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| Part of a large wall mural, showing the fisherman not catching any fish, but mermaids instead! |
Traditions 'back home' also included much fun for the artist family and their friends - especially around Fasching, the German 'Karneval'. Costumes, dance, traditional food and drink help make for a great ambience, in rooms or halls, every bit as 'dressed up' as the people. Interestingly, November 11th, at 11:11AM, is known to be the start of the carnival season, which typically ends on Ash Wednesday, and is deeply rooted in the culture. The many masquerades and often very large and elaborate parades are mostly held in spring, however. Dates of observation of these traditions have changed over the centuries and do vary somewhat throughout the country.
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| Different medium, same motif with the bright orange pumpkin. |
Loving the creativeness that comes along with the disguise, Fritz and Waltraude have some great memories of carnival. Waltraude, having grown up with puppetry and theatre*, was and is, also very good at sketching and organizing ideas. Together they staged extraordinary parties, including fantastic wall decorations, costumes, fun and dance.
*Waltraude's father, Oskar Barthold was a renowned puppeteer in eastern Germany, although his marionette theatre and career in puppetry were eventually all destroyed by the politics of war and post war.
