VENICE 2017: Murano

As you see, I'm moving along as soon as I get a new batch of images done, determined to get through the Venice-Verona trip as quickly as possible.  The method to my madness is partly because we have a short trip to Cornwall, England, coming up next week for 5 days.  Not that I'll finish Venice by then, of course...but you get the picture!

Almost everyone who makes it to Venice tries to also make the fast hop-over by vaporetto to Murano, just 3.5 km away in the Venetian lagoon.

Others will also make it further to Burano the same day, which I did in a past life.  

You can do both in one day...but I'm glad this time we didn't.
(We did Burano 2 days later, which I've already shown you here.)

As I recall, there are 4 stops in Murano for the vaporetto waterbuses.

Since Murano is known for its glass, you can't miss it whichever stop you use, I'm sure.

Everywhere you go, storefront windows are displaying their goods.

And glass factories are hoping you will watch their glassblowing shows.

Murano is one of those touristy places, depending on YOU as their customers.

WE, however, know all about glassblowing from the Netherlands and had no interest in glass.

Or so we thought!

Suddenly, Astrid wondered if she could find a snail for her DIL who collects them.

So into one store we went...and because we did indeed buy a snail,

we became privy to their behind-the-scenes showrooms,

as well as to our own private show of their resident glassblower.

Lucky us.  And totally unexpected.

But as I said, we were not there for Murano's glass.

We were on a mission...

a little bit further along the main canal,

past the bell tower of San Giacomo and it's blue glass sculpture,

past this, that, and the other small bridges,

to the BIG bridge, they said.  THIS one, with good views along the canal.

Then we saw it:  the Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato, founded in the 7th century.

This was more important to us than all the glass in the world.

We were not disappointed!

It's known for its Veneto-Byzantine columns,

and its mosaic  floor, dating from 1140, incorporating fragments of ancient glass 

from the island's foundries.

It's a Gothic ship's keel roof.

You know me by now; I love all the wood.

I'm sure everything means something, inside and out.

(Like listening is more important than seeing or speaking?)

Notice how such places always work up an appetite!

All of that in the morning and then it was time to set off again for the afternoon...

to the cemetery on the island we had passed coming in, San Michele.

But first, some passing scenes as we left Murano and its landmark lighthouse from 1934...

and other churches we did not visit, like the Santa Maria degli Angeli (top row),

and the San Pietro Martire (bottom row).

Another morning of being "short of eyes."  HA!

Let's hear it for the guys...and gals!

Mart Martorell's Open House

In my last post I wanted to whet your appetite with lots of faces from the glassblower's Open House in Laren (Gelderland), Netherlands back on June 9-10.  By now, Mart Martorell has become our friend...and to think it all started at the Christmas market in Düsseldorf last year!

It so happens Astrid told one of her co-workers about the Open House because she knew Sjarien (pronounced Sha-REEN) was excited hearing about Astrid's experience with blowing glass.  If Sjarien came, she could possibly have a chance to blow glass herself.

And she did!  And her sister came to watch (upper right).

Nothing like passing on the thrill of the moment.

Actually, Sjarien came on Sunday, the second day, so I'm ahead of myself....

After Saturday's festivities, once the huddled masses were gone, the remaining "workers" stayed in the shop/gallery to watch the first Dutch soccer game of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship.

 We all quickly went into game mode!

We hooted and hollered.  We did everything right.

But alack, alas, Holland could not pull off the win...then or in their next 2 chances.

HUP HOLLAND was out and buried early on in the tournament.  Sad but true.

Still, we had fun and were able to get to our nearby hotel before 9 p.m.

It was so nearby, we could have walked to the Ehzerwold Hotel from the glass shop.

What a delightful, restful former hospital in the midst of the woods!

We slept 10 hours that night and had all morning on Sunday to just enjoy the place.

While Saturday's open house was for anyone and everyone, Sunday's was specifically for Mart's family, colleagues, and friends as well as random visitors (like Sjarien).  So if you look through this YouTube of both days, the second part is of very special people to Mart, including his parents.

I processed 410 images in an album for Mart to use as he wishes.

Then I reduced it down to 300 images for this YouTube.  That's a LOT!

My first draft was 300 images in 4 minutes at .8 second each.  Way too fast!

Mart told me he wanted all 300 images and didn't care how long it was.

So that's why it's now 7.35 minutes at 1.5 seconds each.

I guess you could say it's something only the attendees will want to see.  HA!
(does anyone know how to slow down the opening slides with credits???)

What a grand experience!  And now Mart will let things settle during the next weeks, after which we'll go back to take individual shots of glass pieces for his website.  It's a story that has no end...yet!  I love it.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Before you go...today is my turn at Vision and Verb again....on Our World is Not Flat!

 ...and other Big-Fish stories.

I was inspired by a blogger friend, Geoff Dunn, to buy a 3cm clear-glass oculus

and take pictures through it.  How fun is that!
The images are upside down through the oculus, so you have to flip them.

How 'bout having the whole world in your hands!

 

Glassblowing: Eyes of the Beholders

Two weekends ago I was "on assignment" at the glassblower's new-shop Open House.  HA!  On assignment.  I quite like that.  :)

Truth be told, I've been spending almost every spare minute for a full week, plus 2 weekends, processing 500 images.  The processing is done...and now comes organizing them and getting a YouTube ready for Mart Martorell.  Remember him?!

In the meantime, here's something to whet your appetite.  Impressions.  Impressions of old and young alike, all mesmerized by the glass blower!

 How can you resist the kids who are in wonderment!

Did you ever see a glass blower at this age??  

Neither did I.

Did you ever blow glass at this age?

Neither did I.

Boys and girls alike got the chance of a lifetime.

The thing is...Mart is MADE for this.  He is soooo good with the kids....

...as well as with the adults (like with Astrid in February).

During the 2 weekend days, 3 other glassblowers were also helping out.

If you wanted to blow glass, you really could!

Did I blow glass, you ask?  No.  

I was satisfied with watching everyone else, just like these fellas.
(click image if you want to enlarge)

And besides, I was the photographer, on assignment...remember?

I asked Mart what he expected from me those two days.

He wanted expressions amd impressions from and of those who came.
EYES OF THE BEHOLDERS.

And that's what I hope he'll get once I put the whole thing together this week.

I have my work cut out for me....

The Glass Blowing Workshop with Mart Martorell

Of all the things we did over our anniversary weekend a week ago, the glass blowing workshop with Mart Martorell was the most important and memorable. It deserves a post all on its own.

You may recall how it all started, at the Düsseldorf Christmas market last December 2011. I did my post and from that Mart and I connected to do the swap: my pictures for his teaching Astrid how to blow glass. Talk about a win-win swap! I wrote about that at my Vision and Verb post last week.

This is what his studio looks like in Laren (Gelderland), Netherlands:

Huge. Spacious. Open. Bright. Cheery. Welcoming. Inviting.


Did I mention cozy? And this was on a cold, snowy day.

And talk about a host with the most. We felt like queens for the day,
treated to koffie hour and lunch and koffie hour again...


...three hours of relaxing, eating, and...workshopping, of course.

After our first koffie break (getting acquainted with each other), we had to get the lay of the land...

...up close and personal.


Remember that up to this point we had only seen Mart's Christmas ornaments.
Now we were understanding why he is a MASTER glass blower.
In fact, he's the youngest (at age 45) of the 7 remaining Dutch master glass blowers.


We were "short of eyes!"


Interestingly, one of his biggest sellers is the baby embryo inside a glass apple.
He'll even make it pink or blue, as you wish.
(click collage to enlarge)

Okay. It was time for the workshop and we were ready!

See how spacious and inviting the front stage is, raised about 2+ feet off the floor and perfect for classroom demonstrations. At the podium (where the fire burner is) is a flat-screen TV for watching a short history of glass blowing, with which we started out.
(In the back of the studio there is another workshop area with 2 burners,
which you can see in the bottom images above.)

The best way to show you what happened next is this YouTube of Astrid and Mart becoming one in their teacher-student demonstration:

It still blows my mind!

One part of the demonstration I did NOT add to my YouTube was at the end of the workshop when Mart "played around" with the part of glass art that is not blowing but...well, dabbing and molding . I'm sure there's a word for it....

First, he showed Astrid how to make mixed-drink stirrers.
Then he made different objects on top so we could tell whose was whose. HA!

Do you see what he made for mine (top right image)? The smallest camera I now own!
And for Astrid's, a Dutch olifant. He made half of it and she made the other half:
an ear, 2 legs and the trunk, which you can see much better here.

Some have asked if we were able to keep anything after all was said and done. Are you kidding? We came home with a big box full of everything Astrid and Mart worked on that day, all carefully and tenderly wrapped up by the master.

Look what I got out of it (besides my tiniest camera)!
You fill it up with water and stick the stem in a plant to keep it watered while you're gone!
We actually have 3 of these, by the time they were done. Utilitarian art!

Thus ends the first stage of this win-win swap. We'll go back for more "official" photos once the studio is ready for the grand opening in April. It's only just begun....

An Anniversary Gift: SNOW

Yesterday Astrid and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary here in the Netherlands! The lead-up all last week, since my last post, was snow...even if but a dusting!

As I said at my Shutterchance blog,
half a snow is better than no snow at all!


Through the macro lens (looking at moss between the bricks),
it looks like we had a blizzard with snowdrifts.

It's all about perspective.


It "dusted" enough to put everything into a snowy fog.
I was in heaven taking my walk around our citadel city last Monday afternoon.


I know what you're thinking.
Because this is Holland, snow should be ho-hum for us, right? Wrong!
Getting snow where we live in the middle of the country is like getting snow in Atlanta.
When it happens, everyone is super-crazy excited.
Even the dogs!


And the bikes, of course.
Even outdoor café tables are super happy and inviting.


It was our first week this winter with temps below freezing!


Even the Linge harbor had a thin sheet of ice.
And snow dust everywhere. Can you see it? HA!


A couple days later, the guys were out repairing a brick road.
"Take our picture!" they yelled out to me. So I did.
When I came back from my walk, they were on their koffie break.

BUT...ALL OF THAT WAS ONLY THE LEAD-UP to our anniversary weekend, which we started on Friday. THAT was the day Astrid got to blow glass with Mart Martorell. Remember? The barter. The win-win swap.

I took pictures for Mart's new shop and website;
and Mart taught Astrid how to blow glass!
We were together for 3 glorious hours, better than we expected....

and that's what my post is today at Vision and Verb: a bartering swap!

On our actual anniversary day yesterday, we drove along the canals to Kinderdijk and back, with Astrid getting out twice to skate, while I took pictures:

More Dutch you cannot get. How many times have I told you that!

My week is now cut out for me, working on all those images...plus all the others of more snow, our charming B&B out in the countryside, time with our blogger friend Wim in Zutphen with his lovely wife and 3-yr-old son, and the (unofficially) smallest town in the Netherlands, Bronkhorst, with 171 inhabitants.

As we speak, it's 18F. And as I've said a hundred times this past week, Het is Winter! Eindelijk (It's winter. Finally).

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥


We finished another Jan van Haasteren puzzle, 2000 pieces:
By Air, Land and Sea.