Girona

Panoramic View of Girona from the Old Wall

I am back, but this time after only a year and a half away. I still can't believe I waited 16 years the first time.

I have been here a little over a week now. In many ways, it's as if I'd never left. 

It's winter here, and so far it's been a mild winter. The temperatures are in the mid-teens during the day (which equates to upper 40s in the mornings and evenings, and mid 50s most days).

Last week I went into Girona. 

View of the River Onyar from the Pont de les Peixateries Velles, or Pont de Ferro, or Pont Eiffel as it was designed by Gustave Eiffel. Here you can see a small section of the bridge from where I took the photo.

This is the same view of the River Onyar, but I stepped forward to exclude the red iron bars of the bridge. Tomorrow I will see about taking a photo that shows off the painted buildings a bit more.

I arrived a bit before things open, so after checking out Eiffel's Iron Bridge, I went and had a coffee and a croissant at La Pedra. La Pedra is a café owned by a friend of Vanesa. 

After that I stopped in at the Tourist Information Center near the Pont Pedra (Stone Bridge) and got a city map and some advice on things to see. This was welcome because even though I am familiar with much of the city, I went in without a plan. When the lady recommended walking along the old wall that surrounds part of the city, I suddenly had a plan! 

I took lots of pictures, some of them are below. I don't have captions for them all, as I think they wind up being fairly self-explanatory.

Tomorrow I am going back to Girona to do a guided walking tour of the city, which includes a guided tour of the Jewish History Museum.

View of the cathedral from the old wall.

I had to take a snapshot of the back of this building so beautifully painted and viewable only from the old wall. I will have to try to find the street side someday and see if it's painted with equal care.

Typical roof tiles

That's the wall there going back towards the left... quite a long walk.

Another view of the wall. To the right you can see people walking along. There is one of many towers in the distance, and then the wall makes a left turn.

This is one of my favorite staircases up to the top of a tower. Many of the others are made of wood, but this one is entirely iron.

Girona Cathedral - I'll have to count the steps next time.

Handrail of Steps up to the Girona Cathedral 

I found a little street alongside the cathedral and walked up to explore it. It ends at a closed wall that I can only guess accesses part of the cathedral. This is my view of the sky from that spot.

A little bit of woods in the middle of the city. I saw several people walking their dogs through here.

The weather has been pretty humid and foggy since I'm here, giving things a very eerie appearance.

Els Forns de Calç i la Rajoleria (Lime and Tile Kilns)

Trees shade the path through the woods

The other day my host friend and I took a trip to the Celrà City Hall in search of information about the town. I was given 2 envelopes with various hiking routes in and around the town: I think there are 12-14 routes!

That afternoon I set out to explore the nearby lime and tile kilns that were used for building. This is the route. The starting point is about 20 minutes walk from where I am staying. It is located between Celrà (where I'm staying) and the next municipality, Juià.

Upon entering the woods, I found myself transported to a completely different place. The sights and sounds of the road disappeared. 

I was a bit concerned that I would have trouble finding my way, but the trail is well marked and well traveled. Still, throughout the hike I often was unsure whether I was heading in the right direction. I will probably return now that I have a better understanding of the layout, and to explore some paths that I didn’t the first time.

As I entered the woods at the start of the trail I found myself grinning and my spirits rising. There is something about being in a space that is so resplendent with natural growth that causes me to feel good. This trail has the remnants of old walls (separating the two municipalities), the old kilns, a well, farms and more. It was great fun to explore and I will go back again, perhaps this evening when we return from the beach!

The walls along the pathway are full of interesting growth, sediment, roots and so on. I could look at this for hours.

This is the remainder of a tile kiln - a Rajoleria - that you will find along the trail. It's very cool to see how the stones were set together and how since its abandonment the forest has adopted it. Though it is human-made, to me it doesn't seem out of place the way a skyscraper would.

Remnants of a wall near the kiln - perhaps originally part of a larger building that encompassed the kiln.

Font Musquerra - an old spring that was probably used as a well for water.

Here is an example of the remains of the wall that marks the boundary between Celrà and Juià. Also, in the foreground, is one of the trail markers. As you can see, the trail is well marked!

Here is another view of the boundary wall looking upward.

In the middle of the woods I came upon a field with smaller trees and lots of grass and sunshine. It was like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Just past that first field above, I found one of the farms: Mas Espolla

This is the Forn de Calç de Can Gich.

Here is my shadow as I stand in the doorway of the kiln.

Arrival in Girona

There is nothing quite like going to the beach the evening of one's arrival. It is the best way to clear the head and clean off the travel yuck.
We went to the beach at Pals, Girona. The water was clear and very salty. It was a calm day so the water was easy and there was no wind whipping the sand around us.

UIMA installation pics

Upcoming Shows

I am participating in several shows in October. Come on out!

I will be at the following receptions, so come on over to see some great art and to chat with me and the other artists:

• Form in Flora at The Lincoln Park Conservatory, 2391 N. Stockton Dr: October 5th, 5-8 pm

• Process of Scale at The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, 2320 W. Chicago Ave: October 12th, 6-9 pm

• My Secret Garden at The Framing Mode & Gallery, 1526 S Wabash Ave: October 13th, 6-9 pm

My work is also on display at the Chicago Sculpture International booth at Expo Chicago at Navy Pier now through Sunday. It will be then moving to Lillstreet Art Center for a show called Six to the Third. There is a reception at Lillstreet the 28th from 6-8 (I won't be there).


If you are not able to make the receptions above, but still want to see the shows, here are the dates that they will be up.

• Form in Flora at The Lincoln Park Conservatory, 2391 N. Stockton Dr: September 10th - November 2nd **already installed and open to the public 9am - 5pm daily**

• Process of Scale at The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, 2320 W. Chicago Ave: October 5th - November 25th, gallery hours: Wed - Sun noon - 4

• My Secret Garden at The Framing Mode & Gallery, 1526 S Wabash Ave: October 5th - November 3rd, gallery hours: Tue- Thurs 11-7, Fri & Sat 11-5

• Six to the Third at Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 N Ravenswood Ave: September 28th - October 14th, gallery hours: Mon-Thurs 10am - 7:30pm, Fri-Sat 10am - 6pm, Sun 10am - 5pm

Thanks for your all of your support and love!

Firing

I'm firing the first of 2 kilns today for a project that's going into the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art at the beginning of October. I should have taken a snapshot of the kiln after it was loaded - will have to take one to post on Monday when I unload.
Firing is always an exciting experience - filled with eager anticipation, and always a bit of dread. I do gas reduction firings and that basically means that the results are never 100% certain. (One of these days I'll do a post that explains a lot more about firings.) Also, because of the way that I build my sculptures - the tubes trap air and moisture - there is always a slight possibility that one of them won't survive.
Monday evening will tell the tale!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/csi/activate-chicago-with-sculpture-2012