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Neustadt Art Festival 2024

27. Sep – 29. Sep

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Neustadt Art Kollektiv
Amt für Kultur- und Denkmalschutz der Landeshauptstadt Dresden
Stadtbezirksbeirat Dresden-Neustadt
Stiftung Äußere Neustadt Dresden

Prüfsiegel Leichte Sprache

Katja Tomzig

This translation has been produced automatically and may contain errors and inaccuracies. If you notice anything, please let us know.

  • born in 1975 in Dresden  |  2010 to 2021 Cologne  | Summer 2021 return to Dresden
  • 1993 – 1995: Study of Art and German Studies at the Technical University of Dresden
  • in the meantime: newspaper editor, photographer, press officer for a major event organizer, two burnouts
  • 2015 – 2017: Diploma studies in painting at the Free Art School Cologne
  • subsequently one semester of master’s studies with Alexander Rudy
  • November 2017 founding of the independent artist group Kunst für Menschen (which has fallen into a deep corona sleep)
  • April 2018 – September 2019: three semesters of study in traditional painting at the Fine Art Academy Cologne with Michael Hutter, Ivan P. Dimov and Guil Zekri; workshops with various international artists
  • since March 2019 working freelance under my real name Katja Tomzig with the “Facets of Creation” (until then as Kato)
  • represented in Cologne by Galerie KARAK, Naumannstraße 7 from autumn 2019 to autumn 2022

My series of paintings FACETS OF CREATION and how it came to me

Both of my grandfathers and my father painted a lot and I painted with them since I was little. My goal was to be able to paint like the old masters. After twelve years of school and four semesters of studying to become an art teacher, it became clear to me that I would never achieve my goal this way. So, reluctantly, I turned to other tasks that did not make me happy.

On my 40th birthday, I said to myself, “If you want to be happy with what you do every day, you have to find the school now where you finally learn what you always wanted to learn!” And I searched and found two private art schools in my former city of Cologne. I visited these schools successively and came so close to my goal that it was good for me. And then my FACETS OF CREATION came to me and have made me happy in my work ever since.

By chance, years earlier, I discovered a multitude of creatures in a paint-splattered sheet of paper and enthusiastically traced them with a pen. I remembered this during a long, boring illness in spring 2019 and took a stack of splatter paper with me to my sofa and, lying down, freed one being after another from the splatter and brought them into our world. It was so fascinating and exciting that I still paint my series of paintings FACETS OF CREATION today. The first paintings fit on a clipboard and were more like drawings, today the pictures are up to 140cm wide and partly fully colored. I work with egg tempera, watercolor paint and pencils, water-soluble metallic paint, and sometimes with coffee, tea, or juices on various types of paper. When I have finished a painting, I am already curious about who will come to me next.

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As a child, I already knew that our perspective is somehow limited – much more exists and acts around us than we can see. When I rediscovered the creatures in the splashes of color, it quickly became clear to me that these kind of paintings, in addition to the joy they spread, are also a wonderful way to convey an impression of what is possible when one expands and applies their heart and horizon, unfolds and applies their creative power.

Really everything is possible, it depends on each individual what they bring into their field of vision. We can all live in a beautiful world full of wonders. Starting today.

When I’m not rescuing creatures from splashes of color, for example, I imagine plants that relax and beautify the lives of many beings here on Earth – like the EbaHuri tree. Its football-sized fruits in red and yellow taste like strawberries or bananas when raw, and like beef or chicken when cooked or fried. Its shell is better than leather and the huge petals make the finest paper in the world when dried. It blooms and ripens all year round and once a year it sheds its entire bark, which makes excellent material for furniture or houses. When I have put everything on paper, I will publish it and I believe that the more people have seen the new plants, the more likely they will grow in our meadows. Don’t you think so? I will try it out and I am already very excited 🙂

And here is my very first discovery picture from 2005 on the back of a already crumpled cover sheet of a sign block that was meant to be thrown away.

THE THING WITH LOVE

One beautiful day in 2019, I heard Sandra Weber (www.theki.eu) say the following words on you+ube: “The next time you leave the house: Look at everyone you meet and think, ‘I love you.’ You don’t have to feel it or say it out loud – thinking is enough. And see what happens.” *

I listened attentively and thought that it fit perfectly into my private experimentation series for a better togetherness.

An extensive field of experimentation opened up the following day. To finance my late art studies, I worked in a small privately run specialty shop for artists’ supplies in the city center of a West German metropolis.

So I set off in the morning and the number of encounters increased gradually, so that I could “fall in love” well. But when I changed trains at a junction, it looked completely different. “I love you,” “I love you,” “love you, love you” …… about 70 people came towards me, none of them looked at me. I loved them all. Even the city pigeons that were open to it. Suddenly, in the middle of the crowd, there was a broad smile – a young man with a funny little hat looked directly into my face as he passed by. He was the only one.

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My train arrived, I took a seat by the door and was busy with all the “I love yous” on the train, outside the windows, when passengers were getting on and off.

It is always said that the universe (alternatively God, the source, the angels) sends you a sign when you are not quite sure about what you are doing. I felt confirmed when the girl-deer sculpture right by the tracks held out a big, bright red heart-shaped balloon towards me today – encouraged, I continued to love as much as I could!

Although, that could have also been a coincidence… As if the universe noticed my doubts, right after that came a real confirmation hammer: Just before I had to get off, the young man with the funny hat (who had walked past me in the other direction earlier) suddenly stood right in front of my seat, looked at me penetratingly and said: “Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop!”

I was completely thrown off. And even today, it still gives me goosebumps.

It was clear that I had to tell all of this to my colleague before starting work. We were four mini-jobbers and all very interested in the path to a better world, so we regularly exchanged new insights and experiences. Therefore, she was immediately enthusiastic and we decided to spend the entire day with love – with united strength.

“Wonderful” and “magical” are two very weak words to describe the course of the following hours. It was simply unbelievable: Customers stayed at the cash register after paying and eventually said, “I already have everything, but it’s so nice here, I don’t want to leave.” Even usually difficult regular customers had lost all arrogance and were obviously delighted.

Most impressive to me were the reactions of the children. They looked at me spellbound with huge eyes and didn’t want to move away. A father came back with the child on his shoulders and said, “He absolutely wanted to come back to you and wouldn’t be dissuaded.” After we had looked into each other’s eyes deeply again, the little one could go. I was deeply touched.

This day was a revelation. It was clear that the power of thinking, giving love is mighty. Potentially amplified by just two lovers. Since then, I want to know what happens if ALL – or even just a hundred or a thousand people – love everyone they meet for just one day (as I said, thinking the words is enough – it also works with people who would otherwise be difficult for you :). What power! How quickly would the earth rise?

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This is the reason why I wrote down this story. And because I asked the universe what I can do directly and constructively myself to make the collective awakening and the beginning of the new era happen faster. And because the answer was: “You are already doing it, now write it down and share it with people!”

In this sense: Thank you for your attention and see you soon in the new world 🙂

* Addition: Today I finally remembered who spoke the inspiring words back then! It was Sandra Weber (whom many may know through THEKI) – my heartfelt thanks to you, dear Sandra.