Djembe
Intercultural Magazine of Concordia College
Looking Back
Robert King
When you look back, you see where you’ve come from, how far you’ve traveled, the obstacles you’ve overcome, and the beauty you’ve passed by. This photo was taken near Pobena, Spain, during a 25-day trek along the Camino de Santiago Del Norte.
Antistante la Stazione a Venezia
(Outside the Station in Venice)
Chase Body
This photo was taken in Venice, Italy. It was one of the first photos I took upon arriving in the beautiful city. It is a church known as the San Simeone Piccolo, located directly in front of the Santa Lucia train station across the Grand Canal. Like many lively and alluring Italian cities, Venice has its own share of ornate churches, but this is one of many that I admired during my stay.
Theodore
Sydne Streich
This is a replication of a photograph I took in Greece of a kind old man I met at a local café. His name was Theodore. I spent one morning speaking with him and drinking espresso before I asked him if I could take his photo. This is a traditional reduction woodcut with two colors. An edition of 17 original prints was printed. Even though it is hard to see the contrast between the first layer and the white, the first layer is a soft gray. The next layer is the black on top. This woodcut was created in steps. The first step was to carve out the white hair. Once the hair was carved, the woodblock was inked up with the light grey and run through the press 17 times. After all 17 were done, I carved the rest of the face that isn’t black. The woodblock was then inked up with black and run through the press on top of the same 17 prints that were printed previously.
Churches of Germany
Meredith Gruenes
I went to Germany when I was a junior in high school and loved every minute of it. The most interesting thing was this church. My group was on a bike tour around Berlin, and we stopped to look. I don’t remember the name of the church, but I thought it was beautiful. It had gone through many bombings during World War II, but it still stood tall, even though they had to repair some of it after the war. I thought the rainy background showed off the church’s true colors.
The Violinist
Elisabeth Stromme
This painting was part of a portfolio I did in AP Art at an international high school in the Philippines. The girl was my dorm sister from South Korea, who was a missionary kid from Azerbaijan. She played the violin so well and spoke fluent Russian! For my portfolio I did 12 pieces where my theme was portraits and music. In the background of this picture you can see coffee-stained violin tabs.
Il Balneare (The Seaside)
Chase Body
This was taken while hiking up a seaside rock face on the coast of northeastern Italy. Cinque Terre is a lively and colorful seaside city with unique coves and breathtaking cliff views. With enough effort, the hike is worth it. Textures of terrace gardening can be seen throughout the terrain with colorful homes blending themselves into the rock. A lax seaside town with many locals and tourists, it is both busy and serene. This was one of my favorite trips in Italy.
Greek Woman
Erica Anderson
This photo was taken in Santorini, Greece. She was a woman who often walked around the island and was very kind to everyone she came across. We had an assignment to take stranger portraitures, and she agreed to having her photo taken. I had seen her a few times before, but when I saw her sitting in the restaurant, I just had to take her picture, because I felt she was perfect for the photo.
Daily Life
Casey Cruz
Our professor brought us to Perissa, Greece, via a small ferry so that we could explore and write a short piece of fiction based on what we saw. Having been on the island of Santorini for about a week, I’d already walked the tourist-crowded boardwalk in Kamari enough times to know that the boardwalk in Perissa would be no different. I decided to walk through the part of town closer to the mountains, where the average locals lived. I wanted to see what the island was like for the people who actually lived there. Most of the houses looked just like this one—small, simple, but well cared for.
Looking Forward
Robert King
Looking forward is both exciting and frightening when you see what challenges lie ahead, wondering if you will actually make it. But then, when you push yourself and reach your destination, the sense of accomplishment is astounding! This photo was taken near Laredo, Spain, this past summer as my wife Heidi and I walked the Camino de Santiago Del Norte.