Carved in stone

French door and shutters, carved in stone. Timeless and still standing. Digital collage made with photographs taken in France last summer.

Second round RR Secrets in my handbag

This month I worked in Shakti's book from Spain in the Round Robin 'Secrets in my handbag'. Although I do not know Shakti, she seems a very positive person. So this spread is about her carrying pink coloured glasses in her handbag to cheer herself up when she needs it.
The text says: in case life gets too serious: pink coloured glasses to see life bright again.
I also received the new book from Anke from Germany to work in...

Digital Collage 3

Image made from several photographs taken on our holiday in France. Old doors and old windows always seems to attract my attention. I like the way that I can layer the images and can give it more depth, something very hard to do in paint!

Back to textiles

As long as I can remember, textiles have always been in my life. My aunt was a very creative woman. She allways worked with textiles, knitting, crochet, weaving, etc. My mother used a knitting machine to make our dresses and socks. I still remember crocheting clothes with my elder sister for our Barbies. It was the only way to get them dressed because we did not have the money to buy these beautiful doll clothes in the shop.
The last few years quilting has been my main textile 'interest'.
This week I went to Nellie de Mulder, she is an artist for whom I made and maintain a website. She started wool felting and taught me to felt a shawl in one afternoon. The picture here is the result of it - and I am getting hooked. It is very relaxing to felt the wool, and working with colours has always been my favorite. By putting a loose-weaved fabric as a base for the shawl, the felted fabric does not get stiff.
This is her web site http://www.nelliedemulder.nl . It is in Dutch, but you will find photographs under Expo (fourth expo).

This is the back side of the shawl.

Signs and symbols

A while ago I made some small watercolour paintings of invented symbols, inspired by the work of Parisian artist Luciano Di Concetto. Luciano makes mixed media work and combines symbols and calligraphy in his work.
Inventing symbols and painting them was pure fun for me. But of course, no works of art. So instead of risking them to be put away and never to be seen again, I decided to bind them into a little book (- long before I started a course bookbinding).
The book is not perfectly bind - I definitely need more lessons, but this is my little book of signs and symbols. Maybe I should try to create a new set of alphabet?

Binded books

Two weeks ago I started a course in bookbinding. After two lessons we got the assignment to make a simple book at home. Despite a heavy cold I managed to make two. Too bad that I missed the next lesson, though...
The first one was based on the exact measurements we were given. The pages are just plain printing pages, not very inspiring.
The broad version is made with thicker paper (200 grms), with a light texture, good enough for drawing. I like the broader shape, it makes it easier to draw landscapes. It is quite thin, but also light. Very handy to take with me on trips.
At the end of the course I will probably end up with a lot of sketchbooks in all kinds of sizes and weights...