CAPPADOCIA, TURKEY
Experiences and Memories turning into Art
Have you ever lived those periods of times, week by week, day by day, filled with intense experiences, and it is time after when you are able to process the dimension of the whole experience?
Alguna vez has vivido esos periodos de tiempo, semana a semana, dia a dia, colmados de experiencias intensas, y es un tiempo despues cuando tienes la capacidad de procesar la dimension de toda la experiencia?
From the month of August to the middle of September, I lived and worked in Cappadocia, Turkey. I was an artist in residency in Bayaban Culture House.
Del mes de Agosto a mediados de Septiembre, vivi y trabaje en Cappadoccia, Turquia. Estuve como artista residente en Casa Cultural Bayaban.
The Art Residence is located in the center of the UNESCO world heritage: Cappadocia, an area of 40.000 km2 of bizarre volcanic landscapes.
La residencia de arte se encuentra en el centro de lo que UNESCO declaro como herencia del mundo: Cappadocia, una area de 40.000 km2 de extravagante paisajes volcanicos .
Landscape with hundred of valleys full of decorative rock churches and monasteries. Including dramatic expanses of soft volcanic rock shaped by erosion into towers, cones, valleys and caves. Cappadoccia is an ancient district in east Anatolia, in the center of present day Turkey, a country I’ve never visited before.
Paisaje con cientos de valles llenos de iglesias y monasterios de roca decorada, Incluyendo dramaticas expasiones de suave roca volcanica formados por la erosion en torres, conos, valles y cuevas. Cappadocia es un antiguo distrito de Anatolia Este, en el centro de la Turkia de hoy, un pais que nunca antes habia visitado.
BAYABAN CULTURE HOUSE
The studio apartments of the art residency itself are restored cave houses 2000 years old.
Los apartamentos estudio de la residencia de arte son casas cueva restauradas de 2000 anos.
In my previous experiences in art residences I arrived with a clear idea of project I wanted to start working on, always of course, leaving space to further develop the ideas and to create new ones.
My project in Bayaban Cultural House was to create drawings and paintings inspired by the people and culture of the area, experimenting with arches and multimedia papers, materials suitable to work and mix a variety of mediums and techniques.
Mi proyecto en la Casa Cultural Bayaban era crear dibujos y pinturas inspirados por la gente y la cultura, de la area, experimentando con papeles arches y multimedia, materiales que permite trabajar y mezclar una variedad de medios y tecnicas.
“Weaver” 12″ x 16″ Liquid pencil and charcoal on multimedia paper
I must say, the first days I felt inhibited . What to paint? What to express?
The human figure has always been the main element in the compositions of my work The human being not just as a physical form but also as a multi-dimensional being.
It was intimidating for me to create images trying to express something about a culture and people I hardly knew.
Debo decir, los primeros dias me senti intimidada. Que pintar? que expresar?
“Woman” 12″ x 16″ Graphite and oil on multimedia paper. Sold
La figura humana ha sido siempre el elemento principal en la composicion de mi trabajo. El ser humano no solo como forma sino como un ser multi-dimensional.
Era intimidante para mi crear imagenes tratanto de expresar also sobre una cultura y gente que apenas conocia.
“Barriers” 12″ x 16″ Graphite, charcoal & oil on multimedia paper.
IBRAHIMPASA
Ibrahimpasa
Ibrahimpasa, where I lived and worked, is an authentic historical village in the heart of 
Cappadocia, where villagers still live the farmer life of hundreds of years ago. It’s an Islamic religious environment where respectful behavior is important.
Through the everyday life in the village, my walks though the canyons at sunset, exploring old caves, taking photograph of the light over the surreal forms of the landscapes, and the small trips and interaction with the people around the region and villages, it was inevitable to feel connected.
Ibrahimpasa, donde vivi y trabaje, es una autentico pueblo historico en el corazon de Cappadocia, donde los habitantes aun viven la misma vida rural desde hace cientos de anos. Es un ambiente religioso Islamico donde el comportamiento respetuoso es importante.
Atraves de la vida diaria en el pueblo, mis paseos entre los canones al atardecer, explorando viejas cuevas, tomando fotografias de la luz sobre las formas surreales de los paisajes, y mis pequenos viajes e interaccion con la gente alrrededor de la region y pueblos, fue inevitable sentirse conectada.
“Mosque”” 16″ x 12″ Liquid pencils, charcoal, acrylic and oil on multimedia paper. Sold
My first small drawings were more exploratory, to have a sense of the possibilities of the multimedia paper (new for me) mixing liquid pencils, graphite, acrylics and oils.
The images were thoughts about stillness and change, I wanted to capture moments of sensory presence, my intent, as always, is to communicate the links that make us universally connected despite our cultural differences
“Masque 2″ 12″ x 16” Acrylic and oil on multimedia paper
Mis primeros dibujos fueron mas exploratorios, para tener un sentido de las posibilidades de el papel multimedia, mezclando lapices liquidos, graphito, acrilicos y oleos.
Las imagenes son como pensamientos sobre quietud y cambio, queria capturar momentos de presencia sensorial, mi intento, como siempre, es comunicar los enlaces que nos hace universalmente conectados, apesar de nuestras diferencias culturales.
After I worked on larger pieces on arches paper mixing charcoal, graphite, acrylics and oils.
Despues trabaje images mas grandes sobre papel Arches mezclando carbon, grafito, acrilicos y oleos.
“Turkish dreams” 30″ x 22″ Charcoal and oil on Arches paper
“Neighbors” 22″ x 30″ Acrylic & liquid pencil on Arches paper
“Neighbors” (detail)
I lived in the Art Residence for 6 weeks, always knowing I would take with me more ideas for future art works than the ones I could create during the period of my residency.
Vivi en la Residencia de Arte por 6 semanas, siempre sabiendo que traeria conmigo mas ideas para futuras trabajos de arte de los que las que podria crear ahi durante el periodo de mi residencia
It has been some weeks since I returned home to my studio and the projects I was working on before my trip to Turkey and Spain. Now, finally I am digesting the experience. Little by little I am reliving visual memories of colors and textures, of caves with a print in their atmosphere that transcend the sense of time, of stories lived in the same space. While traveling, there was just time to live the present moment.
I am very inspired with new ideas from a place where the dense presence of its history is now interwoven with modern life. A place engulfed in human and ecological history where current struggles will shape its future destiny.
These first works in multimedia paper have raised in me the desire to continue exploring this material, no just the possibility to mix different mediums but also techniques in the same artwork.
Among the ideas I want to develop in my next paintings will be artwork based in combining techniques of painting and graphic art (printing) on the same piece on multimedia paper. This will include the use my own photographs from my experience in Turkey, in some cases create a collage with them and produce a digital image. After, I will employ a technique from intaglio to transfer the digital image to the multimedia paper to then draw and paint over it, using different medium and effects. I want to create imagery that is layered rather than juxtaposed, so when is finished the effect shows a dialog between dimensions, connected through transparencies, lines, color and textures. Work inspired by my journey to Turkey.
I will share with you the progress of this ideas , as well the other projects I currently working in my studio.
Ahora finalmente he regresado a casa, a mi estudio y proyectos despues de un largo viaje a Turquia y Espana,. Ahora, finalmente digiriendo la experiencia. Poco a poco, reviviendo momentos, memorias visuales de luz y texturas, de cueva con una huella en su atmosfera que trasiende el sentido del tiempo, de historias vividas en esel mismo estasio. Durante el viaje, solo habia espacio para vivir el momento presente.
Me siento muy inspirada con nuevas ideas de un lugar donde la densa presencia de su historia esta ahora entretejida con la vida moderna. Un lugar rodeado de historia humana y ecologica donde las presentes luchas formaran su destino futuro.
Estos primeros trabajos con el papel multimedia, han despertado mi interes por continuar explorando este material, no solo por la posibilidades de mezclar diferentes medios, pero tecnicas tambien.
Entre las ideas que quiero implementar en mis proximos trabajos, seran piezas basados en combinar tecnicas de pintura y grafica sobre el papel multimedia. Incluso emplear mis fotografias, en algunos casos con ellas crear collages y para posteriormente crear una imagen digital. Utilizando una tecnica de intaglio para transferir la imagen al el papel multimedia, para despues dibujar y pintar sobre la imagen empleando diferente medios y efectos. Quiero creando imagenes pictoricas en capas mas que yuxtapuestas, asi que cuando estan terminadas el efecto representa un dialogo entre dimensiones, conectadas atraves de transparencias, lines, colores y texturas. Trabajo inspirado en Turquia. Compartire con uds. el progreso de estas ideas asi como los proyectos en los que trabajo presentemente en mi estudio.
Corina del Carmel
2016