Bethel - Even whales can roller skate

Susanne Hadamitzky resolutely reaches for a thick felt-tip pen. Without hesitation, she presses the black tip so firmly onto the paper that it squeaks as she draws. Contours emerge in no time at all. "There! Elephant and mouse. Horse and pig. A lighthouse and a hedgehog," says the energetic little girl. And the title of her new work is already clear. The creative 60-year-old, who signs all her pictures "von Suse", has been painting and drawing at the Bethel artists' centre Lydda for more than ten years. She has taken part in several exhibitions and her works have even travelled as far as Japan. But this year is a special milestone in her artistic development. Susanne Hadamitzky is the 11th master student at Lydda.

She is receiving special support for a whole year. Art therapist Nele Zeis is her assistant. When Susanne Hadamitzky comes to the studio after working in a Bethel workshop for people with disabilities, she has all the colours, all the materials and all the attention just for herself for an afternoon. "It's great!" says the artist, who loves bright colours. She hurries across the room and heads for a shelf with bulbous plastic bottles. Shake, and then a thick blob of colour lands on a paper plate. Yellow. Orange. Deep green and pink. "Done!" Susanne Hadamitzky nods contentedly and dashes back with her improvised colour palette.

Their animals have to be colourful. And cheerful. "If I only paint in black and white, I have to think of my parents, who are already dead. That's not good either. And when the weather here is so grey, I add more yellow to my paintings," she explains. This always includes roller skates for her ever-smiling animals. Even a whale gets them strapped on. And recently the animals have started wearing glasses. While Susanne Hadamitzky used to draw in postcard format, she now dares to design large areas. "And she has also developed the intensity of her colours enormously," says Jürgen Heinrich, director of the Künstlerhaus. When the 60-year-old now paints on a coloured background instead of white paper, her red glows and the blue shimmers, all the colours radiate. Just like the artist herself.

"I paint because I simply enjoy it. And because I've always painted. Since I was a child," she says. All of her works reflect this cheerful attitude. Not only the animal world, but also roller-skating bright red strawberries show how easy life can sometimes be - despite all adversity. Despite disability. Despite corona. Susanne Hadamitzky always remains optimistic. The master student's works are presented in her own exhibition. Friends, colleagues, art enthusiasts and the press come to see the pictures "by Suse". She is very proud of this.

Text: Heike Lepkojis | Photo: Thomas Richter