collages

               c o l l a g e s

it started in marfa, TX.  i had shipped all of my jewelry making tools & equipment one winter and none of it had arrived. to pass the time, i began making drawings of found wire. then i made them into collages.

since my arrival here in the netherlands, i have resumed making collages. i have been drawn to using text in various languages, cutting up paper "fashion" newspapers picked up in paris, leiden, amsterdam, wherever and combining those with my ink drawings..  i think missing my photo art direction career mixed with the thrill of hearing and attempting to speak a few languages  - its all come together. 

luckily i am fortunate enough to participate in a group show at one of my favorite spots on the planet - the perimeter gallery within chases daily in belfast maine.

stop on by if you are in vacationland in dec. or jan.

                      

mengelmoes { mishmash. hodgepodge}

mengelmoes. ( love this word, now need to learn to pronounce it correctly)

this post is a bit of a visual hodgepodge, a mishmash, snipppets from my week. 

i was fortunate enough to go on location with dutch interiors photographer marjon hoogervorst  and see how the dutch do it (same as we do, only in a more simplified fashion)

she and her stylist femke were lovely to work with. to get inside some of these homes and apts - what a treat for a curious cat like myself. (images of homes & stills)

the piled up books pic - i took this while visiting our author & artist friend marion bloem's home - imagine this times ten - that was one wall in her library. . . piled, stacked art books, non fiction & novels. obvious love of books. it made one want to sit and paw thru her collected treasures for hours.

other images: our neighbor/pirate, a courtyard, my favorite bike path thru the dunes of wassenaar.....

A U T O S

cars. trucks. vans. - i am compleletly and totally wild about looking

at them here in europe. so many colors, great old styles, new smaller,

more efficient ones......

i still want to buy that DAF ( center photo red) and bring it back to the states.

to read/see/experience more of the above, plus great writing check out autoliterate

kastelen. chateaux. { castles }

Traveling in europe with a six year old boy makes one seek out
Kastelen/ Chateaux/ Castles. The towers, lookouts, turrets & armour - 
all make for a happy and engaged young travel companion.
We recently visited the 12th century Chateau du Haut Koenigsbourg ( photos to the left).
It sits atop the Stophanberch mountain in Orschwiller in Alsace, France and it can been seen from many towns away. It is a beautiful sight - we could see it as we drove from in from Strasbourg,  the political, economic, cultural capitol and largest city in Alsace. If you have never been, Alsace and the Vosges mountains, situated along the Rhine valley and close to the german border, is an area full of medievil towns and vineyards - a region of France not to be missed.
In Leiden, just a bike ride away from where we are living in the netherlands,
the De Burcht ( photos to right) is tucked away right in the center of town, encircled by two canals. It is from the same era, 12th cen., and is considered a shell keep, a style of medieval fortification best described as a stone structure circling the top of a motte ( rasied earth). In Holland it is rare to have a view as eveything is so flat so it was very exciting to get a view out and over the gorgeous town of Leiden, one of my favorite cities here in NL.
 *if you have a favorite castle - do share/comment - we will try and visit

heemstede { my old hometown }

Heemstede. i spent a formative few years (i was the age that my son is now) 
in this great little dutch town just 40 kilometers from where we are now. here are snapshots from a wonderful daytrip; the waterworks, an architectural - 
lettered bridge, our old townhouse, flowers upon flowers.....
fall has arrived in the netherlands and the damp, fallen leaves give off a distinct, lovely autumnal smell.
change is in the air.

op vakantie {vacation}

yes, its true, these two are taking off on their first real ROAD TRIP to france

(thats me circa 1971 in holland and H currently)

will be back here soon......

landschap {landscape}

.....couldn't decide if this post should have been vogelstand  {birds }  or landschap. the beauty of the dutch landscape does not seem to escape me on a daily basis. even when in rains, it almost always opens up to dramatic clouds & light. these photos i took in and around wassenaar & the neigboring seaside town of katjwik en zee. on one of my bikerides thru the dunes i encountered this flock of birds, sweeping & dashing & looking like clouds themselves. 
beautious. 
having only a bicycle for transport forces one to get out and see things at a level & depth you wouldn't when you jump into your car.
( please join my blog and leave me a comment.  have YOU ever just had a bike? do tell....)

in de stad { around town }

this past week was peppered with visits to Den Haag, Amsterdam, Leiden...

stumbled upon this unexpected tumbling-book sculpture outside the museum meermanno

H and i went to the corpus museum ( FYI - good rainy afternoon activity for kids in NL, all about the human body) which was quite fascinating. the exterior walls were rocks-enclosed-in-wire and quite beautiful....as you can see H was quite intrigued.

there is a similiar one in marfa, TX. at the Capri events space at the thunderbird.

striking metal bridge signage : rotterdammerbrug & beulingsluis.

 bikes galore outside the amsterdam central station

top series of attached buildings: The Binnenhof, Den Haag, which houses the Dutch parliament, since 1446, and the centre of Dutch politics for many centuries.

bottom row leiden- loved the askew middle buildings.....can your OOG see?