Artists with a clear focus

It felt a bit like a hacienda in Mexico in the hermitage on Rietzer Berg, says artist Paul-Hermann Gruner. He didn't spend the whole day relaxing. He had a clear roadmap for his ten-day writer-in-residence fellowship. He got up early every morning, enjoyed the morning freshness and drank his coffee. The journalist and writer worked three to four hours before nine o'clock and another three hours in the afternoon. He treated himself to a siesta with a delicious lunch every day. He enjoyed the evening with an incredible number of insects, the chirping of crickets and a stork that reliably came past the large window of the bungalow every evening at 6 pm, just like the deer. It was like a big screen, but he didn't let it distract him in between. Staying focused at work is important to him. "As artists, we often have many projects at the same time and then don't finish any of them," says the Darmstadt native. Sometimes he was drawn back to his non-fiction book until midnight. It is his 23rd book as author and co-author.

A constant process of self-discovery

But PH Gruner, which is his stage name, is also a visual artist. When he started making art at the age of around 15, he had no one around him who did anything similar. As a latecomer with two older siblings, he was involved in a lot of adult conversations that shaped him. Peers became increasingly uninteresting. A process of self-discovery was set in motion that continues to this day. His time at the artist hermitage also contributed to this. Being alone here was a positive experience for Paul. There was no feeling of loneliness or lack. Instead, he had a nice period of concentration and freedom - without requests, without being tangible. Focus and self-discovery in one.

Ada Bienkowska lives with her family in Warsaw. She speaks German and Polish as her mother tongue and moved into the Hermitage for 3 weeks with her husband and son. She found the Hermitage through the site Literaturport.de and the ad came as if on cue. About her time here, she says, "It was magical!"

Timeout at the Hermitage to work on her debut novel

She has been working on her book, a crime novel with elements of nonviolent communication, for 1.5 years and had writer's block for a long time. "In the city, I had lost touch with my story. I knew exactly what it was about, only I no longer felt the story. I managed to do that again here in the Hermitage. I realize I need nature and space to write. Then I get into the flow."

So she has made unexpectedly fast progress with her writing here. Ada takes a very structured approach to her work. The chapters are already written, the length is predefined and the rough storyline as well. At the same time, the stay unleashed a new creativity in her that resulted in several chapters getting 14 pages instead of 5. "In nature, my mind could relax. We watched animals every morning and fell asleep in the evening, looking at the sunset." Morning jogging, yoga and breakfast were part of her daily routine. After that, her husband and Ada took turns caring for their son for two hours. They also went for a bike ride and shopping in the city once in a while.

She wrote in the Hermitage and in the garden of the Landscape Park. "60-70% of writing takes place in the head," says Ada. For a long time, the law graduate, with a focus on victimology and criminology, had her own doubts about whether she would be considered a writer and taken seriously. But after this stay, she realizes, "I write, therefore I am a writer. No matter how many books I've already sold."