brigitte brüggemann
studio
News!
my memoirs are published
“Beautifully written with sensitivity, courage and illustrated with exquisite art images, Brigitte Brüggeman’s "Growing Wings: A Story of Becoming"will inspire and resonate with anyone seeking to embrace a fully authentic life grounded in spirituality and creativity.”
This is a book not to be read in one sitting or a few. I found too many wonderful ideas to contemplate so I took my time in reading and rereading. There are passages I highlighted that I will come back to for inspiration in my art. The author’s life journey was poignant and insightful. Her work is beautiful.
Years in the making
A long road traveled left dust on my feet. With memories of childhood trauma brushed aside but not forgotten, my quest for independence combined with my curiosity for the unfamiliar and new, my passion for art and creative living, along with my travels to distant places all became a story asking to be told.
At seventy-something, it was time for me to sort through my journals and memories to create, not with paint but with words, a picture of a life lived with intention, with curiosity for the unfamiliar, overcoming obstacles and going with the flow like a river finding its way to the ocean. The story is also about finding my spiritual path and purpose, getting lost in detours at times with doubts and heartbreaks, but finding signposts here and there to show the way.
With my paintings, I try to bring light into people’s living rooms. With my stories, I want to show how much is possible in spite of what one might perceive as impossible dreams. Art washed the dust off my feet.
This book is about honoring the gifts given: follow that inner voice, take risks, go into the unknown, walk the unfamiliar path. Help will meet you on the way.
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MY STORY BEGINS BEFORE I WAS BORN:
It was wartime in Germany. Hitler’s soldiers had marched into Austria, invaded Czechoslovakia, France, Belgium, Holland, Norway, Poland and Russia, as well as fighting battles in Africa. Hitler’s madness—and that of the people believing in the Führer—had set our world on fire.
I was born in the middle of that terrible war. I first saw the light August 23, 1942—the same day the German Sixth Army reached the outskirts of Stalingrad. It was a dark time, the beginning of the end for the Third Reich.
Those very early years of my life have affected my psyche. Memories pushed into the unconscious are deeply buried in my soul, forever seeking peace and light. My earliest conscious memories are of fire and ruins for a playground.
Today, more than seven decades later, in New Mexico, I sit in the sun outside my house overlooking the Pecos River, a silver bracelet rushing to the ocean, ever-moving, ever-changing, always new. The river has been my teacher for many years now: nothing stays the same. Water knows no scars. It goes around obstacles, goes around the rocks in its path, without pain— maybe a little whitewater, but then it flows on to the ocean. The path is the destiny. I have encountered many rocks in my path. While going around them might have been wiser, often that was not my best choice. I have wasted much energy fighting obstacles, climbing up and down mountains—emotional and real ones—while growing my wings. At times I was the mountain myself, standing in my own way, holding on to learned patterns and traditional roles that did not serve me. My intention became clearer as I grew into adulthood: to follow my bliss,
The book is 8.5x8.5" is available in hardcover and softcover and includes 34 images, personal photographs of my early years and paintings that are relevant to experiences I describe. Journal entries speak about my thoughts and connection to nature and what inspires my work, artist that have influenced me. I speak about the process of painting and my reaching for the light in my days and in my work to transcend the dark memories that have strongly influenced my soul.
I seek a lightness of being
My passion is for art.
My mission is to manifest joyful and uplifting images.
My tools are brush and paint, pen and paper.
My voice is to bring healing for myself in the process of painting and to manifest uplifting energy into imagery for those who choose to live with and see my work.
To order the book you can go to Archway Publishing bookstore now, or other online sellers or contact me to order of the book with a personalized signature to you.
The hardcover retail prize is $70.95 and the softcover sells for $53.95
the book will be available at my studio and at Garcia Street Books in Santa Fe NM
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some of the images in the book relevant to the stories
A German-born artist tells her story of overcoming trauma of WWII and obstacles in her path finding purpose in passion for art
Brigitte Brüggemann announces publication of ‘Growing Wings’
With my stories, I want to show how much is possible in spite of what one might have been told as the impossible dream.
SANTA FE, N.M. (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 01, 2022
Brigitte Brüggemann’s memoir “Growing Wings: A Story of Becoming” (published by Archway Publishing) shares a poetic account of the author’s life as a native of Germany and a child in World War II, following her passion for art and calling to become an artist. She follows her spiritual path and purpose, getting lost in detours at times with doubts and heartbreaks, but finds signposts here and there to show the way.
In the book, the author first shares her at times traumatic experience and perspective as a child during and after World War II, overcoming a dysfunctional family life. After living in Paris, London and the Caribbean, she came to the United States, became an art student, and art professor, defying the “starving artist” myth by becoming a successful artist. When speaking of her paintings and process, Brüggemann speaks about how she wants to bring joy and light with brilliant color and abstract form into people’s living rooms. The book includes color images of her painting and her poetry to show the relevance between art and life.
“With my stories, I want to show how much is possible in spite of what one might have been told as the impossible dream,” Brüggemann says. “I want to inspire people to follow ‘their bliss.’”
“Growing Wings” is available for purchase online at the Archway link above, from Barnes & Noble and on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Wings-Becoming-Brigitte-Brggemann/dp/1665709499.
“Growing Wings”
By Brigitte Brüggemann
Hardcover | 8.5 x 8.5 in | 178 pages | ISBN 9781665709491
Softcover | 8.5 x 8.5 in | 178 pages | ISBN 9781665709507
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Brigitte Brüggemann, a painter living in New Mexico, was born during World War II in Germany. Her childhood memories of wartime, bombings, destruction, trauma of family dysfunction, and poverty deeply affected her psyche but contributed to who she is today, forever seeking peace and light. Her love for art is her guiding light in her search for her spiritual and personal identity, leading her to become a successful painter. Her art feeds the soul and lifts the spirit. Brüggemann lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. More information is available online at: http://www.brigittebruggemann.com.
Simon & Schuster, a company with nearly ninety years of publishing experience, has teamed up with Author Solutions, LLC, the worldwide leader in self-publishing, to create Archway Publishing. With unique resources to support books of all kind, Archway Publishing offers a specialized approach to help every author reach his or her desired audience. For more information, visit archwaypublishing.com or call 844-669-3957.