Hi loves,

We've kicked off #TakeTimeToMake my at-home art residency I lead twice a year. It's always so special to invite fellow artists, both beginner and practicing artists into the studio with me to make art unique to them. It gets me so excited to share my passion for expression and freedom in the studio.

This clip is an excerpt of a live call I did with my #TakeTimeToMake art residency artists on our first day. May, 7th, 2021.

I also share a secret intention I am noticing when I am working in the studio.

Which tip speaks to you and your creative practice or life in general the best?

TIPS: Know your personal "why" in the studio. Take yourself on "Artist Dates". Release perfectionism. Brainwash yourself with positivity. Magic is in the making. Make whatever the fuck you want. Show yourself loving-kindness. 🥰

If you find this video inspiring and insightful please share it with a friend.

And visit #TakeTimeToMake, if you are interested in making your own art. I will be your guide.

Loving greetings from me.

Anna

Oh my god Loves, my work is coming together and just longing to warm hearts and be seen. Be felt.

So, we’ve (as in my artist and I), have decided to release new work every week beginning this Sunday, February 14h, 2021. My studio letter lovers hear first. 🙏

Sending you all the love.

What is your morning ritual to get you in the zone?

I try to make a mark on a painting within the first 10 minutes of arriving to the studio. Saves me a lot of time and juice otherwise spent wandering around the studio.

Anna

My husband said to me, “let me know before you crack, okay?” Last week he meant this seriously.

So here I am two nights on my own in a little wombly cabin an hour from home. Vigo asked me why I couldn’t work from my or Papa’s studio, I told him I needed to do some work all on my own. Just me two nights. I would be back to pick him up from kindergarten in two days. Heart strings pulled. Fuck me. It’s just two days.

It’s the best for us all.

I have been feeling very on edge. Tension building, Hot damn I need a minute.

I need some downtime. Time to just be. Breath a minute.

A bit of away time from the studio and the fam and all the things. mmm

Away from social media and the news. mmmm

Just me drinking tea, reading, writing, dreaming, and of course treating the fuck out of myself. Which mostly just means eating Korean instant kimchi noodles and assorted random fruits and chocolate, while staring out the double doors at the lake or dreaming up ideas and collecting inspiration for upcoming work while wandering the waters edge. 🤗

I’m here celebrating me. 🥰 celebrating life.
Thank goodness, I am in a partnership. I hooked me a good one! Dom contacted this place for these two nights. Shifting his schedule around to do full-time home duties. Which we normally share 50/50.

I’ve never taken just two nights all on my own until last summer. Yes, we have been giving each other these times. Feels damn good to be able to get away and get some space.

I just made the mistake of calling Dom at 18:30pm right after dinner in the thick of the nighttime rhythm and he seemed pretty wiped. 😬 Welp, he gets to get away next month.

I deserve space to reflect, space to grow, space to heal, space to let the fuck go.

Take time for whatever you need it for. Take time for you. You’re worth it.

I needed a pep talk today. And I need a pause. Do you need one too? What can you pause from for a bit? Make space and take time for something that will give you life juice.

Now I’m back in the studio excited for what is to come.

Thanks for reading lovelies,

Anna

Caught in a moment of healing. Hurts to heal.

Been painting daily even if it’s just for an hour. Feels good. I moved part of my studio home to teach and work from home for a bit. I don’t have the energy to get to my outside of the house studio every day. It’s just not realistic at the moment. (recovering from Mono. Still.)

I’m feeling better. Slowly but surely. I actually think art may be the reason I’m feeling better. Oh and all the rest, fluids and vitamins I have been prioritizing.

I got into the studio today. Painted with spray. Moved a couple of things around and then was wiped.I just don’t have my regular energy level.

One day I will be fit again. Mountain ascension. It gets better, it gets better.

I am fine to work on my back for a bit. When considering how I could contribute while working mostly from a horizontal position on the couch. I thought about teaching online. Haha. Something I have been wanting to do for a long time. I will finally do my online course I have been considering teaching for years. No it has turned in to an artist residency. It is for beginner aritsts and creatives interested in making a new body of work unique to them. Any artistic medium welcome.

I am beginning a new series and wanted to invite you to join me. You can make your own series of art, writing, photographs collage… Whatever tickles your fancy. Something creative and possibly conceptual.

It is mostly conceptual and critical thinking in regards to your work. Plus practical tips about having a thriving studio practice. There will be no art medium-specific tutorials, I’m not teaching abstract painting in this residency.

So, I’ve opened it. My first ever artist residency is open for sign ups. It has been a dream of mine to give other artists the space and insight to begin a new series of artwork. I can’t currently give space, #covid19 #thrivingartist #parentofsmallchildren But I can give you the insight.

#TakeTimeToMake is live! So excited!

So delighted to see how many of you creatives find their inner artist and begin making artwork unique to you. I cannot wait! We already have 5 sign-ups.

Sign up is open until August 21st, 2020. Then we begin our 5 Day at home artist residency for anyone who is interested in investing an hour a day for 5 days to their creative self.

New videos and essays added every few days leading up to the start date. Check out more details about it. below.

Thanks for checking out my latest venture and work.

Take care,

Anna

Thank you Stadt Heidelberg. Seriously.

I loved participating in artist of the day broadcast over on Heidelberg Theater’s youtube. It’s a good window into the artist’s life during these times. Check out the other artists featured!

It’s all in german. Even my video. haha. My German is okay, but not the best for having lived here for 10 years. 10 YEARS!

These are such wild times.

Has your creative practice or lack thereof been differing during these hard times?

However you’re feeling is fine right now.

I am up and down in the studio. Creating feverishly and taking naps, reading books, staring at my plants.

Loving greetings from me in my studio.

Anna

11 years ago, I majored in fine arts and printmaking was my focus in Uni.

My style back then was representational, it had figures, recognizable things in it, everything was sketched and planned.

I have been painting abstract now for 4 years as my job and haven’t made a print since I graduated Uni in 2009. I paint in a very intuitive way. Not really knowing what the work will become. I play and create one mark or pour at a time. I make a mark and then respond to it with the next mark or layer.

When C.A.P. Studio in Chiang Mai invited me to make a run of prints, I was so excited and curious to see how my new style and practice could be explored in etching.

The master printers at C.A.P. Studio helped me to translate my current style and ideas into etchings. The process involves making marks on metal plates, use acid to etch into the plate, filling the etched marks with ink, wiping away the excess ink from the plate, then putting the plate on paper and pulling it through a press. 

Each print is individually printed. They may vary an unnoticeable bit, but these printmakers are serious professionals. Serious about what they do, but also a lot of fun to hang out with. “Hi Am,  Dream, and Liam!”

This is a two-color print. One plate had marks in blue and the other had yellow. The white circles are cut out of the plates and that’s what makes the raised, embossed effect. The C.A.P. team, inked, pulled, and printed. Kitikong Tilokwattanotai, the director, gave input on the processes I could use that would be similar to my painting process. I made the marks, color choices, approved the printing, signed and dated each print. It was such a wonderful experience. So easy, they know every way to create any effect you could dream of.

They also know and appreciate the beauty of etchings, there is a gorgeous amount of visual noise in the white parts of the print where the plate has little scratches marks that pick up the ink. Can you see that in the detailed shots? Kitikong encouraged me to make my prints special and do something that I can’t do in my painting studio. That was when we decided on doing a circle cut out on the plate to create white space and that beautiful embossed detail. I am so grateful to have worked with C.A.P.. We made a total edition of 30, 1/30-30/30. The studio has 15 of my prints which they will give to their annual donors, and I got 15.

I released these prints here on my website two days ago under “Paintings” and only have 5 left as of today. If you are interested in a pair please head over there or contact me to put in your order while there are still a few in stock.

SOLD to private collectors

Quick View

"Where The Fuck Am I?" "Right Where I am." etchings

€400.00

I am looking forward to the next time I will be able to be back in Chiang Mai so that we can do another print or two. I can really imagine this being a long term collaboration.

Thank you to C.A.P. Studio in Chiang Mai for hosting me this year in your studio.

Thank you to you, for reading and supporting me in this artist life.

Take care, stay healthy,

Anna

Solo Exhibition and Artist Residency with Olive Green Anna, 13-21 December 2019
Reception: 21st December 5-7 pm
International Sustainable Development Studies Institute (ISDSI) 47 Chotana Road, Chang Puak, Chiang Mai

Press Release

Visiting artist, former Chiang Mai resident Anna Baer, who exhibits under the name Olive Green Anna, returns to Chiang Mai presenting an exhibition of her large, vibrant abstract paintings. Hear her journeys, inspirations and how she learns to Let Go, Gently. December 21st, 5-7 pm, ISDSI (International Sustainable Development Studies Institute), 47 Chotana Road, Chiang Mai, free

Artist Statement

Soothing white space. Waving ink-jot. Exploding topographical wombs.

Motherhood turned me, representational artist, into abstract expressionist. Losing my first baby in miscarriage exposed how little control I have. Grieving, freed me to let go and create more intuitively and improvise in the studio. Painting with a detailed plan and total control felt almost wrong to me.

In an effort to accept the wild, my practice uses spontaneous, chaotic, fluid inks and acrylics, as well as meticulous applications of pastel, spray, and oil paint. Helen Frankenthaler's color-field washes and Twombly-esque scribbly, illegible writing spill forth in my work. I write stream-of-consciousness on natural, unprimed canvas sprawled on the floor. The large, monumental canvas calls to me as it did the Ab-ex artists that went before me. My aim in the studio is to ebb and flow with the process, be present, and play with the paint, play in a serious manner, as children do.

I am artist-mother in restraint and perpetual release.

These works flowed out of me. I felt so calm and present in the studio. Making abstract work with materials that at times are hard to control has helped me be okay with letting go. Not being in control all the time and play. The canvas calls to me as my children do. Play with me, enjoy me, be cheerfully indifferent and spend time with me.

blithe (comparative blither, superlative blithest)

1. (dated or literary) Happy, cheerful. quotations ▼

2. Indifferent, careless, showing a lack of concern.

Forget the dishes, forget climate change, for a moment be happily carefree.

Playing, serious play in the studio, playing as children do.

Before coming into the studio I usually choose a color pallet, then it is a collaboration with the canvas making a mark, pouring and pulling the paint, and then listening to see what the painting wants. I love working improvisationally and intuitively.

Blithe With Me: I make aesthetic based work, beautiful work, I make work that I get lost in, lost in the layers and the details. I am present with the painting, and let go of that which I cannot control. To be here, now carefree for a moment, I hope the work says to you, as it does to me in the studio, Blithe With Me. 

I love the large scale also because it encourages me to work freely. Working from my shoulder rather than my wrist.

My work is large statement work. It often is the focal point in a collector’s home. I love having beginner art buyers starting their original art collections with my work. They usually are first time collectors because my work is affordable, beautiful and approachable. I love making work that has a lot of details that can be slowly discovered over time.

A recent collector exclaimed how life-giving my art was and how they loved having it hanging in their home adding to the space and to the conversation.

see the work…

Blithe With Me show is still available on view until October 18th at the Bryan Oliver Gallery in Spokane Washington.

The individual works can also be found on my site.

The sold works will be shipped out domestically and internationally. Please feel free to inquire about available artworks. Shipping is determined by your location. Payment is possible through PayPal, or bank transfer.

Do you have any questions about the collection or about purchasing a work? Please comment below or contact me via social media.

Thank you,

Anna

It’s been one of my dreams to paint murals. And in 2018 I had the pleasure of painting two murals. One in Chiang Mai, Thailand at the artist residency MaiSpace that I attended, and the second was at Metropolink Urban Art Festival here in Heidelberg Germany in the summer. I love painting large scale paintings on canvas, so I was so excited to bring my painting to walls. Metropolink has been a wonderful addition to Heidelberg, bringing beautiful art to the public all around town.

I love the large scale, the challenge. Translating my style and technique into vertical and large work is a fun and rewarding undertaking. I love making work of different sizes (scales). Usually I begin paintings with them lying horizontally on the floor, using very fluid paints and water, but I had to adjust my style to work on vertical walls.

In 2018, Metropolink took over one street in a former US army barracks here in Heidelberg. The homes have been abandoned for 5 years and have become overgrown and we artists occupied the street and brought it to life for a week of art and music. I was asked to paint the interior of an officer’s garage.

Metropolink recently published this catalogue of the last two years of festivals. It is avaiable locally at several cafes in heidelberg and it can be purchased by contacting orga@metropolink-festival.de. The zine is a large A3 size with full page spreads of artist portraits and photographs of the murals that were painted. A beautiful portrait of me was taken in the catalogue. You can see all my wrinkles and freckles, it was taken on one of the hottest days of the year but it captured me really well.

This coming year’s Metropolink Urban Art Festival goes from Jul 5 - Jul 21.

Mark your calendars. It will be another wonderful year!

Thanks for reading lovelies,

Anna (Olive Green Anna)

2018 was an incredibly prolific year, we both (Dominik, my husband and myself) brought out so much new art, it is wild. We are finishing up the final bits of our year long collaboration which started with a crowdfund in Jan 2018. To see more about that project visit dominikbaer.com

2019 is an exciting year because we will be welcoming our second baby boy into our lives at the end of February, we are going into our third year as almost full-time artists, and we will be creating new artwork. There are many things that are still up in the air about this year. Dominik’s tour dates and my exhibition dates are becoming finalised but we know there are exciting things to come up that we can’t anticipate.

I have been using this intentional goal planner called the Cultivate What Matters goal planner and it has helped me to get clarity about things that are important to me right now, and what I want to prioritise moving forward. I have 4 art related goals that I am focusing on so far in 2019… here goes.

1. Rest + relax and treat myself

2. Take time to make / prioritize studio time

3. Make a living on my art

4. Write and launch my 1st e-course

In the next few blog posts, I will share more details about each of these art related goals.

My other two, more personal, goals are…

1. shower Dominik with support, love, and booty ; )

2. Be present and active with my sons.

What are your goals for 2019?
Thanks for reading lovelies,

Anna

I’ve been working on some goal setting for 2019 and have been thinking big picture in terms of envisioning my life and how I want it to be. When it comes to being an artist, but also as a mother, wife, friend, and human in general, it is about the long game. Slowly and steadily making progress and growth.

When reading about some of my favorite artists, I am continuously inspired by their long artistic careers. These artists I admire, are active and prolific well into their 70s and 80s. What a wonderful prospect that is to possibly have 4 or 5 more decades of art making ahead of me. What an adventure this life is and will be.

Robert Rauschenberg kept making work and an impact until 82, Helen Frankenthaler was creating art until she died at 83.

Where do I want to be when I'm 80? Here are my hopes and what I imagine being important to me at 80…

-Dominik and I will live small, but I will paint in my big studio. Fame is not important to me, but being able to keep creating art and supporting my family is what I prioritize.

- I want to be active in the studio and stay adventurous. I will have studios in a few different places. We will travel to see family throughout the year, a few months in Thailand, a few months in the U.S. a few months in Europe, where ever the boys end up. Yup Vigo, we will follow you and your family around.

-Dominik and I will be enjoying each other and adventuring together, making love and romance, as well as making art and music. I have found such a wonderful partner in Dominik and I want to be sure to prioritize our partnership throughout life.

-I want to be encouraging other artists to be making work authentically their own. Inviting artists and creatives into my studio, teaching, mentoring, as well as collecting living artists' work when possible.

-I will do my part in terms of justice, stewardship and environmental impact throughout life. I will encourage the good and beautiful that I see around me and will live mindfully.

Thanks for reading lovelies,

Anna (Olive Green Anna)

This post is inspired by the 2019 #Powersheets goal planner.

Where do you see you, when you're 80? What will be and won't be important to you then?

*trigger warning, pregnancy and birth.*

With my upcoming second birth, I am publishing this post for myself more than anyone. I wrote it just a few months after Vigo’s birth but never published it. But I need to remind myself some of these things now, so here goes….

April 20, 2017

My, what an adventure giving birth is. When pain and suffering are so close to beauty and life.  I'm no expert on birthing, but I was very pleasantly surprised by how positive I was able to stay during labor with my first baby. Here are some things that helped me to stay positive:

1. Visualize what is occurring in your body. Your body knows how to give birth. Your uterus is pressing this baby out and working so hard. The best thing you can do is try to relax the rest of your body and give my uterus all the energy and blood it needs to work effectively. It's such a strong and amazing muscle. It's not really pain, it's power. The surges can't be stronger than you, the surges are you. My body is working so hard to push this baby out join it, don't resist it.

2. Know that every surge (contraction) brings your baby closer to you. This really helped me especially at the beginning of a surge. Because I would want to resist the pain, I would start to squirm and tense up and then with Jako’s (my partner) coaching and my practice, I was able to relax and remember that each surge brings my baby closer. We were making progress.

3. Talk to your baby. Between surges I talked to our little boy out loud. Saying how happy I was that today we would meet and encouraging him in the good work we were doing together. I kept on saying, "My baby, we're so happy we're going to meet you. You're doing so well."

4. Relax and rest during breaks in surges (contractions). Along with speaking to my baby, I just tried to breath deeply and relax my body between pushes. I was trying to reserve my strength for when I would work with my body during the final stages of birth to push.

5. Remember that this won't last forever. This really helped me during labor. To know that I wouldn't be doing this hard work forever. It would come to an end and it would come to a beautiful end at that. I was just viewing it as a really intense wonderful workout. A marathon that ends with a wonderful gift!

6. Know that women all over the world are giving birth right along with you. And women have been giving birth successfully for centuries. We were made to do this. I have so much respect for mothers now that I am a mother. Giving birth is a big feat, just think of all the amazing women who have given birth to their children.

Before giving birth I prepared and practiced for the birth itself. In addition to taking a birthing class at our birthing center I also read 3 books about childbirth, Childbirth Without Fear, Hypnobirthing, and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. There is always the possibility for complications to occur during childbirth, but I wanted to plan for the most natural and calm birth possible.

Hypnobirthing and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way were both wonderful resources which explained what is occurring during childbirth. This really helped me to envision my uterus doing hard work and believing that every surge (contraction) was bringing my baby closer to me. These books also provided resources about how to relax your body, to submit and join your body in doing the work.

I have never felt so close to nature as I did when in labor, giving birth to my child. I am amazed at how powerful our bodies are. I am so proud and so glad to be a woman and to be able to have joined with my body in the incredible experience of giving birth.

Any other moms out there have tips for ways to stay positive during labor? What have I forgotten?

Thanks for reading lovelies.

Anna

---

nature within and around me

My artistic practice is inspired by control and letting go.

We are nature and guests of nature on this planet. My artwork allows me to connect with the wild in and around me.

I realised recently that there are several of you that are reading my blog for the first time and I haven’t introduced myself in a while…

I’m a working artist and gallery owner in Heidelberg, Germany. I paint abstract expressionistic mixed media paintings for emerging collectors all over the world. I take care of my babeies part-time and make art and run my creative business part-time. As an artist, I have never been so far along in a body of work, as I am right now. I am continuously learning and using new materials, pushing my practice and boundaries further and further. Parenthood is an inspiring and wild time. My experiences loosing a child, birthing a child, and raising a child have taken me and my painting to places I could never have expected.

I taught art for 4 years at an international school in Heidelberg. It was a wonderful time, but during that time I was barely making any of my own work. I studied art in Uni, in Washington State, printmaking, actually and I loved how structured and process based it was. I am all about the process. I learn so much about me and the world when I paint.

I’ve been on parental leave from my art teaching job, thank you Germany, and have been focusing on making art in my studio for the past two and a half years. I love teaching. I’m most definitely not done teaching, as a matter of fact I am pre-launching a new online course so stay tuned on Instagram.

What creative desire have you been wanting to put into motion?

In just 2 days my husband and I are going to be performing and giving a talk at TEDx Heidelberg. I am excited and delighted to share more of our journey there on the stage. Wish us luck.

Thanks for reading lovelies,

Anna

This is a major limiting belief that I have carried with me the past 10 years, or maybe lifetime.

I cannot be a brilliant and prolific artist as well as an attentive and nurturing mother.

My career as an artist began, with motherhood. Before this, I taught art for 5 years, ran an online vintage shop, and lead creative workshops. But not until 3 years ago, while pregnant with Vigo, did I start painting for me and selling my work.

Upon becoming a mother I became an ‘real’ artist.

I don’t yet know where this belief came from, I may have to seek counselling on the subject. There is a pressure for mothers in general to always be present with their children. To be there for them all the time. There is also a strong natural inclination to do so.

But as a working mama, who wants to thrive at my job and passion and in motherhood, I consistently am confronted with this self doubt about whether I am falling short in both respects.

“I cannot,'“ is just not true. Now, I have decided that I can…

What could this look like, what could being a great mom and a great artist look like? This is what I began imagining…

-I take chunks of time in the studio to perfect my craft and build a body of work. Ideally at least 3 days a week. Sharing the childcare time with my husband Dominik.

-I make beautiful work that is unique to me, that speaks to and moves people. That adds beauty to this life and (at times) bleak world.

-I make a good living as a visual artist, I could do what I love and support my family. We could be flexible and free in our lifestyle and I could be making and selling art to pay all our expenses.

-I want to be WITH my children. Enjoying and delighting in them when we spend time together.

-My children (1 child so far) are so beautiful and fun. I want to savour my time with them, especially when they are so small, cuddly and their brains are making millions of new connections a day.

-Let go of MOM GUILT and know that I am most happy when I am both working in the studio and spending time with my babies. If I were a full-time stay-at-home-mama, I would be pretty miserable. A happy, healthy, and balanced mama is of great benefit to my offspring. A miserable and overwhelmed mama who is around all the time, would not be best for their little hearts’ and brains’ maturity.

I am so grateful to share the parenting role 50/50 with my husband. This has freed me up to really take time with my son Vigo as well as put in good and consistent hours in my studio and art career. What a dream scenario.

My limiting belief is being dismounted and a few of my goals for this coming year are to…

• Be present and active with my boys (yes we are having another boy.)

• Take time to make, prioritise my studio practice.

Wish me luck! I’ve been practicing this the past two years, with Vigo, but I am so excited and delighted to add a new baby to our lives and see how we can make this work, while having two small children in our home and lives.

What is a limiting belief that you believe? Imagine the possibilities if this were possible. What would it look like? It is possible.

Decide that you can.

Thanks for reading lovelies.

Anna

1. With a supportive partner, even pregnant ladies and tired moms can have thriving businesses.

2. Allocating roles makes life smoother. We have finally, after 7+ years of marriage, realised that Dominik doesn’t dislike cooking as much as I do, and I don’t mind cleaning as much as he does, so Dominik does most of the cooking and I do most of the cleaning. We haven’t had an argument about cleaning yet this year and it used to be a weekly quarrel.

3. Getting rid of clutter in our home makes cleaning and tending so much easier.

4. When we pull back our expenses we free up time and funds for other things…

5. I have a lot of wisdom/resources to share, I just need to take the time to do so.

6. If I keep making art and putting my art out there, I will keep selling.

7. Our kids are tiny for such a short time, I want to savour every moment of it.

8. My personal art style emerges when I keep making and following my intuition.

9. I thrive when working outside of the home, in my studio.

10. Dominik and I can work together well and create a beautiful body of work inspired by one another an our experiences. We haven’t always been the best at collaborating artistically. I am very independent and usually don’t like input in my artistic practice. But this year I enjoyed creating a large scale abstract painting to every one of his new songs he released. It has been a wild ride for us and I am so proud to share the whole project with Heidelberg on December 20th, at Karlstorbahnhof in Heidelberg.

What is one lesson you have learned so far in 2018?

Thanks for reading lovelies,

Anna

I have been an artist, making art about 30 hours a week for 2.5 years. What an honor. #blessed.

When I think back on it so far, I have made quite a bit of progress in some surprising areas. There have been a few things that I didn’t expect, ways that I have grown and truths about art making that I have learned since being a practicing artist.

Abandoning Perfectionism:

I have not made a perfect piece of work in my years of making. I have made some decent work, some good work, a few great pieces, but nothing perfect. I cannot expect this of myself. I should have high expectations and standards for my work that I call finished, but I cannot expect perfection. I wouldn’t make anything if that were the goal.

making before I had any ideas:

Where do you get your ideas? Someone asked me the other day. I remember just starting out painting again and not knowing where to even start. I painted nests and birds, landscapes, and portraits, I bought art supplies and canvas sizes and shapes that were on sale, to just start making again.

I have found that the ideas come when we start, and they keep coming if we keep making. When I don’t know what to do in the studio, just some color mixing, tidying, canvas prepping, collage material clipping, or other such studio tasks usually give me the time to come up with some great ideas.

Process based art making:

What keeps me sane as an artist, is focusing on expression, play and experimentation in the studio. I just love working with materials and getting into the work. I love adding layers, pushing fluid paints, writing stream of consciousness. My work’s energy is in the making of it, the finished product is secondary.

Sales can be service:

This has been one of the most surprising things.

I am noticing that painting hasn’t only brought me healing and insight, but it has also spoken to others and brought them some beautiful reflection too. I was not expecting that such a selfish act, as painting for myself, could actually end up being an act of service to others.

Addicted to the studio:

I am also surprised by this. When I was teaching art, my own artistic practice was near non-existent. My art would call my name, but I would ignore it because I was so out of practice, didn’t know where to start and felt so out of touch with my artist. Now, if I am out of the studio for 3 days I start getting pretty antsy and have to get into the studio, even if it is just for a short time during my child’s nap.

Thanks for reading lovelies,

Anna (Olive Green Anna)

What is your biggest struggle right now, when it comes to art?

Tonight, I have the evening to myself. The boys are gone, they went to a concert an hour away.

I stayed in. My to-do list is miles long. Things to do for the gallery, paintings to stretch and work on, vacuuming, gardening, I haven't mopped the kitchen floor in weeks. yuck.  But I realized more than anything that I needed some self-care, some me-time. Moms really need this and so do artists.

My two jobs these days are to be an artist and mother. There is a lot of giving that takes place in both roles. A lot of emotional energy used to communicate and connect in the process of painting and parenting. It is physically challenging, carrying these ever heavier babes and stretching large canvas.

So instead of tackling my to do list right away. I took a hot shower, ran to the store to buy a frozen pizza and watched an art documentary. My heart, and my introvert tank got a little bit filled up. I then took some time in the studio. Shortly after, I painted my nails, even though as a painter, a manicure is pretty useless. Painting my nails is a great practice that I try to keep up, because it guarantees that I don't accomplish anything with my hands for a good 30 minutes. I am not able to pick up anything, or work on anything, hold a baby, or clean anything.

I just have to sit and wait for the paint to dry. sigh. relax.

Thanks for reading lovelies,

What do you do to re-energize?

Dominik took our shoes to the local shoemaker to get them repaired. He saw the space was open for rent and came home and told me. I immediately thought, 'this could be our gallery.'  The Zeitgenießische was born.

Zeitgenießische' is a made up play on words in german. It sounds like the word for 'contemporary.' but actually means 'time-enjoying'. We enjoyed the past 6 months in our Zeitgenießische pop up gallery so much.

I am so proud, proud of this venture, proud of our participating artists, proud of our community, proud of my family, proud of myself. 

Dominik Baer (my partner in art and life), and I signed the lease on the gallery and decided to make a little space to:

• support the art scene in Heidelberg-Pfaffengrund.

• present our work, curate and present the work of our contemporaries.

We had an incredible exhibition season. We have had 7 shows in 5 months thus far, 3 solo shows from locally based artists, 3 international group shows, and one bike art show.  We even showed two artists' work from our little borough of Heidelberg, Pfaffengrund. #pfaffengrundnightlife

I fell in love with the space. The big storefront window, the high ceilings, the scuffed up floors holding reminisce of the shoemaker, who occupied the space for 40 years before us. How special to occupy a space with such a history of craftsmanship. The space is so charming.

And got to know our part of town better. I got to know local lottery kiosk and flower shop owners by bringing posters by for events all summer.  Felt more part of a local and international art community then ever before. We had such nice little artist and collector gatherings on sunday afternoons during our regular opening hours.

This exhibition season is coming to a close. We have an artist talk on August 29th, 2018, with Jessica Serran and then a solo show with yours truly on September 7th, and then we are closing the pop up gallery to the public.

The Zeitgennießische Galerie, Heidelberg, is not dead, I have a strong feeling that it may pop up again sometime.  Maybe even next summer, because I have loved running the gallery, and having the open space.

I am however, realizing that I would like a break from organizing exhibitions, and hosting, I am going to be focusing on making new work, applying to residencies, and trying to get my work into other galleries. This next season is going to be a season of focus on my own practice, making what I need to make, and pushing my work out, to hopefully make more opportunities open up in our future.

This gallery was a risk, a financial and time investment for us (me especially), but I am so thrilled to have welcomed so many of you into the gallery and exposed you to great art in person.

Thank you for your continuing support and for joining us on this artistic journey. What will the future hold? What will we stumble upon next?

Anna

Our first exhibition at the Zeitgenießische Galerie, Heidelberg is a solo show of my new work which I have been making in collaboration with my husband Dominik Baer. He is bringing out a new song every month and I am painting a new work in response to each song. 

The songs are singles, they are very differing in subject and style. My paintings are therefore very varied. Which is a challenge for me because I tend to work in series.

The largest work in the show is called Spinning Out, it is and energetic adventurous song about taking the leap into the unknown. I was so active when making this work, writing in big strokes spinning not the floor, sweeping layers of gesso over previous painted layers, swirling big spaces of paint together, scripting spray words over and over. On the other hand, Fall (the monochromatic one in black and white), is a very call quiet song about failing and getting back up. The piece visually represents the melody and vibes of the song. It is simplistic and calm, 

I'm honing in on my synesthesia skills, practicing the art of communicating one sense into another. I am incredibly inspired by this project. It is challenging me in my practice. I am trying out a variety of techniques and processes.

I initially didn't want to join Dominik in this project, I am fiercely independent and I knew the tunes that we were putting out this year. I knew I would have to paint a piece about our adventures, simplicity, miscarriage, and mind games. Did I really want to take this challenge on. I was hesitant but I am so glad that I agreed. Each song is very differing and there for each painting in this body of work is different. I am loving this time of experimentation and discovery. Letting each song dictate my movements and use of color. 

These are the first 5 paintings, the next 7 are yet to come. They will all be displayed when completed together in an exhibition at the end of 2018. We are planning a big exhibition, concert and screening of our project. More info on that come winter. 

Thanks for reading lovelies,

Anna

To hear the first 5 tunes listen to Dominik Baer on Spotify. 

We found out last month, when bringing our shoes to get repaired at the local shoemaker's, that the shoemaker has passed on. He was well on in years, but it is still sad. This Schuhmeister was a staple in our part of town. He and his predecessor had been making and repairing shoes for decades in this little storefront space. 

When we saw the space, I immediately thought this could be our gallery.  I have always had a fascination with giving things a new life. My love and passion for vintage clothing, my delight in collage using old books and materials. I am honoured to be in this space, which hosted skilled craftsmen. We are overjoyed to bring new life into the space and present our craft and the amazing work of our contemporaries. 

This charming little space was available and so, here it is: The Zeitgenießische Galerie, Heidelberg. "Zeitgenießische Galerie" is a made up word sounding like the word for Contemporary Gallery and meaning the "time savoring gallery". 

I've been dreaming up some curatorial projects and have been wanting to start a gallery to show my work and curate work of my contemporaries. Dominik and I are are going to host art exhibitions, artist meet ups, concerts, workshops and hopefully some pop up shop/cafes. 

So the Zeitgenießiche Gallery, Heidelberg was born. 

We're celebrating a big opening in just one week. April 7th we will be opening our doors with some of my new work and new tunes from Dominik Baer & his band. We're not only celebrating the opening of a new creative space in Heidelberg, but also the successful crowdfund of Dominik's new Visual Album "Colliding In The Dark". 

Come visit and join in the festivities. They will be begin at 7pm and go until 10pm. Kranichweg 35, Pfaffengrund, Heidelberg is the address. Just look for the sweet little storefront and the crowd of arty people. 

If you have been needing a space to try a creative project idea or present your handmade art or goods please feel free to contact us. We are excited to collaborate with other creatives and showcase amazing makers in the area!

Thank you for joining us on this journey. 

Thanks for reading lovelies.

Anna