We had again moved once more with my family and I had just in the nick of time managed to register myself as an assistant devil-do-all for a Contemporary Art Workshop at the local Art Academy. In Berlin, I had studied at the Kunst Akademie for just under a year, but a pure artist's career was not the ideal I pursued after all. Although I could handle various materials and forms of expression reasonably well, I still lacked the creative inspiration to create truly moving works of art. I therefore saw myself more in a serving, supporting role of successful artists, more than the solitary struggle of being an individual artist.
My late enrollment in the Workshop was therefore a godsend gift as I would be able to work with both the teaching artists and Master students, potential leading artists.
Arrival and Day 1
Anyway, I was late for the general introduction anyway so I jumped straight into the Installation and Performance Art Workshop, which appealed to me the most. The Workshop facilitator explained the various aspects of the art form using richly illustrated catalogues and a number of videos from her own collection. While I was somewhat familiar with that kind of art, I was still surprised by the physical freedom and sometimes quite intimate aspects of the documents she showed.
I soon felt included in the small group of six girls and three boys, all keen on contemporary art and seizing the opportunity to go deeper into this art form with an experienced facilitator, and possibly take the first steps into it myself.
The facilitator, Therese, was a smooth, attractive young woman of about 30 years of age, with a thorough knowledge of the subject, and a confidential, engaging aura. She made you feel like you could bring on any idea, no matter how strange or unusual it might be. With her semi-long curly hair, soft face and perfectly slim figure, she immediately radiated a warm feeling.
After the presentations and introductions in the various workshop groups, everyone came back together for dinner. Each group had to take turns shopping and cooking, while another group took care of clearing up and doing the dishes. The students had all already moved into shared rooms in the morning, with girls-girls and boys-boys teaming up with their best mates and finding their places together. Since I had only arrived later, I did not yet have a place to sleep. So I sought out Therese to ask if there was still a free place somewhere.
Therese was struck and apologised that the organisation had apparently not registered my participation in the Workshop quite correctly. After all, I was somewhat of an outsider because I was not a student at all, and certainly not a facilitator. After some discussion with the other facilitators, she reappeared and apologised at length. "I'm terribly sorry Debbie, but we no longer have separate rooms. But... I happen to have just about the biggest and most luxurious room, which still contains a free bed and enough space for an extra 'special' guest. What do you think?" At first I felt a little uncomfortable, but very quickly Therese's kindness aroused a warm feeling. Before I could even think about it, I heard myself stammering that it was a wonderful proposal and I was more than happy to share the room with her. I added that I would definitely not be a burden and would retire to myself like a good little animal. Therese showed me the way to her room and disappeared again while I unpacked my basic travel bag and put my meagre belongings on an empty shelf.
From travelling around a lot, I was used to taking little luggage and choosing light gear and clothes as much as possible. I had also found that there was always a way to wash clothes in all sorts of outback ways, so carrying way too many pieces of everything was just torture for your back and arm muscles. Classic and light jeans, some t-shirts, a clean shirt, a jumper and underwear usually suffice in all circumstances. To that, a rudimentary set of toiletries and some small collected items and, my kimono. A beautiful silk kimono that I had bought from an old lady in a small shop in Soi Wanit in Bangkok.
After dinner, most of the students retired to their rooms, and the facilitators sat together discussing the day. I resolved to go to bed early and took another walk in nature, enjoying the cool evening breeze. Back in our room, I took a soothing shower and put on my sleeping gear, an old XL punk t-shirt that covered my body sufficiently but was still comfortable for sleeping. I was already half-asleep when Therese quietly entered the room and switched on her nightlight. I kept quiet. Therese fumbled a bit in her luggage and entered the bathroom. She left the door open and through my eyelashes I saw the reflection of her body as she undressed. She stepped into the bath and I heard her rinse her body with the shower's loose spray head. For a moment, I imagined her taut tanned body in the white bathtub. After some more fumbling, I heard her pee and she came to her bed. Already intoxicated by what I just heard, I saw her just barely enveloped in a long light cotton batiked nightgown crawling into bed. The light went out and I fell asleep softly dreaming of a nymph in the forest surrounding us.
As usual, I woke up at dawn. I loved feeling the first rays of the rising sun on my naked body. Unfortunately, there was only a small window, nor did it seem appropriate for me to lie naked on my bed in front of a companion. Looking aside, I saw Therese's nightgown lying on the floor between both our beds, so she was sleeping naked...
