Mother's Day.

One afternoon, on the end of a phone conversation over 3000 km away,

my brother muttered,  "Maybe she just loved us too much".
If any words were possible to capture the impact of the loss of our mother,

and the awful aftermath of that loss, I think this statement sums it up.

 

She just loved us too much.

 

And her death was impossible to take.

 

It is impossible to take.

 

And yet, she is still here, but not quite, in every moment, a chance to remember.  I keep expecting her to show up, casually, at my door...and I wonder if that feeling ever goes away.

 

Her greatest fear is that we would forget her….and during some moments, that might be easier.

 

She would treasure and speak highly of her friends who took time for her in her final years on this earth.  I knew who loved her, and who brushed her aside, and it was staggering and heart breaking.  I knew who stood by her side, who listened, who took the time.  All she ever really wanted was time. 

 

She wasn't willing to stop caring or quit trying to help others, often doing astounding things, like running over 60km in a day, with her friend, Henny, in his fight to bring awareness of racism and inequality, mentoring a child in her community with Big Brothers Big Sisters, volunteering during her illness, bringing soup to a friend suffering with the flu or a cold, or just lend an ear to those who needed it at the end of a terrible day.

 

Through her experience, I learned a lot about what matters, who matters and when it is important to care.

 

It's a tricky thing, that caring and loving part. 

 

This is my favorite photo of my mother, taken in 1973...sitting on the beach, outside of Amsterdam, by the North Sea, with her friend Ellen, Ellen's sisters and father.  She was on a student exchange, with her whole life ahead of her.  She's in the middle of the group, wearing the long scarf, Ellen, is sitting beside her, wearing glasses.

 

I love the confidence and strength in her face, and what Ellen wrote on the back of the photo:

"You look like you are wanting to say, don't undervalue me babe, as a Canadian, wait and you'll see something you've never seen before."

Happy Mother's day to all, those near to us in our hearts, new mothers, mothers far across the ocean, and next to us, in the same room, and to the mothers lost and found.

Are you there Spring? It's me, Anneke.

This seems to be the winter that won't let go.


Snow is blanketing the city once again, strangely after temperatures reached 20 degrees yesterday?  What a strange, strange Spring.


I'm taking us somewhere beautiful, magical and warm with this video, that has brought me a lot of joy on such a miserable day.


The images are from an ad campaign, that shows what happens when you stuff 8 million flower petals into a volcano as it bursts at the seams.  Taking over two weeks to collect the petals, I'm transporting us to the little Costa Rica town where petals fall from the sky, instead of snow.


Via Poppytalk, and Designboom.

The Goldfinch.

On the subway, head buried in book,
"It's not about a bird is it...?"
Me, pulling music out of ears, soft, fleet foxes,
"No" (not really wanting a chat)
"What's it about?"
"DEATH."
Complete silence. 
Then I decided that was too severe,
"And fate".


I've been waiting for so long for new work from writer Donna Tartt, one of my favourite authors...11 years to be specific.
And it was worth every moment.  An amazing book about the timelessness of art and beauty, fate, our bonding ties and the tragedy and hopelessness of it all...but there is light, and like the golden winged little goldfinch in Carel Fabritius' painting, it shines through.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/17/goldfinch-donna-tartt-review

Spring Launch.

Toronto is blanketed with a thick layer of snow, after temperatures rose to 10 degrees yesterday, the sun sparkled and teased,  I threw the windows of my studio open and breathed a deep sigh. Finally, it's over.

Not. so. fast.

I flipped on the radio to tune into CBC, and found out that yes indeed, a big snow storm is heading our way again. 

And with that, I could curl up and weep at the sight of more, yes more snow, but I won't.
I flipped on my record player and spun some vinyl Johnny Cash, and enjoyed the crackle and pop of the recordings while I wrapped up the final pieces for my Spring work.

Today I spent all afternoon posting my Spring line to my Etsy page, a minimalist series of work that includes stark, graphic bronze cuffs, delicate minimalist necklaces and pieces that can be personalized.  All of the new work can be viewed on my Etsy page:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/touchthedutch


I'm launching my Spring line of  new work today anyway, right in the face of the snowstorm, because really Spring, she is but a few days away.

The Easily Distracted....

Every Monday morning, in the fall, I'd look forward to my inbox, and an email from
Miranda July and her celebrity pals.


Well, kinda.  It was an email where she asked her celebrity friends to take part in an experiment with her, and submit an email with the parameters that she had set.  I had to sign up to be a part of her project, and was curious about the content of the emails to come.


One day her request was, "send me an email with a photo of yourself in it", and "an email that includes a dream you had".  So, it was 20 weeks of reading emails from Lena Dunham,
Kirsten Dunst, Sheila Heti, and many others.  It was a pretty provocative project, not so much for the content of the emails (celebrities are just as boring as we are), but for the exploration itself, in how we represent our voice through email, and in Miranda's words,


" Privacy, the art of it, is evolving. Radical self-exposure and classically manicured discretion can both be powerful, both be elegant. And email itself is changing, none of us use it exactly the same way we did ten years ago; in another ten years we might not use it at all."


I began to find the lack of personal information in some peoples emails most revealing
and wondered how much they were honestly sharing/holding back, again, all of the same
concerns that July has in her work, which I think made this project really successful.


The full description of that project is here: http://wethinkalone.com/about/


That intersection of privacy, public/private and the curation of ones life are persistent subjects in Miranda July's artwork, and films.  She just released a cut scene from her film, "The Future", which illustrates all of the objects and sources of her distractions and obsessions.  A good reminder for the weekend, to get outside, and walk away from the tethers of the online world.  After watching the film, I wondered what would be my most precious thing? What object would I hold hostage?  What object would you hold hostage?I'm leaving my cellphone at home.



Here is the video link:

http://vimeo.com/8526665

Make your own masterpiece.

On a sunny fall day in 2000, I stood in my little worn black leather booties, on polished marble floor, staring, slack jawed in front of The Night watch , in the centre of Amsterdam. 


Nothing really prepared me for that sea sick swirly feeling in my gut the first time I encountered those paintings hung and just out of reach, behind the velvet ropes in the museum.


Those paintings, that I had stared at, as a child, in a well worn coffee table book, brought back from Holland by my mother, when she lived in Amsterdam, from the Rijksmuseum, were heavy and mysterious, and a source of much inspiration, and awe.


I just learned that about a really inspiring project and contest that the Rijksmuseum has launched, called Rijkstudio, where they are calling for artists to create a piece based on a historical works from their collection.


They've teamed up with Etsy, to inspire entrants and encourage designers, artists and creatives to submit their own works.....


Below are my favorite Etsy and Rijksmuseum Rijkstudio collaborations, the first is by Canadian artist and lingerie designer, Angie Johnson of Norweigen Wood , from Montreal who designed her stunning lingerie pieces based on the circa 1660-1670 cabinet by Johann Spitzmacher and, these amazing ceramic plates by German artist, Evelyn Bracklow, of Laphile studio, who based her swarming ant designs on selected details from a 17th century painting from the collection.


The full article about the collaboration is here: on the Etsy blog.


Maybe you will create your own masterpiece?

Design Week 2014...New Works!

For Design Week 2014, I was tasked with an exciting design challenge...to create works that were tabletop pieces.

I'd been wanting to showcase some minimalist salt cellar and extravagant tea strainer designs for sometime that had been living in my sketchbook, and thought that this would be the perfect opportunity.

 

The salt cellars are made from solid Walnut and Bass wood which is a common southern Ontario tree. I fabricated solid brass, minimalist spoons for these pieces perfect for a special dinner setting, or visible spice storage.

 

The tea strainer is based on traditional antique versions, hand fabricated in metal and reference floral silhouettes and symbols. In this case, the Pacific Dogwood, it is designed to rest on the opening of the mug, using loose tea leaves and pouring hot water over...a ceremonial end to the meal.

Each of these objects celebrates the importance of sharing a meal and experiences collectively. These pieces serve to elevate the experience by emphasising the ceremonial, functional, and traditional serving objects, in a contemporary context.

As the experience of sharing meals together as a family or group becomes more of a scarcity and a special event, the objects in a place setting too should reflect the importance of the moments spent together.


Project dimensions: Variable. Approx. 5"x4", 2.5x2.5", 4x2"
Materials: Basswood, Walnut, Brass, Nickel Silver.