ARTIST RESIDENCY IN CROATIA
Dobar Dan, or Good Day from Croatia! I have about 2 weeks left of my art residency before I head back to Canada and I wanted to share a few highlights of my European adventure.
I spent a week in Prague, Czech Republic for my birthday and enjoyed many of the tourist sites such as the Castle Kacina, Vitas Cathedral and the Astronomical clock to name a few. The most memorable experience though was taking a train to the Sedlec Ossurary (Bone Church) in Kutna Hora about 100kms outside of Prague. I found it to be one of the most amazing and unique churches I’ve ever encountered as it’s artistically decorated by more than 40,000 human skeletons during the 15th century. An immense chandelier contains at least one of every human bone, which was a very impressive sight to behold and was clearly done in reverence.
I then managed to spend some time creating in Slavonski Brod, Croatia which is right across the Sava River from Bosnia then I moved to a live/work space in Zagreb where I spent most of my time.
Many head to the coast as it’s peaceful and inspiring but I wanted to actually immerse myself in the culture and experience the landscape more inland and go to the coast on the off season. A few observations… the cafe culture here, wow do they ever enjoy spending a couple hours sipping on just 1 or 2 coffees (my order : bijela kava i voda, molim) and conversing at length about politics and other interesting but emotionally charged topics.
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One of the pleasant surprises was how integrated pets are in their daily lives, as it is all across Europe! I saw dogs on buses and trams and in bars and it took every ounce of control not to talk to all of them and pet them while their owners looked at me oddly because that’s just not done here. Silly Canadian girl!!! |
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The food, namely Burek was a favourite but wrecked havoc with my low carb diet I’ve been trying to stick to in Europe... perhaps that was being too optimistic. Haha Another favourite was čobanac, which is a stew made from various meat such as boar, stag and beef cooked over an open fire for 4 to 5 hours and is pretty spicy |
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I've really enjoyed my time in Zagreb, where I've spent some time exploring the historical architecture and beautiful landmarks and settled into a leisurely painting practice. I’ve been inspired by trips into the city center Old Town, the botanical gardens, walks in the parks and observing some of the glorious patterned outfits that Croatian women wear in Zagreb as well as partaking in some of the local festivals. They LOVE their tradition here! |
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I also managed to get to Ljubljana, Slovenia for a week and went cave exploring in Postojna as well as visited the famed, Predjama Castle.
MY NEW SERIES
OWN A PIECE OF ORIGINAL ARTWORK
THE DALMATIAN COAST
I did manage to head to the coast and spent time in Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik. The Adriatic Sea is breathtaking and it’s no wonder it’s a tourist haven with Roman ruins, marble castles, sea organs, abundant seafood and a slow, easy going life. It’s going to be hard not to deliberately miss my flight and stay longer but alas, I have a lot of exciting things happening that await me in Canada.
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UPCOMING ART SHOW
I will be participating in the Eastside Culture Crawl for the first time! So mark the dates November 14 - 17th and come visit me in the Parker Street Studios in Studio 202
KELOWNA WORKSHOP
I hope you've enjoyed reading about my time in Europe. If you have any further questions about my art, my adventures or just want to know some technical questions about art, I'm happy to oblige. I look forward to the chance to connect with you all again -- at either my workshop, during studio visits or through this newsletter. Until then, I wish you all the best.
Lijep pozdrav!
Brazen