warning: confused post

the river spree

hello from berlin. i'm here, and not here. i'm using old photos to show you where we're at. i am a free person, walking the free earth, and enjoying it. i am thankful. 

postcard

i am also confused, very confused. i know just a tiny bit about politics. i know that a democracy works, and i see that a tyranny doesn't. yet the world has many derivatives to political systems that suppress. 

brandenburger tor & trabant vintage cars

i am standing at the brandenburger tor, and we may grab a trabant and go back in time, in style. and this place carries a past that is heavy. this city is free, and it feels free. and open. that's reassuring. 

mosaic in hackesche höfe neighbourhood

and i realize that we need to fight for our world as we know it to remain as good as it is. right now. we need to fight for our rights. we cannot ignore our freedom, we must not accept terror. 

Reichstag , way down from top op glass building

every time a bomb goes off, i die a little. although i'm not dead, i die. if you, fellow human being, wishes me dead, then i die. and that's not a life to live. and i don't know how to handle terror. 

in all honesty and despair. we must. carry on. have a good week ♥ 

on the home as home (and on being away from home)

oyster farm, nieuwpoort

i love it when things fall into place. in the home, i often dream of complete empty surfaces, but usually stuff is laying on it, and then some. if in the mood, i let it ALL hang. 

seaside, nieuwpoort

until i get to a point where i scoop up and get going, like a mister proper whirlwind popping out of its genius bottle. the result to that often equals great satisfaction. clear head, peace of mind.

stranded

yeah, well. we're not there yet. i've been sailing betwixt studio time, walking, resting and preparing a long weekend away. to berlin. just wanted to share that. once more: b-e-r-l-i-n. sounds so.... edible.

okay, this is a traditional butcher's add, one who actually loves animals, still... it's a butcher; nieuwpoort

well, a few workdays ahead and trying to round up on things, and listing up that luggage list, and kissing the home bye-byes and hopping on trains, and missing home (naturally) and anticipating. 

jetty, nieuwpoort

but of course, and as usual, i'll bring back memories, and photos, and inspiration, i gather. and so the days will fly, and so will barbara, and ariane and patrice. ladies. close now. 

don't you just LOVE summertime??? have a glorious week ahead.  ♥

late bloomer

cutting, pasting, repeat

for sure i am. in everything to be honest: i bloom late. which isn't a bad thing, but it's sometimes confusing. because i'm apt to make unfortunate choices, keeping me away from what matters most. 

a few try-outs up my sleeves

what does matter most then? being creative! i loved it as a child, i still love it to this day. in between then and now i chose to read english, kindergarden education, photography classes and a full library course.

brussels kapellekerk railway station, daytime job neighbourhood 

and i worked a dozen trades to only become master of the last. which is good, i'm happy about it, but my creative career, although developing, keeps steadily on the back burners. 

morning in la roche, in the belgian ardennes

i don't mind, but i do bump into such questions and exclamations as, when? how? if ever? do so! why not? why yes? learn! take in! follow! lead! relax! relax? yes! relax! laugh! cry! enjoy! learn! learn! learn!...☺ 

studio tabletop

and i do. all of the above. slowly and surely. with all of your help, obviously. and also with graft, and returning to the drawing board. and starting over. and finetuning. and daring to dream up a creative future. 

peonies, season passed already? 

the slow way about everything offers the scenic route anyway, a route i do like, because it implies minimal travel and a broad imagination, a good place to reside and get inspired.

have a beautiful weekend and a lovely week ahead. ♥ 

sweet saturday, once again

peonies from garden. even while slowly dying, our sweet smelling flower is standing proud

i was away a couple of days for work. nearly dipped my toe in a small stream in the ardennes, and then i didn't, while the imaginary sensation of cool water on skin felt very real. 

lights are on, but barely visible. ☻

the windows are open to the wind in the studio. i hear a scooter passing by, a cuckoo cuckooing. luckily high temperatures have dropped and there's air and we can breathe. i've been baking, and i've been cleaning. 

i never take pictures when i paint, so you will settle for another project shown here, won't you

i've also been preparing my daily instaposts a month in advance, it took me many hours already. the coming weeks are busy and by the end of the month i'm traveling, so some preps were in order. 

homemade falafel! haven't yet reached the fluffy inside, crunchy outside state

just a long weekend away, but well chuffed part of the AC crew is joining up again in a good old chinwag in what seems to grow into a fine tradition. many places on our wish list, but we happily settled for berlin.

cut butterfly triangles for greeting cards

after my very first visit to berlin in 2015, i have felt the constant urge to go back. having ordered cool weather, some 22°, all our walking and talking will be manageable. till then it's pleasurably all hands on deck. 

in the meantime, have a beautiful weekend and an awesome week ahead. ♥

double fun

some of the new greetings cards, vintage images glued fronts, cardboard stock

i seem to have committed to collaging geometrics, in the spirit of "getting rid of", and then in an elegant way. you see, my maverick mind has been the hiving hamster of all sorts of tidbits for decades...

studio, when working on the daily instagram project

although the past lead to the present, the old doesn't necessarily make as much sense to me as before.... so cleaning up the studio is finally paying off, and i am selling out on the old. 

cover-up! ☺

i have been throwing out bits and bobs over the past months, but the trinkets i cannot easily part with i am recycling. and i decided to make something from all odds and ends. 

blue geometrics

in the bigger scheme of things, i am using up card stock, vintage images (of which i have tons) and cutting and gluing away. yet another learning curve, and i may not be too handy at it ...  

yesterday's thrift shop finds

... but i'm having fun though, and the double happines comes from functional industry: a valid meditation exercise while making; handmade cards for the shop when finished. 

sint-hubertus shopping gallery, brussels

are you wondering why i'm going through the labour of single cards? well, i'm destocking ain't i... further along the process i'll scan and print, but for now : original one-offs!  

garden gnome, erm... not my garden ☺

so. if you're happy with this, then i am. before long you'll be peering into the shop and who knows, you may find what you've been looking for. for now, ...  

                                           have a wonderful weekend and a good week to come. ♥