Hello friends! For those of you who thought I might have fallen off the planet, nope, I'm still around, although on a different continent! The past six months have been a whirlwind of events, as we have retired and decided to return to US. Throw in preparations for a fair, selling a house, liquidating a shop full of woodworking equipment and lumber and disposing of things accumulated over 23 years, not to mention all the visits from friends, relatives and former students who came to say their goodbyes, and you might get a partial picture of what life was like. I say partial because in between all of these things, we had to continue our day to day activities just as before. Suffice it to say, we did it, and on Oct. 2nd, after 23 years of living in Romania, we landed in Columbus, Ohio, where we were joyfully met by our daughter Christina.
This post is in a way a farewell to all my friends back in Romania, and I'm writing these lines with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the relationships we developed over the years, and all the good memories. It marks the closing of one chapter and the beginning of a new one, and while the script is still a mystery, I trust that God will make it a good and exciting one.
Despite the busyness of the past few months, I had the pleasure of participating in the Traditional Artisan's Fair in Sibiu for the second year in a row, which was a highlight of my endeavors as a craftsman and a dream come true. As a teacher, I also enjoyed working with a student and apprentice, Maia, who is undertaking to continue the art of Transylvanian/Saxon folk painting.
Below are a few snippets from the fair:
Our display at the Fair
A little girl rearranging the furniture in the doll house
Maia and her display of wares with the traditional Transylvanian painting
Posing with my favorite daughter
Turning a spinning top for a curious youngster
Spinning tops galore
Chatting with a fellow exhibitor
In closing I would like to thank Maia, my apprentice and a talented young lady who helped make the show a success by taking up the brush and diligently pursuing the craft of Transylvanian style painting. Best wishes to you Maia, as you explore and seek to find your way as an artist.
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