Rebeccah Dean is a photographer, collector of vintage images, and a maker of jewellery and objects. She sells various combinations of these things in her shop, Augenblick, which literally translates from the German as ‘in the blink of an eye’.
Her work is mysterious and enigmatic, cool and otherworldly. Fragments of images are juxtaposed and re-presented in new contexts. These are pieces of stories – where did they come from, and what came next?
“Being a foreigner gives you a constant feeling of otherness; no matter how long you live in your new country, in some ways you’ll never belong.”
augenblick – l’inconnue de la seine – wall hangings
Some of her most popular work is of the haunting L’Inconnue de la Seine. When she first came across this sculpture, Rebeccah had no idea of the story behind the mask with its inexplicable smile. After some research she discovered there were multiple myths surrounding this mysterious woman. Was she a suicide fished out of the Seine, or the living daughter of a German maskmaker in the late 19th C? No-one knows. The only thing that is certain is her charisma, not easily forgotten.
augenblick – a day at the lake – miniature wood block wall hangings
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Rebeccah moved to Berlin ‘temporarily’ 13 years ago, and now lives there with her German husband and their two young daughters. I asked Rebeccah how she ended up in Germany. “Ever since I was 15 I knew I would one day live abroad, though I never thought it would be permanently. When I finished my Bachelor’s in music I went to Berlin. My plan was to live there for a couple of years, learn German and then go back to the US for graduate school, probably in creative writing. But two years quickly turned into 3 and then six and then ten….I’ve now lived here for thirteen years, am married to a German and have two young American-German daughters, so it looks like I’m here to stay.”
augenblick – in the stillness of her room – necklace
Rebeccah’s mother grew up on a farm in Nebraska where it was normal that all women learn domestic skills like sewing and needlework. Grandparents were also important in teaching her how rewarding it is to create things by hand. “I always loved making things as a child and from an early age also liked to sell my creations. My sister and I regularly had painted rock sales in front of our house in Tucson. Occasionally a kind neighbor would give us a couple of dollars for one of them.”
augenblick – masking the masked – necklace
augenblick – the red shoes – photo stone
She started on Etsy in 2008, with a little shop that sold a mix of vintage jewellery and artwork, mainly as a creative outlet for her while staying at home with her first child. This grew into two shops when she separated the vintage off from the artwork, but now has decided to focus entirely on Augenblick.
Not blessed with space, she does all of her creating in her tiny kitchen because the light is good, or on the dining table in the room that is the office/dining room/library room all in one. “I tend to work in spurts, becoming inspired and making a lot of new pieces in one go and then take a break, making only made to order items as they come in. I especially get inspired if I have a new material to work with and am always on the look out for new ideas and craft, art and hardware stores.”
augenblick – l’inconnue de la seine – photo stone
Always inspired by music, she loves jazz and opera, with fave artists including Nina Simone, Bill Evans, Joan Sutherland and Maria Callas. Photographic inspiration comes from luminaries such as Diane Arbus, Nan Goldin and the ground-breaking Edward Weston.
Living in Berlin is its own inspiration. Based in the neighborhood Kreuzberg 61, she has a beautiful old apartment with parquet flooring and double doors. “The neighbourhood is great because everything is within walking distance, and there are parks and playgrounds for kids all over the place. It also has a wonderful ethnic mix, with a high Turkish population. I really love living an urban life that is also relaxed and compatible with raising a family.”
augenblick – view from the work table with Damien Hirst
The hardest thing for her has been to deal with the erratic nature of inspiration. “I’ll have times where I’ll take a lot of photographs and be happy with them and other times when it seems like I can’t capture a single image that I like. Luckily I’m a patient person, because that spark of inspiration is always sure to return, sometimes even when you least expect it.”
Fittingly, her favourite piece of advice is “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And, of course, never stop having fun.”
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Rebeccah currently juggles her time between her Etsy shop, teaching English as a foreign language at a university in Berlin, freelance editing and translating work and being a mother. Phew! I think that’s enough 🙂
You can find Augenblick on Etsy here, and she also blogs about her work here.
With thanks to Rebeccah for sharing her words and images here.