenicky Senov which he will be handing over to different management this year.

After this visit Petr Rath took us for a small tour of the center of Vienna. It was great to have a native, especially someone with such an appreciation for art and design, to walk us through the area. He provided very a informed narrative of the area, buildings, architecture, people and personality of Vienna.

Later we visited the Albertina Museum. We were able to view some great works of the masters from the earlier part of the 20th century. It was very inspiring.

Then we returned to our hostel for the evening. After searching for some time we finally found a place to have dinner. However we were left with smazeny syr (fried cheese) and some salad.

On Sunday, we went back to Vienna. We visited a few more museums. The first museum we visited was the Museum of Applied Arts (Museum fur angewandte Kunst - MAK). Here we saw the works of the Wiener Werkstatte. This exhibit had work from the famous designers of the period such as Josef Hoffmann.

The second museum we went to was The Belvedere Museum. My wife and I had the most interest in seeing works by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. It was great at this museum because there is a large open room with frescos and decorated in the Boroque style but with large velvet covered balls. This was the best part for my son, Thomas. He had a wonderful time rolling, bouncing and climbing on these balls.

Afterwards, we the group went to visit another museum. Instead of going we decided to check out a local famous restaurant/hotel, Sacher. They are famous for the “Sacher Tort”. This is a kind of chocolate cake. We got the cake and some coffee. Unfortunately, I have to say that the legend is more of a myth. The cake was very dry, not very tasteful and the coffee was sub-par. BUT now we can say that we have been to and experienced the famous Sacher Restaurant and “Sacher Tort”.

We then took a stroll around the city. We went back to the museum to meet the group and for our colleague to view some exhibits. We found a street vendor who was selling flaffels. It was nice to have something a bit different and something like we can find at home.

Then we took off for our return home. On our way out of the city we visited and area where the building were designed by the painter, Hundertwasser. It was a very surreal street. If there were a street to live on this would be it. It was very lively, but of course a little bit commercial. Finally we left the city.

The next week has not been too eventful. I went to visit a factory that produces some tools for the glass cutting industry. Mainly, I have been just trying to focus on some research and making some new sculpture.

I did have my birthday, which was nice because it straddled two days. On Thursday, we had a couple of friend over for dinner and cake. The next day, we went for some dinner at Penzion u Tumu. This is a nice place because the food is very good and has a designated “no smoking” area.

Now I am preparing for a visit from my Fulbright colleagues and staff members from the Fulbright Commission in the Czech Republic. They will be coming an open house at the school in Kamenicky Senov. The plan is to visit some glass museums, glass factories and the school.

There will be some photos posted later.