Field Office Blog

Travel Day

Rebecca — Thu, 30 May 2013 22:18:46 +0000

I conducted an experiment yesterday and flew with AirBerlin from Berlin to Minneapolis via Chicago. The verdict? NEVER AGAIN. It was awful. But I did get to my destination and for that I am happy. These last weeks were mostly quiet—in the best possible way—including some lovely evenings with friends old and new. In a couple of hours I’ll fetch Anthony from the airport and from that point forward, a new era begins!

Travel Day | Field Office Blog

Berlin Walking Tours: Context Travel

Rebecca — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:59 +0000

We are big fans of checking things out on foot—especially in Berlin, where the most interesting finds are often easily-overlooked remnants of the city’s wartime/divided past.

So we were happy to join Context Travel on their Divided City walking tour, which uses the city’s architecture as a thread through history. Our path illustrated how quickly the city changes from block to block, from East to West—quiet side streets lined with late 19th and early 20th century Altbaus are tucked just around the corner from massive Stalinist apartment blocks on the Karl-Marx-Allee. Further west, at the edge of the Tiergarten in the Hansaviertel, a mixture of mid-century works by Gropius and Le Corbusier stand for a new era.

Context Travel’s tours are small (six people max) and lead by academics with deep knowledge of their subject. Our docent, a historian from East Berlin, was a delight to listen to as he pointed out little details we’d walked by a hundred times.

Anthony used the LensBaby Composer Pro lens from their Pro Effects kit for all of the shots on our walk.

Photos by Anthony

Berlin Walking Tours: Context Travel | Field Office Blog

Berlin for awhile

Rebecca — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:35:08 +0000

After our visit to Salt Lake City, Anthony went to San Francisco for work and then on to Portland—and I came back to Berlin. We will reconvene in Minneapolis next week and hit the ground running.

So it’s been just me and Berlin, kind of like old times, which has given me time to reflect on the city and myself. When people ask how things have been during these solo weeks, I find myself saying that they are good and that it feels a bit like a residency/retreat. I’ve been reading, drawing, and walking. I’ve also been taking time to revisit some of the basics of my craft like color theory and mixing as well as methods for approaching new pieces and observational drawing. Maybe this sounds like a strange thing to do, but it’s been kind of wonderful, something I felt compelled to do these last months. Like simplifying as a way of refocusing for the next step. I could also imagine doing this for my German and cooking skills.

Berlin for awhile | Field Office Blog

Baby Keira

Rebecca — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:05:48 +0000

Meeting Baby Keira the other week in Salt Lake was pretty spectacular. My favorite moment with her was the day we left; she was fussing a bit and I got her to quiet down by holding her slightly on her side, facing me. She stared up at me sideways, looking into my eyes with a calmness and searching that was incredibly moving. Second favorite thing: watching my sister and brother-in-law be parents!

Baby Keira | Field Office Blog

Twelve Blog: High

Rebecca — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:52:57 +0000

Mankato, Minnesota

This photo is part of an ongoing series at twelveblog.tumblr.com. You can find a collection of my photos for the project here.

Twelve Blog: High | Field Office Blog

Wildflowers Bed & Breakfast

Rebecca — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:26:40 +0000

Last week we went to Salt Lake City to visit my sister and brother-in-law and their new baby. We booked a few nights at the Wildflowers B & B because it was in their neighborhood—which was great—but my oh my was it so much more. This place is simply a jem. Not only is the house is old and charming (we stayed in a second-story sun porch overlooking the garden and the tree tops), but the garden is beautiful, the chickens are on the loose, and hosts Cill and Jeri are a delight. And there is a sweet dog. AND that Cill, she knows how to make breakfast—each morning was a new treat. Those waffles she’s got were the best I’ve ever had. Also, those gorgeous paintings on the walls are by Jeri!

Photos by Anthony + Rebecca

Wildflowers Bed & Breakfast | Field Office Blog

Installed

Rebecca — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:36:53 +0000

Two—two—snowstorms have blown through here since that last post. It’s April 24th. Yesterday a friend called it February 72nd. Because of the snow, we’ve had an interesting time this last week with installing the work and everything else—but more on that later. Right now I have to get ready for the talk and the opening, which both happen tomorrow night.

For now, a few images from the install…

Installed | Field Office Blog

April in Minnesota

Rebecca — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:02:50 +0000

Since we landed in Minnesota, the weather has been awful: honest-to-god-snowtorms, rain, cold, just the gamut of terrible weather. Yet somehow I am in good spirits—it makes such a difference to be surrounded by so many friendly faces, good conversations, and good food.

Yesterday there was sun—I sat outside all day and actually got a sunburn on my face. Oops. Today the clouds are back and there is snow in the forecast. Still waiting for paintings to clear customs so that the install can begin.

April in Minnesota | Field Office Blog

Parallel worlds and creative foundations

Rebecca — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:29:13 +0000

I became aware that there was an old world existing parallel to the present when I was about eight. We’d just moved into a brand new house built on land that not ten years earlier had belonged to a larger estate. The massive old house still stood—out of view—on the other side of the thick trees in our backyard. It was hard to see even from the road, but I understood that it was different from the modern houses popping up on our street. There were others like it, too, as well as little cabins and cottages—all from a different era. This fascinated me; these structures seemed to be from another time and place, like settings from my favorite books that had come to life. I loved how a walk down the road could reveal a kind of flickering glimpse of the past superimposed with the present.

The enchantment has never left these places for me. What has changed are the structures themselves—many are completely gone. Others are still there, but the fields and woods that surrounded them are now lawns. Despite all of this (or maybe because of it?), I find a lot of creative energy here and always have. These places instigated my first creative endeavors and are the foundation for the work I have been creating ever since. The questions they pose to me never get old or completely answered and I am always excited to revisit these places when I come home, no matter how hard it is to see what is becoming of the area.

During our visit in December, we explored the property of the Noerenberg estate, which has been preserved only because the last surviving relative donated it to the city so that it could be used as a public park. She asked that the house be destroyed, but the barn and the boat house still remain.

Parallel worlds and creative foundations | Field Office Blog

Bros

Rebecca — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:22:16 +0000

I do love little mysteries like this—I mean, who are these dudes my great-grandpa is hanging out with under a number of various photo shooting scenarios? Found in a box at my grandparent’s house, these are going to require a little sleuthing.

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Bros | Field Office Blog