Old windows from France

This summer we went to France and visited Honfleur, a little town with lots of galleries. Apart from one or two galleries, I did not like the art that was on display there. Mostly made for tourists, I guess. The backstreets of Honfleur were wonderful though - I made a lot of photographs: old doors, windows, aged walls...
In this photograph I melted the ancient wall with the new rosebud. Somehow they seem to fit together well.

Digital Collage

Digital collage: the clean way of combining photographs - you do not need glue! This is a photograph from a statue that I bought several years ago. The look of the girl is so serene. It is standing in my workroom for several years now and it still moves me.
I combined her face with pictures that I took this summer in France. I am working on several collages with statues as main objects. Their stone faces and expressions appeal to me. Always wondering whether their faces belonged to real women...

First spread in the board book

The first spread in the book "Secrets in her handbag' is a list of places that this lady would like to visit. Journeys which she longs to make but never came around to.
I think that most people have dreams and fantasies about the things that we want to do. Sadly, they keep being dreams because there are so many other things that we give priority to. Still, it is hopeful if we remember those dreams and keep them alive. Maybe, maybe just one day we can make it happen....

The images are transfers done on sticky transparant paper. The map was aged by folding, wrinkling and inking. The same treatment was given to the handwritten list. The text was stamped on painted paper.

Round Robin 'Secrets in her handbag'

Last month I joined the Round Robin of the European Altered Books Group. The theme is: Secrets in your handbag. The rules are simple, we had to prepare a boardbook, decorate it, make a sign-in page and do the first spread. I choosed not to use my own handbags as a source of inspiration. They are often black and only carry the essentials! So my book is about the handbag of a lady with a rich past.

The cover is made from board and in the shape of an old fashioned handbag. When the book is finished and comes back I will add a clasp and some hinges as well.

The sign in page has small envelopes with a tag in each one of them.

A place to exhibit

So, now I have started my own blog. I need a place to upload pictures of the artwork I made for swaps from the Yahoo Groups I belong to. Instead of designing my own website, I opted for this easy solution.