04.27.06
Interplay
Here is my Anna Sofie (16) and her accompanist playing a Rondino at a “Spirekoncert”. (In English it ´s ” Sprouts´concert”, I don´t know if it´s the exact translation, but it means something like young/ upcomming plants or talents…) Oh, she is playing like an angel and so is her sister! To be bright playing an instrument is a wonderfull gift, but it´s also quite a lot of exercise and hard work. Good for the soul and spirit!
04.24.06
Organized
In my next life I´ve decided to become a more organized type of person! One who always knows where to find her keys, her photoes, adressbooks, notes and stuff – and especially – one who starts all her tasks and works in good time before all deadlines! What a nice perspective!
04.20.06
Sparkling eyes and lots of self-esteem!
Talking about sparkling eyes and lots of self-esteem: Let me introduce you to Nala and Columbus, our two cats. Nala, is almost ten years old now, but still going strong! And her son Columbus, only half her age, shining black, white breast, makes him look very distinquised – like a real gentleman wearing full evening dress.
I believe, cats are born with a genuine aeshetic sense. They understand perfectly well how to arrange themselves in the most decorative ways in the furniture. They prefer cosy, clean and quiet places like the beds, the armchairs or the windowsills. And they enjoy to lay close together – or to sit at your lap being caressed and talked to in a gentle, civilized voice. But one thing they do hate: the sound of the hoover; then they are off immediately!
04.19.06
Hot spots of inspiration
For me a noticeboard exposing al sorts of stuff and ideas is a great source of inspiration.
This board is a small exhibition of materials – almost a collage in itself. But it could be a collection of anything. The little items you collect, bits and pieces of this and that, old stamps, etc. When you gather your materials at a board – they don´t flow all over the place (hopefully).
Sometimes, when I don´t know where to start, it can be very helpfull just to organize the stuff in the workshop. You simply tidy up the place, arrange tools and materials so you know where to find it, and suddenly in this clearing process you find something that kicks you off. That usually works for me!
Another hot spot for inspiration is browsing all my notebooks and art-journals. It hardly ever fails, I always end up totally carried away by ideas and projects I´d like to start. Right now the only source lacking is time! Ever heard that before?
04.17.06
Two hobbits in a tree
Indeed Easter is about death and resurrection, I know, but yesterday it became a quite near thing! After a nice long walk with my two teenage daughters in the forest at Moesgaard, I returned home fresh and cheerful to continue an assignment I´m writing for my exam (on Tolkien´s hobbits and elves) and also to write a post here.
But what happend when I entered my pc? My blog was gone – totally disappeared! Immidiate major crisis! Imagine if it was yours!
I´ve only been into this for a few weeks, but I would have hated the idea of starting it all over. Luckily it appeared to be a fixable problem, a general failure somewhere in the wordpress "system". It should be solved now and thanks God, there was even a back-up on everything. My blog is reborn, it means: here I am, back on my feet, still the happy editor of Heaven & Earth and anything in between!
04.14.06
Hands up, three-eyed April-fool!
I made this self-portrait via an old, blurry and stained mirror hanging on the wall. And what do I see in the mirror, camera in my hand? An April´s Fool? A hybrid sort of cyclops – eye in my forehead? Anyway, I suddenly realize my camera is some sort of a THIRD EYE, used to focus on all strange sorts of views!
My original intention was to make a dokument on my hands, but as you see, it transformed into a double or triple fantasy. That´s life! You can start out with a quite clear and simple intention, but somewhere along the road something happens, and you end up with a different and not foreseen result. I think we should be open to see where life will tell us…
You probably know The Old Walking Song by Tolkien; it´s one of my favorite allegories on living:
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Untill it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
A Series of Art
I often make series, especially when I work with small collages, and thise are really tiny things, only 10 x 10 cm. (What´s that in inches??) I´ve made them for a miniature art project in Czestochowa in Polan. Usually I don´t make that small items, but I had to keep it miniaturesized in order to participate, as the very size is an important guideline for this exhibition/project.
Yesterday I signed the entryform and send off everything. I´ll tell you later how it is accepted, and I add a link in my blog-roll if some of you would like to take up the challenge.
04.13.06
Easter-greeting
In my family we are not very religious,. Spiritual yes, but not religious. And so, Easter time is not an ecclesiastical affair – it´s more like an occation to notice spring is finally(!) here. The old is dying – in order for new impulses to break through. This is the natural cycle of life! To celebrate this we always decorate the table with a basket of eggs and we always pick a vase full of branches, it must be a big bunch, and full of eggs too; it´s our Easter-three. Now it stands here in front of me, and for the next days I will enjoy how the leaves unfold in wonderfull variations of shining almost luminous green shades.
I have one friend though, who is very serious about religion. She´s a Catholic, and it´s most interesting to hear her point of wiev. In her family they fast in the time before Easter (several weeks). I´ve always thought, fasting was about not eating, but in reality you can fast anything and it doesn´t have to be food. So in her family everybody individually chose to fast something they like – maybe even like a little too much. It can be anything: watching TV or surfing on the net, touching sweets, alcohol, cigarettes, sex, shopping, whatever. Of course it must be something you´re really found of. If you don´t like – let say – smoking cigarettes, it´s not a challenge to drop it. I´ve often thought of trying this idea. ´Why not? It´s not for ever, it´s just for a period, and if you are not a Chatolic you are free to chose on your own: when and how long a period. Drop an old habit – and see what happens.
I wonder what I´d decide to fast. Reading creative peoples´blogs could be one! I´m actually sort of hooked these days, I must admit. Another thing could be cutting away coffeee and carrots! I´m in the process of writing 5 synopses for my approaching exam (deadline for handing in is 1. May). In order to keep smiling, I´ve become totally devoted to the stimulants mentioned above. I´m sure, it would be wise to detach, but do I have the spirit?
04.09.06
Slow speed
A 100 or rather a 1000 bits and pieces sewing-project. I don´t know yet if I´ll make it into a pillow, a table cloth or a quilt for my basket chair.
You probably know the principles of patch-work. First you make a pattern. Transfer it to a piece of cardboard. Cut the cardboard into the right shapes. Tack a bit of cloth on each bit of cardboard. Then stich the bits together, one by one. A nice exercise for your patience. Finally you remove the cardboard, sew on a back of cloth and maybe even a layer in between – if it´s going to become a quilt.
Once patchwork was a necessary thing to do, in order to exploit every resource. Today patchwork, quilts, sewing, embrodery, knitting and all other sorts of handwork is merely a question of creativity and aesthetic enjoyment and recreation. But we should never underestimate the importance of the aesthetic dimention of life. Some of us can hardly live one single day without it!
I always love to have one or more creative projects going on. In fact it´s absolutely essential to me, if I haven´t got anything going, I feel sort of lost. It`s not a rationel thing, being busy with an absolute needless task. It´s more like a mental way to calm down, a work done con amore!
04.07.06
Studio Friday- point of view
The window in my studio is placed very high up so, generally speaking, it allows the light to get in – I really appreciate that – but it does´n offer much of a view. Luckily my studio has got a door too. When I want to have a look outside, I just open the door…
So usually my view is what I see at my table or my notice board where I pin up and store all lots of stuff. It can be ideas I want to remember or any item that inspires me such as: little notes, photos, icons etc.
I also use the livingroom as a studio. Actually, when it comes to a point, the whole house is more or less converted into a stodio.
The livingroom has a door too – to the terrace and the garden. Here today ´s wiev is the laundry wawing in the cold springwind.
It has been a long winter and a late spring. I really look foreward for just a few minutes sitting here in the doorway of my studio or my livingroom, or right outside, in a sunbeam, cup of coffee in my hand, eyes closed, head turned towards the warmth and the light of the sun… dreaming …drifting away…
