Auschwitz-Birkenau (Oświęcim, Poland)

As we were planning our trip to Poland, we knew that we needed to include some historical sites related to WWII and the Holocaust, as these are significant aspects of Polish history.  Kraków itself escaped much of the bombing that flattened cities like Warsaw, allowing its medieval architecture to remain intact (as we saw in Old Town).  But it was just outside of Kraków, in Auschwitz-Birkenau, that the Nazis first experimented with the gas chambers that would become the "final solution."  The camps are now a memorial and museum; we put this on our must-see list of sights.  (We had hoped to see the Schindler Factory museum, as well, but didn't manage to find time to get there.)  We took a bus from Kraków to Oświęcim, a small town where former Polish army barracks became Auschwitz and where the Nazis built the Birkenau extermination camp, using the forced labor of those brought to the camps.

These birds greeted us as we arrived at Oświęcim to see the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum. I couldn't identify the species of bird, although they seemed vaguely pigeon-like. We had a quick bite to eat on the benches outside the museum, waving away bees, before we embarked on the four hour tour of the camps.

Wieliczka Salt Mine (Poland)

Sculpture in the Chapel of St. Kinga in the Wieliczka Salt Mine

After exploring Old Town in Kraków, we took a bus trip out to see the Wieliczka Salt Mine.  The Wieliczka Salt Mine has been in operation from the 13th century (although at this point there is no salt being mined; miners work to maintain the structures of the mine). Legend has it that the salt in the mine was the dowry of Princess Kinga, who became the patron saint of salt miners. The mine is enormous -- 300 km over 9 levels (but the tours only include the upper three levels). The tour includes displays of how salt was mined as well as the amazing sculptures created from salt by the miners.

The mine contains a number of chapels, but the St. Kinga chapel is the most impressive. It is a huge chamber, full of detailed sculptures and bas-reliefs made from rock salt (including a replica of The Last Supper and a statue of Pope John Paul II). The sculptures in this chapel were made over the course of 30 years by just a few of the miners in their spare time. The artistry is exquisite. You can see more of the sculptures here.  

Old Town (Kraków, Poland)

Singing group in the Maly Rynek in Kraków

Generally, my schedule revolves around the academic year, so if we take a vacation, we do so during the summer.  But this year, I'm on sabbatical (my first sabbatical ever), so we were able to take a trip in the fall.  We spent two weeks visiting Kraków in Poland and Prague in the Czech Republic.  (Note that this travelogue will not be precisely sequential, but rather thematic or by area -- we visited some areas more than once, so I'll sometimes use photos from different days of our trip in the same post.  You can click on the photos to enlarge them, if desired.)

Our visit to Kraków coincided with the Kraków Film and Music Festival, so there were various performances, films, and booths set up in the Maly Rynek (small town square) and the Rynek Główny (main town square) in Old Town. The town squares had a festive atmosphere, even at night, which was quite delightful -- lots of vendors and food stalls, as well as performers.  The photo above shows one of the performing groups in the Maly Rynek, presumably singing traditional Polish music.

Living in Limbo

As I mentioned in my last post, we are in the midst of a home renovation project.  That means that the house is in chaos, since everything needed to be packed up and moved out of the rear parlor (some of the furniture from the dining room needed to be moved, as well).  The remaining rooms are crammed with towering piles of boxes and furniture and stuff.  Watering the plants in the sunroom has become a challenging exercise of tiptoing carefully around the electronics on the floor and stretching over piles of boxes to reach the various plants. I feel as though I'm doing some bizarre yoga-parkour mix.  The living room calls to mind one of those unpleasantly overcrowded antique stores, where one fears to even wander amongst the eclectic mix of vintage items for fear of dislodging a china shepherdess or stumbling over a wooden settee.  The remodeling zone is framed in translucent plastic, its cloudy film creating a sense of distance and unreality.  I stand in the kitchen, looking through the plastic sheeting, and it feels as though I am encased in a bubble, ungrounded from my real life.

And the winners are . . .

Greetings, all!  I haven't had a chance to blog recently, because we are in the midst of a home renovation project that has taken much of my time.  But I didn't forget about my blog giveaways.  The winner for my Birthday Giveaway #1 was commenter #2, Clio.  Congratulations, Clio -- I hope you enjoy reading Bonk!

Birthday Giveaway #2: Fabulous Fabric Beads

Do you love fabric and beads?  Do you have scraps of beautiful fabric that you can't bear to throw away?  Then this giveaway is for you!  In Fabulous Fabric Beads:  Create Custom Beads and Art Jewelry by Kristal Wick, you can learn to make beautiful beads from fabric.

This book is chock-full of information and inspiration.  The first section covers the basic materials that can be used to make fabric beads.  The second section explores a number of surface design techniques, including the use of paint, dye, bleach, paintstiks, gesso, foil, stamping, and more.  Then Kristal Wick explains how to make a variety of fabric beads, including basic rolled beads and more elaborate variations, such as adding rhinestones or wrapping with wire and seed beads.  There are also a number of jewelry projects included to feature your newly-created fabric beads and a gallery section for even more ideas for how to use fabric beads.  The instructions are clear and the book is full of photos that illustrate the instructions, step by step -- not to mention all the photos of beautiful beads and finished projects. You can see some of the pages from the book at Interweave -- just click on the "Preview" tab. 

Birthday giveaway #1

Tommy bowed and Annika curtsied and then they handed Pippi the green package and said, "May we congratulate you and wish you a happy birthday?"  Pippi thanked them and eagerly tore the package open.  And there was a music box!  Pippi was wild with delight.  She patted Tommy and she patted Annika and she patted the music box and she patted the wrapping paper.  She wound up the music box, and with much plinking and plonking out came a melody that was probably supposed to be "Ack, du käre Augustin."

Pippi wound and wound and seemed to forget everything else.  But suddenly she remembered something.  "Oh, my goodness, you must have your birthday presents too!" she said.

"But it isn't our birthday," said Tommy and Annika.

Pippi stared at them in amazement.  "No, but it's my birthday, isn't it?  And so I can give birthday presents, too, can't I?  Or does it say in your schoolbooks that such a thing can't be done?  Is it something to do with that old pluttifikation that makes it impossible?"

"Oh, of course it's possible," said Tommy.  "It just isn't customary.  But for my part, I'd be very glad to have a present."

"Me too," said Annika.

From Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (translated from the Swedish by Florence Lamborn), 1950.

As I continue my travels along The Great Material Continuum, I'm taking a cue from Pippi Longstocking with a series of giveaways to celebrate my birthday.  Actually, my birthday was some days ago, but Q and I have a tradition of a "Birthday Week" -- and I'm still within my birthday week.  Heck, why can't I have a Birthday Month?   (After all, Lyric Kinard has been having blog giveaways throughout her birthday month.) 

I'm going to give away items that reflect the diversity of my interests.  After all, I am a versatile blogger and need to recognize all aspects of my multifaceted life, right?  Psychology, sexuality, feminism, art, sewing, beading, gardening, dance -- there will be something for everyone.

We have a winner!

And the winner of the Inspirations piece, Stuff Your Eyes with Wonder, is . . . Cheryl!

Thanks to all who visited and commented.  It was very inspiring to read your comments!  I'll post another Inspirations set at the end of the month, so be sure to check back for another chance to win. 

Inspiration Series: Stuff Your Eyes with Wonder

I'm beginning a new series of small textile pieces that will incorporate quotations and images that reflect some aspect of the quotation -- I'm calling it my Inspirations series.  I'm inspired by this new series, and I hope that the pieces inspire others as well.  My plan is to make multiple versions of each piece, to explore different design variations.  I think this will work well for me, as it allows me to combine the thoughtful exploration of ideas as well as experiment with design and embellishment.  Plus, I'll build up a body of small works, which I am currently lacking.

Oh, and did I mention the giveaway part?  I'll choose one version of each piece to give away to my blog readers (that's you!).  I hope to complete a new set of pieces every month.  So come back regularly to catch the giveaways!  (Remember that you can sign up through a blog reader or get new posts by email -- see the links on the sidebar.)

A home for imagination and creativity

When I was a child, I was given a dollhouse.  I played with it throughout my childhood and kept it set up even after I stopped playing with it (my younger sisters continued to play with it while I was in college).  When Q and I moved in together, I set up the dollhouse in our apartment.  Eventually, though, I stored the dollhouse and all its furnishings in a closet, waiting for a time I could bequeath it to another child.

Looking spiffy with the fresh paint --
and the open door invites us to peer inside.