Farmer Henry Schmedt

         Foarma Hein Schmedt

  Foarma Hein Schmedt haft twee Kjinja. Daut Ellste es de Mejal, dee heet Marieche, un es achtieen Joah oolt. Daut Tweede es de junge Doft un dee es grod fief Joah oolt. Nu fählt Schmedt grod toofalig noch een Peat, un eenes Doages well he noh Staudt foahre, eent opp'em Peadmoakjt to kjeepe. He nemmt sien Doft met daut dee uk waut vom Peadhaundel leahre kaun.
Opp'em Moakjt bekjikt Schmedt sikj doa een schmocket Peat. He bekloppat daut von aule Siede, kjikt daut en'e Frät un besitt sikj de Tähne, häwt jieda Been aun un bekjikt sikj de Feet von unje un von bowe, bestrichelt de Been un de Schullre un häwt däm Zoagel un bekjikt sikj waut doarunja liggt. He nemmt siene goode Tiet doatoo, oba aum Enj woat he sikj eenig, un kjaft daut Peat. He bingt daut niee Peat hinjer'em Woage aun un dan foahre se auf noh Huus. Opp'em Huuswaig kome se em Vetahle äwa däm Haundel un dan well de Jung weete wuarom de Voda daut Peat soo väl bekloppat un bekjikt haud ea he
daut jekofft haud. "Na," saigt Schmedt to sien Jung, "wan ekj mi een Peat kjeepe well, dan mott ekj daut doch dichtig bekjikje un befeehle von unje bat bowe, daut ekj kraikt weet auf aules en Ordnung es un auf et uk jesund es, ea ekj doafäa Jeld utlaije doo. Daut vesteihst doch uk, nich, Doft?"
De Jung bleef lang stell, oba met'e Tiet kaum et bi ahm doch 'ruut, "Weetst uk waut, Pa? Ekj jleew ons Noba Peetasch sien Hauns well onse Marieche kjeepe!"

Farmer Henry Schmedt.

Farmer Henry Schmidt  has two children. The oldest is a girl and she is called Maria, and is 18 years old. The second one is a boy Dave and he has just turned 5 years old. Now Schmidt as it happens, needs a horse, and one day he plans to travel to the city to buy one at the horse market.

He takes along his son Dave so that he can learn something about horse trading.


At the market Schmidt spies a beautiful horse and checks it out. He pats it from all sides, and looks into the horse’s mouth and examines the teeth, he lifts each leg and examines the feet both from underneath and from the top, He strokes the legs and the shoulders and even lifts up the tail to see what lays underneath.


He takes his own good time and finally comes to a decision and buys the horse.  He ties the horse behind the wagon and then they travel home.


On the way home it came about that they began to talk about the transaction.

And then the boy wanted to know why his father had spent so much time patting the horse and looking at it before he bought it. 


“Well,” said Schmidt to his son,

“when I want to buy myself a horse, then I must examine it carefully, and feel it with my hands from the bottom to the top,

so that I know exactly that everything is in order and if the horse is healthy, before I lay my money down for it.

The boy was silent for a long time, but after some time , he came out with  “Do you know what Dad? I think that our neighbour Peter’s son Hans wants to buy our Maria!”

This painting is called "Waiting for Shiloh" and is being exhibited at Kariton Gallery. It is part of a show called "Friends in Famous Paintings" and will be there from March 20-April 14, 2010.

Mien Wuat in the Bible

So here is a reference to the mien wuat in the Bible: John 8:31-32 from

BibleGateway.com This phrase (my word) is used in verse 31, 37 and 52.

Jehaun 8 (Reimer 2001)

³¹ Donn saed Jesus to dee Jude dee aun am jleewde:
"Wan jie bie mien Wuat biebliewe,
dan se jie woarhauftijch miene Jinja.

³² Dan woa jie de Woarheit weete, en de Woarheit woat ju frie moake."

© 2001 by Elmer Reimer

What does mienwuat mean?

You may have wondered what mienwuat means if you happened across this blog. The name of the blog is "My Word" and mienwuat means exactly that. Mienwuat is in the language called Plautdietsch, the Low German or Niedersaxon of the Mennonites.

Low German was the German spoken in the lowlands or inthe north near the sea, whereas High German was spoken in the highlands or in the southern areas of German settled land. English, the language that came out of the language spoken by the Saxons and Angles is a dialect of Low German. Plautdietsch of today is a language that has evolved over the years and due to migration from Western Europe to the low lands of Poland near Danzig, and then later to south Russia or Ukraine, picked up loan words from the areas settled. It still retains it's unique character and rich expressivness.

For a great essay on the roots of Low German see http://www.mhsbc.com/news/v11n03/p11.htm and if you enjoy listening to Plautdietsch then go to http://www.plautcast.com/ or http://www.plautcast.blogspot.com/

If the world was plaudietsch it would be called Plautdietschlaunt

Plein Air: 100 Views of Downtown Abbotsford

Artists in Abbotsford painted plein air during the Abbotsford BerryBeat Festival. Paintings were shown at the Bishop Casual Living Centre on Montrose in Abbotsford from July 8-22, 2007.

Plein Air is a term that means "in the open air", and is used to describe paintings done outdoors, rather than in a studio. To be considered "plein air" both painter and subject must be outdoors during which the artist is working directly from life, and observing the subject under natural light. Edouard Manet, the French Impressionist said " There is only one true thing: instantly paint what you see.

"The roots of plein air painting are in the 19th-century art movement called Impressionism that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who sketched and painted outside, and began exhibiting their art publicly in the 1860s. The name Impressionism comes from the title of a painting by Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise. Canadian artists, known as "The Group of Seven", were strongly influenced by European Impressionism. Painting plein air in an impressionist style has a strong Canadian tradition.

The following are characteristic of impressionist techniques and may be noticeable in the plein air paintings in this show:

* Short, thick strokes of paint are used to quickly capture the essence of the subject, rather than its details.

* Colors are applied side-by-side with as little mixing as possible, creating a vibrant surface. The optical mixing of colors occurs in the eye of the viewer.

* Grays and dark tones are made by mixing complimentary or opposite colors. Purists avoid using black.

* Wet paint is placed onto wet paint without waiting for it to dry, producing softer edges and an intermingling of color.

* Impressionist paintings do not use transparent glazes and is usually opaque.

* The play of natural light is emphasized with close attention made to the reflection of colors from one object to another object.

* In plein air paintings, shadows are painted using the blue of the sky as it reflects onto surfaces, giving the shadow a sense of freshness and openness .

You might think that painting plein air is pretty straight forward and perhaps a bit romantic and intimate---the artist alone interacting with the subject to be painted. However, there are more things going on than just the artist and what the artist is painting. I am sure that any artist who has ever attempted painting plein air has a lot of stories about their experiences. It might be the sudden downpour of rain on a nearly completed watercolour, or an oil painting blown over by a gust of wind, falling face down onto the sand, or suicidal bugs or flies that were determined to walk across a wet surface of paint.

Besides external factors, there are also things going on inside the artist. Every time we go out to paint, we are full of reasons why painting right this very minute isn't such a good idea –your family or friends who came with you on vacation are about to leave, it may rain at any moment, there's no comfortable place to sit... and on and on…. But the truly dedicated plien air artists will paint in all kinds of weather---there is a saying that "there is no bad weather for painting plein air; only bad painting clothes". As a plein air artist, you are challenged to stretch yourself, as you are constantly exposed – by design or by accident – to experiences and scenes you might never have predicted or planned. Working outdoors or from life puts you in direct contact with the life force, not just the light and the landscape, but also the vitality of the world around you.

For this show of "100 Views of Downtown Abbotsford" artists painted during the Abbotsford BerryBeat Festival. I was painting the Little Farmhouse restaurant on Montrose, and had many people stop to see me at work. Particularly memorable was a little girl who must have been around 5 years old. She came right up to me and looked at my painting and asked: "I like your painting, did you do it all by yourself?" I replied "yes, I did" and mentioned that it still wasn't finished. She looked at it again and said "I still like your painting even if it is not finished."

Although sometimes having people stop to talk can be a distraction from actually painting, I enjoyed her comments because I knew that I had been able to connect with her, and being able to touch others with my art is a big motivator for me to paint.

The little girl's comments, besides being a compliment to me, also reflected the fact that a plein air painting often does not look finished. Plein air painting done on location, particularly if impressionistic, captures the atmosphere of the moment, and different from a photograph, it is not detailed but often has a loose and flowing look. Looking closely, you will see only a mosaic of color and brushwork. However, at a distance the blobs of paint will seem like a window to another place and time.

I especially want to thank each of the artists for participating in this show and for having the courage and determination to face the challenges of painting plein air. As well, thank you to everyone who has come to see this show. I hope that you will take the time to look through the windows of another place and time, as displayed by the paintings in this show.

Presentations based on the "People's Choice Ballots" went to Rhys Edwards, Monica Friesen, Bente Hansen, Manjit Sandhu, Steven Chen, Pat Maertz, Helen Janas, Neil Loewen.

YES to the Capital Legacy Plan

Abbotsford Civic election is just a month away on Nov 19, 2005
The ballot includes an important referendum question about the Capital Legacy plan

I have been very impressed and encouraged with the solidarity and atmosphere of unity that has been evident in the members of the Capital Legacy task force in Abbotsford. As President of one of the visual arts organizations in Abbotsford, B.C., The Central Fraser Valley Graphic Guild, I and our members are in full support of the Legacy Plan. Artists and member groups of the Abbotsford Arts Council have long supported the vital need of an arts center and art gallery in Abbotsford that would match the size and quality of life of our city. The Capital Legacy Plan is our "Field of Dreams". If we build, they will come. Let us dare to dream!

A recent survey of members of the Central Fraser Valley Graphic Guild, brought some of these responses:
-This sounds very exciting and I support it one hundred percent even though my taxes will go up. Hope it goes through.
-This is the best news for the arts community I have heard since I came to live here. I think it deserves a wholehearted - GO FOR IT!
-You have my YES, to go ahead with the Proposals of The Tax Force , We have to start from somewhere , and now is better then later.

YES! Abbotsford needs an Art Center

I am in full agreement with this visionary Plan that has thoughtfully considered the good of the entire community and which proposes a practical and innovative financial plan to make it actually happen. I am especially excited that sports, arts and other organizations are working together in partnerships. This plan will bring much needed changes to Abbotsford, making it more liveable and will address needs for public safety, such as improvements to the Police Communication systems and to the fire halls. There is also something for seniors. One clear advantage of this plan is that it will launch Abbotsford towards being prepared to welcome visitors to the 2010 Olympics. Abbotsford's airport may well be the first point of contact with visitors to B.C. We need to be prepared with proper sports facillities and centers for the arts and culture. As a visual artist, I will, however, speak for the need to have an art center in Abbotsford.

An arts and cultural center in Abbotsford is important, not only for artists and musicians, but for all the citizens and future generations of our city. A center for the arts would be home to a broad spectrum of arts and cultural groups. Arts and culture provide a unique vision that can unify and inspire community awareness, which, I believe, is a necessary prerequisite for a community to flourish. Richard Dreyfuss at the 38th Grammy Awards stated that “ It is from creativity and imagination that the solutions to our political and social problems will come.” Dr. Mike Moses, Commissioner of Education of Texas, maintains that "Participation in the fine arts engenders discipline, a sense of community, trust, and teamwork.”

An Arts Center would have immediate practical use by providing space for member groups to meet, create, and hold workshops, but most importantly, it is a focal point for cultural activity. Culture in Abbotsford is still somewhat of an underground activity that takes place in rented spaces which do not have any permanent connection with the Arts. A permanent Art Gallery in Abbotsford would enhance our community’s tourism and also help to support and promote the high caliber of art produced by our local artists. The way art and artists are presented has a major impact on the development of audiences for the arts. If there is a wide range and variety of arts then there is a greater chance of more people discovering and enjoying the arts. Joseph Calahan, Vice President of Xerox states that "Arts education aids students in skills needed in the workplace: flexibility, the ability to solve problems and communicate; the ability to learn new skills, to be creative and innovative, and to strive for excellence"

The Central Fraser Valley Graphic Guild is one of the oldest art clubs in Abbotsford, founded in 1977. http://www.geocities.com/graphicguild

The Graphic Guild has represented many fine artists over the years and have the vision to promote artistic activities in our community through art exhibitions, workshops and opportunities for artists to network and learn from each other. Our activities and exhibitions have been held in various locations in the Fraser Valley. The Graphic Guild holds bi-monthly figure drawing sessions in both Mission and Abbotsford as well as participating in community events and fairs.

I enthusiastically welcome an arts and cultural center in Abbotsford. The importance of art to a community is exemplified by Kit Dunlap president of the Chamber of Commerce in Gainesville Georgia who believes that it is important both for quality of life issues and economic growth. "If a community has a strong arts program, it shows it is healthy economically, it shows its sophistication . . . its level of education. Our level of arts plays an important part in attracting quality jobs and companies." If you are interested in learning more about how the arts generate economic prosperity, take a look at http://www.artsusa.org/information_resources/economic_impact/

Civilizations are most often remembered for their art and thought. By establishing an art center, we have the unique opportunity to help create a flourishing culturally rich community in Abbotsford that will benefit us directly and also be remembered and appreciated by future generations. I believe this is a unique opportunity for the City of Abbotsford to do something that will have a long lasting effect, and can only bring benefits to our community. Let's do it!

I attended a meeting on Oct 14th with members of the task force who drafted the Legacy plan and here is a bit of an update. This is more for those who live in Abbotsford, but the outcome will also impact neighboring communities. On November 19, Abbotsford voters will be asked if they want the City of Abbotsford move forward to develop a business plan to build much needed new fire halls, police stations, cultural and sporting facilities over the next three years under the Capital Legacy Plan. Many organizations including the Abbotsford Arts Council, Chamber of Commerce, and various sports organizations have endorsed the Capital Legacy Plan and believe it is absolutely vital for the City of Abbotsford to proceed immediately. Because the Capital Legacy Plan is so important, in the next few weeks, there will be a published list of all candidates who have publicly endorsed moving forward with the plan.

Write Letters and Emails to say YES!

If you are a citizen of Abbotsford, it is important to get out and vote yourself and also to encourage or bring as many people as you can to vote as well. The citizens task force called YES-CAPITAL LEGACY is asking to ONLY vote for people that are on the list of candidates who have committed to moving forward with the Capital Legacy Plan. YES-CAPITAL LEGACY will be providing more information in the next few weeks and will need assistance from everyone to forward emails and write letters to the editors of Abbotsford newspapers in favour of this plan. The intent of the letter writing campaign is to get a range of letters to the editor that are not just in favour of only the things that would benefit your own organization. Remember also that a hand written letter carries much more weight than an email.

See http://www.aclu.org/TakeAction/TakeAction.cfm?ID=12062&c=242 for some information on how to be an effective activist.

Take the time to write to your council members and other leaders as well as to the newspapers. Talk to your friends and neighbours. After all the Capital Legacy Plan will benefit all citizens, not just a few special interest groups.

If this plan goes through it can have the potential of creating opportunities that would otherwise be missed, especially in being prepared for the 2010 Olympics. But if it is voted down, most of these things in the Legacy plan will still be done, but more on a "pay as we go" basis. That means with inflation and rising costs, by the time they are eventually built, everything will be more expensive and if things are built, the designs may be based more on what money is available, than the actual need. As well, there will be many opportunities missed, (and potential income lost) especially in being prepared to welcome Olympic teams to our city and for tourists who may want to be located in Abbotsford. The potential is that with the Legacy plan there will be income generated for the community as well as looking after some very needed upgrades to fire halls and police communication systems. This plan requires an investment and it will cost us something. It will cost us some money, but it will also cost us commitment and vision to see it accomplished. Our investments for the future will generate a good return. We will live in a safer healthier more prosperous city, and that is like money in the bank! The Capital Legacy Plan will benefit us and our children for many more years long after 2010!

Cities far away from Abbotsford are already hosting various athletic teams in preparation for the 2010 Olympics. Kamloops has annonced that it is having the Austrian ski team to train there in preparation for the Olympics. Austrians will be in Sun Peaks for between two and three weeks next month. They will train there in early November each of the following three years and again prior to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games that are scheduled for Whistler and Vancouver. Mission will be hosting a Swiss hockey team.

And Abbotsford? Abbotsford has been very slow in making these connections and to date only have put in 2 applications for anything connected to the Olympics. Where is our vision? What have our elected leaders been thinking? We need to wake up to the fact that Abbotsford is now a city, no longer is it a small rural village. Fortunately there are a few progressive visionary thinkers on council, but the spirit of caution and fiscal restraint still seems to cast a shadow over Abbotsford's city hall. The Capital Legacy Plan is our "Field of Dreams" If we build, they will come! Let us dare to dream!

If the Yes to the Capital Legacy plan passes, there will be a further business plan to lay this out in more detail and will again go to the voters to approve, so this referendum is an important first step in putting the plan in motion.

YES! Let us dare to dream!
If you are in favour of this plan and care about Abbotsford’s future, vote Yes to the Capital Legacy plan in the November 19 referendum/election.

See the Music

“See the Music” Art Show

Here are a few words about the “See the Music” art show June 1 – 26, 2005 by the Central Fraser Valley Graphic Guild at the Mission Art Centre Gallery. http://www.geocities.com/graphicguild/seethemusic.html

The title “See the Music” is a layered play on words that refers to the artistic visualizations of music--visible equivalents to the sound of music --and also to "seeing" in the metaphoric sense of understanding: to hear music more deeply than ever before, and say "yes, I see."

Music has the power to inspire and move us emotionally and we are often accompanied by music in our travels, in the car, or while working. We think of music as something we hear, rather than see, and yet the synthesis of music and art is not something new.

There has been a relationship between music and the visual arts ever since the first cave man painted an image of a drum on a rock wall. Throughout history, countless works of art have included musical instruments and artists and scientists have long been interested in the unique relationship of music with art and colour.

Sir Isaac Newton developed a system to show the relationships between colour and music. When he analyzed the coloured properties of sunlight, he divided the spectrum into seven colours, one for each note of a musical scale, thereby uniting the phenomena of light and sound into one mathematical matrix. His system has survived as a colour-music code and a guide to colour harmony, as well as a common way to describe the rainbow.

Kandinsky and Klee were both interested in painting music. Kandinsky was convinced that he could hear colors, associating them with specific instruments: yellow for the trumpet, orange for the viola, red for the tuba, etc. This ability is called synesthesia, which is a neurological condition in which there is difficulty in distinguishing between different sensory inputs so that for example, sounds are seen and words and aromas have color. I don’t think any of the artists in this show have this ability, --since it only affects 1 person out of 25,000.

In this show the artists attempted to visually illustrate the effect of music on themselves, whether by a depiction of musicians or with applying methods of music to the art, such as improvising and experimentation, rhythm, repetition, colour harmony, and tone and composition.

"See the Music” was in a way, an experiment--a place to begin, not the last word. It was our playful attempt to visually illustrate how music has made its mark and also endeavors to capture the full-spirited extravagance of joy characteristic in music. The music and the art lives on, even if the show has ended.

Headline News Art Show

I have 5 paintings in a new art show called "Headline News". You can see my art at the show or you can take a look at this web site: http://www.geocities.com/graphicguild/shows2005.html

The show is a group show of the Central Fraser Valley Graphic Guild and I am the president (and web master) so that is why it is mostly my art on that page at the moment. I plan to add some more when I get the chance, but for now that is all there is.

I painted this painting of Safari Lions hunting Smart cars. It is based on a news story about the Knowsley Safari Park in England where they noticed lions being unusually interested in the Smart cars. When I painted the picture of the safari lions, I realized there were a few similarities with artists. Artists also hunt, are always on the prowl looking for an interesting subject to capture onto a 2 dimensional surface. They are not as good at stalking purchasers or rich patrons. Like lions in a safari park, safari artists often rely on the good graces of their keepers, galleries and others to give their work public exposure. Like in a safari park, galleries open their doors to let tourists see the sights. And for the artists established in a gallery stable, there is some safety within the gallery—after all it’s a jungle out there. Fortunately also, like safari lions, artists are relatively tame, but when aroused their natural instincts will kick in.