Busy days! - catch up!

             Thursday ended up being my kind of stay in day due to a lot going on the following days and the weather I had been having.  I did some cleaning and computer work that needed to be done before my appointments this weekend. After being in all day like I was I did decide to reward myself with a nice meal from the Burger Meester down the road. Once I was full and recharged I went back to work for a bit before trying to call it an early night.
            Friday was an early and busy day for me. Around 9:30 I started out to meet with Hilde de Decker at her home in Alphen aan den Rijn Netherlands. It was the kind of travel day that I was thankful for in the end. Managing to just catch all of my trams and trains within moments of their departures I made my way there. After some confusion on my end about buses and trains Hilde’s partner picked me up at the station. I was fortunate enough to meet with Hilde for about two hours during which I got some helpful feedback regarding my work. She answered any questions I had before I really asked them, which was kind of nice. It reinforced some notions I had and some directions I was planning to move towards. I think this is a nice example of why I am taking this trip around the countries that I am. Even though I do not have my work physically with me, it’s good to show it and talk about it with other artists involved in the field. After chatting, coffee and a nice pastry Hilde helped me catch the right bus back in the direction of home.
            Once there I decided to go visit Galerie Ra, a place I had been looking forward to visiting. I was right in my gut feeling that it was a nice space to visit. On arrival I was welcomed with information about the work on display and in the permanent collection. The exhibition included Marian Hosking’s vessels and Laura Deakin’s jewellry. Marian Hosking is head of the Department of Metal and Jewellery at Monash University, Melbourne. Laura Deakin was one of her students who then trained at Munich’s Academy of Fine Arts. Its interesting that at both Galerie Ra and Rob Koudjis the work on display was by artists in residence along side students of theirs. One of the nice things about this was the difference in the work shown. It was not the kind of exhibition where they were shown together because they were similar in style or concept but simply by an affinity for the work.
            After I had perused the work for some time I got to chat with the gentleman running the galerie. He offered me a book to look through called 30 years Ra, Radiant which he ever so nicely let me take home. The book consists of images of past and present works by artists who have shown at the galerie or are part of the permanent collection.  It also has written sections about bodies of work and their makers. So, after a nice conversation and a coffee I found my way to the book section of the galerie where I was thrilled to find I could buy a copy of Gray Area Gris. The book is about a Contemporary jewellery conference held in Mexico City in 2010 which talks about not only jewelry but also culture and diversity.
            As I said it was a busy day! Once I left Galerie Ra I went and ran some errands before going home for some last minute down time before heading to central station. Once at the station I went about getting a train ticket for going to France and then a snack while I waited for Carson to arrive from Berlin. Once I caught him we walked around the city for a while before calling it a night.
It was a pretty long but satisfying day in the end with so much more I could say.
            Saturday- Carson and I decided to sleep in since we were both pretty tired from full schedules on Friday. Once we were up and moving though it was time for Pancakes! Something he has been missing in Berlin, they just don’t have them! Two full people later we went walking towards Foam where we were meeting Gesine and her family for an afternoon visit. Seeing as we were early we decided to run around town a bit. Making our way to Dam Square we ran into the Dutch Homeless Cup soccer tournament. Apparently its a big deal and I had seen it a couple of days before so I was glad it was still there for Carson to experience as well. After leaving Dam Square we ended up at the same market that I had been to with Jelka a few days before which was nice due to the good weather. We got some of the famous French fries that I was told we should try and then headed back to Foam to see the photography work there. It was smaller than I expected but still a good show in the end, which was followed by a stop in a café with Gesine and family.
            Seeing as it was still rather early Carson and I took a break and then headed down to the red light district to see what was going on down there. So many people and so much chaos but I am glad we went. It was strange, disturbing, bizarre and entertaining all at the same time. 
             Sunday- Pancakes! Round two! These were from the famous Pancake bakery I had found during my first few days here and let me tell you they are pretty amazing. After we filled up on two pancakes and a giant omelet we decided to walk down town again. Now I had already been to the sex museum but Carson wanted to visit so I didn’t mind paying the four euro again. It was once again a fun experience to be had for sure. Seeing as it was a nice day we then headed down to Vondelpark near where my apartment is located. As expected it was a great park with lots of activity. We even played on a structure that was obviously for kids but definitely fit two decent sized art kids. Having worked up a good appetite once again, very easy to do in a walking city, we headed back to make some dinner. Sunday night was the night of over eating but in the best way. Good food, good deserts, good drinks and a movie on a couch with good weather blowing through the balcony doors. Can’t beat it really. 

This posts photos deserve full color due to how great it all was :)