Chani's Creative Space

Days are getting longer, we hear more birds than a couple of weeks ago, we are not struggling with masses of snow like in Northern Spain, but spring is still not really there. The only warm colours are in my head :-) Walking in the nature  Enjoying the view  Waiting for the spring Pool activity  

Hurray, days are perceptibly getting longer again! With 18 ºC yesterday night, it seems that spring will be here quite soon (I hope). Meadow Daydream Summer Summer Nostalgia

At the end of January 2005, I flew from Germany to Spain to sign the sale contract of the flat that we wanted to buy there. I had to travel alone and was so scared that I would sign a document that I was not able to understand 100% despite of two days preparation with several specialized dictionaries...  Once I had the keys in my pocket, I walked down the steps to the beach and felt just lucky - the impression to have done the right thing. Ten years later, I am still convinced that moving to Spain was the right decision. Life is not easier here, but  nature is everywhere and the better climate makes it possible to live outside many days of the year. Without living here permanently, I would never have imagined how rich and diverse the peninsula is. We probably would have seen the principal attractions that are mentioned in every travel guide, but never would have discovered other idyllic places off the beaten track.  Beauty is hidden everywhere in Spain. Simple beauty....

It has been hard work for me to edit those few pictures from the surroundings of the salty lagoon Mar Menor (region of Murcia, Spain) but I wanted to show them. I  spent too many hours this week looking at the news, discussing with family, friends and colleagues about freedom of speech, violence, terrorism, politics, religion, tolerance, etc. and what we could do to make our world better... :-(  Showing some romantic places seems so unimportant to me at the moment. But live has to go on.  Cabo de Palos Cabo de Palos   Los Urrutias Calblanque Calblanque

2015 has begun just as 2014 ended: with an anticyclone bringing us a frosty wind but blue skies. The best season to walk along the Mar Menor (region of Murcia, Spain) at the end of the afternoon, when the pale winter sun gives a pink colour to the saltern basins... No, I won't take any resolutions this time. I know what I am willing to achieve, but I'll give life the opportunity to surprise me about the way to do it. Here, the Salinas de Marchamelo (Mar Menor, Murcia, Spain) and Los Urrutias (Mar Menor, Murcia, Spain)

Happy New Year! Another year that is almost gone. For 2015, I wish you inspiration, health and strength. No work is possible without that. I wish you surprises. We all need encounters and situations that turn our lives upside down even if we do not believe that we need them and regret we cannot do what we want with our lives. Unforeseen circumstances generate art. Almost everything can generate art, by the way, if you look at it with new eyes. I wish you peace. And I wish we artists can work concretely for peace. We already do, of course, as art is something that unites, where so many matters divide humans. But I hope we can find a way to do it more actively. I wish you perseverance, in the creation process, in the let’s-break-the-rules process, in life. Because it is always too cold or too hot to paint, if you think about it ;-) I wish you a very happy New Year!

If you are in the area of Malaga those days, you need to visit the drawings exhibition "trece tontas, un@ arrob@ y treinta pingüinos"  of my colleague Félix Martín in the centre of Torremolinos.  I am not sure how to translate this intriguing title, as both languages are foreign to me and I am not sure I did understand all the play on words around it - "Thirteen silly women, one at sign and thirty penguins", maybe. The drawings are a pretext to look critically at our society and way of life - a gentle provocation. The official opening was yesterday night, but you have one more month time to go. Where ? Sede de IU, Ramal de Manantiales, esquina Río Mesa, 29620 Torremolinos (Spain)  When ? Until mid-January , Monday-Thursday (except holidays), 6 p.m - 8 p.m.  You may want to call before you go : 952 05 29 65