Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts

Friday 27 January 2017

Tuning in



The last few days have been filled with challenges, both personal and work related. On the whole I'm fairly upbeat and tend to muddle through, but today, along with questioning what I really want in life—I hit a metaphorical wall.

The photos were taken in town at the local market in Groningen, Netherlands and based on a card drawn from a series to: Indulge your senses. My card's purpose changed from taste to view, I suspect to lighten my mood, I needed visual food, as opposed to actual food to satisfy my mental appetite.















Friday 18 July 2014

Stone Fortune


The wind set in around the island of Crete—whipping white foam edges on the crests of waves, pulling strands of hair from hairbands and blowing serviettes and paper notes into the air.

I spear olives from the Greek salad and I amuse myself with an old childhood rhyme—a seemingly female orientated superstition—to guess the status of a potential future marital partner:


Tinker Taylor Soldier Sailor —

Rich Man — Poor Man — Beggar Man — Thief


Spoken with a lilt, as I count the olive stones neatly arranged in a row on the side of my plate—this time I have eaten five. Although not in need of a 'Rich man,' the outcome is desirable—I smile. A charming superstition, but of course not wanting to tempt fate, I generally do make sure that I eat more than one and if necessary, I will continue to eat more than six olives—silly eh? ... And luckily—I love olives.

Holidaying in Greece at the moment, I'm sure this ritual would be greeted by puzzled looks from the Greeks, who are more fatalistic by nature. Life is what it is and you take the rough with the smooth—no point complaining—get on with it, or turn it around so that it fits the way you want.

When it comes to being 'rich' there are so many other facets to it than monetary richness alone. I have only to look around me at the beautiful island on which I find myself—Crete—I feel rich and privileged to be able to be here.


© Alison Day Designs

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook & FB Page

LinkedIn

Etsy

 

Thursday 22 March 2012

Letters Never Sent

Hot off the press, in the hands of Jo Parfitt (Summertime Publishing).

Recently, I was asked by Jo Parfitt of Summertime Publishing to help with the re-publication (4th) of Letters Never Sent by Ruth van Reken. This involved resetting the internals and designing a new cover. Designing the cover was wonderful - it does something when one of your designs becomes a fully-fledged book cover! Resetting the internals, however, was initially not so wonderful and became a very steep learning curve for me indeed: learning a new program, intermittent major rants, as well as loads of cups of tea. But now, mission accomplished, it's out there and I'm very pleased to have been involved in its re-issue.

Letters Never Sentis a series of letters written in retrospect by Ruth van Reken to her parents. Although never actually posted in letter form, it is her way of documenting her earliest childhood memories, not only for them, but for herself too. In the letters, she tries to explain the separation and loneliness she experienced, whilst her missionary parents were out doing  'God's work' on placements in other countries than where she was

From a young age, Ruth didn't see her parents for long periods of time, and we can feel the struggle and ensuing sadness inside her. We follow her journey from young girl to adult woman; notice her unwavering faith in God and her attempts to be happy and 'cope'. Often-times she is aided by a deep self-examination and an underlying feeling of shame, which emerges as her survival mechanism. All this is coupled with supportive friends, teachers and supervisors - her second family at boarding school - who help to establish her identity. Later, we are privy to her continuing journey through life: her marriage, the start of a family, and eventual following in her parent's footsteps.

Ruth van Reken is one of many whose childhood circumstances have led them to be referred to as TCK's (Third Culture Kids). This classification arises when a child lives in a third culture to which it is not native and is alien to those cultures its parents originate from. Although not a native to the third culture, the child will take it on in order to form an identity, and in doing so help to stabilize feelings of unrest or insecurity. As the movement of people the world over increases, so do the number of TCKs and global nomads at large. As a result this story may evoke a few 'Aha!' moments or a sympathetic understanding from those with similar histories. 

Letters Never Sent is an insightful, poignant and interesting read for all, regardless of your religious affiliations. 

For your own copy of Letters Never Sent, you can purchase it on Amazon as a Kindle edition or as a paperback .



Review: Expat Bookshop (16.04.12)
© Alison Day Designs

Friday 18 June 2010

Jessica Lelieveld



Jessica divides her time between a house in the countryside, situated in Norg (which she shares with her family and two dogs) and her studio in Groningen. With two such different worlds at her fingertips, she finds plenty of influences, which can be photographically captured. After much contemplation, an idea will emerge and this she then interprets in clay.

Particularly interested in the transience of existence, she is fascinated by the process, structure and colours in nature when something dies away. Layers and organic forms are recurrent themes in her work and with this in mind; her interpretation of the four seasons has emerged. This consists of twenty clay panels (mosaic-like in their layout), depicting the flora and colours typical of each season. During my visit to her studio, winter and summer were laid out on display, ready and waiting for the panels to be joined together with a copper-coloured wire to make a wall hanging.

Other current works include lamps; one of which has as its base form, a large stripped walnut tree trunk, encircled by metal swirls. The finished product will symbolize the relentless continuance of life. On display in windowsills smaller works can be seen, comprising of a series of clay tiles, some displaying cross-section slices of a small tree trunk, some a procession of pebbles, ever increasing in size. The roundness of the forms she uses symbolizes nurturing whilst the tile procession that of evolution.


With beautiful high ceilings and ornate decorations, Jessica has renovated her studio-house, imprinting on it her signature style, with a touch of the modern here and there where appropriate. Future plans are to decorate every room, door and space with her work so that it becomes an artistic house, where it would be possible to spend the night, or artistic companies could come and hold workshops and inspirational events.




Apart from the natural world, another inspirational source (as well as his philosophy) comes from the Austrian artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. He was best known for the colourful buildings he designed as well as being a champion of human and environmentally friendly construction.

Jessica is a member of a collective of artists, Galerie Huis ter Heide, which can be found in a converted stall of a farm in Drenthe. The exhibits are refreshed every couple of months with new work and all works are for sale. More about the collective can be found at: Galerie Huis ter Heide.

The aftermath of the economic downturn has had its effect on every walk of life and particularly that of the artist. I asked her what kind of effect it has had on her and her work. From her reply it seems that art fairs have become more important as venues for artists to show and sell their work, as well as making a concerted effort to offer a selection of work in a broader range of prices. Jessica intends to show her work at a couple of these fairs, as well as taking part in Art Explosion, a platform for artists, which occurs annually in Assen.

She has no issues about parting with her work when it comes to selling it, for her it’s the process that is important, particularly whether her idea is feasible, not only from the design perspective, but within the confines of the size of her clay oven. The biggest ‘present’ for her is that she can make people happy with her work.





© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 
First published in the Connections magazine #27 Spring 2009