I could not resist writing a short blog about a tiny project that turned into such a nice and pleasing piece of work, I am proud of. Follow me...
Bram Stieltjes and I go back a long way. We know each-other since primary school and became close friends since high school. Even-though we both spent the majority of our lives in completely different realms, at our roots, we are strong and uniquely connected. It feels like an unconditioned friendship.
We live around 600km apart and don't see each-other much. Neither of us likes picking up the phone, which means that there are periods where we hardly speak. But silence has never broken our connectedness.
Early this year 2022, during a rare phone call, we came across a small series I had just made in ink. They are minimalistic and simple, like icons. Talking about the meaning of abstract art, we were intrigued by how different these works can be interpreted and the variety of feelings they evoke.
Both excited by the conversation, we came to an idea: Let's work together and merge our skills for an experiment! I promised to send him images of the series. He would then let his mind wonder and observe what comes up.
After a while we came together again and discussed the lines, words and phrases that came up.
We felt the experiment as very pleasing and really enjoyed the end result.
"One could see the result as a conversation in silence between me and Bram; A set of visual expressions that came from within (me), upon which he took an unconditioned look and intuitively replied, again, from within (him)."
My wife Leonie is an illustrator and book designer and has a sensitive eye for typography. She turned it all into a lovely set of 7 quality postcards. Since I had an upcoming solo exhibition in April 2022 we decided to bring them to the show.
Below you can see them wrapped together with 7 recycled-paper envelopes. For the wrap I used rice paper brought from china by my sister in law, some years ago. The finishing touch is a stamp, showing my logo.
From its origin, this small project evolved into a wonderful combination of skills and events. I just love those projects, that kind of flow naturally.
Have a look at the result. Hope you can see the care and fun radiating from it, with which it was created. Happy to receive some comment!
And credits to my love Leonie! Check her work. It is graphically thoughtful, emotionally sensitive and she illustrates rich and lively characters!
The cards as they are wrapped in rice paper from China and stamped with my logo.
Listen to the sound the 'Conqueror' paper makes! The feel is so nice.
7 Originals as scanned and the phrases written by Bram.
"Line going solo?"
"Just coffee smear. What are you looking for?"
"Round, broken, fragile, such vast emptiness, so inclusive."
"Old blood dripping slowly between the borders."
"The dark path, via the coffee, into the burn-out."
"So much depth in a plane surface"
"Spaciousness or loneliness, chance or failure
or ...
why ...
or
Originals as they are framed and exhibited at the show in box frames.
Pen and ink on paper, 7 x 11 cm | 4,3 x 2,8 inch.
I offer the cards for sale, to be cherished in a frame or send to someone you care about.
Contact me if you are interested in the original series.
Hit the like button at the top of the page in case you have enjoyed the read and please forward it to anyone who might like to read it too!
"Through art I get to connect within myself and people I paint at a profound level."
