fascinating sculptures - Fred Martin

L'échange

The exchange

by Fred Martin

"Two sculptures made with raw clay

Two faces truncated

Just remain their mouth and their nose

A face to face of giants

In which the visitor can become witness, peeping tom and why not entremetteur

A transfer occurs, a question arises:

What will these two entities give birth to?"

The indoor exhibition at the Couleur Café music festival with fascinating works. I especially liked this set up, the back sides were simply loose straw and a few wooden boards. I would have loved to see the artist at work.

in the background of the first picture a work from Mo Ramakers : Blauwhelmen II (Blue Berets)

my studio ... right now

help ... I'm drowning, busy with 2 and 1/2 projects at the same time and I'm running out of time

new idea - no time

Next Wednesday is the set up for the exhibition - art tour. An hour ago I had a new idea that I definitely have to make to add to it. A bit long to explain right now, in due time I will show pictures of it , it's only an idea right now and I have hurry to make and finish it.

and what about the potatoes ...... wait and see ...... they will be useful

fun sculptures

Every year I'm looking forward to the world music festival Couleur Café in Brussels, and the first thing I look for are the fun sculptures. Very tall, they mark different zones as there are many different areas.
these were revolving sculptures and the sun created very nice effects of shadows and reflections at the same time

part of a band made from waste and recycled materials

and these two giants at the entrance of the market area

new series of lights - part 3

spring

chair project - the panels - part 2

another panel with a slice of a church-chair, I love the little hook on the side of it

no title

survival

Doubtful Design

In Antwerp yesterday - Doubtful Design - the secondhand design market.

a collection of seventies ceramics, mainly West German Pottery

chairs everywhere, in all colours, shapes and sizes

As a child I loved this logo of a cigarette brand, the billboards on the walls where so attractive. But the story of the Belgian model in the picture is a tragic one.

A Rietveld House. Many years ago I would not have resisted this as I was making doll's houses back then.

I found my chair

In between the stalls of Doubtful Design, the secondhand design market in Antwerp, I found this.

Last year someone gave me a similar chair but in black, only the seat cushion was missing (no problem, I recovered a black cushion from another chair, very similar to the original one - although I had no idea of how that looked). I'd never seen a chair like this before and I had no idea where it came from. So I was pleasantly surprised to see these standing outside a small but lovely little vintage design shop called Solar-shop (I thought I had a link to this one but I can't find it).
The owner told me they were from a Belgian designer called Rudi Verhelst. I'm pleased that my swivel chair finally has a name, because I really like it and it's perfect at my desk.

sweet crockery

At the same 'secondhand design market' Doubtful Design, boxes full of vintage bowls, most of them by the Belgian factory Boch Frères, the one above is from Villeroy & Boch and are brand new.




And this is my favorite box, is it thirties or fifties, I should have asked. From Boch Frères - Belgium.

more mess

Another messy corner in my studio. Once the preparation for this summer exhibition/art tour is over I will need a week to seriously clear my studio and sort things. Busy with chairs, lights, assemblage at the same time - everything gets mixed up. And I will have to start a totally different series of works for an exhibition in November, nothing with chairs or lights, something completely different.

my studio this morning

chair parts - waiting for re-assembling

how I found my workspace this morning - that means, how I left it yesterday

half an hour later, now ..., that is much better

have to finish this very soon

Moroccan inspiration

Scanned from pictures I took some years ago, our TV room in Moroccan style. It was the old floor that decided of the look of the room, and the 2 antique carpets I bought in Morocco some 30 years ago (not the one on the seat, that is a kilim). The yucca has doubled in size (3,5 meters high!!) since then.
And believe it or not, I made the 2 arches in the old wall, I was told it would collapse, ... not with my technique !! and we're 10 years later now. And I wanted it not to be perfect, no contractor wants to make an not-perfect arch.

chair project - the panels - part 1

the trend these days in interior decorating seems to be the use of decals on whatever you can think of. it can add pretty and funny touches in a home. this gave me the idea to make this profile of a chair on a panel, but it is not a decal ... it is a slice of real chair. a kind of reverse trompe-l'oeil (I'm not sure if I said this right).

new series of lights - part 2

circus

wall panel

how do I get good pictures?

I'm desperately trying to make good pictures of the lights I make. I've tried a zillion times, I just don't get the colours right. Set before a plain wall, a black backdrop, corrugated iron, brickwork ... in daylight, at night, at dusk ... Some colours come out completely different once I switch on the light. Especially the reds are pretty hard to catch. And some colours completely disappear.

I've just added some of my Good Mood lights of my stAAApel-gek series on a slideshow on the right of this page. I'll be adding more in days to come, I still have to photograph the latest series - panels to put on a wall. And hopefully I can get over my frustration of not having the perfect pictures.

Leentje's studio

Leentje Frison, my husbands' sister, recently had a spare room reconverted into a studio.

this inspiration comes from living in Spain

detail of recent work

the morning sun playing through blinds on one of her earlier paintings

early works (above & below)

and her daily artworks, gorgeous salads

this is a painting her husband made, quite some years ago

10days10artists

an exhibition of 10 artists, set in a former psychiatric hospital.

Self-portrait by Bart Duriez (so is the photo below)

A building falling into ruin, some furniture still on location. A strange and desolate atmosphere. A damp and mouldy air in the rooms. The buildings are about to be torn down soon.

most of the works are in the perfect setting - a feel of pain, fear, loneliness, longing, frustration, nostalgia, alienation, mixed feelings ...

Soul by Annick Timmermans

installation by Annick Timmermans

Sun by Anita Sampermans

2 works by Eefje Van den Brande

installation by Digna De Cock

this could be by Bart Duriez too, but I'm not sure anymore

I'll post more pictures on Flickr

new series of lights - part 1

The first part of a new series in my lighting stAAApel-gek or good mood lights. Frames to put on a wall with lighting made from new kitchenware. In all of my works I use recycled material, not in these, as old plastic tends to break easily or is usually scratched or stained. The electric parts are new also. I have no problem to admit that this comes in the category kitsch design.

more to come soon, this series has to be ready for the summer exhibition Kunst op het Hof.

a forgotten piece - and after and before

Recently I visited my husband at his office and saw this patchwork on the wall. I completely forgot about this one, I made several years ago and it only took me a few hours to make it. Just a sew and go thing without any preparation, so it didn't have time to settle in my mind. It is weird to see something that I made myself but I look at it as a stranger. It is the only one I made this way, but a few weeks ago I made a chair that is very much like this. And it took me several days to achieve it.
this is the after.

it came like this before, a bit sad and tired looking chair with a plastic cover, although it was a nice one in its younger days.