Out of Office - Hidden Talents

The company I work for set up a fun event they called Out of Office. The basic idea was to showcase creative work done by employees outside of working hours. 

Our large lobby area is currently filled with paintings, photographs, clothing designs and other types of artwork. I was so impressed by them that I contacted some of the participants, and a few of them allowed me to shows pictures of their work here on my blog.

Give it up for my talented colleagues!

Chiara Wu painted some amazing large pieces: vegetables on found materials, with beautiful calligraphy added. My favorite picture, however, was this one.

by Chiara Wu

I just love the facial expression, the chopped carrots and the hints of gold. 

Chiara Wu can be found on tumblr.

Phoebe Heess designs high tech, high fashion clothing. Here are some pieces from her collection "Black Hole Sun."

by Phoebe Heess

A closeup of the centerpiece.

by Phoebe Heess

Phoebe Heess can be found here. Stop by to read the best ever slogan on wearing black. 

Adrien Wira had several pieces I admired. Here's an example that speaks to my sci-fi heart. You can find much more of his impressive work here.

by Adrien Wira

Finally, Matthias Walter brought humor and Star Wars (!) into the event with his collection May the Art Be With You. For more from Matthias, including more Star Wars pieces, click here.

by Matthias Walter

I hope you enjoyed the creativity of my colleagues! Maybe you'll even want to ask your workplaces to set up something similar!


All photos taken by me.

St. Georgskirche - A Fortified Church

This summer, I was invited to a friend's wedding. She was married near Nuremberg, in a fascinating, 700-year-old, fortified church: St. Georgskirche Kraftshof.

image by Karl-Otto Eichwalder via Flickr

Fortified churches were built not only as a place to worship, but for the locals to flee to in times of conflict. They have thick walls, towers and battlements.

In the pictures above and below, you can see the towers at each corner of the wall protecting the church. It was built in 1315 and withstood several wars, only to be destroyed in World War II. After the war, it was rebuilt.

image by helst1-off via Flickr

Inside the walls, there's a gatehouse and a cemetery. 

image by Karl-Otto Eichwalder via Flickr

 

Graveyard inside the walls. Image by me.

Statue in the graveyard. Don't blink. Image by me.

For more information, see the church's official website. Unfortunately, my pictures inside didn't turn out, but the collection of pictures on the official website is great.