275/365: Ghosts in Beelitz

275/365: Ghosts in Beelitz, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

October 2nd

I have a friend in Berlin who has a predicament; she is very fond of abandoned places, and yet can find no one among her circle of acquaintances with the same appreciation for them. Fortunately, Berlin and Łódź are only a train ride away, and what are weekends for?

She took me to Beelitz, a foresty place, with a sprawling sanatorium among the trees. Beelitz Heilstätten was a tuberculosis hospital built in 1898. During WWI it was converted into a general military hospital, then later in 1945 the Soviets took over it and held it well after the Reunification.

Parts of the hospital are still in use.

But when the Soviets withdrew, most of the sixty buildings that make up the complex were abandoned and are still empty today.

Incidentally, it was Reunification Day on the day we visited Beelitz.

I want to go back again. We did not have the pluck to break into the larger buildings, the operating theatre in particular, and there are photos to be taken there.

142/365: Linlen and her ship

142/365: Linlen and her ship, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

May 22nd

I went a little crazy with the glitter and glue gun, but she liked her parting gift.

Octopus attacking ship

The photo will be late- I took one but can't be bothered to download it right now. Such things happen, no one is perfect. And I was busy drawing an octopus.

A few days ago I noticed that on Linlen's blog people had been drawing octopi attacking ships. I said, can I draw one? And the reply was 'Yes.'

You know I can't resist a nautical theme.

I couldn't decide whether I wanted the drawing to remain black and white or whether I should colour it, so I scanned every stage just in case. Here are the results:

I'm really happy with all three of them- now, if I could only manage to draw the things I have actually promised people I would draw...I have three such orders on my plate and yet every time I approach them I fail. But I can draw a useless octopus just like that.

Well, we shall see, maybe this week will bring great works to my paper.

33/365: Winter Cemetery

33/365: Winter Cemetery, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

February 2nd

The Mania Cemetary (Cmentarz na Mani) takes its name not from an emotional disorder but from the nearby neighbourhood of Mania. I am not clear on the origins of that one, though. It is surrounded by the remains of Lodz's ancient woodland, most of which is now part of the Zdrowie park complex. The cemetery was founded in 1915 out of necessity, as the nearby Old Cemetery had been filled by 1888, leaving no burial ground in that part of town.

I took this photo from the second floor of a factory building which now houses, among other things, looms, a skate park, and a film studio where a lot of people I know are working right now, but I don't think I can tell you exactly what they're doing. ;) In any case I climbed on the windowsill for a picture, and Linlen drew a sketch of me and my camera.

You should have a look at Linlen's Monsters, by the way, they're the cutest thing. I discovered them a few weeks ago and never even realised I knew the person responsible!