A week in the Achterhoek; part one of two

In the beginning of October I had two weeks off from work. The first week I spent at my sister's house. She lives in the East of The Netherlands in a region called Achterhoek. It's mostly farmland and low countryside. I also got to take care of her dog Jinte, which is always fun, because she's adorable.

Because of corona I didn't really do much else than read, write, draw and walk the dog. No daytrips or going to cities for shopping or museums. And of course I took plenty of naps. It was a pleasantly boring week. That didn't stop me from taking pictures of course, so this and the next post form a collection of pictures from walks I took that week.

The weather that week was very rainy and windy. I think it may be the wettest vacation I ever had. So  many of these walks were done either with an umbrella or in between rain showers. 

Hope you enjoyed a peek into that countryside though and wishing you all a wonderful and artsy day.

Walking Pictures

More impressions of my beautiful island Vlieland through the pictures I took during my many many walks. Always a pleasure to take you with me virtually. ;-)

Now have yourself a cup of tea and put your feet up. I wish you a wonderful and artsy day!

Collage Cards

Besides drawing patterns and other nonsense, doing collage may be one of my favourite things to do art wise. I'm never quite sure if my collages really should be considered art, since to me it's pretty much just mixing and matching pieces together and then maybe embellishing them a little. I have no doubt however that it's a wonderful form of personal expression and that it's just basically a lot of fun.

From time to time I like to make collage cards to send as snail mail to whoever might like them.

Here are eight cards I made recently:

I am realising more and more in the last year that for me art is about finding some peace of mind. That sounds a bit more dramatic than I mean it, but that is basically what it is about. I can see it in my collages too. They are always about things like beauty, silence, the good life, balance, personal strength, et cetera. 

I find it interesting that whether you intend to or not, your art will say a lot about you. One might misunderstand and think that I am a very peaceful serene person with lots of patience (I mean, really, who takes twenty hours for a small pattern drawing and thinks that is pleasurable?), but I think it's the opposite. I am a person who seeks beauty, calm and patience because I find them treasures that are often so hard to come by naturally. Just like my journals, art is a kind of instrument to help me cope with life. It's processing and reflection and a moment of quietude.  

I hope you are doing things to stay a bit more peaceful in this crazy world and wishing you a wonderful and artsy day.