Marlene Koenig

WHAT PASSES BETWEEN US OVER CAFE TABLES … A Book by Marlene Koenig & Greg Cantrell

A collaboration over coffee …inspired by our travels and art journals

PURCHASE BOOK IN SHOP

This collaboration was born in a cafe in Berlin . we have been traveling extensively together , from Europe, to India , and along all along the way , we both keep detailed journals. In recent years , we began to merge our separate journals together, Greg’s writing within Marlene’s images, and Marlene’s images within Greg’s writing . We pass these journals across the table to each other, and each contributes to what becomes something more and more interesting than it is separately . From these journals, we have come home and created well over 50 mixed media pieces, that colorfully and poetically reflect our experiences in each place we’ve been . This work has become much more than “Travel Journals”, and are rather works of art coming out of our impressions as we share them from place to place .

The concept of Philosophy as a Way of Life , in both the sense that the Hindus use it (intensive learning, and corresponding way of living ), and how the Ancient Greek Stoics used it ( the Writing of the Self , living “A Way of Life as a Work of Art “ ) , is a concept that appeals to us very deeply . We believe that keeping the journals as we do on our travels, and then using them to create art work that reflects our impressions as we travel, goes a long way to enacting this concept . This book includes images and poetry, drawings, writings, and collage, based on everything we have taken from our journals . The book is put together in the manner of an Art Journal , and deliberately looks like something that has been carried around from country to country . The evocative imagery , and flow of words, that come together are presented in a way that celebrates the life of traveling and creating .

our book is 8”x8” and 172 pages of full color with a couple extra surprises ❤️

If you would like to purchase a copy please visit my shop .The first 108 copies sold will include a handmade original abstract collage numbered and signed by me sweetly tucked into its pages as a special thank you.

When we travel, we usually rent an apartment in a neighborhood chock full of cafes, galleries, music venues, street art, and bookstores. These neighborhoods very often do not provide much in the way of tourist attractions, but always serve up a generous helping of Boho Vibes…

A place that has become very special to us is URBAN SPREE, in Berlin-Friedrichshain.

Th video below is of a Collage we put together one late afternoon at one of the great big tables in the Biergarten of Urban Spree, watching the sunset over Berlin, listening to funky reggae…

To learn more about Urban Spree, visit their website at www.urbanspree.com

Up top a photo of me making art at URBAN SPREE 2019

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I fell in love with Budapest 3 decades ago while traveling as a college student. I returned with Greg in 2016 and it was just as wonderful as I remembered it. Like Berlin, Budapest has become a city we have returned to repeatedly, staying in the neighborhood of the 7th District — Erzsebetvaros.

Like Urban Spree in Berlin, Szimpla Kert Ruin Pub is an artwork in and of itself — a sprawling and fascinating complex that inspires collage-making during the day, and caters to the Bar Crowd in the evenings…

However, mornings are for coffee and eggs, and Sundays one can even enjoy a farmer’s market in the courtyard, while leaning on the hood of an old Soviet era car…

A great deal of our book was conceived and composed here: A perfect place to start the day, spend the entire day, and then come back for one more at the end of the day…

Below are some pictures of Szimpla although the magic cannot be captured by a photograph

for more info about Szimpla visit en.szimpla.hu

The piece “Sarajevo - Cafe Birtija”, page 51 in the book, was written the morning after a very profound evening walk… Talula, Penelope, and I had walked up the winding and beautiful Kavaci Street, twisting and turning up and around until we found ourselves surrounded by graves and cemeteries dedicated to all of those who lost their lives during the Seige of Sarajevo… The Seige lasted from April 2, 1992 until February 29, 1996 (“3 years, 10 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days”)… The walk took us up to the Yellow Fortress overlooking the entire city (one can read about the history of this Fortress as well… ), including the gravesites on the sides of the hills sloping down into the beautiful valley… On our walk back down, profoundly moved, we found Cafe Birtija, and sat silently in the twilight. We loved this cafe, and the friendly people frequenting it… The next morning, I returned, and spoke with 2 old local men and the proprietor about our walk the previous evening, and they shared with me their own stories of enduring the Seige, and the sufferings of the people of Sarajevo during it… They spoke to me of such miseries in voices that were jovial, without bitterness, and with joy for life that moved me deeply… After hearing of their trials, all I could do was sit there, stunned and deeply affected, and write these few words through my emotions… Our fingers and hands are indeed capable of ANYTHING, sadly… A bit later, joined by Talula and Penelope, we took this photo from our seat at Cafe Birtija of the Tea House across the street (the Cajdzinica Dzirlo, p. 50 in the book), because, after what we had learned, we thought it was so wonderful to see young people enjoying themselves freely and happily here, today, in THIS Sarajevo…

Below are a few photos of what was rather difficult to describe above:

As I have mentioned the collages in our book or a combination of handmade cut and paste pieces reworked a bit digitally. Above are Videos of a bit of that process with the addition of Greg reading some of his rhythm and rhyme.

Below is a piece inspired by the peristyle of Diocletian palace in SPLIT CROATIA and the unseen birds singing

Below enjoy a quick flip through our book WHAT PASSES BETWEEN US OVER CAFE TABLES