nacht. la nuit. night

now that the days are shorter i am quite aware that even some mornings can feel like night time.
i was biking the other day at 7:30 am, the full moon & stars were out and it felt like midnight.
because of this big shift  (lets be honest,  lack of daylight hours)  i was inspired to do a post on my "night" images. amsterdam, berlin, wassenaar, strasbourg and paris ( my favorites) its true that some cities and especially architecture are best seen at night ( or early am), especially the city of lights...so get out there early or late and take it all in.

B E R L I N

BERLIN
 a fascinating, vibrant, historically complicated yet fresh and exciting city.
we were so lucky to be invited to two wonderful, quite social thanksgiving celebrations with german/american expat couples. we stayed in possibly the nicest guest apt. with the best art  & photography collection ever. we met some amazing berliners - who all LOVE living there (and the younger ones all rave about the height of their ceillings & size of their apartments.) everyone kept saying : " you should move here, its fabulous.."
 with the exception of attending the holiday celebrations, the opera and  a never-to-be-forgotten  private house concert ( trio from berlin orchestra) on a lake we just walked and walked.
its the best way to see any european city, add in a bike ride or two  ( easily renteable now in all major european cities) to cover more ground.
this is my short list of not to be missed: 
*the berlin zoo, situated right in the heart of the city, a mere walk from our apartment.
i saw animals i have never seen in nyc, brooklyn and CA zoos, i was pleasantly surprised.
they had these very colorful, old fashioned carts ( see photo) to wheel your kids around in, makes one appreciated the way things used to be.
*seeing a concert or attending the opera in schiller theatre. we were gifted tickets to see mozart's la finta giardiniera. it was an amzing experience. the berliners are a tough crowd. 
 some - booing the director at the end. i had never experienced that before.
* walking around Kollwitzplatz  -  one of Prenzlauer Berg’s best-known and (arguably) most attractive squares.  saturday  is an especially fun day to be there - they have a most amazing farmers market...replete with typical german wool garments, baked goods, green groceries, wine stalls - its a fun people watching scene - with baby strollers outnumbering us all. the hip stores and cafes around the whole prenzlauerberg area are great for window shopping & eating.
* a meal at SET cafe  ( sitzen/sit essen /trinkin ) in the neighborhood of charlottenburg where we stayed

juwelen bijoux jewelry

 my other identity, besides my current  expat - mother- wife - art director  is jewelry designer
i had no idea how much i would miss my craft, my studio, my tools, my ability to pop into my little work space and create something in metal......even just tinker.  i purposely did not ship all my gear here - it just seemed like too much of a nuisance, too expensive, a burden and i thought i would fill my time with so many other great things...but alas, if i had to do it over - i would have.
as a  fiercely creative person, i find it essential to make things. daily. 
creating,  playing with materials or even planning photo shoots.  (here - all of it has been a challenge)  luckily i am making collages. paper, paint, pen & ink and there happens to be a lot of INSPIRATION. everywhere i turn.
that comes easily with living in a new place, a country with a breathtaking landscape, a country that pays so much attention to design, detail, architecture, fashion, a country with such history. i have been looking thru all of my photos recently from various photo shoots of my work. some i took myself, some i did with friend-collaborator-photographers.
(if you have a particular jewelry site you like or designer - please pass along to me here, leave a comment.)

b o l o g n a ( part two)

Bologna's university ( one of europes oldest) is bristling with students & energy, bikes, signs & political graffitti. we found a most intriguing museum of natural history within one of the academic buildings.  the collection of stuffed birds,  preserved snakes, fish & other  creatures - it was well worth the search ( i had read about it in a semi out-dated guidebook)

two distinct vino experience highlights : sitting outside at night after dinner at  tamburini at giant oak barrell - tables with a blazing fire. the second, osteria del sole , i was introduced to by my native italian friend. it is a gathering spot,  nestled in a tiny strada since the 15th century - where you can get glasses of spumante/ prosecco or wine by the glass and sit at long farmhouse tables with others. not to be missed.

as for eating - the totellini in brodo ( in broth), lasagna bolognese, bread with chunks of parma baked into it and cheeses - buonissimo.

i feel grateful to be here, to be able to travel to so many great places so easily and especially this past week - to keep my family's Corelli roots alive ( my grandfather was rocco corelli) by visiting italy after too long a stint away.....

basha goes to b o l o g n a ( part one)

my latest trip was to ITALIA to stay with dear artist friends from the states who rented an apt. in the center of bologna. ( thank you V & P)  i have decided to jump on all opportunities to travel in europe and the chance to visit friends, visit a country i once lived in and have my go at speaking italian again - i couldn't resist.  
most of our time in bologna was spent wandering the winding steets soaking up the amazing architecture, piazza nettuno & piazza maggiore, visiting a few museums and of course - eating. 
unfortunately the wet, overcast weather frequently found in holland followed me but that did not deter us from walking up ( 2.4 kilometres) to the chiesa san luca under the portici, covered arches. a real live italian pilgrammage was happening along the way.
one of the funniest moments was being mistaken for a traffic polizie - ( city police woman) luckily i know enough italian to joke with the elderly gentleman who was trying to ask me about his parking situation.

M A I N E

its november and i am in holland, not maine. 
i am finally taking the time to look back at all the amazing photo shoots i got to work on last year.  i never had the time to actually play around with the film and while here, that is one of my most enjoyable  projects. so you may begin to see more of this...
these images were from a shoot for MAINE magazine. (many of our photos couldn't make it into the printed magazine story so i am sharing  them via my website. )
the very talented  and fun photographer/stylist couple, ryan goodrich & brienne neumann came from all the way from austin  texas to work with me on this story.
we were blessed with blue skies, a one-of a kind pink dinghy and  beautiful local  children.
 ( * see full story & lots of photos here) 

L A N D S C H A P # 2

the sky, when it wasn't over cast this week, was amazing, super dramatic. just the way Vermeer and the other well known dutch landscape painters experienced it.

the two top images were taken while driving back from amsterdam on the highway. i had booked a private class with CS from amsterdamgentlemen designers and was heading home after a great learning experience & inspiring day. i pulled over into the breakdown lane just to grab some i phone photos. the sky was ON FIRE.

other images: a view into Delft ( vermeers hometown) and the polders ( fields along canal) right near our house in wassenaar. they are always full  of grazing sheep, horses and cows and a beautiful deep lush green color.