Portrait:

The artist Telse Katrin Polenski writes and illustrates children's stories, paints watercolors and makes unique stamps, works as a nature guide and teaches art at adult education centers and other institutions. She also works on installations, such as the "Roots" projects, large paper cutouts made from pond liner, "Nets" finely crocheted objects for outdoor use, or the "Wind Brides", white fabric objects inspired by the paper cutting technique.

Steffen: “Most members of the association know you mainly as the chairwoman. Tell us how things have been for you since you gave up the chair at the end of 2019.”

Telse: "I was a little worried that I would fall into a hole afterward. But I feel very light and I'm constantly thinking of new things that I could do. It's a constant challenge for me to finish things and not to get so excited that I split myself up into a thousand new projects. In the winter I worked a little more on my nets. I actually wanted to hang up new works on the colonists' farm shortly before the big May folk festival. But then... we know the rest of the story."

Steffen: “How have you been doing during the Corona lockdown?”

Telse: "Luckily, at that time I had an order for a manuscript about "Light in Outdoor Spaces" - that is the technical aspect of my professional life, my husband was working from home right next to me and my daughter was studying for her A-levels. Shortly before that, our car had broken down and we couldn't buy a new one. I felt like I was in a cocoon and only let the terrible news get to me in small doses. I also drew a lot during that time and exchanged ideas online with my urban sketching group "Die Rendsburger Stadtzeichner".
Actually, I only faced the question "And now?" when everything slowly started to relax again. There was then a tentative attempt to revive my painting course for women online. But the number of participants was dwindling. My work depends on direct contact."

Steffen: “And what are you doing now and what are you planning?”

Telse: "Because I don't want to and am not allowed to do wild herb tours with larger groups, I offer individual tours. Surprisingly, that's going well. And that gave me the idea to develop a YouTube channel called "The Herbal Muse". The topic is wild herbs, medicinal plants and nature. At the moment I'm in the middle of preparing the second video. It's a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Then, luckily, my "Life in Color" class is slowly starting up again. But no matter what the regulations are, I work with a transparent visor."

Steffen: “I sent information about #KulturhilfeSH to all my colleagues. Was that something for you?”

Telse: "At first I didn't feel like it was relevant to me at all. Because my husband has an income. But at the urging of a friend I looked into the funding opportunities for self-employed artists. And the result is great. There was the possibility of applying for money for project funding by a certain date. I did that and tadaa!!! Three days later I was approved for the money.

Steffen: “And what kind of projects are these?

Telse: I offer workshops to schools. One is called: "The joy of paper art: Kirigami and pop-ups - we're making a pop-up book." The workshop is suitable for children in grades 1 to 5. The other is called "Are you still reading? Or are you already writing? Small calligraphy text workshop." It is suitable for students in grades 3 to 13. The fee and material costs are then covered by #KulturhilfeSH. I am grateful and happy about that. At the moment I am in talks with several schools and I will probably have a lot to do in September and October."

Steffen: “And do you dare to take another look into the future?”

Telse: "No. At the moment I'm just taking things as they come. Let's just say that I'm not worried about my job or my personal life at the moment. As far as the developments on the right-wing spectrum and in the environment are concerned, things are different. And I hope that the majority of people remain sensible. All I can say is: "People, keep a cool head!"

Steffen: “Thank you for the interview.”