The Kiss

This summer, on holiday in England, I was party to what I can only describe as the best kiss ever! 

In the words of INXS…two worlds collided...’ and boy did they, as it was a kiss of total abandonment, insatiable in it’s duration, hot and familiar, but in its action uncanny, as we had literally just met.

Upon reflection, I will admit that the cause of this was probably partially due to a night on the town with my sister-in-law and the predetermined pub-crawl with ‘a half in every pub’ along. Poison of choice was cider, and, several pubs later with ample amounts of the golden beverage inside us, the wheels of the lack of inhibition had been well oiled. 

Our tour of the pubs ended at a club, as by this time it was well after midnight, belting out good music, and a heaving dance floor, plus. It served cocktails as well - fatal mistake, but a very tasty one. The cider was traded in for a funkily named Woo Woo cocktail and we joined throng on the dance floor, which seemed to be just about anywhere you wanted it to be in the club.

How to make a Woo Woo:

1 ½ oz Peach Schnapps

1 ½ oz Vodka

3 ½ ox Cranberry Juice

Pour all ingredients into a highball glass over ice cubes, stir and serve.

Well, one Woo Woo, of course led to another and after a while I was definitely feeling no pain. All of a sudden, a tall, dark and very fit, handsome stranger appeared at my side and asked me if I knew of anything to do around here.  Much to my amusement, during our conversation I found out that he was Dutch and on a couple of days visit from Amsterdam. Laughing, I replied that although this was my hometown, I lived abroad and had done so for many years, co-incidentally in the northern Netherlands, and wasn’t up to date on what there was to do in Oxford except the obvious: visits to museums, bars and restaurants; discovering the colleges and a bit of punting along the river. After that the Woo Woo’s were replaced by Sex on the Beach cocktails, the taste of which I have absolutely no recollection!

Well, one thing led to another, and by the time the club closed we were kissing passionately on the street, outside the club with my sister-in-law and his entourage standing by staring at us in bemusement. It was obvious that this was a kiss with a mission and it wasn’t going to let up for a while. When I finally did come up for air, I made a Cinderella-like dash for a black-cab (which oddly enough had white paintwork), we’d manage to hail, leaving behind my website address scrawled on a piece of paper, for if future contact was desired. Whatever happened to a simple phone number, I hear you ask? Yes, I did kick myself several times the next day, but let’s not forget I was totally Woo Woo’d at the time and it seemed a less threatening option with possible potential in the long run - who am I trying to kid!

So, why do we kiss? Putting one’s lips to those of a stranger is not only very intimate, but a total invasion of body space not to mention the potential exchange of a vast array of bugs on both sides. Also, hanging onto someone with the sucker-like tendencies of an octopus tentacle and at such a close proximity too does tend to obscure one’s vision of the other person. I managed to clear up the last point by demanding that my sister-in-law describe him to me the next day.

Quick surf on the Internet and I find an article where kissing is said to have possibly stemmed from the pre chewing and passing of food by mothers to their offspring. It’s also equated with social bonding, and the exchange of pheromones during such an interaction can become a prelude to courtship and even sexual encounters!

Back to my pheromone encounter, although I won’t see Mr tall, dark and handsome again, maybe he’d like a re-match one day. Until that time, it goes on record as a kiss to remember – ‘Ow Zat !

 

The Kiss - Auguste Rodin

Are you up to scratch on kissing, try: Kissing Quiz

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

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Lola - Portrait

Lola by Alison Day

Meet Lola... my submission for the 2010 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2010 in London, England. 

Yes, I was actually mad enough to send her, packed in kilometres of bubble wrap and cardboard, from The Netherlands to my sister (Caroline) in London. Using UPS, which was a story in itself, as during tracking she got stuck in the depo for 24 hours, went round and round in circles on their carousel for no apparent reason, until they finally decided to send her on her way. Shortly after that I flew over end of March and together with my sister and niece, Carina, took her to the RA. The whole project was incredibly exciting from start to finish and even though this year my work wasn't chosen to take part in the exhibition, my interest has been awakened...and there's always next year!

On another visit to England in July, we of course had to make a trip to the RA to see what did finally get into the exhibition...we saw a lot of great work and some monumental crap too, from so-called 'eminent' artists. I won't mention names, as I don't want to give them extra publicity, but also don't want to be sued for slander! That said, I still think Lola would have fitted nicely into the exhibition, but of course I am biased and it probably was very difficult choosing 1267 pieces out of 10,000 submissions!

A word of criticism, however, directed @ the RA...I do think that prominent artists should be limited to a maximum of two pieces of artwork, seeing as space is at a premium. Also, to the misguided person who decided that it would be better to space out the artworks and not 'paper' the walls from floor to ceiling,  as has been tradition since 1769, resulting in less artists' work being exhibited...'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' I'd say!

Lola is one of my papiermaché-mosaics. So far, my subject matter has the re-occurring theme of portraits of women. In my eyes, I choose the fairer sex, because of their chameleon-like diversity as well as their unequaled adaptability and creativity. As a result womankind has provided me (and still continues to do so) with an endless supply of studies for completed as well as future projects.

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

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Make the world your oyster...

Street art by Eddie Colla

A good philosophy to live by!

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

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So, there you have it...

Phew! As publications editor and designer of Connections magazine, those are all the articles I have written and just a few of the pages and covers I have designed to date over the last 5 years.The magazine is a publication distributed by Connect International. 

A fair amount of material and the joy continues, in the Autumn issue... so watch this space for more.

Feel free to share my articles on social media, but please keep the credits intact.

So, until the next post - meet ~ Scuba Cat - (Sabotage Times)

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

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Connections Magazine - Summer #28, 2010

For the summer issue of Connections, we set a competition for children asking them to 'Design  a Summer cover' for the magazine. Here is the the winning entry created and sent in by Sam Kompier.

Read & download issue here

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #28 Summer 2010 

Houtmagier (Wood Magician) Arjan Portengen

Finding some studios and their artists isn’t always a breeze, but once I had found a large and obviously empty building that looked like a perfect space to house a furniture designer, I knew I was on the right track. Previously a warehouse for kitchen supplies, the building is now totally empty, except for the presence of four artists who have made personal studios out of the space within it. One of these is Arjan Portengen; also known as ‘De Houtmagiër’ (Wood Magician).

The revolving entrance door to the building had to be unlocked in order to let me in and opened out onto an enormous interior space of concrete floors, large high windows and a motionless escalator to the upper level. As we walked through it towards Arjan’s studio of six years, the abandoned feel of the building, reminded me of the atmosphere in the film ‘Escape from NY’ starring Kurt Russell.

The building is one of a multitude of properties managed by Ad Hoc (www.adhocbeheer.nl) a nationwide company responsible for vacant buildings. These are rented out, for a token monthly payment, until such a time as the property is reused or demolished. The tactic is to prevent vandalism and break-ins, so often prevalent in empty buildings.

‘Ribbenkast’ (Ribs cupboard) by Arjan Portengen

Once ensconced on a large sofa with a cup of coffee I asked Arjan what led him to becoming the wood magician and furniture designer. In reply, he said that for him, old furniture has always had more soul than new and many of his pieces have started out life as an object thrown away on the street, by a previous owner. This interest in furniture and bric-a-brac in turn has led him develop his signature style by creating a new object, by way of a collage of both new and old elements, which at the finish becomes a completely new piece of furniture in it’s own right. Most of the time he already has an idea in his head to start with and this is translated into a sketch, but as with most sketches, the idea evolves as he works. He coupled his interest in furniture with a study, where he trained as a furniture maker for a year and a half, thereby learning the basics of furniture construction, the rest (in his words) came from him and has resulted in what he makes today.

In a lot of his work there lies a conceptual joke, cupboards dance or take on a new form or life of their own. For example, there is the ‘Ribbenkast’ (Ribs cupboard), a white skeletal spine-like construction supporting a series of draws, of varying sizes, at intervals along its length. The skeletal spine symbolizes death and the draws represent memories. Each draw is individual and brightly coloured. In this case (which is an exception to his general colour use), it is a reference to the Mexican traditional use of vibrant colours and their intense relation with the dead, particularly during the annual ‘Day of the dead’ celebration.

De Dansende Kast !! - “It takes two to tango”

When asked about influences in his work, he says he tries (hard though it is) not to be influenced by external influences and if he is, it is not done expressly.

Other than his creative side and the ‘kronkels realiseren’ (realising the twists of ideas that present themselves), he is a restorer and carpenter able to make and mend traditional doors, cupboards and interiors, which he enjoys. At the moment he is restoring a farm interior and its built-in cupboards, so the creative projects are temporarily on hold.

I ask him if money and support were no object, what would he like to make here in Groningen, to leave his mark? After a bit of thought Arjan came up with two. The first would be to work his wood magic on the east wall of the City Hall or a whole room as artwork, with total free licence to do whatever he wanted. The second came just as I was leaving. To build a tram carriage totally out of wood and in his inimitable style and attach it to one of the future trams that Groningen will be getting. I pitch in, that he should work his website address into the side of the tram too for a bit of publicity! With that the revolving door is unlocked again, I step out into bright sunlight, take my leave of Arjan and hop onto my bike in search of some retail therapy at the nearby IKEA.

Arjan Portengen’s website: De Houtmagier

Studio: Sontplein 4-8, 9723 BZ Groningen

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #28 Summer 2010Read & download issue here

What's Hot, What's Not! - CRAVE

Crave * v. 1 feel a powerful desire for. 2 dated ask for: I must crave your indulgence

ORIGIN: bef. 1000; ME craven, OE crafian (‘demand, claim as a right’), of Gmc origin;
akin to ON krefja to demand, lay claim to

Early February, when the mornings are still too dark to be enjoyed by any stretch of the imagination and feeling as though I have a starring role in the movie Ground Hog’s Day, I crawl behind my computer, backed up by a pot of tea, with the idea of finding something for the ‘What’s Hot, What’s Not’ spot in the Spring issue of the Connections magazine.

Yes, it would be easy to take the low road and continue on the traditional negative downward spiral of Monday morning that I so often suffer from, but I decide I should make a concerted effort to lift my spirits, after all I am writing for the spring issue of the Connections. This is a time of re-birth, when everything comes back to life again. The infernal snow and permanent living in ugly walking boots (party shoes in a bag) scenario, has come to an end and attractive footwear rules once more. Crocuses and snowdrops emerge, wagging tailed little lambs and fluffy chicks are born and yet, I crave something… My permanent bar of big chunk chocolate in the fridge is temporarily gone and I can’t lay the blame on anyone but myself, as my son is at school and I have yet to see a cat eat a piece of chocolate, let alone open a fridge door; although I must say I used to own a very clever large black tom cat who could open doors, but I digress.

So, I turn my attention to the Internet and tick in the word crave. The search offers up a variety of sites, which cover edibles, games, sexy videos, a perfume by Calvin Klein, as well as a hospitality public relations and marketing services firm. That’s all very well and good, but it doesn't hit the spot. How about Wikipedia? That presents, of course, a definition in much the same way as my trusty Oxford dictionary, some music, a band and a brand of cat food. With the party (Soul Train) from a previous weekend still playing clearly in my mind, I idly tick in crave and party, well nothing ventured as they say… and so I come across The Crave Company. I enter their website hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #27 Spring 2009 

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 

Relocating from Oz to the Netherlands

‘So what made them move from Australia to Holland?’ was my son’s remark, as we made our way round the puddles towards their flat. ‘That’s a very good question and one of the first things I’m going to ask them’ I said. The apartment of Meredith Tavener and Peter Tooley (also in the Indian neighbourhood in Groningen) is only a five-block walk from ours, is very spacious and flooded by light through its large windows. We were greeted by equally large smiles and voices with a recognizable Australian twang.

Meredith is the reason they made the move, exchanging Perth in Australia for The Netherlands. They arrived 11th January 2010, right in the middle of a real snowy winter. Such extreme weather was something completely new to them coming previously from a heat of 47 degrees. It seems that after she had completed her PhD, Meredith thought it would be interesting to find employment out of her then academic environment, which although pleasant, no longer provided her with a much needed challenge. So, she began to look around. First efforts brought up a job at Oxford University in England, which would have been a marvelous opportunity, had it not been for the fact that she would most probably be competing against the world and his wife for the position! Next she found a position in Groningen at the University and thought I can do that!’ Two interviews later she was hired.

Both Meredith and Peter were used to moving regularly from place to place, due to work, in Australia and inventorying their lives down to how many forks they owned. They think this made their shift from, Australia to Europe, and into expatriates’ status, somewhat easier.

Now where is Peter in all this? Before the move, Peter worked in military aviation. He had spent the last eighteen years of his life doing this and earning a good salary. But he decided to give up his job and follow his wife in search of adventure. While Meredith works Peter is taking his time to find out exactly what step he would like to take next. He says that at the moment he feels as though he can’t just walk down the street and say ‘gidday’, to people as he did in Oz, not knowing how it would be received. He says his ‘compass’ is adjusting to a new hemisphere, which must be strange for someone with a job where navigation was an integral part.

Nonetheless they are both very enthusiastic to learn the Dutch language, but unlike their European counterparts (who generally have a knowledge of a minimum of two foreign languages) getting their heads round actually learning a language, has been quite a challenge. They decided to bring in a private tutor to get things rolling, so that one day soon they will be able to finally decipher their mail and find out if the news reader on TV actually makes sense. In the meantime, when they don’t understand something, they call upon the help of friends, colleagues and Connect as well as making use of those often rather interesting online translation websites, which give a vague idea of a document’s contents, in between some very hilarious literal translations.

Looking around their modern apartment I see brightly coloured painted canvases leant up against the walls and ask who’s the artist. Meredith laughs at the term ‘artist’, saying she started dabbling with paint as therapy, whilst she was taking her PhD. The canvases have traveled with them as instant décor for their new apartment. Peter too, is a creative soul and has an interest in photography, which he would like to really like to get into now, seeing as he has the time to do so.

Both Meredith and Peter are happy to be in Europe, not only to see what The Netherlands has to offer, but also to discover more about its neighbouring countries. Travel is something they enjoy and with past trips across Australia, often covering thousands of kilometres, they find it a refreshing change that distances here, around town or to work, are a lot shorter and can be done either on foot or by bicycle.

Paintings: Meredith Tavener & Photos: Peter Tooley

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #27 Spring 2009 

Connections Magazine - Winter #26, 2010

The Skater - William van de Velde

© Alison Day
Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #26 Winter 2009