Who we are...
Lydia Fenzel & Christoph Goral
Above all, we are two courageous dreamers
who are convinced of this,
that wishes can become reality .
You are in the centre of the evidence!
Lydia was a teacher and gave young people
access to art.
As a coach, she now initiates
artistic processes for people of all ages.
Christoph leads as
master stonemason & stone sculptor
a workshop for stone restoration & design.
Historical buildings and their
stone wealth are being worked on,
but also monuments in public spaces
and grave memorials.
Christoph
Tell me about it...
oh, I was just really lucky.
I experienced the reunification of the two German states as a teenager. After completing my A-levels in art, I decided against studying to be a teacher and became a stonemason and sculptor.
Our eastern part of the country lay dormant for half a century and had a lot of catching up to do in terms of heritage conservation. So I was able to learn and work on proportions, traditional techniques and surface forms in a lively, practical way on Romanesque monasteries, Gothic hall churches and castles or Renaissance town houses, as well as Baroque decorative forms and contemporary expression.
This made me realise that I am a small part of a craft that is thousands of years old.
That still impresses me today. I try to develop my own from the marvellous formal language of the ancients and locate it in the present.
I can work completely analogue and with the tried and tested historical tools. This results in a tangible appeal and haptic sovereignty.
My work fills me with deep satisfaction.
I can't imagine anything else, but nothing better.
Lydia
When are you happy?
.. when I feel "wide", because no constraint restricts me..., e.g. also when I am working a stone - and preferably on Ærø
... or when I experience "humanity", which gives me hope that everything can turn out well after all
... and whenever "love" determines what I do and I'm passionate about what I'm doing - whatever it is.
What are your hopes for the sculpture courses?
... inspiring encounters with others
... fulfilling emotion through creative activity
... open exchange of ideas in an atmosphere of trust
What do you see as the speciality of the courses?
... in the possibility of focussing on oneself
... in the fascinating emergence of reality from an idea
... in the creative and technical formulation of a thought
Why Ærø ?
... because I feel / because you feel surrounded by good energy on Ærø, which is defined by the special interaction between the people and the landscape.
... because Ærø basically makes me feel confident
... because I associate Ærø with "arriving".