Getting organized

   As I sell more and more in my shop and elsewhere (hurray and thanks to
   you all!), I need to get (re)organized. So... I got myself some file boxes,
   frames, more boxes and a pen case. I must admit to be a bit geeky and quite
   un-artists-like about organizing: I love organizing (and believe to be quite
   good at it) I could do this for days as a project in its own!
   
    Psst: I also like book keeping, but don't tell as this is not very sexy or cool, just slightly weird ;)

Pinhole camera

  

   I found this baby in my studio again. I bought it on my trip to New York last
   summer with the plan in mind to start making this DIY pinhole camera and
   shoot some pictures but, I can't get myself to open it cause the package looks
   so nice om my wall!

Sebs no. 1

 
   As some of you might know, I have a little furry friend called Seb.
   The sidetable is clearly his no. 1 spot to hang out...

New ICPB

   Apparently there is much need for comfort as all the Instant Comfort Pocket
   Boxes where sold in a blink of an eye. But, do not dispair, I made new ones
   and they are in the shop right now!

Porcelain at Gutenappetit

  
   Today, I delivered some of the new printed china at Gutenappetit, an absolute
   lovely shop with clothes, accesories and all sorts of other goodies, in the center
   of Tilburg (Willem II straat 49). They also have a webshop!

Online credits

   
   Lately I noticed that a lot of my work is shown by others on tumblr, websites and 
   blogs. I love it when people appreciate my work like that (it's a big compliment, 
   so thanks!) but unfortunately not everyone keeps the online etiquette in mind.
   I found this poster on The Yellow Umbrella today and I'm so happy this topic got 
   some attention. Pia Jane Bijkerk and Erin Loechner made it to point out the 
   importance of crediting artists on your blog. I'm so happy with this!
   Design*sponge and Chelsea Fuss wrote a good item about this topic too.
  
   And as far as my own work goes: of course you can feature it, I'd love that! (this means that you can 
    show it,  not use it or copy it...) But please please please include my name and link back to me. 
    I'm making a living with this stuff so this is very important to me. Thank you!

3 Dimensional results

 
   These are some of the results of the '3D illustrations' my student have been working on.
   I think they did a wonderful job!

Print by Yael Frankel

 
   Today I recieved a print from Yael Frankel all the way from Argentina!
   I love it, it's so funny, thanks Yael!

lovely cereal

  
   I Love the package design of dorset cereals, this is the newest one. You can't see
   it in the picture but the cardboard it's made of even feels wonderful! A sort of
   evironment friendly, thick, sligthly rough sort of paper.

Spring = print time!

  
   I welcome spring with this new fresh colored print in the shop!

Teapot

   I finished some new china today! This one is my favorite (I call it 'Pup').

3 Dimensional

  
   My students are making 3 dimensional illustrations to a poem by Bart van der Lee.
   First they made the seperate elements of the illustration. Next step is to place the
   elements in a box and build the scene. This is a nice way to learn how to build an
   illustration and will help when making 2D work later.
   I'll show you photos of the result next week!

Pikaland

   As we all feel for the people of Japan and hold our breaths for a potential nuclear
   disaster, Pikalands Amy decided to get active and made a poster for fundraising.
   Nice work Amy!
 
   The lovely Anna Denise from the Yellow Umbrella featured an interview with me on
   her blog, you can read it here.

   Since The Instant Comfort Pocket boxes seem wildly popular, I added new ones
   to my shop (and even more will be added tomorrow)!

Toy car

  
   This toy car has a little story...
   Last august I made two 3D illustration boxes / displays for the Woonbeurs (home decor
   fair) in Amsterdam, one with an urban landscape and one with a country landscape.
   At the last day of the fair, someone placed a little car on the road in the urban
   landscape box. I have no idea who put it there but love it when people interact and
   communicate with my design! The car is on the desk at my studio now and sometimes
   I wonder... who was this mystery person?

The Instant Comfort Pocket Box

   Some days... I just need a little bit of comfort and consolation. So for me and all
   of you out there who know the feeling, three versions of The Instant Comfort
   Pocket Box. You can buy it here.

Message

   This lovely little sign crossed my path today...

Vlieger

 
   This is my all time favorite shop in Amsterdam, Vlieger. They sell so many sorts of
   paper,  cardboard, art supplies and just everything else you can think of to do with
   paper! The staff is really helpfull and has an almost supernatural expertise. It's like a
   candy store, I can spend hours there without even noticing time has gone by!

Design for glass door

   Here a quick post before I will curl myself up in front of the TV with tea and cookies.
   For a new printing technique on glas doors, I made this design of a little forest.
   It will be shown (if mine is chosen) at Galery Tydeman.

Beatrice and the gang

  
   This is a print I made today, 'Beatrice and the gang' (21 x 29,7 cm / 8" x 11").  Every time
   I look at it it makes me smile and... of course it's available at my Etsy shop!

5 Questions to... The things we are

 
    - A new feature! Because I'm just curious, and I assume most of you are, I like to know the ins and outs 
      about other artists I admire. So, this will be the first of a new series on this blog: 'Five questions to....' -
  
   The things we are
   is Joost Stokhof, an Illustrator from the Netherlands. I love his work and the
   developments in it over time (I've known Joost for a while). He has a very personal
   drawing style and most of his work has an almost poetic feel.
   
   Do you have a work routine and if so, what is it?
   Well, since october I'm working on a daily collage project called 'the daily things'. 
   I make a collage out of the newspaper everyday and I always start my day with that, 
   it's good to be able to start working without thinking too much what you will be 
   making, that get's me started. As far as other work or assigments I try to just go 
   with it. I stopped making sketches a long time a go, so most of the time I have a 
   vague idea of what I want to do and just start from there. for me it's the most 
   exciting way to work, not knowing what you are working towards.

   How do you keep yourself going and motivated and what to do if you get stuck?
   I always have 500 plans I want to do after I finish the thing I am working on at that 
   moment, so in a way I'm always in a rush to start with something new. I guess only 2 
   out of the 500 plans do get excecuted, but I think that is my drive to keep on going, 
   I have so much stuff I want to do still, so there's no time to waste. Getting stuck is a 
   bad thing though, it happens from time to time but I really found comfort in the 
   thought  that when something goes wrong one day, it will be alright the next. Just 
   try not to force it too much, atleast that's the way for me to solve it. I work well 
   under pressure, so when I'm really close to a deadline because I got stuck for a few 
   days, that's when things will turn out well.

   What is your biggest fear?
   Not being able to create the things I love anymore. I really realise that I am very 
   lucky to be able to do that on a day to day basis, I think I would go nuts if I can't do 
   that anymore.
 
   What would be your dream assignment?
   Something like :'we have this big space for you to fill with your work, you can live 
   there for a month or two and work on it and ofcourse you can make a nice book 
   out of it. Preferably somewhere in Sweden or Norway.
 
  Do you have a 'best tip' for getting your work out there?
  Harass people with your work. It's always such a pain in the ass to do, but I guess 
  it's the only way. And ofcourse, always be critical towards your work. The happier 
  I am with work, the easier it is to show it to people.

For more work of The things we are, have a look here.

New books

 
   This weekend a lovely package with two Alain Gree books arrived. Have you ever seen
   so much stamps on one parcel?!

Crochet forest

   I'm making a crochet forest for an upcomming group expo at Gallery Tydeman where
   I'll be showing my printed porcelain. I like how the illustrations, printed on the
   porcelain 'come to life' as 3D crochet.

   I recently discovered this webshop (also a 'real store' in Tilburg, the Netherlands) and
   they will sell my postcards and porcelain soon, keep you posted!

Mail!

  
   Oooh, such lovely mail arrived today! An envelope with all sort of goodies from
   the lovely ladies of Het Paradijs! Thank you Esther, Els and Maaike!

Farewell

   Here in the Netherlands, as some of you might know, the covernment decided on
   mayor cuts in the art budget. Of course, this resulted in big protests by artists and  
   art lovers but it doesn't seem to help.  
   One of the first 'victims' is this amazing art magazine Oog (Eye). It was published 
   by The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and triomphed in it's accesability for people 
   both in and outside the art world. This edition (about animals in the arts) was the 
   last, I feel a bit lost...