Workshop ten
Germany 2008  
15 women travel from Chartres to Berlin via Leipzig - Helga, Helma, Yoshi, Christine, Systa, Doreen, Mimi, Ellen, Ginger, Marie, Mary, Cornelia, Sachiko, Holly, Ceda
20 years after the exhibition ‘36 Women from 12 Countries‘ 1988 toured to the ‘Centre International Du Vitrail’ WIGW were offered their vaulted exhibition space for a duration of one year, presenting the group, which included members who had shown there 20 years earlier also with a fabulous catalogue-book titled Capter la Lumière - Gathering Light.

This much celebrated event was attended by all 20 members, followed by a tour from Chartres to Paris and by TGV into Germany and on to Berlin – now a reunited booming city with many old museums and new galleries for international art - visiting the Rhineland on its way, the traditional centre for Stained Glass in Germany. With stops

 - in Kevelaer at one of the oldest Stained Glass studios where some of the group (Ellen, Holly, Linda, Systa, Yoshi and Helga) met for the first time at the workshops  by J.Poensgen in 1984 +‘86, expressing there the wish to work and exhibited together for the first time. They got to know G. Meistermann, J. Klos, J. Schreiter a.o. and their work, most in situ, welcoming in 2008 the oppor-tunity to share German Modern Stained Glass with their colleagues, beginning with a special trip

 - to  Aachen to visite  Ludwig Schaffrath in his studio, witnessing and talking with him on his latest works -

 - to Cologne to see the Gothic cathedral and some Romanesque churches, all with famous  wind-ows  f. ex. by Gerhard Richter, Wilhelm Buschulte, Georg Meistermann, Jan Thorn Prikker , visit art museums with new and old art, some in situ - like a Roman Floor Mosaic and most precious glass artefacts made in Cologne by Roman craftsmen,

 - to  Neuss to relax in a Nature + Sculpture Park with in-door painting pavillons, 

 - to Jena, Erfurt, Leipzig  (now East-Germany) for more glass from the 12th to the 20th century, having hired a mini-bus for their convenience. They attended a guided tour through The Bauhaus- School and Master-Houses in Dessau and visited in Halle the famous Burg Giebichenstein to hear about its history of art-education, before finally arriving

Berlin - for more famous glass works at the Gedächnis-Kirche with glass-walls by Gabriel Loire from Chartres, new work by Johannes Schreiter and Wilhelm Buschulte. More museums with old and contemporary art and galleries  and a Bauhaus Housing development, recently well restored to set an example for social housing. As well as a memorial site for The Wall for first-time visitors.

The Berlin days were well arranged by local member Helma Sauerbrey who grew up and lived most of her life in West-Berlin. Most enjoyable for all participants she included a visit to the Philharmonic Hall with a concert directed by Daniel Barenboim, loving to share art and culture in this lively international city with the group. After two glorious weeks together – from meeting in Chartres  to the final ‚good-bye‘ in Germany - it was good to know of the next meeting in Iceland in 2010 and start looking forward to the next meeting: there is this great joint longing for continuity in the group, - this learning and experiencing of different cultures, their history and expression that spurs us on.

Helga Reay-Young 2008