Mary Detweiler’s reflections on our wonderful Aachen art experience: Now that some time has passed since the three Arlington artists have returned from Aachen and “after-Aachen” travels in Europe, I’m thinking about what this collaborative art experience has meant to me personally. I’d like to share some thoughts that have been “gelling” over the past few weeks. I invite everyone in the Aachen group to share your thoughts, too.
“Thinking-outside-the-box” was quite a leap for me – from representational to abstract art. What I’ll call “Aachen” (meaning our art experience there) gave me the chance to try out new techniques, observe artists using these techniques, experiment with their tools and inspiration, and even insert a little bit of my work into some of theirs when invited. I’ll explore abstract art now with greater confidence. Thank you to all the Aachen artists for this inspiration!
More important than my personal art-creativity journey, though, is what I gained in friendship with European (and our Arlington) artists. Living with Mirjana and her husband Jochen provided hours of conversation on every topic imaginable over our meals and during our daily drives into Aachen. Lunches, dinners at artists’ homes, after-work and during-work time with everyone gave me insights into what inspires everyone, how work gets done, what daily lives are like. Being surrounded by the beauty and history of the city of Aachen and traveling into nearby Belgium and The Netherlands gave me a sense of what “grounds” European artists, what their traditions are, and how they are part of the rich fabric of their special environment.
Art has both emotional and intellectual appeal. Gaining the emotional ties to my European-artist friends creates a dimension to art that I now treasure. I’ll work on the intellectual side of art, too, as I explore abstract composition and use the very helpful suggestions that everyone shared with me. But I want to emphasize how much I gained from the friendships made. I came to Aachen hoping that I’d learn an intellectual thing or two; I left gaining far more than that.
The Arlington artists will present the Aachen experience to various groups over the next few weeks and will show some of our best slides to express this experience. As we present, answer questions, and reflect more, we’ll be thinking all the time about the upcoming art project in late October/early November. We hope to gain insights from everyone who participated in the Aachen experience, so do feel free to post your thoughts – even just a sentence or two. Photos, too, are welcome!
Gratefully and warmly, Mary
