After attaching the numerous tile pieces, the entire mosaic must be prepared for grouting. This removes excess adhesive and removes contamination from the tile pieces.
At the same time, areas where the tiles are too far apart are being reworked.
Details are also added such as the claws.
Online diary:
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The Moldavian evening begins with welcoming the guests. The mayor takes bread and salt as a sign of friendly welcome.
Romanian residents in Cervera del Maestre translate and become aware of how the local population shows interest in and enjoys their culture.
Music and dance are expressions of Moldavian joy of life.
Denisa shows an extraordinary voice in the solo performance.
At the end of the evening the buffet opens and all sorts of delicacies are offered.
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The group sits together for breakfast. Young people from Moldova, Romania and Spain meet.
This time together in everyday life is important and particularly promotes engagement with others, but also with one’s own culture.
Work on the mosaic continued.
About 30 percent has been completed.
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On Day 4, the White Dragon Project was discussed. The living and dining room serves as a meeting place.
The workshop participants mark the areas for their personal work, the white dragon tattoos. This creates a shared work of art and some space for your own personal creativity.
At the same time, the venue was visited, the instruments were set up and the first rehearsals took place.
Preparations were made in the kitchen for the big event the following day. Delicacies from Moldova, as a gift for visitors to the cultural evening.
Many hours of work on day 4 and 5 preparing the buffet. Lots of conversations about culture, customs and customs and the exchange of recipes, that’s what the House of the Dragon is all about. People become closer through action.
The tension rises.
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After a short briefing in the house of the dragon the group moved to a public space in the town to start the art project. First the idea of a dragon was developed on paper.
After the group had agreed on an external shape, the young people began to transfer the drawing onto the large wall. Mathematics was required: how do you transfer a DinA4 drawing to a wall that is 8 meters wide and 2 meters high?
The final form was then developed in a continuous sequence of discussion, intervention and correction. This process was very important for the group to find a common work of art. In the end, 10 young people managed to cover the external shape with mosaics in 4 hours.
This defines the type and scope of the work of art. It was clear to each young person what work had to be done to create such a work of art.
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Various activities were planned for the group from Moldova and Romania’s stay. One project in the big project of this trip was the creation of a work of art in a public space. In the province of Valencia, home to the ceramics industry, it was clear that the choice would fall on trencadis.
So the young people prepared ceramic tiles to be used for a large mosaic. The first step was to choose the colors and make the fragments of the right size. After that it was important to sort the colors well. This work took place in the CASAdelDRAGON ARTCAMP.
A second group prepared old pallets for the #buenavistacervera project. Pallets were dismantled and sorted and nails were removed.
At the end of the working day there was pizza from the oven.
This moment was also used to come into contact with other families and young people. Romanian, Spanish, German and English alternated in the conversations. The ARTCAMP connects people across cultural and national borders. The language in which communication seems best possible is always chosen.
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On the first day a group agreed to go shopping. As a reward, the young people were able to be the first to come to the sea and enjoy the beach in Vinaros.
In the afternoon there was an introduction to the history of Spain, the village and its residents. The tour led up to the castle, to the current excavations and to the tower with the nice view to the Ebro Delta.
The young people were impressed by how the village has developed since the Moors were driven out.
The ApeaL youth association has been working with young people for many years. It is the third visit from Romania and the first from Moldova at CASAdelDRAGON.
A main motive of the club is to give young people (age 12 – 18) the chance to gain self-confidence through active social action and to gain courage for all the challenges that will come in their lifes soon. The tools include regular meetings and discussions in the group in order to get feedback, to strengthen self-organization, and to include the young people “at eye level” in the planning of the daily routine.
The visitor from Moldova comes from the area near the border with Romania. The Romanian-speaking minority lives there. For many of the young people it is their first trip away from their homeland, the first big trip of their lives. Romanians are Latinos and have been for over 2000 years. The Caesars in Rome chose their loyal bodyguards from the ranks of the Romanian army. Romanian is more closely related to Latin than Italian. So it’s no surprise that young Romanians can feel right at home in Spain.
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Part of CASAdelDRAGON’s social activities is to provide individuals and groups with low-threshold access to Spanish culture in Maestrazgo. There are many reasons to visit Cervera del Maestre and our Community. Some people come to us for art, some for education. Others are looking for community or cultural exchange.
The non-profit association Apeal from Bucharest told a partner in Moldova about CASAdelDRAGON and both associations organized a visit in 2024. For the period from April 30th until May 11th 10 young people from Moldova and Romania will visit the place, guided by 4 adults.
We are taking this as an opportunity to keep an online diary and will try to post an update from the past day every evening. Then the parents can read along and see what happens in the Year of the Dragon (Chinese calendar), in the Village of the Dragon (Faram) and in the House of the Dragon (CASAdelDRAGON).
Like many larger events, preparation begins long before the group arrives. On day 0 (before arrival) we made a major purchase. It is and always will be a logistical and economic challenge.
Tomorrow the plane will arrive at Castellon de la Plana regional airport.
Online diary:
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About 600 people live in the village of Cervera. Almost 200 of them are not rescued in Spain, but live permanently in this special village in the mountains of Maestrazgo.
The high proportion of foreign citizens characterizes village life. It promotes culture and exchange. And the newcomers are well aware of the privilege they have of being able to live in this village.
Some of them had decided to give something back to the village and its visitors as a gift: a game.
Viking chess is a simple game that can be played by 2-12 people on a flat surface
There are many variations, Tina and Dirk chose a simple one and together we built this game.
Dörte helped a lot with painting the figures.
The game was gifted to the village just before Easter and is open to the public for everyone at Pelota Square. Visitors and curious people came to the inauguration and had a lot of fun.
The official handover then took place with the local primary school.
People often ask what is special about the Familiafeliz community. The idea, concept, procurement, construction and publication of this game as a joint project by friends of CASAdelDRAGON is one such example. The development of the living community is not and should not be limited to the members and permanent guests. Rather, the idea of giving without intention should also have an impact on the environment. That worked brilliantly here.
We thank everyone who contributed.
And we are happy when the residents and visitors of this village share their friends with us… and play together.
KUBB Rules of the game (EN/NL) and (ES/DE) and Press Release (ES) pdf
This is the story of a great love, an old house, a deep long sleep and a wonderful awakening. It is the story of people who slowly but steadily pursue goals. It is the story of a community whose bonds are invisible but also mysteriously strong. It is the story of a staircase, a sculpture that has moved into Pacha Mama’s house. And it is the story of a time of reflection on the essential thing in life, love.
Casa Pacha Mama is a house of our community in the village of Cervera del Maestre in Castellon. The house is several hundred years old and yet one of the newer houses in the village. The development of a winding passageway between the houses of the Moorish settlement was expanded and gave space, hope and protection to a poor family from Catalunya in the late Middle Ages.
Several generations have repeatedly rebuilt the small house and adapted it to the current needs of their lives. Most recently, the first floor was partly used as a chicken coop and the terrace as a rabbit hutch. An old man was the last resident on the ground floor. He looked out of his kitchen through a window the size of a postcard. And went down into the cellar through a rotten wooden hatch in the hallway. After that the house was uninhabited. Nobody was interested in this house at the end of a cul-de-sac, squeezed between other large, stately houses. Then we came…
After almost twenty years of temporary use for helpers in the construction of the large house CASAdelDRAGON, the time had come. We started rebuilding the house. The shell and the first phase of the interior work were completed in 2008. The construction had put a lot of strain on the budget and we first had to try to consolidate. In 2009, the basement room was part of the “Vuelta de Arte” and showed an installation by a Mexican artist.
Until the end of 2023, the building was only used as a warehouse and at times also served as a studio for art production. Then the plan was made to complete the interior expansion.
The spiral staircase as the central connection between the floors had to be built first. The staircase itself, made of iron and wood, was intended to underline the character of the house and was technically a challenge, as a four-level steel structure had to be built in a small space.
Many people helped. Of particular note is Oscar, who welded the central column and the steps together. Dirk and Tina helped make the steps and exits. And many others contributed to us being able to hand over this staircase to the owner as a birthday present on January 31, 2024. She knew nothing, nothing about how far we were, nothing about who had come to the celebration, and nothing about all the preparations for a big, milestone birthday.
Some details on these stairs are connected in a very special way to our community and our lives here in Spain. There was a grate in the basement of the house for over 30 years. We found this in an old garbage dump in the village. Whenever we drove away rubble and came back with something “valuable,” Antje shook her head. She was just happy about a little more space on the construction site and we immediately cleared the space full of treasures for the future… whatever future…
Our old friend Henk DeROOY closed his workshop many years ago. He gave us some objects from his collection. These also included castings with coats of arms and decorations. Henk was a very special person. We have a lot to thank him for. Ultimately, he said the decisive sentence that inspired our decision for this project and this place! Now his gift is a detail in this staircase, and anyone who uses it can notice it and ask about it. Then the birthday child knows the story, about Inge and Henk, about the buses, the furniture transport, the tenant changes in the summer and the old man and the sea (which took his brother from him).
Even after the celebration, construction work will continue. The staircase was a milestone on the way to completing this house and thus a building block in this work of giving friendship and love a place and allowing it to have an effect, in a beautiful village in Maestrazgo.
Life is a building yard. Love shows the way.
Many thanks to: Corinna, Claudia, Holle, Jan, Tina, Dirk, Utz, Irene, Dörte, Oscar…