The folks of the guild

The people here at Grunewald really make the place. I can't speak for the summer months, but in the winter the feel of the place is really set by the community of staff members who are here. There are five staff members here at present, and they come from a bunch of different backgrounds. Everyone has their own way of living life and the mesh that this brings in community is rather neat.
Living in intentional community is something that i've done in my own life and I find that I draw a lot of strength and energy from it. Yet, though I might think that "i've done this before" being a part of this community reminds me how unique each experience is. The blend of personal histories, passions and vision always make something new and different. In my own experience a closed community (one that doesn't have members joining or leaving throughout it's span) can change in the period of its existence. Here at Grunewald there are constantly visitors, old and new friends, family members and travelers stopping to share their time and their stories.
This community is continuously open. It may take awhile to understand the rythm and the little nuances are more meaningful once you figure out the relationship behind them. But like any community I will join in the coming years, it's the figuring out that I will enjoy.

Worship

The first Sunday we were at the Guild we had the chance to go with Liz to the small Lutheran congregation in Leavenworth. I think it was called Faith Lutheran. It was cute and quaint, yet modern because Rich had done a mural in the entire worship space. The mural included loaves and fish with the resurrection near by and running water. The pastor, Alex, gave a wonderful sermon that included quotes in memorial of MLK day.

Other times we worshiped were as a community at the Guild with a member of the community leading. Bill lead two and I led one during our three week stay there. Normally it was a "bring your own tradition" thing and could be as structured or unstructured. I went more traditional with a song from the LBW and a meditational piece by Howard Thurman.

crazy weaving

Despite the 3-4 feet of snow on the ground, there was much creativity to be had at the guild. The basics of drawing and such were a nice refresher as it's been a while since any formal art training came my way. With the "big" painting underway, Manda and I learned to weave on looms in the Fiber Arts Studio. This is also the building where our guest rooms were. It was very relaxing once I got past dressing the loom, which took me about 2.5 hours. Weaving also has a rhythm to it similar to a military cadence. The first project I did was a scarf that I gave to my wife, the others were stoles. Of course Manda thought I was going crazy on the loom, but I just wanted to make as many things while at the Guild.

Warping and Wefting

Another one of the arts that we were taught at GG was the art of weaving. At GG they just built a new Fiber Arts building and it houses over 12 looms. Liz is Rich's wife and the co-founder of Grunewald and she was the person who taught us how to weave.

We started off by learning how to dress the looms, that means how to figure out the measurements and products of the piece that we were going to weave and then getting the loom set up and ready to use. This process is way more difficult than one might imagine and can take a few days some times. But we were entirely too eager to let that happen so we did everything that first day. Liz had us use chenile for all of our projects as it has the best lay (meaning it looks good on anyone-ha!). We made a scarf for our first project. We used some sweet yarn for our warp (the threads that lie lengthwise) and then experimented with different colors for our weft (the threads that lie width-wise). Weaving comes with it's own language and we're still arguing as to what terms we have right and which ones we just made up out of thin air.

Liz is a wonderful and patient teacher as well. She is very knowledgeable when it comes to what will work and look nice and what won't and can always figure out where we've gone wrong or why we're stuck. We've been able to spend hours in the studio with her and her dogs, a crackling fire and yarn in all the colors of the rainbow to experiment with. Erica, another staff person and a woman from a nearby town are also weaving this winter and it's neat to see their projects turn out as they complete them. Weaving can be a noisy practice with the banging of the looms, but we've managed to tell stories and generally have a good time after we get a rhythm going.

Scarves completed we move on to making our stoles. Picking out colors to match the liturgical seasons has been wicked difficult for me so i'm making a white stole. This will be something that I can use outside of the worship of a particular parish; baptisms, weddings, dedications....an all-around stole if you please. Justin's gone a little mad if you ask me...he's eager to put this time and equipment to use and he's making a green, blue and a red stole. Ok, to be fair he's only started the red one and will finish it in Chicago...but still.... At least his zealousness gave me time to get a few pictures of the process...

my first time

So yeah, I've never really painted before, and yeah I don't really consider myself an artist, but did that stop me from coming out to GG for three weeks to learn about and create art? no. And i'm glad it didn't. I was a little afraid that I might not live up to the lofty expectations of the Guildmasters or other artists, and maybe I didn't have an artistic bone in my body, but I do love to create and the process brings me a peace and wholeness that I can't describe.

So I felt a little guilty that Justin had to start at the basics with me in drawing and color before we could get our hands on some brushes. When we finally did get brushes in our hands and had practiced a little with the paints and mediums Rich set us up with a still life and put a HUGE blank canvas in front of us. I was frozen with terror. He said to start putting paint on the canvas right away and get the general colors of our composition on there. OH MAN! I don't think i've ever been so intimidated by an inanimate object! But with the support and encouragement of a great artist (two including Justin) I began to put my brush to work.

As we worked Rich began painting a new composition over one of his old pieces that he had decided didn't work. The confidence with which he layer on paint over paint, letting the idea come toward him from the canvas gave me courage that my painting too can be ever-changing. I liked my composition, and my subject was special to me...so I really got drawn into what I was doing.

I love working on the painting for over a week and while there's not a lot happening on my canvas, I worked on each part or piece at least twice before finally leaving it alone. The whole time it was as if I was learning a new way to see things...as if I was seeing beyond what was in front of me and learning to reinterpret that as a representation on my canvas. I learned more about coloring, shadow, space, texture and feeling than I ever knew was there. At one point I had a pepto-bismol pink background and couldn't figure out how I was going to get it to look like fabric. Rich got really creative with some hunter-reflective orange paint and although i'm sure he's right and it does work....I could never see it. Once I changed my background to a color that I liked, I was able to play with technique and color until I saw my vision appear on my canvas. It was awesome.

I'm still not over my fear of a blank canvas...that's still as intimidating as it is exciting. At one point Rich had to give me a deadline and said that every inch of the canvas had to be covered in paint by the end of the day. And I still look at my piece knowing that there are things i'd like to do it it, and that it's not a masterful work of art, but darn it I don't think I did half-bad for my first time! And to me it represents a new love. It was a process that i'll never forget, and one that I want to repeat many times over. Through this painting i've learned to see differently...everything. I have more of an appreciation for the process of making art, rather than being quick to judge a piece on the value of it's end product.

my process? you want to know about my process?

the days of painting to rid myself of unwanted stressed are long gone and i've returned to yesteryear when i painted for fun. so it seems rich wants us to paint a still life that i think is neato cheeto, but has a lot of details and textures and contours and other little quirks. while manda has chosen her version of the still life, i over confidently decide to paint what i see. BIG MISTAKE. so it seems it's been a while since i painted in a manner that is controlled and actually resembles something else.

i was the first of the two of us to bravely slap yellow ochre on my canvas to get some intial shapes. ah...the joys of starting a painting with fresh ideas and spirits high. well as the days pass, i realize i have bitten off more than i can chew. i had a hat, guitar, rustic vase with penny plants, a mat for a picture and fruit in my still life. i was determined to paint them! however, as reality would have it, they were determined not to be painted. i fussed and cussed at my cavas through days two and three of our painting studio. my vase was the first to go and the background fabric changed for the first of several times. the next focus shifted to the hat, which i really liked after spending some much needed time on it. the guitar wouldn't cooperate after painting it three times, so out it went to be supplanted with a birdhouse. since i couldn't have the birdhouse sitting on the paint can that was reality, i placed it on a book with shadows that worked. then i changed the background fabric for the second time. AAAARRRGGGHHH!

ok, so rich says that my over analytical side is strong and that i need to keep trying. he adds that for one to be happy with a painting, one has to be happy with the composition. HEY, that's it! come to find out, i never liked the original composition of the still life. once i added the birdhouse in reality to the scene and removed the guitar and vase, i was happy. this is what i subconciously wanted to see. this and the wine bottle i was to add in later. the fabric changed again...

day four brought me fist-to-cuffs with my painting! i was ready to be done with it, no more i said. i'm D-U-N, done! after removing fabric three and ranting to manda about my dang painting, she eloquently suggests, "why don't you try meditating on what you've got so far." after i laughed out loud, i reluctantly agreed. staring at the center and trying to empty my mind of distractions, the truth was breaking through the acrylic. i just needed to stand my ground and reconcile with my painting with a, "you can do it man!" slogan over my shoulder. therefore, i covered over the entire area of fabric with white paint and started over on it for the fourth or fifth time, it really doesn't matter.

reconciliation brought much joy and satisfaction as i painted what i saw on the fabric. i was able to get the folds correct and my shadows to work. the final addition would be the green glass wine bottle with horses on the label. it was placed where the vase and mat were originally. finally, the piece was complete and i was plenty happy.

Plain Valley

justin: today we decided we'd hike into Plain (the town, which is quite plain with only two stores) to find Manda some boots. B/c you know who didn't bring any with her and so her feet were wet and cold. On the way over the snow covered bridge WE WERE ATTACKED BY A MAD COUGAR WHICH LUNGED AT MANDA, RIPPING THE KNEE AND BACK POCKET OF HER JEANS. SHE PUT IT IN A HEADLOCK AS I DROP KICKED IT IN THE STOMACH. Luckily we survived and were able to continue on our travels. With no boots in town, we headed back.

Manda: The people here at Grunewald are great so far, and we've had plenty of time to get to know them as there's not many here right now. The guild is a community that thrives in the summer time and hibernates in the winter months when their programming is a little slower and the snow closes them in. Erica is the hospitality coordiantor and our portal to the GG world. She's been kind enough to lend me her boots for our stay since i've forgotten my common sense and my boots in Chicago. Brandi is the guild housekeeper and the youngest person on staff. She's offered to vaccuum our rooms for us, but we're both ashamed so far at the messes we've made in the mere days we've been here. Bill is the maintenance man and has been good enough to dig out most of the buildings for us and Dan is the new Director of Grunewald...he spends a lot of time at his computer. Nathan is the community cook and so far is cooking so well that we're putting on extra insulation if you know what I mean. If i'm forced to eat one more brownie made from scratch I might....no I won't do anything but smile.

Finally Painting!

Manda: Today we finally got into the paint studio for the first time. Thank goodness that we turned up the heat before lunch or the paint might've all been frozen. We worked with acrylic and today was just time to play around and figure out what we can do with the different paints, mediums and tools. Justin is already an expert painter as some of you might know but this was my first time painting and Rich did a great job introducing me to the medium. In playing with the paints today I ended up with a pretty neat Hawaiian flower looking thing. So far playing with paint is fun, but i'm still intimidated to tackle a blank canvas. Unfortunately Rich started setting up a still life for us to start on....who knows what he'll find to put on that table. Justin's not worried...he's already sticking dried paint chips on his practice canvas and calling it art. Ahhh...to be free spirited and creative for a whole month!

justin: so the slides in class are great and wonderful and fading and all that fun jazz. We just love razzing Rich about his stories and who knew Mary had a momma named Anna... not me! The majority of the churches we saw in slides were ones he has worked on. He's done amazing work on over 600 churches worldwide. His sense of humor mixed with my daily consumption of caffeine helps the morning move along faster. We've seen everything from huge baptismal fonts with birds and pulleys to glorified birdbath sizes with four feet of oak on all sides. The church murals are a marvel and some of these pulpits are like lookout posts on a boat.

The paint studio was fun. Getting in there with my "paint clothes" on and having it up to my elbows by dinner time. I love paint chips on canvas, so you know me...i borrowed some of Manda's for my first project that looked like a spiritual eagle rising from a mountain face. The others disagree and see smearings, but what do they know...they've never seen spiritual eagles...gosh! Rich is jazzed about setting up the still life for our big paintings. This is so rad!

Quickie Post

Today we did watercolors.

Who knew that watercolors come in pencils not made for kindergarteners?

In our exuberance, we made watercolor postcards for family and friends.

Who knew watercolor paper can be 25 bucks a sheet?

Tomorrow the paint (acrylic) studio may be shoveled out and then we might begin painting. WooHoo!

class begins

Manda: Rich Caemmerer is our instructor while we're here at GG. He's taking three hours every morning to teach us all that he knows about art and architecture of churches. He assures us that this won't all fit in the three weeks that we're here, but he's going to try. We're starting with modern church archtecture and these churches range from boring brick boxes to towering gothic cathedrals. There are churches that look like icebergs in Finland, that look like a crown of thorns in Italy, and one that looks like nothing we've ever seen before in France...but that one's just a pilgrimage church so it's liturgically acceptable for it to look so weird. Class promises to be wonderful and it'll be nice having just two students to ask as many questions as we please.


Justin: We just couldn't wait to get started, so on Sunday before classes began we went exploring around the GG compound. We couldn't get into everything that day because all the buildings were still snowed in. I tried to get into one of the dormitories, but sunk up to my hips and fell face first into the snow. Yeah, it was VERY cold. We found our way to the pot shop and Manda began her first day of throwing (ever!) as I started on hand-building. It felt familiar to have cold clay in my hands, to create anything I wanted. Manda was having trouble with centering, so I told her to just imagine Patrick Swayze behind her helping her to center. Needless to say, she didn't like the idea.

So the first studio time was after lunch following our slide lectures. It began with sketching things like a bowl with a hairspray can and a glass goblet on it. Not entirely theological, but a good grounding in shadows and values. He mentioned to us as we fussed over the shapes that an artist first has to be confident in their craft to better allow the meaning to show forth. We thought it was too profound for us...haha..

Arrival

Manda: It was three days on a trian to get to Grunewald Guild (GG) for me. Watching the land change from flat and brown to mountains and snow made me more anxious to get there. When I finally arrived in Wenatchee, I still had to get to the guild and wait for my ride. It 's the first day and already I see the benefits of intentional community. A woman named Liv is on her way from Holden Village to GG for her "out." She agreed to pick me up on the way, saving me a day at the bus station. On the ride there, we saw the new 6 ft of snow that the valley had just received. The road there was slippery and after a 180 degree spin, we arrived at GG unscatched. I'm so exhausted from anticipation that I'm taking a nap until Justin arrives. J-Term has begun.....

Justin: My travel was a bit shorter than Manda's. It was only a days air flight through Seattle to Wenatchee (the apple capital of the world). This was my first trip to the NW and it was beautiful with all the snow and such. I was pretty zonked when I arrived to the Guild as well, but was raring to go and get my hands messy with some art. The first evening was a night community meal of homemade pizza. Rich and Liz Caemmerer, the founders of the guild back in 1980, were our hosts and teachers. We finished the night at their home reading an epiphany poem as a group and enjoying a chocolate fondue.

Watch this site for reports from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago students Amanda Truchinski and Justin Eller, spending their J-Term at the Grunewald Guild near Leavenworth, Washington.