so i've been gone for a while. but i'm back in amsterdam and well i'll splain that later.
now i just want to show my new video:
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Pippa's last hurrah!
Man i'm still trying to catch up...but for those of you who are still there and interested, there's lots more to come.
yesterday i learned to watergild...putting gold leaf or silver leaf on objects using water and gelatin...amazing...i'm hooked. pictures soon.
but for right now i'm still blogging in last week...
this was the last dinner with Pippa Dickson and her boyfriend Mark. He was a chef for many years. french training....so it was a special night since he agreed to give us a lesson.
the menu besides the chateau CONDOM:
potato-leek soup
roasted leg of lamb, roasted with rosemary a bit of garlic and salt and pepper.
the juices were then mixed with a stock made from trimmings and drippings and cooked down with red wine. butter, more fresh rosmary...incredible.
frenchie style potatoes peeled and one side cut off. face down in a deep pan with broth and butter....ahhhhh.
ta daa......
i think this picture best indicates the levels of satisfaction and this was only barelyinto the massive amount of wine consumed that night!
and finally dessert! of course...rhubarb creme brulee no less!
yesterday i learned to watergild...putting gold leaf or silver leaf on objects using water and gelatin...amazing...i'm hooked. pictures soon.
but for right now i'm still blogging in last week...
this was the last dinner with Pippa Dickson and her boyfriend Mark. He was a chef for many years. french training....so it was a special night since he agreed to give us a lesson.
the menu besides the chateau CONDOM:
potato-leek soup
roasted leg of lamb, roasted with rosemary a bit of garlic and salt and pepper.
the juices were then mixed with a stock made from trimmings and drippings and cooked down with red wine. butter, more fresh rosmary...incredible.
frenchie style potatoes peeled and one side cut off. face down in a deep pan with broth and butter....ahhhhh.
ta daa......
i think this picture best indicates the levels of satisfaction and this was only barelyinto the massive amount of wine consumed that night!
and finally dessert! of course...rhubarb creme brulee no less!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Kröller-Müller to mull over...mmmmm
This post is dedicated to Mr. Charles MC and A'dam Nezbootie: i would have given anything to have you two with me on this day...it was last monday and actually i'd be glad to share that day with everyone.
The Kroller-Muller Museum is the pearl in the oyster that is the Park Hoge Veluwe a gigantic and magnificent park with a landscape unlike i've seen anywhere else in holland...
the park was originally the hunting grounds for the family Kroller-Muller a family that made it's wealth in the blast furnace industry, a successful business that allowed them to amass one of the most spectacular private collections i have ever seen as well as build a small hunting lodge on the property:
Along with around 91 Van Gogh Paintings and 180 of his works on paper are some other highlights that struck me and i wanted to share:
this woman was stunning standing in an opening staring into the woods. graceful, refined yet simply beautiful.
this is true voluptuousness...the sexiest fat i've ever seen...
this piece by richard serra entitled "one" is a solid piece of steel nearly 6 feet tall and six feet in diameter...you can almost feel it's gravity when in proximity to such a mass!
Kenneth Snelson's "Needle Tower"
This one's for you Nezbootie: an exibition comprised of their conservation lab. definitely something people don't think or know much about...here's the Nez in his lab at the clark art institute helping me with a project in march:
Self-portrait in a piece by Michelangelo Pistoletto
This French or perhaps Belgian couple was so inspiring to watch as they strolled the gallery looking at the art conversing and pulsing with tangible appreciation.
this one i fell in love with...the woman and the artist.
"Woman in Black Evening Dress" by Isaac Israels...ugh so sensually painted...
they had to kick us out of the museum and we were all suffering from Stendhal syndrome, tearing up and blushing...or maybe we just needed some stustenance...let me tell you this picnic tasted almost better than anything i've ever eaten with the museum as an appetizer...course it helped that it was of champagne, sausage, cheeses both french and dutch, vegetables and chocolates. savored with the company of durk, anna, mark and pippa!
http://www.kmm.nl/?lang=en
The Kroller-Muller Museum is the pearl in the oyster that is the Park Hoge Veluwe a gigantic and magnificent park with a landscape unlike i've seen anywhere else in holland...
the park was originally the hunting grounds for the family Kroller-Muller a family that made it's wealth in the blast furnace industry, a successful business that allowed them to amass one of the most spectacular private collections i have ever seen as well as build a small hunting lodge on the property:
Along with around 91 Van Gogh Paintings and 180 of his works on paper are some other highlights that struck me and i wanted to share:
this woman was stunning standing in an opening staring into the woods. graceful, refined yet simply beautiful.
this is true voluptuousness...the sexiest fat i've ever seen...
this piece by richard serra entitled "one" is a solid piece of steel nearly 6 feet tall and six feet in diameter...you can almost feel it's gravity when in proximity to such a mass!
Kenneth Snelson's "Needle Tower"
This one's for you Nezbootie: an exibition comprised of their conservation lab. definitely something people don't think or know much about...here's the Nez in his lab at the clark art institute helping me with a project in march:
Self-portrait in a piece by Michelangelo Pistoletto
This French or perhaps Belgian couple was so inspiring to watch as they strolled the gallery looking at the art conversing and pulsing with tangible appreciation.
this one i fell in love with...the woman and the artist.
"Woman in Black Evening Dress" by Isaac Israels...ugh so sensually painted...
they had to kick us out of the museum and we were all suffering from Stendhal syndrome, tearing up and blushing...or maybe we just needed some stustenance...let me tell you this picnic tasted almost better than anything i've ever eaten with the museum as an appetizer...course it helped that it was of champagne, sausage, cheeses both french and dutch, vegetables and chocolates. savored with the company of durk, anna, mark and pippa!
http://www.kmm.nl/?lang=en
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Suprise
A surprise visit from steve gibbs resulted in a nice tour of zaandam and some great conversations. Discussions reaching from blowing glass on cruise ships to blowing glass with wood burning furnaces.
great stuff as usual followed by great food!!
oh yeah, and this same evening i saw a stunning, exciting, inspiring movie: "One Night in One City"
GO SEE IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!!!
an amazing czech stop motion animation film with no dialogue and yet i was riveted....could have been hours i have no idea i was completely consumed by the movie.
http://www.jednenoci.cz/indexen.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWG81TJgC8c
full of surprises. every detail from imagery to timing so effective so well considered and yet effortless in it's meticulousness. ahhhhh.
an finally here is a surprise for you...since it's been a while...
great stuff as usual followed by great food!!
oh yeah, and this same evening i saw a stunning, exciting, inspiring movie: "One Night in One City"
GO SEE IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!!!
an amazing czech stop motion animation film with no dialogue and yet i was riveted....could have been hours i have no idea i was completely consumed by the movie.
http://www.jednenoci.cz/indexen.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWG81TJgC8c
full of surprises. every detail from imagery to timing so effective so well considered and yet effortless in it's meticulousness. ahhhhh.
an finally here is a surprise for you...since it's been a while...
bells bells bells bellls
Time passes evaporating. irretrievable as the snails trail.
the next few posts will attempt to catch up with time....
here's an exciting event near utrecht.
the opening of Bernard Hessen's Toren...a bell tower conisting of hundreds of blown glass sphere's as well as many many lead crystal tuned bells.
yes tuned!! he worked with a bronze bell foundry to test resonances and forms as well as different clappers and mechanisms for sounding.
the cool thing is this project started at Vrij Glas where Durk melted a range of concentrations of lead crystal from 5% to full lead crystal to experiment with resonance and sound quality...one endeavor that fits in to the mission of Vrij Glas.
the bells were finally produced at the leerdam glass factory with a team of czech glassblowers from Petr Novotny's Factory: Ajeto, where the sphere's were all produced.
Congratulations Bernard!!
the next few posts will attempt to catch up with time....
here's an exciting event near utrecht.
the opening of Bernard Hessen's Toren...a bell tower conisting of hundreds of blown glass sphere's as well as many many lead crystal tuned bells.
yes tuned!! he worked with a bronze bell foundry to test resonances and forms as well as different clappers and mechanisms for sounding.
the cool thing is this project started at Vrij Glas where Durk melted a range of concentrations of lead crystal from 5% to full lead crystal to experiment with resonance and sound quality...one endeavor that fits in to the mission of Vrij Glas.
the bells were finally produced at the leerdam glass factory with a team of czech glassblowers from Petr Novotny's Factory: Ajeto, where the sphere's were all produced.
Congratulations Bernard!!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
coincidence
just an odd interesting addition.
the main character in "dante 01" is named st. george.
he is celebrated as a saint and martyr on april 23rd...today.
hmmm.
the main character in "dante 01" is named st. george.
he is celebrated as a saint and martyr on april 23rd...today.
hmmm.
imagine
walking home tonight from the imagine film festival i started seeing the harbingers of queen's day...chalked areas on the sidewalks marked with the word "bezet" meaning that that spot has been claimed for the citywide open market that takes place on koninginnedag.
imagine is formerly known as the afff or the amsterdam fantasy film festival is a ten day festival of fright, gore, fantasy and exhilaration...i tried to go to my first film last night, "let the right one in"(highly recommended and thus sold out.damn.). got tickets for tonight and saturday. say dante 01 tonight...a very intense french film by marc caro(writer and director) who also directed my favorite movies: city of lost children and delicatessen. the film was visually stunning...the story a little bit less so but would have been better had i gone with a group... cause i leaves a lot for pondering and discussion. kind of a futuristic, messianic, creation story. definitely recommended.
this after a day of bustling about the studio building things and organizing still.
yesterday was a treat...in the morning we went to den haag(the hague) to the gemeente museum. an incredible complex of buildings designed by berlage with some prismatic lighting tiles restored and created by the vrij glas foundation!!
anyway, we went to see the exhibition recording the past forty years of glass from the rietveld. it was a good show. the rest of the museum is phenomenal!!! the basement is one big wonderkammer and the glass collection is incredible...here's a fopglas or trick cup that i've seen in books before and tried to recreate. seeing it in person i'm inspired to try again.
and here is a piece by durk valkema called "glass city" made for his graduation exhibition in the early years of the rietveld...in the background from left to right are durk, scott and andrea.
on the way home from the museum, we passed a sight that before now i'd only heard of....the fields of tulips in bloom. so much more luscious and amazing than i could have ever expected or than these pictures represent.
Monday, April 20, 2009
decadence and work
This past week was incredible.
i mentioned earlier that Scott and Andrea were here.
i should do right by them and start with scott's arrival.
he came almost straight from murano where he'd been for ten days researching an article on the state of the glass industry in murano.
he came with bottles of fragolino...a lovely wine with a subtle flavor of strawberries...illegal in many parts of the the e.u. because the grape they are made from are an american varietal that is resistent to a grape parasite and thus has been known to transmit these devastating parasites to other vinyards.
anyway we started our week off by drinking a few bottles of that stuff.
then the work started...friday saturday sunday and today good long days of oval rondels for the commission. and just to prove that i've actually been doing something here's this:
hard work begets decadent nourishment here with my friends in amsterdam.
the first day at the instruction of anna i made a spectacular "plumenspekenfleskarey"
for those of you who don't speak swedish transliteration, that is pork tenderloin stuffed with prunes.
the next evening andrea made lentils with mint sauce to go with racks of lamb that i grilled at the studio:
of course, there is always time for a beer after a full day of working...here's durk about to enjoy his...in a glass i made last year.
after a successful week at the studio we enjoyed a spectacular dinner at our reliable staple...the amsterdam cafe housed in an old machine station a beautiful old building almost completely open inside...almost as spectacular as the company toasting our successful week with a nice bottle of bubbly:
new favorite whisky: Caol Ila
new favorite dessert: lemon sorbet with vodka
some fun vids to check out that i made this week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWNXCwaQ5Kw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHZgCM8FTcc
New or Re-newed focuses for this week are:
the tree house, Imagine or the AFFF...hope to succeed in seeing several films, taking Torde Boontje's work: transglass to new levels....i feel like this stuff was novel and interesting but could be taken much further and still keep the simplicity of design and concept as well as stay away from complexity in production...we'll see...i'll post images of what i come up with.
i mentioned earlier that Scott and Andrea were here.
i should do right by them and start with scott's arrival.
he came almost straight from murano where he'd been for ten days researching an article on the state of the glass industry in murano.
he came with bottles of fragolino...a lovely wine with a subtle flavor of strawberries...illegal in many parts of the the e.u. because the grape they are made from are an american varietal that is resistent to a grape parasite and thus has been known to transmit these devastating parasites to other vinyards.
anyway we started our week off by drinking a few bottles of that stuff.
then the work started...friday saturday sunday and today good long days of oval rondels for the commission. and just to prove that i've actually been doing something here's this:
hard work begets decadent nourishment here with my friends in amsterdam.
the first day at the instruction of anna i made a spectacular "plumenspekenfleskarey"
for those of you who don't speak swedish transliteration, that is pork tenderloin stuffed with prunes.
the next evening andrea made lentils with mint sauce to go with racks of lamb that i grilled at the studio:
of course, there is always time for a beer after a full day of working...here's durk about to enjoy his...in a glass i made last year.
after a successful week at the studio we enjoyed a spectacular dinner at our reliable staple...the amsterdam cafe housed in an old machine station a beautiful old building almost completely open inside...almost as spectacular as the company toasting our successful week with a nice bottle of bubbly:
new favorite whisky: Caol Ila
new favorite dessert: lemon sorbet with vodka
some fun vids to check out that i made this week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWNXCwaQ5Kw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHZgCM8FTcc
New or Re-newed focuses for this week are:
the tree house, Imagine or the AFFF...hope to succeed in seeing several films, taking Torde Boontje's work: transglass to new levels....i feel like this stuff was novel and interesting but could be taken much further and still keep the simplicity of design and concept as well as stay away from complexity in production...we'll see...i'll post images of what i come up with.
Friday, April 17, 2009
staring into fires...
today was a wild one.
gray and cloudy skies greeted me too early.
but it was off to the studio.
i spent the morning blowing glass with Scott Benefield and Andrea Spencer, dear friends freshly engaged and currently engaged in the production of a large architectural installation.
we made flat oval plates all morning...experimenting with color combinations from a furnace with molten blue and several additions of bars of color.
it was so nice to be using glass again...my first time since i've been back here.
refreshing to focus on clean gathers and fluid efficient movements.
bright hot fires burning before me.
at ten til one i jumped on my bicycle and raced across the north sea canal and through the edges of amsterdam for my blacksmithing lesson. a free day as bert was busy with clients. so daniel, my fellow student and i took turns masticating iron with our unskilled hands. staring at the black wreathed fire in the forge i danced with the metal finding the right heats to make some traditional tapered rings and then loosening up to slowly meticulously smash a chunk of iron into an undulating leaf thin and delicate. pictures will come soon.
before i new it the afternoon had been burnt up and i jumped back on my bike and retraced my steps under the emerging sun...back to the studio, with burning thighs, to do some clean up and organizing in the work shop and then to take on my last firey challenge...grilling two whole racks of lamb for dinner. a feast with lentils and mint sauce and a nice spanish wine.
three fires...three crafts ascending into art.
"a goddamn beautiful day!!"
gray and cloudy skies greeted me too early.
but it was off to the studio.
i spent the morning blowing glass with Scott Benefield and Andrea Spencer, dear friends freshly engaged and currently engaged in the production of a large architectural installation.
we made flat oval plates all morning...experimenting with color combinations from a furnace with molten blue and several additions of bars of color.
it was so nice to be using glass again...my first time since i've been back here.
refreshing to focus on clean gathers and fluid efficient movements.
bright hot fires burning before me.
at ten til one i jumped on my bicycle and raced across the north sea canal and through the edges of amsterdam for my blacksmithing lesson. a free day as bert was busy with clients. so daniel, my fellow student and i took turns masticating iron with our unskilled hands. staring at the black wreathed fire in the forge i danced with the metal finding the right heats to make some traditional tapered rings and then loosening up to slowly meticulously smash a chunk of iron into an undulating leaf thin and delicate. pictures will come soon.
before i new it the afternoon had been burnt up and i jumped back on my bike and retraced my steps under the emerging sun...back to the studio, with burning thighs, to do some clean up and organizing in the work shop and then to take on my last firey challenge...grilling two whole racks of lamb for dinner. a feast with lentils and mint sauce and a nice spanish wine.
three fires...three crafts ascending into art.
"a goddamn beautiful day!!"
Thursday, April 16, 2009
not sure what to title this one
well i just really like this photo...it's on the desk i'm making in the tree house.
so tomorrow will be my second lession from bert meister...the local blacksmith and metal smith...just across the street from where i'm living. the business has been in his family for three generations...and he's not sure what's gonna happen next so he decided to teach some classes. it's a nice shop with a couple of anvils. the goal of the class is to make a damascus knife...
i was telling durk about this amazing jazz quartet that i happened upon last year when i was here....and then last sunday i found that they were playing a concert at the "bimhuis" in the museikgebouw...this amazing concert space on the north sea canal behind central station that is a cantilevered room with one wall that is all glass and looks over the city. above is a bit of an improv by Narcissus...this time as a quintet.
ugh it takes way too long to upload to blogger.
so the rest will be youtube links.
anyway. there are tons of amazing things happening...been doing a lot of welding projecs, organizing durks workshop, cleaning the rain gutters(no small feat...you should see them...i fit inside them), lots of biking.
spend the the afternoon at the rietveld academy...gonna spend a a day a week there helping out in their glass department. as well as getting to know the campus and students...cause i have aspirations. lots of jazz as above...if you look closely you can see the train passing in the background.
glassblowing gonna start tomorrow...working with scott benefield and his fiance andrea to produce material for a large architectural installation for a hospital in ireland.
then there is this...there are amazing machines for everything in holland.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kP3ZTna0uk
this one's for matthew...this was empty a few nights ago..an old tram depot.
so tomorrow will be my second lession from bert meister...the local blacksmith and metal smith...just across the street from where i'm living. the business has been in his family for three generations...and he's not sure what's gonna happen next so he decided to teach some classes. it's a nice shop with a couple of anvils. the goal of the class is to make a damascus knife...
i was telling durk about this amazing jazz quartet that i happened upon last year when i was here....and then last sunday i found that they were playing a concert at the "bimhuis" in the museikgebouw...this amazing concert space on the north sea canal behind central station that is a cantilevered room with one wall that is all glass and looks over the city. above is a bit of an improv by Narcissus...this time as a quintet.
ugh it takes way too long to upload to blogger.
so the rest will be youtube links.
anyway. there are tons of amazing things happening...been doing a lot of welding projecs, organizing durks workshop, cleaning the rain gutters(no small feat...you should see them...i fit inside them), lots of biking.
spend the the afternoon at the rietveld academy...gonna spend a a day a week there helping out in their glass department. as well as getting to know the campus and students...cause i have aspirations. lots of jazz as above...if you look closely you can see the train passing in the background.
glassblowing gonna start tomorrow...working with scott benefield and his fiance andrea to produce material for a large architectural installation for a hospital in ireland.
then there is this...there are amazing machines for everything in holland.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kP3ZTna0uk
this one's for matthew...this was empty a few nights ago..an old tram depot.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
i learned something wonderful from my friend alex, she told me that the dutch say that the clouds are their mountains.
she also told me how to explain their initial distance the dutch say that they are "watching the cat climb out of the tree" i think i'm almost at the base of the trunk if not on the ground yet.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Zondag
Hell, i've got to get to bed earlier than this...this is crazy...while you all back home and further are just finishing dinner, it's 2:30 in the morning. yeesh.
anyway, what a wonderful day.
started with swedish pancakes with fresh vt. maple syrup...from the howe/ferro conglomeration.
mmmmso good. oh yeah and tart strawberries.
then spent the day walking and made my way to arti, the local artist collective where i saw this piece by an amazing Austrian artists...well it was amazing til dinner but here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGtlbn0BJuc
so that was pretty great.
then i went to hortus botanicus to see a piece by my friend Petra Groen.
interesting, provocative title.
"on the origin of species" by Petra Groen
also spent time in their butterfly house...some of my favorite insects...lepidopterans.
this one is bigger than my hand:
skipped over to de engelbewaarder for a few beers and jazz...had the beers...missed the jazz...had to get home.
then i returned for the climax of the day:
dinner for mirette and milan
14 of us eating a 4kilo salmon that durk cooked. amazing artists and thinkers...amazing converations. incredible food.
met this artist, academic: christine who's family has collected art for ages and who blew gebhard's piece out of the water: years ago she made a film in a similar manner only it was for the use of 35 projektors....and the subject matter was way more interesting given the presentation process: rain
unfortunately...the piece was never realized cause the venue fell through.
what a day though.
so much to think about...so many new people...good people...great people.
anyway, what a wonderful day.
started with swedish pancakes with fresh vt. maple syrup...from the howe/ferro conglomeration.
mmmmso good. oh yeah and tart strawberries.
then spent the day walking and made my way to arti, the local artist collective where i saw this piece by an amazing Austrian artists...well it was amazing til dinner but here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGtlbn0BJuc
so that was pretty great.
then i went to hortus botanicus to see a piece by my friend Petra Groen.
interesting, provocative title.
"on the origin of species" by Petra Groen
also spent time in their butterfly house...some of my favorite insects...lepidopterans.
this one is bigger than my hand:
skipped over to de engelbewaarder for a few beers and jazz...had the beers...missed the jazz...had to get home.
then i returned for the climax of the day:
dinner for mirette and milan
14 of us eating a 4kilo salmon that durk cooked. amazing artists and thinkers...amazing converations. incredible food.
met this artist, academic: christine who's family has collected art for ages and who blew gebhard's piece out of the water: years ago she made a film in a similar manner only it was for the use of 35 projektors....and the subject matter was way more interesting given the presentation process: rain
unfortunately...the piece was never realized cause the venue fell through.
what a day though.
so much to think about...so many new people...good people...great people.
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