I left Idaho last Thursday and traveled for 22 hours to Düsseldorf, Germany and I was delighted to see my suitcase arrive there on time! It was already Noon on Friday in Germany with the time change so I had little time to adjust before my workshop began Saturday morning. I was hosted by a friendly and kind German family who created a wonderful experience for me and exemplified the spirit of German hospitality.
Early Saturday morning, my host and friend, Sandy, who was also taking the workshop, drove me ½ hour to a beautiful farm in Holland where I met two women from Slovenia, two women from Holland and two more German women, making us 7 intent on spending a weekend discussing horses, bodywork and posture and learning how to release tension from our horses’ bodies.
Here are some pictures of Germany, Holland and the farm where the workshop took place. I would also like to publicly thank everyone who participated and made the ​wonderful experience possible.

​Also on display, a small collection of contemporary and traditional woodblock prints. My experience in this gallery provided the highlight of my day. Following the tradition of the ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) established by the likes of Utagawa Kunisada who is represented by a print from the series, “A Pictorial Commentary on One Hundred Poems from One Hundred Poets” done in 1842. My favorite was a print from the early 20th century by Elizabeth Keith. Notice that one of the prints on the wall in the shop is the famous Great Wave by Katsushika Hokusai. Its complementary color scheme, using mostly blue with orange accents, but it was the patterns of the kimono and the shadow of a leafy tree drew my attention. I could admire just the lower right section of that print for hours. (Sorry, I left my camera in the car and had to use my cell phone to take pictures.)
Looking at Winter Dawn, aquatint, ink and color on paper, 1988, by Sharon Bayer was also wonderful. The atmospheric quality of light and cold, humid air speckled with snow is the real subject of this lovely print.
My eternal favorites from the permanent collection are found in the Japanese rooms. The netsuke collection is nicely displayed on a glass case with lights and rotating pedestals. These precious and tiny works of art, from the Edo period of Japanese history, the time of the samurai, were both aesthetic and a functional. Part of a closing mechanism for bags that served as pockets in men’s’ kimono, the detail, beauty and humor of netsuke make them one of my favorite art forms. You can see what I mean when you view the little Monkey with a Fan carved of ivory. Keep in mind how tiny these objects are, one to two inches is all, when you look at them. The Mountain of Mice is simply amazing.

​If at first you don’t succeed, try; try again.
I had Tuesday morning free to visit the Schnitzer Art Museum on the University of Oregon campus, but, alas, the museum is closed on Tuesdays. Fortunately, some time opened up on Wednesdays, so I was able to get back and see the permanent collection and some rotating exhibits. The Postwar Japanese Print collection was still being installed, but I saw some fascinating art.
The hand-cut paper overlays by Catalina Delgado Trunk were fascinating. This delicate technique has a powerful visual impact that stopped me dead in my tracks by inviting a closer, intimate inspection. My personal favorite was the Queen of the Night/Goddess of the Moon that illustrates a Mesoamerican myth about how it was decided who would light the world near the ancient city of Teotihuacan. When a test of fire produced a tie, the angry gods struck the wealthier contestant with a rabbit, dimming his light and producing the moon.
The exhibit called The Nature of Religion, which showcased paintings by Olga Volchkova, was fabulous. From a distance these paintings speak of the Orthodox Christian icon painting tradition. Volchkova creates iconographic types that become universal symbols that provide visual narratives about the mythologies humans have created around plants. Decorative, edible and medicinal plants are detailed and represented along with imaginary saints that lend gravity to each composition. 

This is a blog page I set up to communicate with my friends and art history students while I travel. Trips for the remainder of 2015 include Oregon in September for a Connected Riding instructor get together and planning event, the Netherlands in October to  teach a Release Your Horse’s Back bodywork clinic, Germany in October to assist Peggy Cummings in an instructor training near Düsseldorf, and back to Oregon in December to attend an Animal Normalization Therapy workshop taught by Patries Kortekaas in Eugene.