T O D A Y

i found this image of a pinboard i made sometime ago 
as an insparation for a series of linocuts
about gardening, memories and flowers
the images are now in a box
for when i have more time....

today for the first time i had the idea
i'm going to make it
i will get this work (for my work!) done 
before the holiday begins
and that feels so nice!
after that there will be time ;^))

outside a blackbird sings
despite the tough rain showers
i look at that image
and think of these words:


'If I cannot do great things,
I can do small things
in a great way.'
                                          Martin Luther King Jr.

L A T E L Y

it's exactly two months ago that i posted something
.... sorry! and.... i wonder
is there someone visting me here nowadays?

i have been busy, no, i still am very busy with the job
and i will be even more busy the coming months
next to teaching i have a new additional task: 
thinking about and writing the curriculum for next year

that's why it was so quiet
i miss being here, and i realize that i have not enjoyed it enough
the years that i was working from home and had the time, so much time

you can follow me on facebook and instagram
but i am not sure if that's what i want
i loved this blog and the blogworld, so....

ok
back to work!  
with this sentence in mind
(do not know from whom or where....)
x
Patrice A


'Meet yourself
where you are right now
with kindness
openess
and patience.'

monthly quote: F E B R U A R Y

'There's a crack in everything,
that's how the light gets in.'

                                           Leonard Cohen


this sentence is spinning in my mind
it's what i try to do
it's how i want to be
to see the crack
feel the light


deze zin is spint in mijn hoofd
het is wat ik probeer te doen
het is hoe ik wil zijn
de scheur zien
het licht voelen

monthly quote: S E P T E M B E R

'We expect our happiness to come with a sign and bells,
but it doesn't. But it is there all along, small and plain,
that you easily can mistake it for something ordinary
and fail to see.'
                                                     Rachel Joyce
                                                                                                          (From the book 'The love song of miss Queenie Hennessy')




i am six days late with this monthly quote
my new job consumes all my time
i miss my days in my studio ....
however, the work is fun, the students great, my colleagues nice
i slowly get into a rhythm
slowly i get more time for the things i also love


ik ben zes dagen te laat met deze maandelijkse quote
mijn nieuwe baan verslindt al mijn tijd
ik mis mijn dagen in mijn studio ....
maar, het werk is leuk, de studenten geweldig, mijn collega's fijn
ik kom langzaamaan in een ritme
langzaam krijg ik meer tijd voor de dingen waar ik ook van hou

drawing challenge 173: I M A G E

the drawing challenge continues! 

dear woolf Nadine's theme this week
please visit her blog for the link to the other participants

'an image is worth a thousand words'

that's the saying
but is an image still worth that much nowadays?
with its volatility and speed
all those millions of images per day on instagram only
and since a few weeks i am one of them ;^))
all the sharing and showing....
we are on a path, can we change that? 
and, do we want to change that?

all those questions in my head this week
and like Nadine i went through images
in real and on my computer
this image comes from my instagram account

fine theme and challenge
it makes me think
so.... thanXX Nadine!
and hooray! for the drawing challenge

monthly quote: August

'A party without cake is 
just a meeting.'
                           Julia Child

thirteen years ago, after over ten years, i stopped working as a teacher
because we moved from Rotterdam to the village where we still live
but....
from today i am re-employed as a teacher at the HMCollege
this time in Amsterdam
time for cake!!  ;^)))
oops!.... too late to photograph


dertien jaar geleden, na ruim tien jaar, stopte ik met werken als leraar
omdat we verhuisden van Rotterdam naar het dorp waar we nog steeds wonen
maar....
vanaf vandaag ben ik opnieuw in dienst als docent aan het HMCollege
deze keer in Amsterdam
tijd voor taart!!  ;^))
oeps!.... te laat om te fotograferen

shades of blue

we walk and talk
drink coffee here and there
my facebook is blocked ;^((
but you can follow me on instagram  ;^))
i am re-reading books and
wear a t-shirt in a fine shade of blue



we wandelen en praten
drinken koffie hier en daar
mijn facebook is geblokkeerd ;^((
maar je kunt me volgen op instagram  ;^))
ik herlees boeken en
draag een t-shirt in een fijne blauwe kleur

printing with NADINE

and than NADINE came for a few days

on one of those days we worked in my studio
together we came up with a fine sentence
then typesetting with my old wood type
but because i have little letters
there were three print runs before it was ready

NADINE happily worked with miss Stuttgart
and i enjoyed her company

we printed with gold printing ink based on linseed oil on A4 sized artist paper

P.S. 
i do not have facebook at the moment
but, i am working on it



en toen kwam NADINE voor een paar dagen

op een van die dagen werkten we samen in mijn studio
samen bedachten we een fijne zin
daarna letterzetten met mijn oude houten drukletters
maar omdat ik maar weinig letters heb
waren het drie drukgangen voordat het klaar was

NADINE werkte met veel plezier met miss Stuttgart
en ik genoot van haar gezelschap

we drukten met gouden drukinkt gebaseerd op lijnzaadolie op A4 formaat artist paper

P.S.
ik heb geen facebook op het moment
maar daar werk ik aan

monthly quote: JULY

'Have nothing in your house
that you don't know how to use or
believe to be beautiful.'
                                                W. Morris

last saturday we were at a party
which was held in the garden of a monumental house
old and faded chic
the house had been empty for more than 10 years
with all the furniture in there, and more, like this little bird

i wish you all a summery July



afgelopen zaterdag waren we op een feestje
dat werd gehouden in de tuin van een monumentaal huis
oude en vergane chique
het huis had meer dan 10 jaar leeggestaan
met al het meubilair er in, en meer, zoals deze kleine vogel

ik wens jullie allen een zomerse juli

monthly QUOTE: may

'The trip was easy. It was no more dangerous than crossing the street, 
or driving to the beach, or eating peanuts. The two important things that 
I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, 
and that the most difficult part of any endeavour is taking the first step,
making the first decision.'
                                                  Robyn Davidson


when i visited Australia in 1990 i read the book 
'Tracks' by Robyn Davidson
since than i have been reading it several times
and Australia became one of the inspirations for my work

drawing challenge 165: COAT

for the three-days-course typesetting i took last january we had to bring texts to typeset
one of them was this one, shown in the second picture
translated:

Be what i wanted to be.
We have taught ourselves everything in life and at some point you think that you are that. 
But that's a coat that you've put on. Without that coat you feel bare. 
Yet it is important that you dare to discover what lies beneath.
first sentence of an unknown person
text by Marten Toonder, a dutch comic strip creator who had a great influence on the dutch language 
by introducing new words and expressions

in addition i made a little sketch

as i said before i like to dress in layers
therefor i like big wide coats, to fit all the layers underneath
and preferably in dark colors, such as gray, brown or black
i once had a beautiful wide hooded coat made of brown corduroy
our sons named that coat 'moms magic coat' 
but now I have a new coat, a very light and slim trench coat!
which makes me feel totally different....

for this drawing challenge i used the sketch
and wondered how i would look like in a multicolored coat
ok, with a little black and white  ;^))
i used pencil and some (old) tempera paint


for more COATs, please visit:

Ariane, Annton Beate, Nadine, Veronica,
Emily, Barbara, Leena, Melodye,
Stefanie, Carole, Tammie, Lucia
Tanïa, Katrin, Eric, Roberto and
Renilde


i wish you all a fine weekend!
x

P.S.
look what i found! 
around 1984, me in my beloved big wide coat by Mac & Maggie
and then, as now, with too short trouser legs

monthly QUOTE: april

inspired by Barbara with her monday quote 
and Vibeke, like Ruthie, with a monthly quote
i am going to join!
in the beginning of every month i will make
a 'monthly quote' post
starting today

'And above all
watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you,
because the greatest secrets are always hidden in
the most unlike places. Those who don't believe in magic
will never find it.'
                                            Roald Dahl

january

after christmas and new year
our new year starts with birthdays
but now the garlands are stored
the new year can begin
as a blank page
come! let's dive in and under in 2015

an intention:
more now than then and later
quote: HOORAY! it is TODAY



na kerstmis en oud op nieuw
begint ons nieuwe jaar met verjaardagen
maar nu de slingers zijn opgeborgen
kan het nieuwe jaar beginnen
als een lege pagina
kom! laten we duiken in en onder in 2015

een voornemen:
meer nu dan toen en straks
quote:

villa augustus

sigh .....
i would like to live and work
in Villa Augustus

yesterday i received a gift lunch at Villa Augustus
where i had not been before
for my 50th birthday (which was in august ;^)) 
thank you! dear best friend!!

looking back at the photos
i see that there is text on almost all



zucht .....
ik zou graag willen wonen en werken
in Villa Augustus

gisteren kreeg ik een lunch cadeau in Villa Augustus
waar ik nog niet eerder was geweest
nog voor mijn 50e verjaardag (die was in augustus; ^))
dank je wel! lieve beste vriendin!!

terugkijkend op de foto's
zie ik dat er op bijna allemaal tekst staat

the sea

each year i ask the sea for my birthday
and this year i got it  ;^))
first we went to beautiful Haarlem
and then we stayed on the 8th floor at the boulebard in Zandvoort
hello! beautiful raging sea

firts image says:
cycling i cross the rails
sun on my face
over a dune path
roll the sea closer



elk jaar vraag ik de zee voor mijn verjaardag
en dit jaar kreeg ik haar  ;^))
eerst gingen we naar het prachtige Haarlem
en daarna verbleven we op 8 hoog aan de boulevard te Zandvoort
hallo! prachtige woeste zee

fishing nets

i find these fishing nets in Stavoren
where our boat TREES originally comes from!
being a Staverse Jol, a small fisherman sailboat ;^)))
overlooking the IJsselmeer
inspiration for a linocut
with this text in mind



deze visnetten vind ik in Stavoren
waar onze boot TREES oorspronkelijk vandaan komt!
zijnde een Staverse Jol, een kleine visserman zeilboot
uitkijkend over het IJsselmeer
inspiratie voor een linosnede
met deze tekst in mijn achterhoofd

drawing challenge: nest

i love to beautify our nest, as i call it
that's also what i do as an interior advisor/designer
making a house more like a home
and that's what i've been doing lately
decorating others' nests   ;^))

when cleaning a drawer i find some cord
that once rolled just seem nests


sweet Ariane of The Rose was the host of this theme
please visit her blog for more nests




ik hou er van ons nest, zoals ik het noem, te verfraaien
dat is ook wat ik doe als interieuradviseur
een huis meer tot een thuis maken
en dat is wat ik de afgelopen tijd heb gedaan
het verfraaien van andermans nesten  ;^))

bij het opruimen van een lade kom ik koord tegen
dat eenmaal opgerold net nestjes lijken

advent calendar girl & giveaway

 

today i am the advent calendar girl in vibeke's advent giveaway!
to compete you go to her blog and leave a comment before the end of the 25th of december
good luck!!

and thank you vibeke!

HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the Gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest Sea:

Yet, never, in Extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.