New Article in Sudwest Presse

Hey! Whose name is that at the top of the paper?? Why….it’s meeeeee!!!

That’s right, I’m in the Südwest Presse newspaper here in Horb….AGAIN! And no, it’s not for being a public nuisance, excessive chatting, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, or shoplifting dark chocolate. It’s for one of my new art projects here at the Antonie-Leins Residency. Whaaaat?? I KNOW!

This story actually began many weeks ago. A reporter from the local paper named Hans-Michael Griess tracked me down because he heard that there was a new Artist at the Residency and he thought it would make a good story. During the interview we talked about art and and the different ideas that I had for upcoming projects. One idea that he liked a lot was my plan to create small clay figures and place them in various places around the village where people can find them and take them home. Some of the small figures, or figurines, would even be inspired by actual people that I’ve met during my visit. So from inception to reception this would be a wonderful community-based project!

The article that Hans-Michael wrote about me appeared in the Sudwest Presse paper a little more than a month ago – sometime back in mid-June. You can read about it in my previous Blog Post:  https://www.bonnieleeturner.com/travel/the-sudwest-presse-article/

Fast Forward: A couple of weeks ago Hans-Michael followed up on the status of my little Figures Project. I told him that I had been working on it and it was finally coming to fruition. He asked if he could stop by the Residency again for a second interview. Once again we chatted in the courtyard, and he snapped a few pictures of me holding one of the pieces.

You can see that one plus some of the other small clay pieces on my Figures page: https://www.bonnieleeturner.com/figures/

Since our meeting I’ve been checking to see when his article would be published. Well…the newspaper article finally came out yesterday!

The article is in German, obviously, but here is the English translation – which may be a little choppy because translations are usually a little rough around the edges:

Clay Figures Inspire Stories

With an adventurous project, the American artist Bonnie Lee Turner says goodbye after a short stay at the Antonie-Leins-Künstlerinnenhaus in Horb. By Hans Michael Greiss

Attentive fellow citizens can discover her miniatures in selected places during the next week and save them from decay.

Do you have to travel 6,000 miles to notice and appreciate Horb’s hidden or easily overlooked gems? Bonnie Lee Turner has discovered a whole treasure chest of them and presented them in her blog to friends all over the world. To whom would the Grabenbachtor on Altheimer Strasse be worth even a cursory notice? Bonnie tells a whole story about it! In 2018 she was already once in Horb, the metallic bench in the Art-Park testifies to it. Now she has again taken the opportunity for a short stay in the Neckarstadt. As admirably as she designs her mosaics, such as the one in the baptistery of her native Rhode Island, she eloquently describes her observations and experiences, which can also be enjoyed in German thanks to an excellent translation program.

With her characteristic sharpness of observation, Bonnie has looked around Horb in recent weeks, met fellow citizens hurrying to church, which inspired her to create a praying figure. On the Neckar, swans drew their quiet circles over the water. The newly hatched chick found artistic expression in a clay figure. In the meantime, 15 palm-sized figurines have been created in this way, which Bonnie will leave at some of her favorite places in the last days before her departure at the turn of the month (the SÜDWEST PRESSE reported). In easily accessible public places, starting next weekend, mainly white finely chiseled animal and human figurines will appear, which Bonnie Lee Turner wants to give a life of their own. For if they remain undiscovered, the next rain will turn the unfired clay back into earth, as a sign of transience. In dry shelter, however, they are granted a life of several years. Therefore, the Horb lover appeals to go in search and save the clay figurines. Whoever finds them may keep them. She asks for a certain caution because of the fragility of the unfired clay, which does not have the stability of porcelain. As a clear identification symbol, all of them bear a signature with the homepage address on the bottom. There she will also present her models and call for another art action.

Every person is an artist, Josef Beuys once claimed. Turner is now calling on all finders to tell a story about the place of discovery, the surroundings and the life of her little figure and to upload it to her homepage: bonnieleeturner.com. In this way, she wants to present her beloved Horb to the whole world as an artistic and creative town.

(Newspaper: Südwestpresse /Neckar-Chronik , Schillerstraße 22, 72160 Horb am Neckar)

Just wanted to share the exciting news! So many more things to say – will Post again as soon as I have time!

Bonnie