Its Been Awhile!

Please forgive my hiding from you lately. Its not that you haven't been on my mind, I've just put off writing for the next day, and then the next, and then the next. Things have picked up steam and I seem to have less time than earlier in my residency. Three weeks ago I signed up for docent training at the Hungarian Museum of Fine Art. It is a time commitment - about 8 hours of lecture and study a week - but I love it!  Also, I'm leading an after school Art Club with middle and high school students in Diosd (a small town just south of Budapest.) This doesn't sound like a lot, but believe it or not, it basically eats up three days of work.

Also, to my happy surprise, the Hungarian Multicultural Center has decided to host an "end of residency" exhibit of my work at the Medosz Budapest on December 1st. So, I'm working like a mad woman getting pieces created and ready for display.

On Monday I decided to take my "artist within" for a little feeding, so I went to Margaret Island for a quiet walk. Margaret Island is located in the middle of the Danube in the middle of Budapest.  Its a natural "central park." The entire island is a covered with trails, a fountain, a soccer stadium, a huge swimming pool, a hotel, a zoo, etc.

One of the interesting stories about this island is that in the 12th century, King Béla IV was trying to repel the Mongol invasion and promised God that if he succeeded, he would give his daughter to His service.  He was successful and in turn sent his 9-year-old daughter (Margaret) to the island to live in a nunnery for the rest of her life.  (This sounds awful, but after the visiting this gorgeous island, it doesn't seem half bad.)  Margaret lived on the island until the end of her life - she died at age 29.  Here are a few pictures of what remains of the nunnery.

St. Gellért!

This is a statue of St. Gellért, an 11th century, Italian missionary invited to Hungary by King Stephen to convert the pagans to Christianity. The pagans weren't too keen on the idea and stuffed him in a barrel and rolled him down this hill and into the Danube at the bottom. 100 years later the people of Budapest felt terrible about it all and created a exquisite manmade waterfall as well as a gorgeous monument to him on the hill of his death.  Today the entire area is called Gellért Hill and hosts a wonderful art nouveau hotel, thermal baths, a citadel, and a church in a cave.

I've been in Budapest for awhile and yesterday I finally found the time and willpower to climb the hill and see it all for myself.  The hill is crisscrossed with scenic paths and benches to view the city on the other side of the river. What a perfect day weather wise - its a bit cooler here than in South Carolina, last night it got into the 30s. One of the trees outside my little apartment is bright orange and the leaves are starting fall.  I'm SO grateful to be here!

Two final photos from the top of Gellért Hill.  The first shows the Pest side of Budapest with its dense blocks of apartments, shops, and churches.  The second shows three of the five main bridges of Budapest.  This is looking north towards Vienna.  Come and see!

Movie Star!

So here's a fun video that was done a little over a month ago.  Its my fellow artists, Debra Benditz and Beata Szechy (Director of Hungarian Multicultural Center) and me talking about Budapest.  We thought the interview was going to be about our artwork and exhibit, but it ended up being more about what we like about Budapest.  Its in hungarian, but you might hear a little english peeking through.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1geWioykPqA&feature=share

Self Portrait

I've been working on this piece for a week or so. Thanks to the Maureen and Tad Mallory for helping me with then title, "Self Portrait #1."  I'm not so good at faces or flesh tones, but I think this one worked out pretty well!

Street Art

A few years ago I saw a documentary called, "Beautiful Losers."  Since then, I've been fascinated by street art of almost any kind.  Here's a few that I've been saving for you.  The first two are from Budapest, and the last three are from Krakow.

This little stenciled owl is all over Budapest.  He's on the bus, on the sidewalk, on a building.  I think his creator is copying the "Andre the Giant" guerrilla artwork marketing model.

This vintage mural is in an area in Budapest with lots of design shops and fashion studios.

Here's a happy guy tripping down the streets of Krakow.

Not sure what the lion skin cap means - maybe something to do with the Lion of Judah?

And last, but my favorite - I love the megaphone that turns into a bell!

This morning I took the 105 bus.  It was supposed to take me to Hero's Square a large memorial in the middle of the city honoring the founders and great warriors of Hungary. I planned to walk to the huge Saturday morning flea market not far from there.  The 105 takes me across the old Chain Bridge into the heart of Pest.  As the bus approached the bridge - it continued around a circle and took an entirely different direction.  I noticed the fellow sitting across from turn around and look at the driver.  Then he muttered something in Hungarian and got up and tapped on the bus driver's window.  (The bus drivers sit in an enclosed box for protection from bus riders.)  The bus driver said something back in Hungarian and continued down the wrong path.  At the next stop, my fellow passenger got off.  As the ride continued - person after person tapped on the driver's window and conversed with him, and time after time, shortly after their conversation - they got off the 105.

You're probably wondering why I didn't get off the 105.  Well, unfortunately, I left my handy little iphone at home which has a sweet little app with a map of Budapest and a blinking blue dot (which represents me).  Those of you who know me well, know that my sense of direction is simply not there.  (I get lost in Greenville - even though I've lived there for at least 30 years - and its not that big.)  We were traveling on streets that I had never seen before.  Finally - when I was the last person on the bus - I tapped on the bus driver's window and said, "Hero's Square?"  He had already pulled away from the bus stop and immediately stopped the bus in the middle of the street and pointed down the road.  There it was...Here's Square.  Thankfully, he opened the doors and set me free!

So what was the problem?  Why had he taken this crazy route?

Here's Square had been transformed into a horse racing track.  No kidding - in the middle of Budapest - they had laid down tons of sand and bleachers and tents for a day of horse racing.  It would be like putting a race track around the Washington Monument or the Reflection Pool of the Lincoln Memorial.  In between the Hungarian Museum of Modern Art and the Fine Art Museum of Budapest was a horse race.  Take that Heritage Green!

I eventually made it to the Flea Market and had a great time.  One lady thought I was Polish and kept speaking to me in polish - one man chased after me with a gorgeous gold frame that I refused to buy because he was asking too much, and all I purchased were these delicious, freshly-cut potato chips.  YUM - where's my woodchuck?

Please forgive my lack of blog posts this week.  I've been working hard on a few new projects and will hopefully show them to you in the next few days!

Signs

When one is unable to read or understand the language of a foreign land - signs with pictures become quite important.  Here are a couple that have me puzzled.

No cigarettes, no ice cream, no hamburgers, no bicycles, no rollerblades, no skateboards allowed on the subway.
How about french fries?

No cigarettes, no hamburgers, no red backpacks, but green ones are okay and watch out for the big hand coming out of nowhere to steal your purse.












My personal favorite - men are devils and women are angles!