Green - the awakening of nature and spirit

For me the winter 2019/2020 felt to be extremely long. Since it was never really cold, and there have been no falls of snow in our region – it seemed just to be a continuation of autumn. The sky was mostly covered with a layer of a rather undefined gray. No sunshine for weeks – all around there seemed to be an atmosphere of sadness. There was something in the air which could not be explained – at least I had no explanation.

December 2019: in December people’s state of mind seemed to be pretty low. The usual excitement during the weeks before Christmas was missing. This, however, was not only my impression – my friends and many other people felt the same way. Finally, there was a change: I saw people carrying Christmas trees into their homes – there was hope! The ever green trees, even so they were not yet decorated, obviously brightened up moods and faces alike. With the fir-trees and fir-branches people were bringing nature into their homes and this seemed to have an enormous effect on their well-being. I also had bought fir-branches and decorated my balcony and my livingroom with them and I immediately felt much better. I became aware of the power of the dark green color when I looked at the twigs and branches, I deeply inhaled their fresh resinous scent and indulged in a certain serenity that filled my room and my spirit alike.

Креативная экономика и социальные инновации Creative Economics and Social Innovations

It is March 2020: my windows wide open to a beautiful blue sky, we have a bright sunny day, but an icy cold wind is blowing from the North into my face while taking a walk in the nearby park. Birds are busy in the bushes and trees – the only noise to be heard at that time of “crises” is the singing and chattering of the birds around and the song of the floating water of the small river Usa on my right. There are no planes and scarcely any cars. Worldwide the Corona Virus is in full swing scaring most people and out of fear they stay at home. Thus, the park is rather empty – only the daring folks – mostly families with children are enjoying this sunny spring afternoon outdoors, because it is nearly impossible to keep kids inside for several days in a row and besides, fresh air certainly strengthens the immune system.

Today’s walk in Bad Nauheim’s “Kurpark” leads me now alongside the large lawns on my left. I become more and more attentive and notice the mighty oaks, beech-trees and other kinds of interesting even exotic trees, some of them more than 150 years old – and here and there some exotic “youngsters”, which are surrounding the lawns. These trees are still without any leaves. Some of their trunks are thick, strong and all of a dark color, a dark gray or even black. However, on some trunks, mainly of beech-trees, I notice moss creeping upwards from the ground. Its color is this special “moss-green”, very different from the grass-green around. I walk over and touch the moss: it feels warm and soft – like velvet – a physical and mental sensation alike.

Continuing my walk, I become more and more attentive while looking around: the growing grass on the large lawns – still short but what a juicy color of fresh GREEN. Here and there are hundreds of daffodils forming large flower patches looking like yellow carpets. Their stems and leaves have quite a different nuance of green in comparison with the surrounding grass – and isn`t it wondrous to notice – dependent on the ankle of the sunlight falling on them – that their leaves are getting a different shade of green. And look over there: do you see the huge carpets in white? It looks as if there were patches of snow – no, no snow, but thousands of daisies enjoying the sunshine. What an uplifting joyous experience. Nature is not only awakening but also seems to have recovered from pollution. Never have we seen such huge amounts of “daisy carpets” and other wild flowers in the last years. It’s a very special time. There is new life, there is hope! I feel and actually inhale the new energy [1].

I am not sure if I ever watched the awakening nature in the park so attentively and with so much awareness as I did consciously during this very walk. The difference is due to my goal: to write a paper for the Samara Project “Anthropology of Color 2020” [2]. This year’s topic is to submit a paper about the color GREEN. I decided to write about my very personal observations of GREENS in nature and their eventual impact on my artwork, mind and spirit. Thus, this “awareness trip” is the beginning of my contribution and gives me much pleasure.

Now I slender towards the Small Lake that is separated from the Big Lake by a pretty very old stone-bridge. In the midst of the lake is a small fountain jumping up

Креативная экономика и социальные инновации Creative Economics and Social Innovations and down. Its splashing sound is like music to me. And then, there “she” is: my beauty, the huge Weeping Willow. Her branches with new very light-green leaves are hanging downwards nearly touching the water on one side and the grass on the other side. Her body – a big trunk in the center – is stretching two strong arms sideways while the body itself is gracefully stretching towards the sky. The hanging branches, give the impression of a green veil very elegantly dancing with the wind. I observe the show in awe.

This for me represents the rebirth of nature on this very spring day. It gives me joy, hope and the assurance that life continues. I feel inspired in the sense that I have the longing to express my creativity again after quite a long rest during winter time. I feel my blood circulating and I am sure that now is the time for making new plans and to become active.

This very spring walk of mine assured me that the color GREEN symbolizes life itself – the source of life, its beginning in spring, freshness, well-being, you feel peaceful and connected with the exploding nature – especially when sitting under a tree or walking in the woods. There is music in the air – the sound of leaves being moved by the wind – there is dance but at the same time I feel grounded, too. All this is inspiration – all this is reawakening the artist in me – I am looking forward to the NEW.

June 2020: the end of spring has undoubtedly come: all trees have leaves; some have blossoms others still only buds. In May, when the chestnut trees where blooming in the park opposite my window, they looked like huge white respectively red clouds. Now, a few weeks later, the “clouds” turned into GREEN. From here, of course, I cannot see the baby-chestnuts developing but I watch them on my walks through the park. They look so cute; their color is of a light fresh green and each of them is covered with a “dress” of soft white stings. At this point it comes to my mind that green is probably the dominant color on our planet? I never thought about this ever before.

There is something else that catches my attention: the sky. I am living now for nearly six years in this city and never saw a really blue sky in summer or during any other season. This spring, however, due to Corona shut- or lock-downs, the sky is blue and at some days smaller or larger puffy white clouds are floating in front mostly driven by a cool wind from the North. The scenery is completed by the saturated greens below. Miracles happen!

Again, I pay a visit to my favorite tree, the Weeping Willow: her leaves are now green on the upper side and a kind of white on the bottom side, her branches are hanging heavily downwards and her body is perfectly covered by this “dress”. Some weeks ago, I totally overlooked the two groups of birch-trees growing within a small distance right and left of my friend. Finally, they catch my attention because they have leaves now. They look stunning with their slender elegant black-white trunks

Креативная экономика и социальные инновации

Creative Economics and Social Innovations and all the fresh green leaves. I pick some of them for my tea later on and the remainders, I shall dry for another tea-time.

Green in art-painting works by Ursula-Maria (Uma) Ruser-Bräuning

Креативная экономика и социальные инновации

Creative Economics and Social Innovations

Continuing my walk and crossing the bridge, I see with pleasure many ducks and Canadian wild geese with their off-springs enjoying a swim in the Big Lake. The surrounding bank of the lake is grown with darker and lighter greenery of various bushes and trees. Everything looks so fresh! I leave the lake, pass the Restaurant on my left and walk towards the forest only five minutes away. There I sit down on a bench under a mighty green roof of large trees enjoying the special air, the birds singing and the peacefulness of the place – I feel grounded, grateful and one with nature.

After returning to my place, I sit down at my desk to reflect on the question whether I had produced any significant artwork in which the color GREEN was dominating. To my mind came the “Zen”-paintings I had done in workshops with a Zen-Master in the years 2008/2010. During that time, I learned the special technique of bamboo painting and Japanese calligraphy.

In the latter I used instead of the usual color black very often GREEN, sometimes red. Thus, I show in the attached page my special, as I call them, “Calligraphic Inspirations”. They are the meditative outflow of one breath with brush and color on paper. They have no meaning – except the meaning the viewer discovers in them for himself. Then I choose some Bamboo paintings in which the color GREEN dominates. Finally, I remembered a painting from 1952. It was in school and the task was to paint a tree. Interesting: even at age 13 the Weeping Willow obviously has been my favorite tree.

The painting in the center – a mixed media collage – is showing two very different groups of people; they are still separated but seem to have the intention to meet. In this sense I want to conclude my contribution to the 2020 Samara Project on Anthropology of Color with the following thought: may all people be able to meet peacefully and freely when and where ever they want during this very special time as well as in the future – supported by the color GREEN symbolizing Freedom, Life and Peacefulness.