Coffee or tea?

fun project

Not fixed yet, just looking in which order the parts look best.

Tricky thing, drilling through all the parts to get the cable through.  Broke one piece, luckily found a perfect replacement for it and made it even better.

 

Almost finished, still needs a base and a shade ... and light off course.

That's it I guess.  Eventually might change the shade into a white one, depends on where the light will stand.

meanwhile in my studio ...

... I'm getting in the Wood Mood

Work in progress.

After the plastic period with the latest Good Mood Lights last year and the stacked ceramic sculptures Honderdwater last winter it is time for a wood period. So I'm covered in saw and sanding dust, and have a soft carpet of shavings on the floor of my studio.

Still in the trial and error phase, many ideas in my head that need some time to become reality.

blurred vision

Very busy now making new work. Working on a series I won't reveal just now. Only a few hints and sneak previews with blurred pictures every now and then.

reflection in black

my studio reflected in wet black paint

I think some of these might work as real paintings

and a self portrait

it does make me look slimmer, the wrinkles though are going the other direction

work in progress

Finally, I found my drive again. Very busy busy busy these days finishing lazy projects and starting new ones. Hardly any time to keep up my blog and other things. This column of stacked ceramics and mosaic is not finished, still needs grouting and a top.
Oh yes ... it is called "La vie en rose".

slow re-start

After weeks (actually months) of inactivity on the art front I make a slow start. While clearing studios and attics I rediscovered projects that were never finished; because they did not turn out the way I wanted or I was missing pieces to finish the job. I decide to have a fresh look at them and try to get something out of these neglected pieces. And hey ... now it does seem to work...

... I'm going much higher than originally planned. Not finished yet with this stacked ceramic sculpture. But I like my fresh start.

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

trial and error, and finding something new

playing with colours, trying new pieces, loose sketches - but none of these will be realised and make the exhibition.
I suddenly found a new way to work with kitchenware; creating a new version. It took a few weeks of thinking about the technical part of the new idea. And finally today I finished the first part of the new series ... I'm thrilled, it works !!!
Pictures of the new series will be posted in a few weeks, just before the exhibition during the art tour.

meanwhile in my studio

I'm very busy making new works for the summer art tour. I'm not showing yet, just a few weeks more.
And there are still many pictures from artists' studios to post in the near future.

Belgian trouble

In the previous months, Belgium was going through a political crisis. Suddenly the two communities showed their differences and dislikes (there are actually 3 communities, but the third one is so small that most of the people are not even aware it exists) . To support the unity of Belgium, flags started to appear at windows. Everywhere you went the national colours could be seen.
It developped an idea in my mind which I'm not sure I will finish, this is just a tiny part of it.

working on totems

light up the dark days

As Christmas is approaching I'm thinking of how to bring more light into my house this year. Every year I try to do it somehow different without buying ready made items. It is in this time of year that they're is a need for more light as the dark evenings and nights are very long. That is the original meaning of the Yule-fest : the celebration of the light, the solstice of winter where the daylight starts to come back. So the decoration I use has always something to do with light. Yesterday I felt the urge to try something new in my 'pillar' series (the slide show on the right called Honderdwater), but without the mosaic. The new columns will be topped by a glass globe with light. This one is just a quick 'sketch', things are likely to change before it is finished. I hope to make a few of them the next weeks. But they're definitely not just Christmas decoration.

re-use

works in progress

puzzle

rusty material

making new work for an upcoming exhibition,

so I'm going through my collection of rusty nails.

I know, I can't even throw away rusty nails,

there must be a screw loose, but hey ...

I've got a few spare

hard core

in the box with small old tools there is this beautiful and elegant shape, I first didn't know what it was actually used for ...

... until yesterday,

I took this old oak beam which on the outside resembles a sponge because of woodworm. The beam is still quite heavy which means the core is still in good condition. The tool - I have no idea how it is called (stripper? sounds a bit awkward with the title of this post) works wonders to scrape off the soft wood .

wood

still clearing the barn
there is all this wood that was used to support the hay in the loft or to make partitions in the chicken coop - at some point during the farming days of our house there were about 1.800 chicken.
some of the wooden planks and beams are so nice, I'll probably make furniture or try to incorporate them in some project.

chairs for circus school

The chair project initiated by my neighbour, ceramic artist Anita Huybens, raised funds for the Palestinian Circus School.

Last September, I invited a few very enthusiastic artistic and creative people in my studio to make the first chairs for the project. The vibe spread like a virus, in the end more than 400 artists (500? we lost count) joined the project. The craziest chairs popped up from everywhere. The happening in March where the chairs were for sale was a huge success and it was a memorable day for all the people involved. The last chairs are waiting for a new home.


update 2 february 2008

other enthusiastic, creative and artistic people continue the project

more chairs here

rainbowproject Nepal

ontwerp in opbouw

het NEPALproject is een initiatief van een Leuvense vrouw. kunstenaars staan werken af voor een tentoonstelling waarvan de opbrengst naar dit project voor straatkinderen gaat.