Interior Inspiration

One of my favorite artists - Friedensreich Hundertwasser - states that the home is the third skin of a person

I think it is true that one's home and the way it is decorated reflects one's personality.

When seeing this house I thought the person living here must be a warm hearted, kind and peaceful person.

it is the home of Sas from the Netherlands

visit her wonderful house on Interior Inspiration

it is like going on a holiday in a relaxing and serene atmosphere

This is what she says,
For me decorating a house takes love and patience. You combine the different pieces like a jigsaw puzzle and in the end all the pieces united form a warm and welcoming home. As individuals we should be able to create our own style and that is a journey. But it is a very interesting and creative journey which leads us through different styles and possibilities and finally to our own personal style.

pictures by Sas from Interior Inspiration

Flockage - a message from Kirsten Hardie

Flockage: the flock phenomenon - an exhibition that explores the unique
qualities of flock in art, design and culture at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery
& Museum, Bournemouth Dorset UK.

Dates: 15 Jan - 1 June 2008. Free admission
Supported by the Arts Council & The Textile Society’s Museum, Archive /Repository Award 2007.

As a ubiquitous material that enjoys enduring popularity, flock is literally part of the fabric of our social, cultural and economic history. Flockage: the flock phenomenon is a unique exhibition that aims to explore flock’s fascinating forms and functions. This unique exhibition showcases flock’s use and status within design through a rich and colourful array of historical and contemporary examples and perspectives brought together for the first time.

The exhibition presents a lively consideration of the qualities of flock - how the feel and look of flock is used to maximise the appeal and use of objects; from kitsch ornaments to interior design. The exhibition creates a dynamic, colourful and sensory experience.

The exhibition showcases a wide range of exhibits on loan from collections and companies. Exhibits from key design companies and manufacturers include, as examples, the work of Cole and Son (Wallpaper) Ltd, The Ashley Wilde Group, English Eccentrics, Johnny Egg, Bonar Floors, Anglepoise, Thomas and Vines Limited and Qualplast Limited. The exhibition presents a fascinating array of cross-discipline flock examples and will showcase work from numerous international designers and companies.

wallpaper from Cole and Son

Flockage presents flock work by key artists and designers including; Elaine Igoe, Research Student, RCA; Zoe Robertson, jeweller, Girli Concrete and Natasha Lewer - whose flocked ceramic sculptures are designed specifically for visitors with visual impairment to enjoy. Newly commissioned flock work is also exhibited.

Mutations 2 - ceramic sculptures

Natasha Lewer

The exhibition involves The European Flock Association and brings together a host of over 30 companies and individuals that make and create items with flock. The venue for the exhibition is the prestigious and luxurious Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth - a truly sumptuous setting on the south coast of England.http://russell-cotes.bournemouth.gov.uk/hoshis.htm.

The symposium - Flockage: the flock phenomenon will be held at Hotel Miramar, Bournemouth on the 7th February 2008 to complement the exhibition. It will explore further key aspects of flock through a range of dynamic keynote speakers. Symposium delegate rate: £55.00 (concessionary rate: £35.00 = Full Time student / Member of the Textile Society)

The exhibition is co-curated by Pam Langdown and Kirsten Hardie, of the Flock Friendly Group, in partnership with the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum.

NOTES TO EDITORS

For further information on Flockage: the flock phenomenon – the exhibition & symposium please contact:
Kirsten Hardie kirsten@missbetty.co.uk or Pam Langdown flockage@googlemail.com
Telephone: 01202 314600

For press enquiries regarding the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum please contact Kerry Curtis:
+44 (0)1202 451823
Kerry.Curtis@Bournemouth.gov.uk.

Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
Russell-Cotes Road
East Cliff
Bournemouth BH1 3AA
UK

Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum in Bournemouth is a dramatic experience for many visitors. The exuberance and variety of styles found within the building creates a unique atmosphere that is a mixture of both private house and public museum. Created by two dedicated collectors, the Russell-Cotes is a museum of national importance. The galleries display a regularly changing programme of significant art. Famous permanent artworks include Dante Gabriel Charles Rossetti’s Venus Verticordia (oil on canvas (1864-68)) which has toured the world as one of the UK’s most acclaimed works of art.

Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays (closed Christmas Day and Good Friday), from 10.00am – 5.00pm T. +44 (0)1202 451 858; E. r-c.enquiries@bournemouth.gov.uk. The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum is a registered charity (no. 306288) and is administered by Bournemouth Borough Council.


Contact: Kirsten Hardie / Pam Langdown mailto:kirsten@misbetty.co.uk and/or flockage@googlemail.com

2 photos provided by Kirsten Hardie

found art at the beach

In need of oxygen, we spent the afternoon at the beach yesterday. The idea was that we would make a long walk to get some exercise after this hibernation. But something changed our plans. There were just too many bits of driftwood everywhere, so I continuously stopped to pick up pieces and get on my knees to make pictures. All this time, my poor husband Wim would patiently and silently wait and endure the wondering looks of people walking by. And packed like donkeys (5 bags full) we dragged ourselves back to the car. We merely did 2 KM but we did spent a few hours there.

doesn't this look like a fish? Wim thought it looked like a dog.

I found a perfect base for it, will do that this week.

you can't really tell here, but some of this driftwood was partially burned and now it has this very nice glow like dark copper.

we could not take everything that was lying there, the bags were getting too heavy to continue our walk, so we decided to play around a bit.

will post more pictures on flickr

de Palestijnse Circusschool komt naar België

“Circus Behind the Wall” in Europa

De Palestijnse Cirkusschool reist naar Belgie en Frankrijk tussen 2 en 17 februari 2008. Komt dat zien!!

Het hoofd biedend aan de vele obstakels verbonden met onderdrukking van de geschiedenis, identiteit en culturele beleving, geeft de Palestijnse Cirkusschool vorm aan iets geheel nieuws. Ze biedt de Palestijnse bevolking de kans een nieuw artistiek terrein te ontdekken dat daarvoor enkele gekend was van TV of een sporadisch bezoek uit Europa. Een wereld van verwondering en plezier die niet langer een verre droom of een toevallige passage is, maar omgetoverd wordt tot een nieuwe vorm van verzet tegen bezetting en opsluiting. Een medicijn tegen wanhoop en passiviteit. Een nieuwe deur naar leven en het recht op bestaan.
De idee voor de voorstelling "Circus Behind the Wall" is volledig gebaseerd op het dagelijkse leven van de palestijnen waarin scheiding de hoofdrol speelt. Afgesneden van hun land, hun water, hun families, hun geliefden en hun verleden door een apartheidsmuur. Twee zussen die van elkaar gescheiden worden, geliefden die geen weg naar elkaar meer vinden, een volk dat niet terug kan naar zijn land. Maar alle objecten in bereik in het cirkus worden bruggen van communicatie. Jongleeracts, een trapeze of stelten kruipen over de muur heen. Acrobaten of clowns dansen het leven. De muur breekt hun wil om te leven, te creeren, te communiceren, te dromen en te blijven vechten voor een vrij land niet. Circus Behind te Wall vertolkt het geloof dat op een dag de muur zal vallen.

De Palestijnse Cirkusschool opende haar deuren in augustus 2006 en na drie weken werken met 10 studenten was de basis voor Circus Behind the Wall geleverd. In februari 2007 ging de school van start in een eigen zaaltje in Ramallah en kwamen er heel wat kinderen bij. Ook in Hebron en Jenin zijn er ondertussen wekelijkse sessies met een groep kinderen.
In de show:
- Sereen Touqan
- Marah Ashmar
- Mays Yousef
- Majd Yousef
- Adham Nu’man
- Nayef Othman
- Fadi Zmorrod,
- Shadi Zmorrod, oprichter en director van de show
- Atallah Tarazi, voor de techniek

Data en locaties van de voorstellingen


- Zondag 3 februari, om 18u in Momes Circus, Avenue Leray 33, in 7500 Tournai (http://www.momescircus.be/)

- Donderdag 7 februari om 19u30 in De Roma, Turnhoutsebaan 286, 2140 Borgerhout - Antwerpen (http://www.deroma.be/)

- Zaterdag 9 februari om 20u30 in L’ecole de Cirque de Bruxelles, Rue Picard 13, 1000 Brussels (http://www.ecoledecirquedebruxelles.be/)

Voor reservaties / tickets kan u terecht op de respectievelijke locaties.

Ons bezoek aan Belgie wordt gecoordineerd door de Hallen van Schaerbeek (http://www.halles.be/) in het kader van MASARAT, het Palestijnse culturele seizoen; in samenwerking met P.A.C., Progrès Action Culturelles (http://www.pac-g.be/) en ESAC, Ecole Superieure des Arts de Cirque (http://www.esac.be/) en kan rekenen op de financiele steun van de CGRI.

Tijdens hun verblijf worden de studenten verwelkomd voor een stage van drie dagen in ESAC.

Onze voorstelling in Doornik kadert ook in het project van P.A.C.: “Assoir l‘espoir”, een sensibiliserings en fondsenwervende actie voor de Palestijnse Cirkusschool aan de hand van de verkoop van artistieke stoelen in Brussel, Doornik, Luik en Bergen.


Meer informatie over de cirkusschool vind je op http://www.palcircus.ps/
Ons contacteren kan op: info@palcircus.ps

recycled car - build your own

Le Patron

kit car

This peculiar car caught my attention on the Brussels car show because it is a RECYCLED car. The base is from a Citroën 2CV - the legendary Deux Chevaux - Dyane or Ami 8. With a new redesigned polyester body, the whole car is available in kit. It can be assembled with the usual tools in a normal toolbox and will take some 200 hours. The car is approved and allowed on the streets in Belgium and the Netherlands.

info Belgium http://www.lepatronbelgium.be/

info Netherlands http://www.lepatron.nl/

working on totems

Alechinsky exhibition

Ale

chin

sky

from A to Y

On the event of this 80th birthday an exhibition pays homage to Alechinsky - an artistic career that spans over 60 years. Alechinsky works with a diversity of techniques including paintings in oil, ink and acrylic, as well as drawings, posters and lithographs. Some of his work is truly monumental.
The entrance to the Alechinsky exhibition. I asked if I was allowed to take photos. No photos were allowed of the works because most of them are in private collections, and for some reason when the artist is still alive. This picture only shows some posters, I guess there is no harm in that.

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

from 23 November 2007

until 30 March 2008

vintage design lighting

by Willy Van Der Meeren & Jean Stuyvaert

more info in previous posts

this is the last picture of fifties design furniture & lighting I took during the current the exhibition in the Atomium. I have more but not of good quality.

more fifties vintage design

designer Willy Van Der Meeren

wall hanging lighting

without the light fixture behind it, too bad

current exhibition in the Atomium

more fifties vintage design

more Willy Van der Meeren furniture

kidney shaped tables, a classic in the fifties

this peculiar stand is actually a sewing basket with 'drawers' to put the gear in. I really love this.

current exhibition in the Atomium

fifties vintage furniture

a bit of nostalgia

we use the same phone at home, it is still connected and works !!

heavy bakelite

The Belgian designer and architect Willy Van der Meeren (1923 – 2002) has always attached importance to artistic creations which are intended for the greatest number. He has combined with talent a modern approach and a great simplicity in the choice of its materials. With his artistic achievements, he is at the top of the Belgian designers of the 20th century.

current exhibition in the Atomium

Pictures are not of the best quality, but the light conditions were not good. Well, you get the idea anyway.

Lucienne Camus - sculptures

behind this lovely door is the studio of sculpture artist

Lucienne Camus

you step into the first room which shows a display of her smaller work

into the next room which is her actual studio with larger pieces

she tells about her art with a vibrant passion,
working with the hardest materials it seems she only caresses them
to make elegant pieces of art
click on her name to see more of her work

more of Lucienne Camus' work : click HERE

all posts on the art tour 200 & 2008 : click HERE

Derek Jarman - Prospect Cottage

Derek Jarman was a painter, theatre designer and filmmaker.
In an inhospitable place like the barren fields next to the Dungeness power station in Kent, he created this breathtakingly beautiful garden. The humble cottage is surrounded by beach finds that he turned into sculptures. And he planted the perfect plants for this kind of place.
The area is of a strange beauty if you want to see it. Some people might only see a power station, stranded skeletons of boats that will never get into the water again and a weird looking barren desolate plain. But there is this unique atmosphere which you will notice if you take the time to walk around and not just drive past.

exercising

I know I've changed the good habit of posting everyday, but then right now I don't have many interesting things to post. As I only use own pictures - not taken from other blogs or sites - there sometimes is a shortage of good material.

But I've started to post pictures on a daily basis on a flickr account. I'm very new at this, so it is still looking for what works best. The pictures posted there show my daily environment, sometimes an occasional picture taken during a trip. Pictures that don't really belong on this blog because they don't fit in with the theme. But if you're curious of how my house looks like you can have a peek by clicking here.
Experimenting with my small camera I start to explore my own home for nice details. I suddenly feel the urge to try some painting, so in the next time I will do some dabbling with colours. The idea is that in the future I want to enrich my assemblage work with bits of painted material, and this might be a good start to see if paint agrees with me or vice-versa. My aim is NOT to become a painter, but to mix it with my other work.



I decided to try my skills -if I have any-on these two images taken in my house. I have no idea where this will lead me, I don't expect too much from this, but I just want to have a go.

Dirk Eelen - colourful artist

Whenever I get the chance to visit an artists studio during open studio days I'm like a child on Christmas Eve, I can't get enough of it. I could stay for hours looking at colours, textures, shapes, material and hume the scents of oils and paints.

I love this accidental double portrait with the sketch on the wall

an idea of the size of the paintings, with Dirk Eelen next to it. Click his name to see all of his works


quirky details


again, to give an idea of the size, my man posing between two paintings



well, this is an artists studio after all

type his name in the search this blog on top right of page to view all posts on this artist.

warm juicy colours

the reflection of the sun on the table created a nice glow on the oranges, in summer it looks like this

lights going wild

This (not so good) picture was taken a few years ago in the Tarotgarden of Niki de Saint Phalle. I think it was made by her partner sculptor Jean Tinguely. 
I recently saw similar light sculptures made by bahdeebahdu. Do have a look, I absolutely love them and I am tempted to try one for my own dining room. This was the reason I took the above picture anyway, although it might scare people off to sit at my table.

 

More posts on Niki de St Phalle : use the 'search this blog' on top right of the page.

More posts on Jean Tinguely : type his name in the 'search this blog'.

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR

photo taken in the Tarot Garden of Niki de Saint Phalle