Sure, I've heard about it and of course I've also noticed that there's a lot of culture to be found in Pöllau, especially in summer. But somehow I've never managed to take part - perhaps you know what I mean: too lazy, too busy, too far away... But this year a small miracle happened, which gently pushed me into the arms of a loving destiny.
Michaela Zingerle, the organiser of this cultural smorgasbord, asked me if I would like to help her with the organisation and if I would be willing to lend a hand. I immediately agreed enthusiastically - exactly my thing, as I realised after further explanation. I love ‘hands on’, finding creative solutions and, above all, immersing myself in art and culture. However, I didn't expect to immerse myself so deeply that I couldn't let go. The fact that a month full of workshops would be so varied, fascinating and even hilarious made me an absolute Styrian Summer Art Groopie.
‘Can you please model tomorrow?’ ‘Me???’ I gasped in bewilderment -
I've never done anything like this before and I'm not beautiful enough. My insecurity was lovingly smiled away and I found myself in a circle of talented amateurs, enriched by the highly professional expertise of the wonderful Julia Bauernfeind. I learnt to sit motionless while meditating, but being stared at by a dozen pairs of eyes felt very strange at first. But when I saw the results...I'll tell you what, I have quite a few faces.
Alles in Öl and all this in the light-flooded rooms of the Fandler oil mill. So super!
Fortunately, I had the chance to at least get a taste of almost all the workshops. To describe them all here would of course go beyond the scope of this article, which is a shame. So I'll try to summarise what fascinated me the most (although that might also go beyond the scope). Kalligraphie as an example. I love the word in any form, but the painted one is definitely the most aesthetic. What they managed to achieve, the very young and long-time adults who had gathered with the fantastic Claudia Dzengel under the bombastic frescoes of the refectory...unbelievably great!
Or the cool Street Art Sprayer - definitely the younger age group, who were instructed in the art of graffiti spraying by Gernot Passath in the castle courtyard - how cool was that? Meanwhile, high above their heads, in the light-flooded corridor on the second floor, nature enthusiasts were meticulously working on their delicate botanical illustrations. Each with their little flower in front of their nose and huge magnifying glasses on their face, charmingly looked after by the marvellous Alois Wilfling. The fluttering delicacy that emerged was enormous - it was almost irritating that the works of art did not exude a beguiling floral fragrance. Fascinating!
Alice Mortsch's sorcerer's apprentices demonstrated grand gestures, clear announcements and a great deal of acting talent in the Improvisationstheater, which thrilled the audience in the baroque ambience of the ballroom. A real wow effect! Speaking of effect: Helga Chibidziura, the queen of experimental screen printing, seduced her participants into creating incredibly stylish textile prints. I want a dress like that! However, my mouth was left hanging open when I helped her unload. It took her three hours to stow all the utensils needed for the workshop in her bus. Yes, idealism and art are definitely lovers.
Finally, we laughed to tears at the children's workshops. The originality and creativity of the children's clay modelling, for example, was simply amazing. The ingenious Barbara Schmid knew how to motivate the young artists with heart and humour to achieve top creative performances and to make their work a success. and to package their works in stories that were then filmed. Grenzgenial!
Borderline genius! Speaking of borderline genius: Cym, the Dutch programming artist Simone van Groenestijn, taught little computer freaks the Programmieren eigener Spiele and they worked too. It was mainly the fathers who played at the exhibition, the proud sons and daughters gave tips. And every now and then a goat grinned in the window.
