A certain calm - Park of Castle Halbturn

Confession: I love baroque. I love Art Nouveau. I love cubism. And while we're at it I love bacon too. Yum.

So the Castle Halbturn at the Neusiedler Lake in Austria is just my cup of tea. The big garden A.K.A. park, the lovely castle with its other buildings, the location, the view. I really enjoyed it to be there. Also I found that I have a thing for the interior design of the 1930s. There is an antique store in the castle and they had the most amazing stool there, but it was way too expensive at the moment for me.

Calm is a thing much needed in todays world, the same applies to humor. So in an attempt to combine calm and good humour I created the ZEN-POSTCARD-SET. I had the idea at the Neusiedler Lake. Might be that I even had it in the beautiful park of Castle Halbturn. So here it is:

TED talk: Sunni Brown "Doodlers, Unite!"

21 years of FREEDOM

Today is a very special day for us Germans. We celebrate the 21st Anniversary of our reunion. 21 years of freedom, that's more than half of my life. ;-)

I celebrate this day with sending out postcrossing cards all over the world (to Taiwan, Russia, Brazil and the UK to just name a few of the countries) just because I have the freedom to do so. And with posting this picture of an open iron door. This door is standing at the exact point where on August 19th in 1989 the first part of the Iron Curtain was taken down and East Germans seized the opportunity to become free people during the Pan-European Picnic at the border between Austria and Hungary. I've been to this place just a few days ago and it definitely moved me. I'm really grateful for the freedom that I enjoy now. The freedom to study what I want to study, the freedom to travel wherever I want to go to and to read whatever I want to read, the freedom to speak my mind, the freedom to be me and to live unharmed.

Even today, this freedom can't be taken for granted. There are still many countries in this world where personal freedom is still not possible. And I hope for the people in those countries that they will find the strength to fight peacefully (if possible) for their rights and succeed in it and become free people. We've seen tremendous changes this year with the Arab Spring. I'm really happy for the people who are now free and I cross my fingers for them to make the ongoing changes for the better in their countries peacefully.

PEACE and FREEDOM to all of HUMANITY.

Flourishing

I just love using the macro function on my IXUS. Enjoy your Sunday.

Yesterday was the birthday party of my friend D. He got one of my creative gift sets, well he kinda asked for it and I obliged because it is fun. For him I created a "relaxation set", it consisted of: a bottle of young wine (2011) from Austria, some tea candles, the current longplayer of Clueso and the ZEN-POSTCARD-SET by San's Visual Art. Since he liked the whole present very much I'm feeling quite satisfied. ;)

I also got presents from K and D, an A3 sketch block and a "gift certificate" for an art supply. Since the supply has a sale on, I will go shopping next week. There is a long list of stuff that I need such as A2 format paper, a pocket calendar for 2012, an A2 drawing board and an easel, at least 2 postcard blocks, some pens, a transport roll, a book about getting a gallery to represent me, etc, etc.

Cityview with pumpkins

Good morning everyone. A new day, a new month, a new life for meeee ... and I'm feeling good.*

Yesterday was not only a better day, but a great day because I finally ... created my logo.** Which also led to the really surprising and to me groundbreaking realization that I actually love my own handwriting. Now you may ask what is so special about that? Well, for the last 24 years I was either told by other people or I told it to myself that I have a crappy handwriting. Because it isn't that accurate, readable and same staying as they or I would've liked. My handwriting changes from day to day and even within a sentence that I jot down. Now while I was creating different logo versions of San's Visual Art, I always ended up liking my own handwriting more than anything I've manufactured. So that was how it dawned on me. It is totally my own handwriting, unreproducable and everchanging, the same as I am. So my logo is in my own handwriting.

Another thing that dawned on me yesterday when I was in the city and saw some business men in suits, I don't like business men in suits anymore. Seems as if the fact, that I have decided that I don't have to belong to this kind of business world anymore has freed my taste from common expectations. Because I've also found that I now dislike those sleek and often cold interior designs by architectural design mags. Before yesterday I always liked those clean and reduced houses, maybe because I thought that this way an engineer and business woman has to live. Changes, multiple changes day by day. Life is amazing isn't it?

Okay, now it's time for me to create the "Zen Postcard Set by San's Visual Art" for my friend D, who is celebrating his birthday today. I'll show you pics of it tomorrow. It's kind of a joke, the set not the party. His main present is something I brought with me from Rust, Austria.  After that I head to the city to get some coconut milk and green tea. And then I will paint the rest of my new and totally awesome shelf.

Enjoy your Saturday.

* sang in my Michael Bublé voice ;)
** before I show it to you it has to be touched up by a graphic designer that I know. Gimp and I are still barely on speaking terms.