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I arrived in Geneva Switzerland on Sept. 27, 2012 and stayed the night, before catching a train to travel across Switzerland.
The scenery was stunning with the Alps as a backdrop for the flatlands, vineyards, and lakes. Every once in a while I would look out and see a castle in the foothills with a village down below. That night, as I got closer to Austria, I was amazed at the mountains which rose directly up from the valley floors and I watched a full moon rise over the peaks.
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I arrived in Mallnitz, Austria on the 28th around midnight to stand on a deserted platform with one light directly above me. The darkness surrounded me and all I could hear were cows mooing somewhere nearby. Oops! This is not what I expected! I was unable to use the internet on the train to notify the hotel that I would be arriving late that night instead of the following morning as I'd originally planned. I also figured that they would have an ATM at the train station so I could get some Euros because I arrived with only Swiss francs in my pocket….Oops again!
Never loosing faith that it will all work out, I walked to the road and was about to make a decision on which way to walk left or right, when a woman walked by with a phone. She called me a cab. He came, put my luggage in the car, but before I jumped in I felt I should tell him that I only had Swiss francs to pay him with. He was NOT pleased! I asked if he could take me to an ATM and then to my hotel and he agreed. He took me to the hotel first and then confessed that the hotels will pay him to bring them customers. However, my hotel was locked and dark. He informed me that it is off season and most everything is closed. We called the phone number on the door…no answer. At this point I was at a loss of what to do. Where would I sleep? On his couch?!? I doubt it. He wasn’t that friendly! He was waiting for me to respond. At that point I surrendered and asked him “What can I do? Is everything closed now?
He said “I will take you to another hotel”. It was a block away and was actually the nicest hotel in town at a bargain price of 55 Euros a night, including breakfast and the cab ride. They paid him and as they took only cash, allowed me to stay the night and pay in the morning after I could visit the ATM. WOW! What a day! As my head hit the pillow I started to laugh. How the hell did that all work out?
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This is a view outside my hotel room the first night in Mallnitz. The two photos below are taken from my window in the Hotel Kartnerhof where I stayed during my residency. I loved watching the effects of the light and weather on the mountain views and the houses in the village looked as though they were straight out of a Hansel and Gretel book illustration.
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I contacted the Karnerhof Hotel that morning and had a room by noon on the 29th. I was able to get settled in and pick a spot to work in the studio space. That night (being the first artist to arrive) I shared a dinner with the residency director Dorthea Fleiss and was treated to my first sauna (ever).
The D. Fleiss East West Artist's symposium and residency took place Sept. 30th – Oct. 10, 2012
While at the residency I painted two large paintings (pictured below) which were exhibited at BIOS National Park Museum and stayed in the Foundation’s collection.
The exhibition then traveled to ARTour Gallery in Brussels, Belgium and was featured in a Romanian art magazine.
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During the residency D. Fleiss and the foundation also organized several outings where we were able to see some of the Austrian countryside. The most notable site was Grossglockner glacier, Austria’s highest point. We came across this awesome waterfall on the way to the Grossglockner which is pictured in the photos below.
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I had a pivotal moment that brought me to tears on top of a mountain peak, as I realized what a year it had been and how far I had come. From an accident that kept me in a wheelchair for months and having to learn to walk again, to now standing on top of a mountain in the Alps with this incredible 360 degree view! WOW!
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I enjoyed working in the disco studio (artist studio by day disco by night!) and getting to know some of the other artists whose arrivals were interspersed throughout the 10 day period. I was happily surprised that another American artist was in attendance, Judith Motzkin, a ceramist from Boston. Most of the artists at the residency spoke only a little English. It was a relief to have another artist there who spoke the same language.
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In these studio photos (from left to right) my friends from the residency:
Judith Motzkin, USA
Laurette Wittner, France
and Bernardette Bodo, Norway.
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This photo was taken at the residency exhibition which took place at BIOS National Museum.
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During the residency, I met French artist Laurette Wittner who unexpectedly and generously invited me to stay with her for a few days in Lyon, France. We traveled together from the residency by a night train where we stayed in a sleeping car with a strange man sleeping in the compartment above us…well that was an “interesting” experience!
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During my stay in France I was given a wonderful tour of the city which included some famous Trompe-l'oeil murals. I attended an art opening in a flat with a balcony looking out over the city. It was wonderful to see the highly decorative French architecture that I had only seen before in art books and the Roman ruins that included amazing mosaics that were found throughout the city.
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On Oct. 12th I traveled from Lyon, France to Geneva, Switzerland by train to visit CERN. There I was able to tour some of the facility and enjoy the exhibits. Through a series of fortunate connections and with the help of Dan Levin and Fran Beallor, I was fortunate to have been able to meet and have lunch with Dr. Steven Goldfarb who is the CERN Director of Outreach. He was a wonderful host and I am truly inspired by the work they do there.
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Interesting Fact:
If a human was in the The Large Hadron Collider tunnel at the moment a particle collision occurred, they would not survive. Being hit by one of these tiny particles at the incredible speed they are traveling would impact your body as if being hit by a train. However, you would actually be vaporized from the radiation and heat first, which at the moment of the collision is 3 times hotter than the sun.
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This is the ATLAS control room at CERN
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I flew out of Geneva on Oct. 14th with a short layover in Dublin, Ireland where I bought some "duty free" Bunratty Mead that I stuffed into what little room I had left in my suitcase. (Actually, My suitcase was so heavy, I was unable to lift it into the overhead compartment for the last flight…LOL). Traveling back in time (Ireland is 6 hours and Geneva is 8 hours ahead of us here in Massachusetts) I arrived safely home the same day.
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Studio News and Kickstarter Reward Updates:
I have been working diligently on the Kickstarter rewards. The thank you blog post, this newsletter email with stories and pictures from the journey, the postcards, and the wands have all been completed and sent.
I have created five new 5”x7” paintings (pictured above) that were inspired my my journey, in preparation for the 5”x7” mixed media paintings on paper that I will be painting with a flourish of color in the studio next. I will start the new reward compositions from these finished paintings.
This new work is included in the Winter Show at Gallery in the Woods. I am one of four featured artists this season at the gallery. The Gallery is located on Main St. in Brattleboro VT., USA.
Currently in the studio I am working on the coasters. I have finished cutting, sanding, and sealing them and now am working on painting them. I will be working on these for the rest of the month which will puts me behind on my rewards timeline, so please bear with me.
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There was a great article about my journey by David Rainville who came out to interview me. “Boundless” was featured in a cover spread in the Life and Times section of The Recorder newspaper on Sat. Dec. 15th. It can be accessed on line. The photo (at left) was taken by Paul Franz and was included in the article.
This journey wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of my Kickstarter backers and the wonderful friends and fans that helped me get the word out about my project. Without your pledges, posts and encouragement I wouldn’t have had such a successful project and journey!
Thank you all so very much! Wishing you all a Happy New Year ….one where you reach for one of your own dreams! Anything is possible!! xo~Alicia
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