Touring Highlights: Berlin

Finally downloading photos from tour…   They are a mix of my phone-taken pics, later mixed with awesome quality shots by world-class photographer Michael Rateike. 😉

Band Fistful of Stars as a trio (Rafa- guitar, JT- percussion, me- bass & accordions), had two nights and a day in Berlin before the start of our Germany tour. Two nights and a day- how tempting it was to spend it all busking on the streets (with my new teeny-tiny mini-amp!) But the idea of wandering as tourists, like kids on the streets, won out. Besides, we were soon to be on for 10 shows within 2 weeks; chillin’ time sounded good.

We spent a lot of time in the city center, and though we aimed for places on the map, we never seemed to arrive. 😉 So we wandered.  I thought about taking every photo of Berlin through a window’s reflection, like I did  for our last tour in Europe (Amsterdam by Reflection)…

but, opted for just a couple instead.

Love this artist, whose gallery windows we are looking through. His art reminds me of Maurice Sendak’s ‘Where the wild things are’, but more raw.

Berlin’s center is undergoing a major facelift along the river. Everywhere you look- there are temporary hot pink water pipes transporting water to an unbroken waterfront of construction sites. At first it was like walking into someones remodel. Chaos at points; inaccessible river walks, cranes on the horizon, detours. But then, it became a game, exciting to think about what they were up to: how crazy different is Berlin going to look the next time we are here?

 

We just missed an accordion festival.

Highlights for me, Der Maurer: The Wall, and the Museum downtown that shows a day in the life, in so many lives~ East Germany during the Cold War. A must see- all of it.  Next year, we will spend more time here to see this truly amazing city.

if you were a paperback I would

This is by Angie Werren- one of my favorite poets. Check out her work, just click the link.

smoke

dog-ear your
pages circle
what I want to
remember I would
take you every-
where tucked in my
pocket torn and

breathless

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Celebrating Frida: The Art of Frances Perea

Every year, I  post something around this time, to honor artist-icon Frida Kahlo and her birthday (July 6). 

Artist: Frances Perea

Last year’s post, was about going to the Mission to see the new documentary of her years in San Francisco. I posted some of my favorite photos to commemorate her life with favorite quotes.

The Year before- I posted a very cool video showing Frida in her world; a day in the life.

This year, I want to see Frida through artists’ eyes. So I’m asking several guest artists to talk about Frida as they see her, as they channel her~ her life’s experience and work~through and into their own art.  I’ll be posting a few artists’ work in the next week.

We begin with Frances Perea, an artist whom I discovered on Etsy (the global market place these days for art and artisan hand-crafted artworks.)  Everyday on Etsy, is a day to discover new photographers, sculptors, painters, collage artists, clothing and jewelery designers, you name it- from  all ends of the globe. And the community just keeps growing. I love seeing all countries represented, in all genres imaginable.  Crazy inspiring.

Artist Frances Perea: What I love about her work- it is bright, symbolic, colorful, meaningful, accessible coolness- the way, it seems, that Frida would have appreciated it too.

Tara: Hi Frances~ I was very happy the day I discovered your art on Etsy. Thank you this interview.  I’d like to start by asking, how you see Frida and how does she move through your work?”

Frances: “My depictions of Frida are generally fun and light-hearted. She was someone who lived life with zest after all. I think she would have found great amusement at our devotion to her. Occasionally I delve into the more serious side of Frida’s life, searching for an interpretation of her wounded heart as in my depiction called “Aqui Me Ahogo, Y Tu?”

Frances: “What inspires me most about Frida is the fierce tenacity she had for life in spite of the many difficult challenges she was faced with and had to live with. She was a living breathing work of art expressed in her dress, hair, jewelry, paintings and the way in which she opened her heart to those fortunate to have been in her circle of friends and family. She was also someone who was not afraid to speak her mind.”

Tara: I like your words “fierce tenacity”.  This is one thing I appreciate in so much art of Frida: certain features may show or symbolize a starkness or edginess- like her work- but it is so often juxtaposed in the bright colors of the Mexican culture; colors of celebration. This is what I cannot get enough of, in contemporary art that is influenced by Frida’s life.

Tara:  What is your favorite Frida Quote?

Frances: “My favorite Frida quote:

“Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.”

Tara:  Wow. Beautiful. What is new in your shop and in your creative endeavors soon on the horizon?

Frances: “The art I create currently featuring Frida, takes the form of paper doll collages.

Source

There is more to see at Frances’ Perea’s art shop here on Etsy– check her out: her evocative works are uplifting, compelling, and the prices are quite reasonable. They all make for great gifts.   

 

Fistful of Stars Tour: Lower Saxony, Copenhagen.

We are BACK from June tour playing cities in and around Lower Saxony (northern Germany) with new band, Fistful of Stars.

I didn’t have much service while traveling. While we passed through large cities (Berlin, Stockholm) the areas we stayed overnight were mostly rustic, so, no service or blogging. But I did post daily photo highlights, here, for 17 days of the tour- Photos are taken by amazing pro photographer Michael Rateike.

https://www.facebook.com/TaraLindaMusic

(You can LIKE this Music Page to see more music themed meanderings).

We stayed mostly in one city- driving to our 10 shows from Hasbergen, w/ friend-manager Bernie. More about him and his Pottery next. We were surrounded by wheatfields with “corn poppies” (gorgeous bright red poppies!!)  Though they look more orange in this pic, like CA poppies.

I’m in that place now between post-trip adrenaline high & sleep deprived exhaustion. Oddly, I passed out on the plane home. Not the first time ;). Ha! Turns out, I was super anemic, of all things. Not enough bratwurst i guess ;). Despite the near perfection of pressurized cabins in flight, I’m convinced that it’s not all perfect: if you have something going on with your body’s chemistry- high altitudes, above 40,000 ft, will magnify it.

Anyway- resting up & crazy happy with the World Cup now!!!!

As usual, tours inspire- so I’ll post on new projects next: writing new material to record for 3 bands!! And I’m most madly missing making things with my hands…kind of a shocker- so more jewelry this week. Can’t believe how much I missed making things with my hands…

And I miss my friends ;). Would love to hear from you here. What did I miss this month in your world? I’ll be trying to catch up with websites/blogs this week. Comment to this post to let me know where to check up on you- if not your blog. Yes- shamelessly self-promote yourself, projects, and passions! Lots of folks will see it ;).