Then followed a fallow period (following the close of the exhibition I wasn't in any hurry to start painting again). It was broken for a few days in the summer, when I made very quick greeting cards from watercolor paper, always the same motif of birches against a two-tone watercolor background, and at the end of August, when we travelled to Italy and I amused myself making quick sketches of passersby as we sat at an outdoor table having lunch; either that, or I made more detailed sketches from my photos. These pleasurable endeavors had to be put aside as the fall term got underway. But as soon as the holiday vacation began, I started painting flowers. The intention was to vary my greeting card repertoire, but when I actually ordered 100 blank cards, eschewing the watercolor paper for the much more professional look of matching cards and envelopes, I knew I was in the grip of a familiar madness. Here are some of those greeting cards I made over the break.
***
This was the year I confirmed that, with a little determination and an established routine, it was possible to lose 10 lbs in six months. I'd grown a bit flabby by the end of 2023, thanks to several weeks in Asia, eating fat-rich food without a single walk or workout. So at the start of 2024, I renewed my gym membership after a four-year absence.
The constant physical activity boosted my mood and gave me lots of energy to work in the garden and to finish and frame my paintings for the solo exhibit. I even managed to revise a short novel for young adults in the Spring. My teaching at Studieskolen continued (in the classroom and one-on-one with corporate students) -- it is something I enjoy immensely, as I literally earn a salary for talking to people, drawing them out, asking about their lives and work and helping them to formulate their thoughts.
In May, we drove to Tarm in western Jutland and to Fjerritslev to attend birthday parties for friends and family. In July, there was another visit to Jutland, notably to my favorite museum in all of Denmark, Mosegård.
In August, we took a ferry to the small island of Sejero, off the coast of western Sjælland, where we rented a vacation house. From the second-floor window, I was fortunate enough to see the aurora borealis, which were visible to the naked eye on that night. (I finally managed to photograph them in all their glory on the night of October 10, where there was a particularly strong sun storm).
Later that same month, we travelled to Italy, for the IBBY Congress in Trieste, though first staying a night at a posh hotel in Piacenza, where the cast and crew of my favorite childhood movie had stayed, back in the summer of 1969. The following days, we went to a little hamlet in the foothills of the Apennines and then to the banks of the Stirone stream, where some important scenes in the movie were filmed. We stayed several days in Mantova, where we visited the Ducal Palace and took a boat ride on the lagoon (key settings in Verdi’s Rigoletto) and Verona where we climbed to the highest row in the Arena and saw the city from the top of the Lamberti Bell Tower. From there, we were off to Trieste, where Vagn participated in the three-day IBBY Congress and I rested and painted watercolors.
In the Fall, more English conversation classes, and I was happy to teach a one-on-one course with a student who was preparing for his A-levels in English. It was great to have someone to talk to about Raymond Carver, Shakepeare, James Joyce, and T. Coraghessan Boyle, et al.
In the midst of all this, I've been slowly transcribing my journalistic pieces from my 20s, and have begun to put them up on this blog.
Happy New Year! May you flourish in 2025!
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