The Changing Seasons – October 2019

 

It’s time again for the wonderful challenge The Changing Seasons hosted by my dear friend Su from Zimmerbitch!

 

HALLOWEEN

Having shared with you the artwork by my students at the end of September where we were already busy crafting things for Halloween (back then it was still unfired and unglazed), I thought I’d show you how it looks after they had some fun with glazes (more often than not putting the glaze on themselves than on their clay art):

 

Halloween decorations crafted by my students (glazed clay; Oct. 2019)

 

Doesn’t the eyeball give you the creeps? The same student crafted my favorite little ghost in the back and the little figure with big black eyes in the front too.

 

Some of my favorite pieces (Oct. 2019)

 

The devil always knows how to dress in style and is wearing a top hat.

 

 Little devil (Oct. 2019)

 

Clay pumpkins will last much longer than real ones and can be used year after year.

 

 Friendly ghost and pumpkin (Oct. 2019)

 

Wonder what happened to the owner of this hand…

 

Wanna shake hands? (Oct. 2019)

 

The kids had lots of fun crafting these pieces of art and it was a real joy watching how they tried to outdo each other with their creepy ideas.

There’s a reason why Grimm’s Fairy Tales for example are still as successful as they were hundreds of years ago. 😉

 

At the street market

 

The weather has been unusually mild and sunny this October.

So instead of hurriedly running around at the street market, trying to get a real bargain in under three seconds and hurrying back home, I took my time that day and acted like a tourist, taking pictures for you with my phone to share some impressions of one of Berlin’s most popular street markets that takes place every Tuesday and Friday at the Maybachufer in Kreuzberg.

Because most of the stalls are operated by Turkish families who have lived here in Berlin since the 70’s, the market is colloquially called “Türkenmarkt” by locals.

 

If you see a small opening like this you better hurry or accept that you’ll have to trot behind whoever is in front of you for the next hour or two. 😉 (Street market Maybbachufer, Berlin, Oct. 2019)

 

 

Loved these feathery capes and now wished I had bought one! Maybe next time. 🙂 (street market, Berlin, Oct. 2019)

 

One of many vegetable stalls – it’s best to have a look at each stall before you decide to buy something because competition is high and you can get real bargains if you have a little time at your hands. (Berlin, Oct. 2019)

 

Another big feature of this market are the cloth stalls. I usually go here when I need some cloth for a new project as they sell good quality at reasonable prices.

 

My favorite cloth stall at the market (Berlin, Oct. 2019)

 

Another cloth stalls that prefers to hang its products from a line for people to look at it more closely (Oct. 2019)

 

Sadly Berlin isn’t by the sea, so fresh seafood is hard to come by apart from a few stalls like these. I admit that most of the time I buy deep-freeze fish and prawns at the supermarket though, since it’s a lot cheaper.

 

Fresh seafood (Oct. 2019)

 

Since the market attracts more and more tourists each year, you can also shop for special gifts like these little handmade bags that caught my eye.

 

Lovely colorful  handbags (Oct. 2019)

 

Usually where there’s art there’s also a lot of kitsch to be found as well, and to my embarrassment I have to confess that I fell in love with this little bag.

 

Little pug bag – a little trashy but cute nonetheless, right? (Oct. 2019)

 

And because I asked nicely the seller at the flowers stall allowed me to take a picture of these hydrangea and decorative cabbages.

 

Decorative purple cabbage flowers (Oct. 2019)

 

After pushing and shoving your way through the masses for what feels like an eternity but might have been a mere fifteen minutes, a sight like this is very welcome and tempting.

 

Handmade wooden stools for kids (Oct. 2019)

 

 

Street market (Oct. 2019)

 

And a look behind the scenes is always interesting. I wonder if they’d notice if I try to sneak an apple or so behind their backs? 😉

 

Crates of vegetables and fruits (Oct. 2019)

 

Okay, I admit I used a little filter with the following pic, but the clouds did look as fluffy as little sheep that day.

 

Between the two lines of stalls (Oct 2019)

 

And what did I buy that day? Just some green tomatoes, fresh dates, fresh garlic and some parsley. 🙂

 

Autumn Leaves

 

Almost every year my mum and I gather some autumn leaves to turn into clay art. This is something I also do with my students and it’s always a huge hit with them as it is fairly easy to do.

This year we gathered a few leaves from a Gingko tree that stands on the school grounds.

First you flatten out your clay with a rolling pin, then you put the leaves on, and roll some more.

My mum busy pressing the leaves into the clay (Oct. 2019)

 

Ginko leaves firmly pressed into clay (Oct. 2019)

 

After that you take a knife or a thin stick and carefully trace the leaves out.

 

Traced out leaves (Oct. 2019)

 

The technique is not unlike cutting out cookies. 😉

A couple of days of drying, then I put them in the kiln.

If you’re curious on how they’ll look once glazed, stay tuned for the next post of The Changing Seasons at the end of November. 😉

 

 

If you would like to join in, here are the challenge guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to Su’s original post, she can update hers with links to all of yours.