Letter from Dorothy and Johannes Glaw

Letter from Dorothy and Johannes Glaw

Gütersloh, Germany, 5th October, 2013

Dear William,

We feel a strong desire to write these lines for you, Carys and all those, like us who loved you and remember you dearly.

Not a week goes by here in Gütersloh  (Westfalia) when we do not have a look at your pictures and think about you. Not only we two, Johannes and Dorothee share mutual meetings and talks, but also many inhabitants of Gütersloh have you in their memories since you have often been to this city. Due to this fact, as well as through your open-hearted manner, you have got to know a lot of people. Many art enthusiasts have been able to admire (and in some cases buy) your works; pupils of the Evangelisches Stiftisches Grammar School have experienced you and through your particularly instructive manner have learnt the techniques of wood block cutting for prints. You quickly managed to get into contact with artists from Gütersloh,  and within the framework of “Symposium Young Arts” you had been able to have varied meetings with young artists from different countries, for example from Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands as well as Peru. During these art events, you not only worked together but you also lived, discussed a lot, and now and then celebrated together with us. Through this, you came closer to each other, in some cases friendships were formed, but it was through your open-minded manner in the way you approached people who had a considerable influence on the group in question. In connection with this, you always had an open ear for the artists from East European countries when they described the problems of everyday life there and you conducted serious discussions while having a glass of beer (sometimes more than one). Apart from this, you managed to demonstrate to the young artists using your inimitable technique how to complete a wood cutting, how to experiment within this medium and even to work together with them on a block of wood. All of them shared this with you, despite or perhaps because of your professionalism and because you always remained yourself. You never pushed yourself into the limelight, although your pictures in their archaic interpretation have always been at the forefront! This is what the artists who had met you esteemed highly but also those from Gütersloh who got to know you. You were more than just an artist, you were William, our friend.

When we both (Johannes and Dorothee) browse through our guest book in which many other artists from all over the world and over the past 20 years have written something, then we are particularly attentive to those pages which you have written, drawn or painted. But the question is: Where did we really get to know each other?

 

2.

It was at the end of the 1980s when Johannes and William first met during a project organised by Johannes within the framework of an internationally relevant branch of art known as Mail Art. In this case, William participated in the project with a contribution called “Bookmarks” involving potato prints.

20131017143816022

After this, the two of them developed a stream of correspondence and impressed by William’s works, Johannes invited William to exhibit his art in Gütersloh in 1990. As a result, William came to Gütersloh for the first time and the two men got to know each other, creating empathy on both sides.  And so during the time when William lived in Johannes’ home, while drinking a pint of beer or a cider, they were able to discuss splendidly topics such as history, philosophy and myths, art, put in a nutshell, the important things in life. Out of this first meeting, due to a shared feeling of mutual kinship, an intensive contact developed which turned into a genuine friendship later.

During one of William’s stays in Gütersloh there was a humorous incident.  One evening there was a ring at the doorbell. Johannes opened the door and to his great surprise two policemen carrying machine-guns stood at the door. Apart from this, the whole house was surrounded with police cars. Frightening! The police questioned Johannes about his “strange” guest and asked for William’s personal documents. What was the reason? During that afternoon, William had gone for a walk through the living quarters of the Royal Air Force which is adjacent to Johannes’ house and during this walk had made drawings and sketches. This fact drew the attention of the inhabitants living nearby who then informed the police. They thought that perhaps he was a member of the IRA. This assumption was influenced by his appearance as well as the fact that the IRA had conducted several attacks on the British Forces during that time. In a fully relaxed manner, William showed the police his Canadian pass and after apologizing, the police swiftly left.

In the summer of 1993, Johannes and Dorothee travelled to Bridgend for the first time to see William and Carys. On the first evening during our completely hearty meeting, William served us a duck soup and revealed his passion for cooking. Again and again William was interested in recipes from Germany, especially those involving dumplings from the South of Germany. The question is if he ever prepared these dumplings in Wales.

Already again in January 1993, Johannes went to Bridgend for a few days, in this case in connection with an exhibition. Then in June, William and Carys came to Gütersloh for a few days. During this time, there was an event involving a meal of fish in a restaurant in Bielefeld called “Kleine Plötze” (“The Little Roach”) where prawns were served in generous quantities. William, Carys and Gilbert Bender (a friend and artist from Bielefeld) enjoyed this pleasure to the full. Unfortunately, Johannes (who does not like prawns) was unable to feel the same degree of enthusiasm. Inspired by the prawns, William was able to do a drawing for our guest book.

20131017143926246thumb

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only a few weeks later in September, William came to Gütersloh again, this time as a participant in the “Third Symposium Young Arts” which  had been arranged internationally for the first time. William was not only the heart and soul of the group of artists, but also he was bound through a strong relationship to Maxim Issaev from Russia. The way both of them sat down with a glass of whisky in a melancholic atmosphere and began philosophising and where Maxim said “…is really good but not Vodka” remains unforgettable. Of course, William stayed with Johannes and Dorothee, the other artists lived with other families with whom the two are on friendly terms. And so William became “Fifi- the au pair (bear)”and among other things even cooked for the other artists in the group. William was very creative with the house work so that even the most boring jobs became events; facts which he recorded in our “Meetings” book in a humorous manner.

20131017144716274thumb

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, William was a participant in the “Symposium of Young Arts” in Gütersloh, and in this case in March 2000. And once again William was the heart and soul of the group who infected the art group with his brilliance and   enthusiasm. And when the long day ended in the studio, it was William who made sure that all participants played their role in tidying up so as to be ready for the next day. Another of William’s merits was the fact that he made sure that the group of artists became a team and that this team came to an understanding of the new area in which they lived, especially with the city of Gütersloh. He himself had often chosen the “Apostelkirche” in the old centre of Gütersloh as a motif for his wood block prints which also exists as a drawing in our guest book.

20131017144018051thumb

 

 

 

 

20131017143738456

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We two, (Johannes and Dorothee) visited you, William and Carys in Bridgend in 2008. At that time we visited the new studio – the church- and there, William pronounced Johannes as “priest”; an act which was very typical for him. In the middle of hundreds of canvases and thousands of sketches, it became very clear to us what an incredible variety and richness your works had become during all those years, William. It was a real adventure for us to experience the atmosphere in this studio for a few hours and to browse in and admire your body of works, your colourful paintings and vigorous wood carvings (even though these rooms were without heating). This must have been awful for you especially in winter but you solved the problem in your way through short visits to the local pub “to warm up”. However, even then we noticed that you were ill. Despite this, you wanted to go on a trip to Tenby in order to show us Thomas Dylan’s house. We enjoyed this day with you and Carys even though this would be our last mutual trip. We miss you.