More books!

 And  my evening classes (The art of books) goes on and I love it! Here some first trials with a Japanese stab binding. I'm getting loads of paper from my boxes on the attic and finally I can give them a new life! Like the last cover is made from a Peruvian schoolplate about all the fruits the country can offer :) New sketchbooks with a soul. Yesterday I started from an old book that we have to demount totally and restore if required and binding again with a new self-designed cover! So time to draw some Alice. The book is from my mom and she is very curious how it will start his new life :))) Me too! :)

The alphabet is growing... :)

C

AB and C....so the next one, about eating the most delicious chocolate spread like Nutella...we called it 'choco', mostly all the kids love it and it starts with a C but sounds like a ssssssschhhh :)
I'm cutting away more and more letters, linoleum is flying around, drawings are flewing out of my hand...I have so much fun doing this! Soon more!

B

The second one. Don't search for a link between the animal and the letter. The illustrations are going together with a text about letters and the magic of it. In this one it goes about the b that can form glasses together with his broter d...and so on ;) I know the owl doesn't need glasses but he was the right animal for this one I guess.

123,...ABC

I was invited by the Plantin Moretus museum of Antwerp to this lovely project.They are designing a special guided tour for very young kids (3-5 years old) Later more about that. The most important thing for me is that I was asked to design and illustrate a book about the ABC that will have his role into this tour. After thinking to hard about what kind of technique I started cutting out my ideas into linoleum. From now on I want to give you everyday a peek into this project. 

Feel free to comment and give your thoughts about it. This is a work in progress and any feedback is welcome!

Dalíbook part 2

 This little book makes me crazy in a very good way! I finished my idea of a sticking cat on the last page of the book with outcoming legs :) I will always love puppets of this kind! And so happy I could realize my idea like I saw it in my imagination. The cat is brought on paper with ink and then printed on magnetic paper. And the way to close the Dalíbook is a very loooooong mustache! Hope Dalí will like it :)

The magical backyard

Photos : Javier Huerta Pedreros 

Eindelijk was die dag daar! Ik had mijn nichtje van 3 beloofd op ontdekking te gaan naar dat bos hier vlakbij (Stropersbos, Stekene). Hoe meer ik daar kom hoe meer ik nog ga houden van die plek! Dus tijd dat zij het bos ging gaan ontdekken met haar eigen ogen. Ik kocht haar een klein geweven mandje om kleine bos-schatten in op te bergen. Het mandje bleef eerder leeg op een paar eikeltjes en blaadjes na maar haar hoofd en hart werden meer dan gevuld met alle indrukken van deze plek. Bij onze thuiskomst tekenden we het bos op papier en al heel vroeg op de avond droomde Liese weg in een heel groot bed. Deze ochtend maakten we samen nog koekjes voor mama en papa en toen...reed ze wuivend mee in de auto van haar mama. Ze was nog maar net weg en een vreemd gevoel drong die keel van me binnen. Ik miste haar al! Gelukkig ben ik voor mijn broer en zijn vrouw te kunnen genieten van haar dagelijkse ontdekkingen.

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That day arrived that I promised my little niece of 3 to go and discover the forest nearby. The more I go to that place the more I love it and it was time that she could see the magic with her own eyes. I bought her a little woven basket to go and collect treasures. Although the basket wasn't full after our visit, her little head and heart were more than fullfilled. After the forest, we painted about it and she dreamed away early in the evening. This morning new energy brought us to the kitchen were I helped her making cookies for mom and dad. ooooooh, this was to good! After she left with her mom, back home...I felt something inside my throat...I was missing her immediately after she left our house. Such a gift this girl and I'm so happy for my brother and his wife they can enjoy every day of her discoveries!  

The pleasure of paper and books!

 School began again and besides being a teacher of Arts I love it to go on with studies and learn more and more about the things I love to do. Finally I started  this branch of 'making books'. I learned it once in one hour, very quickly and I had to do it with that base of knowledge. Happy I'm into the class of Katja Clement (NL) and so curious what we will learn this year. My first exercise / A leporello book, a little book by folding.

Made my little cat-book...it's not finished yet...want to make a little Dalí puppet for it...you will see...want to finish it very soon! ;)
ooooh...and just on the radio...this song is a perfect beginning of this day!
Bon Iver and Holoscene
ENJOY it!

In search of happiness

A new illustration for a new Lily-column in the online (dutch) magazine Ziezozon.
It's all about finding your own happiness. How to reach it, what you can or have or may do to find it. And do we have to be full of happiness all the time?
This is for me one moment of daily happiness...Dalí who comes laying down and tells me about his day outside. If there are some hard things that make me sad, thanks to him I can relativate and find my second of happiness!
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Een nieuwe illustratie voor een nieuwe column van Lily in Ziezozon, een positief online magazine.
LEES en zie het geluk overal rondom jou!

The pillow of Dounia

 Photos : Fotografie Ilse

The Olimpia-pillow arrived in the hands of Dounia....I guess they will have lovely nights and sweet dreams!
More pillows and other cotton things in my Envelop-shop KATÓ
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Dounia, geniet ervan meisje en Ilse, superdank voor de foto's en het niet aflatend enthousiasme!!

Baking...monday

A growing gift

We celebrated the third birthday of my little niece Liese. She enjoyed from every moment just as we! She came showing the '3'-necklace I made for her of shrinking plastic :) She is such a gift! Next weekend I will take her to the forest, searching mushrooms, nuts, elfs and gnooms ;)....having a little picnic, discovering nature and ourselves together. After that, drinking warm milk and honey, eating a cupcake, painting together, reading books and let flow the imagination until we will fall down in our cloud and dream away after so many adventures. Yes, I'm looking forward to it! Time to create a little human? :)

Lucky Friday!

The gift from my garden today!
Have a nice weekend everyone.

Shrinking weather

Playing with 'shrinking plastic'....preparing new lessons, ideas are growing and I'm happy when it rains!
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Testjes met krimpfolie terwijl ik nieuwe lessen voorbereid, ideeën groeien en de regen die blijft vallen maakt me nog blijer!

Suitcase Night

I had a full loaded weekend, I saw my house rarely until now, sundayevening, rainig outside and we together HOME! I teached again after 2 months, we started the new year and I have a bunch of little artists on saturday, curious to know what they will create this year and me too!;) After spending the whole sunday in the museum I'm very glad to find my Dalí home again. I left him outside on friday morning and he stayed away until today.

Especially because he choosed to come home again I gave him this wonderful old suitcase with a patchwork in it that someone gave me when I was a teenager ;) I always loved it...and now even more, if I see how Dalí enjoys his new little place on earth!  Such an angel with a big moustache!!!

Olimpia & Dounia

Remember Olimpia, the cat of my friend Laura in Madrid. Laura wanted her four cats portraited by me as a gift on her wedding for all her family and friends. One year later Dounia, one of the girls from the fotoshoot I did tuesday, see picture down, dreamed of a pillow with the drawing of Olimpia. I designed one for my Envelop-shop, especially for her and everyone who loves this drawing, and so to thank me for all that she made this drawing inspired on my work. I truly LOVE this so much. It's so touching! Her mom started immediately to make a whole lay-out for tea-bags and cookies with her design. See her blogpost about it for more details HERE.
Such a funny and special gift!!! I went crazy for it and I stay crazy I guess! :)
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Dounia, ik wil je nog een keer extra bedanken voor deze supertekening!
Je maakt me zo gelukkig en ik smelt als een koekje met veel chocolade bij het zien ervan.
Tot een volgende keer, dan tekenen we samen ;) Liefs Kathy