Amsterdam: Random Goodness

Café Thijssen; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

While in Amsterdam, I was delighted to see the alternate spelling of my surname. From what I understand, Thiessens started in Flanders in the early 1500s, were kicked out thanks to being radical Anabaptists (Mennonites) and then landed in Friesland and Holland for a few hundred years before making their way to Prussia, South Russia (present-day Ukraine) and finally to Canada and elsewhere. Café Thijssen is named after author and teacher Theo Thijssen. I confess that I had not heard of him until our Amsterdam trip. I love the font.

Milagros; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

The cool thing about the canal district in Amsterdam is that the side streets and alleys are as interesting as the main streets. I found this shop in an alley after a delicious Thai meal. You may think you have seen it all, and then you realize that there's more to discover. These milagros are quite large. 

Doggie in the Window; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2013

Looking at these pictures of summer light and open windows give me hope that spring will arrive for a long stay. I have my fingers crossed for a slow spring, where the temperature remains above freezing and warms gradually. One can only hope, right?

Visual Research

Crosses studio wall © Karen Thiessen 2013

Copenhagen: Wauw Design

Wauw Design was a shop where I had to be content with looking. Ros Ingram's mixed media ceramic fish drew me into the shop.

The trouble with Ingram's work, is that each piece was brilliant and I couldn't go home with just one. Travelling light does have its drawbacks.

This fish, with its snap eye spoke to me.

Cutlery and ceramics by Wauw Design. Note the black tags. 

Wauw Design is located at Læderstræde 14 (close to Grønlykke).

Week 56: Adobe Illustrator

Matryoshka © Karen Thiessen, 2013

When it rains it pours and it's raining deadlines right now. I have four deadlines that I am working toward. It's an exciting/scary time and I feel more alive than ever. My Matryoshka pattern hints at an exciting collaboration that I'll share with you later. Until I have a better handle on reaching my deadlines, I'll limit my posting to three days a week. 

Mola

Mola; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

My mom bought this mola in Arizona for me early this year. Isn't it gorgeous? I'd like to hang it as it is, without framing it, but first I need to add a hanging device that won't stress the textile. In 2001 I was in a four-person show called Red at the Textile Museum of Canada. Margaret Ballantyne, the conservator, generously taught me how to attach hanging devices that evenly distribute the tension and therefore don't stress textiles. Needless to say, I redid all my hanging devices for the show. She also showed me how to properly roll my textiles. The proper hanging device involves sewing a "female" strip of Velcro onto a muslin strip, and then hand-sewing the muslin strip-Velcro combo to the textile. To hang the textile, simply staple the "male" Velcro strip to the wall and press the male and female strips together. If you don't want to put staples in your wall, you can glue or staple the "male" Velcro strip to a thin piece of wood, drill holes on either end of the wood, and hang it level with two nails.

Mola detail; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

Back to the mola, don't the faces look like monkey kings? I wonder about the story behind this textile and who made it.

Mola detail; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

Mola detail; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

The above image reminds me of a Matryoshka doll.

Chester & Lunenburg Day Trip

Chester Basin, NS  

Two years ago hubby and I discovered an ideal picnic spot in Chester. This trip we returned for round two. Whether sunny or foggy, the view is still breathtaking.

Tall ship, Lunenburg, NS

I had ulterior motives to go to Lunenburg: to take more rubbings of the door sill plates of the Lunenburg Opera House (stars in a repeat pattern) but sadly they were all removed during renovations and replaced with boring cement. Thankfully I did find a diamond sill plate elsewhere that offered up consolation rubbings. 

Lunenburg NS folk art

Nova Scotians understand colour, as you can see with the yellow guy and the bottom homes. After four years living in Halifax, I was sad to return to Ontario's conservative (unimaginative) house colours. 

Lunenburg NS house colours

Don't you love the putty, chartreuse and teal combo?

Lunenburg NS house colours

Goldenrod, pumpkin orange and purple can stand up to any fog that rolls in. What Ontarians may lack in house colour confidence, we make up with outrageous gardens.

Salvation Mountain #3: Niland, California

The top three images show the truck where Leonard Knight lived until he moved into a nursing home. Leonard used window putty to create the raised decorative elements on the hood and grill of the truck.

Salvation Mountain #2: Niland, California

Interior shots of Salvation Mountain. To learn more about Salvation Mountain, check out Larry Yust's book Salvation Mountain: The Art of Leonard Knight, the March 2005 National Geographic, and various videos and documentaries on YouTube. Do you see why Salvation Mountain is worth preserving?

Salvation Mountain #1: Niland, California

Are you ready for a huge jolt of awesomeness? Salvation Mountain was so incredibly strange and beautiful that I'll share my images over three days. That's three days of awesomeness for you!

Salvation Mountain was a long drive from Yuma, but well worth the trip. Leonard Knight is the brains and brawn behind Salvation Mountain, a three story structure made of adobe, donated paint, vehicle windows (see picture #4), and a love for God. My parents met Leonard several times over the years and had much to tell me about him and his Mountain. Leonard, born in 1931, was recently moved into a nursing home due to failing health. I couldn't imagine leaving behind such a labour of love. Dad told me that Leonard made each flower (bottom picture) by slapping down a large gob of adobe and then thrusting his fist into the centre. Once dry, he painted each one. Without Leonard's daily attention to his Mountain, I fear that it will disintegrate and become a safety hazard. In 2001, the Folk Art Society of America designated Salvation Mountain as a National Folk Art Site Worthy of Protection and Preservation. Let's hope that it is protected and preserved so that future generations can enjoy this work of art.