What, then, is a gap, and what defines it? The gap, says Hannah Arendt, is the space
between yesterday and tomorrow. It is a space that can be constantly reshaped. A
space in which we are free to actively question ourselves and our daily actions, and in which we are given, time and again,
a fresh opportunity to realign and reorient ourselves.
The week in Bad Reichenhall is a week of dialogue with the paper, the
canvas: something emerges between you and the surface. This in-between is the
real event! It is this gap in which insight grows.
Perhaps the gap initially presents itself as emptiness. An emptiness that calls for silence.
But perhaps the gap also craves something wild and loud in order to be truly
noticed. It is always exciting when we sharpen our senses and pay attention to the subtle
perceptions in that in-between space.
Painting sets markers. It defines. Some gestures are conscious, deliberate. Then
‘mistakes’ happen. The unplanned sends us into spaces we didn’t even
know existed. Or didn’t want to know about. The task is to seek solutions in the here and now.
What do you see? What do you perceive? Where is the picture heading? Where do you want to go? And
what echoes of the past resonate there?
How does ‘your gap’ speak to you?
And how exactly do we channel love into the gap?

I believe that the moments which reorder the unconscious and the seemingly familiar, the understood and
the enigmatic – that these moments have the power to realign our hearts
and thus channel love into the gaps.
For me, this is an alchemical process!
Painting makes the invisible visible and can thus transform the painter. The
“No longer” and “Not yet” meet, says Hannah Arendt, and we are
both actors and witnesses: the past is past and no longer offers any fixed rules
for the future. The future is open. The present, according to Arendt, functions as
an impartial, bottomless space in between.
I am very much looking forward to exploring this with you. (For where there is no ground, we
are compelled to learn to fly…)
Why I love the week at the art academy so much: individual work is subtly
supported by the group. By beginning each day in a circle with a short meditation,
we create a safe space. Something emerges within the group that is not
possible on our own: we are seen. Our work is acknowledged. That which is still
delicate and unfinished is allowed to reveal itself – without judgement, but with genuine attention.
The group becomes a resonant space in which the quiet takes on weight and the
hidden takes shape.

Und: Es ist einfach schön, nicht allein zu arbeiten. Die stille Konzentration der anderen trägt
die eigene mit. Die Prozesse der anderen inspirieren, ohne abzulenken.

Was Du wissen solltest:
Zu dem Kurs sind Teilnehmer*innen mit und ohne Vorkenntnissen willkommen.
Bring gerne Material, an dem du ggf. gerade arbeitest, mit (oder Fotos davon). Außerdem
empfehle ich Pappen, Papiere, Buntstifte, Kohle und Acrylfarben dabei zu haben (der
Boesner ist gegenüber, so dass Materialien auch vor Ort gekauft werden können).
Allmorgendlich werden Atemübungen, kleine körperliche Aktivitäten und eine Meditation
angeboten (ca. 30 Minuten). Daher ist es eine gute Idee, eine Yogamatte und/oder ein
Sitzkissen mitzubringen.
Ich freue mich sehr auf die gemeinsame Woche in den Bergen.