old 2015 blues here

i've not been writing. i've not been drawing. i've tried to do house things, rummage, clean, cook. neither of all that succeeded much. i'm missing snow. mosquitoes aren't dying. it's a topsy turvy world and for once i don't want to feel bad about climate change, if ever.

layers of gold...

... to be gazed at in places of worship...

aachen kunst & kitsch

tanïa pointed out to me the kunstautomaten (former cigarette vending machines) that will spew a small kunstschachtel for just 4 euros. the automat we pulled from hangs on a corner shop, in the vicinity of a few barber shops and hair saloons. so far, so good. 

aachen surprise

i could never have imagined, crossing the belgian border into the german city of aachen, i would encounter architecture that would make my heart beat so much faster. and it did. ♥

drawing | treshold {the dangers of being a master of none}

i've drawn the orangerie twice. one is half painted {and half messed up}, the other is getting the felt tips treatment and happily awaiting the finishing touches {i've run out of a pale, pale creme colour}.

drawing | abundance {calm part II}

i've been rummaging through my studio contents abundantly, to the point i've probably thrown out too much stuff, and i'll be sorry for it. it is however that kind of mood / mode i've been in. unearthing new abundance by getting rid of the dregs. 

drawing | calm part I

back to the drawing board. or rather, back on {train} board. i've been sketching the life out of me for sweet love-in-a-mist, trying out different angles, finally coming up with a design that satisfies me enough to work out on a soft cut.  

DC | a deer {under blood red skies}

in loving memory of victims of terrorism. whether paris, sinaï, beirut, baghdad, bujumbura, madrid, london, new york; 

syria, russia, US, france, northern ireland, norway, ... 

the world. 

ALL of us. 

i got carried away while printing, before the mouldy gelli plate kicked the bucket. more on reasons to be cheerful, next week.
tammie's linky DC here. 

drawing | liminal

my temporary fulltime occupation points out to me perhaps the most valuable lesson in life so far: time = money. 

in which it's all about houses indeed

i didn't get to buy lino blocks in the shop last weekend. all the more time to adress exhibition preps. i got going early sunday morning and chose to draw again the orangerie, a suburban beauty next a fishing pond in the borough of viane.

order, please!

i talked about drawing houses. in the run-up to next spring's town exhibition, i will be drawing local public houses, some of them standing today, some of them gone. i am also planning on one bigger piece, pulling all that i want to show together. 

drawing | cover {the great leap forward}

a sure crackle in the air last week suggests winter time stands confident, waiting to make a great leap forward. i realize how lucky we are seeking and finding relatively easy cover from the imminent cold, in these dire times of global human migration. i realize i am spoiled having to worry only about pulling my sweater a little tighter, having a roof over my head. i'm keeping hope for safe deliverance for all. 

heart and soul

today has been a good day. today has been a sad day, and a good day. i cried some, i had to. and through this, i breathed. and then i had a piece of sachertorte. in fact, i had two, and shared some with a close friend. now i know i will keep on breathing. but isn't it ironic: my studio is up to scratch, now i am not.

drawing | pot

whenever it's been a long time coming, blogging, i am elated when i open my dashboard and exercise my palm and fingers, much in a way tom hanks does in YOU'VE GOT MAIL, when he advises meg ryan to go to the matresses... remember? heavenly bit.

drawing | skin

when you look at skin from close up, the surface is gently dented in with pattern. i dallied some, on the idea of skin design.

who doesn't like to {imaginary} colour in a hidden message? the message is in here, right above!.... i've fallen short of online presence, but then i've been in good company this weekend. carole and doug send their love !! thank you all for playing : ariane, {sharmon}, lucia, katrin, veronica, stefanie, tammie, citlalli, jo, eric, patrice, i'll be popping over later today. 

♥

carole and i were thinking off and on about skin. last night, we reached out, skin on skin, as a symbol too, of our online and live connections, worldwide. hello, everyone!

drawing challenge NEW THEME | SKIN

i haven't much thought about skin. my own, anybody else's. but since i caught on human skin is an organ, and the largest one in our body, my respect is infinite. to evaporate and absorb, how cool is our skin?

drawing | pocket

remember chrissie hynde contemplating her brass in pocket? cherish that thought now i'm out working more than usual. those few moments i am not, i am eagerly beaverly looking for pockets of time, while cutting the grass, e.g. veronica's theme for DC. 

crispinus and crispinianus & HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANCESCA

how sexy is the sound of those names? i entered saint waltrudis church with the intention of finding them both and holding them dear to my heart. i was stopped in my tracks by today's busy priest setting up an art show 'and would i gently step out of the way, thank you'.

drawing | tiny {"honey, i shrunk the wo{o}lf"}

my first tiny is effectively called TINY. in anglo-saxon countries her name is martine or emma (correct me if i'm wrong, i don't think she really hit it off overseas). like most of my mates back then, i was in love with tiny and her crew, and i wanted a birthday just like hers.

drawing | image {pandora's box}

the week was strange, filled with all sorts, and exhaustion creeps up on me this morning. nonetheless i'm pulling out stuff from under dust mites and share with you some images that never made it to an album. to all weekend players : thanks so much!

do you have shelf flowers in your cupboard, meaning old, unused stuff that wants out, but you never find the courage? because i have stuff and photos going strong in my closet.

drawing challenge NEW THEME | IMAGE

it's been a while, our weekend meetings across the globe. have we been distracted by an overwhelming surge of images? on many blogs i am reading of similar concern, to the point of an inevitable where are we now question.  

happy birthday patrice 12/08

linking up to rose & bee

rejoice

body's cracked, and so is this week's code : work ennobles. what you witness is a washstand in a further stage of definition by adding mosaic tiling, and a floor that is no longer carpeted bloodred but super smooth gray and washable. today i'm resting on my laurels.

corner view ~ twilight

the french have a romantic name for the phenomenon taking place before sunrise or after sunset, when for just ten minutes the sky and its surroundings take on a hazy colour of blue, hence its name l'heure bleue. always happy to catch that fleeting moment-in-twilight. 

jane's corner view, francesca's hosting, kelleyn's theme. 

corner view ~ overgrown

when left to its own devices long enough, the green of this world takes over. now, ain't that an harmonizing thought for the day? 

jane's corner view, francesca's hosting, mezza's theme.m

ik ben geen hollander, maar

the netherlands. flatlands on a sea of plenty. windmills. patrice and i traveled back from hamburg together and she was so kind to put me up for two more nights, before i would travel home. every single time i come to holland, i feel i should be here more often.

ich bin kein hamburger, aber

one very good thing about blogging is encountering the writers. i never thought blogging would lead me to places, and this summer it truly did. fortunately distances between bloggers in europe are manageable, if traveling does require a little adjusting to. there's a chunk o' travel coming up, but for now we're staying put in hamburg. 

zu hause, mit barbara

it is very nice indeed when one is invited into one’s home. barbara put me up for a few nights in her hometown of henstedt-ulzburg, outside hamburg. i spent an inspiring sojourn in barbara’s studio/guestroom. sharing someone’s life for a while can be so uplifting.

ich bin kein berliner, aber... {cv ~ morning light}

the berlin morning light fell filtered through a row of trees standing opposite the small seventies hostel, just off ostbahnhof. it was to be day two of that early july swelter. jane's corner view, francesca's hosting, kelleyn's theme. {this german one's for you, kelleyn! ☺}

corner view ~ path

the long and winding path will move me upwards and who knows onwards into germany. i'm meeting up with blogfriends by the end of this week. later in july i will spill the beans. for now ich bin yet kein berliner, but berlin will be my first stop. 40°C...  here i come {umpfffffff}. have sweet holidays yourselves and enjoy the paths involved. ♥ jane's corner view, francesca's hosting, mezza's theme.

drawing | plates

i wrote in my diary : i cannot deny who i am, nor what i am, nor should i try being some'uk else. and i sighed. next i made us some dinner on plates. i'm telling you, deciding to do an open house does rattle my cage. i've been drawing tiny and bigger designs, trying to find what it is i'm gonna show, and i'm getting a little jittery. by little i mean alot. 

corner view ~ mono!{chrome}

in the eighties in music, we survived die neue deutsche welle, influenced by the earlier new wave. germany produced one great sounding band after the other. just to say monochromie does not have to equal monotonie. we LOVE monochrome, even if we have to fake it. jane's corner view, francesca's hosting, mezza's thema. 

all that jazz

cartoon classes wrap up. and we're stepping into year two. even if i find cartoons may not be my biggest love, i enjoy picking up tips and tricks. today i shook away all that 'school' hassle in the rains. the studio didn't work out either, so. when i returned from the rains, i felt replenished, to say the least. and my feet got soaking wet.  

corner view ≈ paper {projects}

cutting, cutting, cutting. and getting sore fingers from cutting up hundreds of pages. and when is the actual artwork gonna happen?

drawing | something from the ocean

oops: one chick, too deep a shell! veronica's ocean {in the woods} this past weekend. i'm so late i could cry. 
will come visit y'all on wednesday! 

drawing | moving

there is no action that moves me so as moving. i must have had this forever, because when i was small i glued my face to the car window and just swooned, looking at the world happening outside, moving about.  

drawing | youth

youth and bitter truth. through marianne faithfull's song {long version} that does sound ominous. i was quite besotted by faithfull's album when it first appeared. i wanted 'to ride the streets of paris in a sport's car'. so far i managed the bus☻.

corner view ≈ roots

do roots grow on you wherever you lay your hat? i wonder. jane's corner view, francesca's hosting, jgy's theme. 

drawing | frida

my friend m's cat is called kahlo. here he is, several years younger than today, m's male kahlo.

corner view ≈ sunshine

all the morning {and several brides and grooms} needed was a ray of sunshine. instead the drizzle steadily came down. kurt perschke's red ball in mons2015, however, did shine. jane's corner view, francesca's hosting, susanna's theme. 

drawing | a {non} trickster move

trickster. i wish. it is hands on in the studio, no tricks. for i can trick myself, but rolling up the sleeves it is these days. and i'm glad my balance is back and focus is home and courage is mine.  

tchålerwè {walloon} ~ charleroi

my heart always sings in the southern parts of belgium. i was born close to the wallony border and multiple visits across that frontière linguistique brought me french language skills and a lasting appreciation. when a visit down under calls, i can but submit. 

corner view ≈ somewhere else

longing to be somewhere else is a familiar feeling, creating restlessness along the way. the funniest thing is, i've been dreaming non stop about old places i've lived in, in a sense revisiting. as if i'm taking stock. perhaps that is exactly what i'm doing.

corner view ≈ mix and match

i don't think there's a better match for me than mixing it. i do believe i rather think in bits and pieces than i look for an overview. 

drawing | coat

i collaged a coat here, in november 2014, labeled rara avis. too funny, but thought i could mention it. today i will continue experimenting on a lick of paint or a coat of colour {my walls could do with a new coat of paint too}. 

i've been staring down vimeo and youtube films on braying paint all over: mono, stencil, screen, stamp, collagraph, ... you name it! 

and last night i leafed through the few printing books i own. which brought me to 'leaf'. {good to feel the green, green morning grass of home 'tween my toes}. and print. and experimenting on the oldest print application on earth, possibly. patrice's coats this weekend. 

corner view ≈ bright

on a bright sunny day, one can see forever. i've adapted the {film} title a little to today's theme. also recycling a weekend post, on which a dear friend told me how vincent van gogh painted pictures from tableaus his brother sent him. residing in the eclectic south, after his grim northern hemisphere séjour, the man must have learned a thing or two on brightness.
 

corner view ≈ once upon a time

once upon a time there was a girl who was picked up from school on a saturday morning. her dad hesitantly stepped inside the school hall and looked for his girl. there she was, clutching a thin fairy-tale book the size of her belly. the girl ran to him, grabbed his huge hand.

drawing | grass

my son could tell a story or two on grass... ☻ while i'm glad the green is shooting upwards again. goodbye moss! as it is for me, the grass is greener on another side this weekend, stopping me from participating with anything more than a déjeuner-sur-l'herbe. this is my old brussels' 'hood, aw. veronica's grass meeting this weekend. more sunny brussels here.