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I have been interested in the Bauhaus since the 8th grade when my art teacher introduced me to some of the incredible artists who taught there -- Kandinsky, Klee, Albers. The word itself was hard to forget and the aesthetic was compelling. When I decided to study for my Masters of Arts degree at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont I remembered my fascination with the Bauhaus and made the decision to use it as the focus of my studies. Goddard allowed me the opportunity to follow my passion. I quickly delved into the Bauhaus reading everything I could find about the school, its artists and teachers, and Germany between 1919 and 1933 -- the Bauhaus years. I was able to continue my research by visiting Germany and the Bauhaus sites in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin. It was perfect! I could easily combine my interests in weaving and art and art education and architecture into my thesis. I could make history come alive by weaving the facts I learned into the story of my alter ego Anna's life. Through Anna I could become a student of this amazing art school and try to experience some of what she and the other students encountered. Because the Bauhaus's years of existence followed precisely the years of the Weimar Republic, I could weave facts about what was happening in Germany into Anna's memoir. Independent yet very interesting things occurred: the emancipation of women, inflation, depression, and Hitler's rise to power, are just a few. My journey has provided me with the opportunity to meet some amazing people... Sigrid Wortmann Weltge, whose amazing book, Women's Work: Textile Art from the Bauhaus (also known as Bauhaus Textiles: Women Artists and the Weaving Workshop ), was a catalyst for my study. In Germany I was able to meet both Magdelena Droste, author of many books and articles about the Bauhaus including my favorite, Bauhaus, 1919-1933. At the Dessau Bauhaus I met with the director Wolfgang Thoner. My mentors at Goddard, Dr. Joyce Kornbluh and Ms. Cynthia Rice provided encouragement and guidance. What began as a master's thesis evolved into an obsession. After receiving my degree I continued to read everything I could find about the Bauhaus. I sketched additional images from the Bauhaus to augment the ones I had done as Anna while visiting the Bauhaus sites in order to illustrate the Bauhaus through her eyes. I added to Anna's journal the new information I learned. My husband and others who read my manuscript encouraged me to share my fictional account of what could have happened at the Bauhaus with others by publishing it. My brother, an artistic director for a worldwide advertising agency, created the cover design and perfect title -- woven: a bauhaus memoir -- far superior to my working title -- Anna's Journey: the life of a bauhaus weaver. The countless hours I spent creating the layout of my book so that it had the look that I wanted was rewarded when I located a local print business, the Troy Book Makers, who made my book become a reality. After a mere eight years... woven: a bauhaus memoir was born. Currently I am an art teacher at the Bethlehem Central Middle School in Delmar, NY. I have begun research for a future book on Asheville, North Carolina's Black Mountain College (where my Anna followed Anni and Josef Albers after the Bauhaus closed.) I recently received a Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund scholarship to study in Japan. The focus of my study was a search to understand the Japanese aesthetic epitomized in the term wabi sabi. You can read more about the results of this experience and the Face to Face Project and this year's Side by Side Project on my classroom website. I have 4 grown children and am the grandmother of 2 amazing grand-daughters, Abigail and Chelsea. I live in Albany, New York with my husband, Bob and our Great Pyrenees dog, Delphi. We spend every moment we can sailing on beautiful Lake Champlain. Life is good! UPDATE: As of January 1, 2009 I joined the ranks of the unemployed. Now for the fun... time to have to be creative! I retired from my art teaching job and we headed south to Savannah, Georgia for more moderate temperatures and to enjoy strolls along the beach and under the amazing live oaks that line the Savannah streets dripping with Spanish moss. We'll be in Savannah for the winters and head back up to the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain for the summers. Our wonderful friend Delphi, our Pyrennes died in November and because the house was so empty, we adopted a wild and crazy Portuguese water dog, Kizmit who we call Kizi. There's never a dull moment with a puppy and she will be living on board the 36 ft Catalina sailboat we bought for our summer home. Granddaughters Abby and Chelsea will be visiting often, we hope! Life is very GOOD! |
What a journey this has been!