Loyal friends....

                             ....dogs, books and blog readers ;-)


Hello my dear readers!  Good to see you're all still here after my long absence.  I have not been able to do much miniature work these past weeks but I would like to show you the results of two classes I took this year.  

I took another porcelain painting class with Cocky Wildschut.  This time I decided to paint this little dog on six tiles. As an example I used an image of a tile tableau which dates from around 1800.

Often these types of tile tableaux were found in pairs, a dog and a cat (I may still paint a cat in a next class).  The dog and cat represented the good and the bad and with a these on the kitchen walls it would be an every day reminder of the choices we have and make in life.  

The dog represented the good, loyalty, watchfulness and honesty.  The cat represented the bad, the incarnation of the devil (witches),  carelessness  and loose sexual morals.  





The other class I took was by Tine Krijnen.  She taught us the art of miniature bookbinding and (gold) tooling the leather spines and covers.   This was so much fun!  Tine made a beautiful box with tools for us to keep, so we can continue producing lovely books at home...



...well, after a little more practice of course.   The photo below shows my finished book.  The gold is very difficult to photograph and does look a bit better in reality although it is not perfect.   The leather I used on my book did not show the tooling as well as my practice-piece did.



As you can see here, my piece of practice leather shows the tooling so much better!   With all the wonderful tools we got from Tine I can think of so many lovely projects to make.  Oh, the possibilities are endless...now to find the time!


Comments

  1. What fantastic classes - I love the tiles, though as a cat owner, I guess I'd have to veer to the 'bad' side!

    And the leather tooling looks great - what would the upholstery possibilities be?

    Glad to have you back after a break,

    Jonquil

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    1. Hi Jonquil. Yes these classes are so much fun, and of course to learn a new skill....! In my mind I think of all these wonderful projects I could do with leather tooling, upholstery being one of them. On boxes, desk tops, stools and chairs...

      As for the cats, this afternoon I read a very interesting master's thesis (in Dutch I'm afraid) on the role of cats in art. For many centuries cats were regarded as vermin, reincarnations of the devil and other bad things. They were badly mistreated and not seen as man's friends at all. It wasn't until the 19th century that things began to change and cats became the pets we now know and love.

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  3. Try again...
    Love both the painted dog and the book Josje !
    Me being a cat lover I think it means that I am absolutely fond of the Bad and the Ugly :-) . Won't deny that (giggle) .
    Well done n the book , the print really looks fantastic.

    Cheers!
    Elly

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    1. Hi Elly! Well we live in the 21st century and should know by now that a cat is not the reincarnation of the devil, so you're OK ;-)
      I need to practise a little more on the gold tooling, but I yhink on a different leather it would show up better.

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  4. Welcome back to Blogland! Love the tiles and seems you are run over by cat lovers so far in the comments, I am one too :-)

    Now you have added another must learn technique to my list, your books and practice piece looks good, enjoy playing with your new tools.

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    1. Thank you Elga! A lot of miniaturists love cats (I do too, just don't like the sneezing. sniffles and itching), but I think most of us didn't know that cats were not popular animals for hundreds of years.
      Yes Elga, this is a must learn technique! Fun and it has so many cool options!

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  5. Hey Josje,

    Fijn weer wat van je te horen/lezen/zien.
    Ik hoop dat alles goed met je gaat.

    Wat is je tegelplateau mooi geworden.
    Wat knap van je om zo klein, zo gedetailleerd op tegeltjes te schilderen.
    Ook je boek is fantastisch mooi.

    Het lijkt me heel leuk om zo'n boekje te maken.

    Ik vergaap me altijd aan het werk van Tine Krijnen.

    Groetjes, Alexandra.






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    1. Dank je Alexandra! Ja het porselein schilderen is altijd leuk om te doen en als het dan eenmaal gebakken is, is het alleen maar mooier geworden.
      Als je de kans krijgt zou ik zeker die workshop van Tine gaan doen. Ik geloof dat er een in januari in Rotterdam gehouden wordt.

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  6. Ciao Josie, sei davvero fortunata di aver l'opportunità di poter partecipare a dei workshop così interessanti. Io purtroppo il massimo a cui posso aspirare alle mie latitudini e' un banalissimo corso di decorazione. Molto interessanti i tuoi risultati. Avevano una vita più privilegiata i poveri gatti nell'Antico Egitto. Io li adoro, soprattutto neri.

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    1. Ciao Blanche, Yes I am lucky to be able to follow these classes close to where I live. It means I don't have to spend the night, thus saving on a lot of costs.

      You are right, the Egyptians woshipped cats, they saw them as a symbol of fertility. And of course the Romans knew cats were very useful for catching rats and mice. It was somewhere in the middle ages where things starte to go wrong for the cats (an for men as a result of this!).

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  7. Spectacular work, Josje! All this is really just too much fun, isn't it!?

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    1. Oh it is Shelley! Did I tell you I have been dreaming of fish?

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  8. Hallo Josje,

    Wat een prachtige miniaturen laat je ons weer zien. Het lijkt me heel leuk als je dit soort prachtige miniatuur boeken kunt maken en hoop zelf ook eens een workshop te volgen. De schildering op de tegeltjes is ook heel goed gelukt.

    Groeten van Xandra

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    1. Dank je Xandra! Ja als je de kans krijgt moet je zeker een workshop volgen. Het is altijd leuk en gezellig om andere miniaturisten te ontmoeten en geweldig om iets nieuws te leren natuurlijk!

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  9. Josje! Great classes! Your dog is stunning! I can't to see how you are going to use it!

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    1. Hi Natalia! I think the dog will go in the kitchen of the big canal house I am building. Makes me want to start on it right now, but I don't have time :-(

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  10. Ciao!!! Bellissimi questi lavori!!! Mi piace tantissimo il libro!!! Meraviglioso!!!
    Bravissima!!!
    Volevo invitarti al mio piccolo give away natalizio ..!!! :)
    Baci
    Con affetto
    Elvira

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    1. Thank you Elvira! I'll go over and look at your swap in a minute.

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  11. Dear Josje,
    What a masterpieces !! I'm a little jealous. That workshops are so far away. Nearby the place I live they don't give workshops. I love your book. Can you read it ?
    Greetings Dorien

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    1. Thank you Dorien! I don't know where you live, but maybe you could organize your own workshops? And sometimes the teachers are willing to travel to you if you have the space and if there are enough students to teach to of course. I traveled all the way to Norway at the invitation of some miniaturists over there!

      Well, I could read in the book if anything was written in it ;-) It has real pages, but in this case they're blank. It has my initials on the front so it's my diary! (I just made that up)

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    2. Ik woon in Nederland en door MS heb ik goede en slechte dagen. Dus dat is eigenlijk mijn grootste probleem. Ik kan nooit inschatten wanneer ik een workshop kan volgen.
      Ik heb jouw filmpje van stof bedrukken op mijn blog staan want dat wil ik als volgende projectje gaan proberen. Nog dank voor de duidelijke uitleg !
      Groetjes Dorien

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  12. Hi Josje, Love the dog and can't wait to see your cat. The book is just beautiful. Another thing on my list to learn how to do.
    I like both cats and dogs, but there is something about cats, maybe it's the unpredictability that makes people distrust them (dog-people that is) and the uncanny ability of cats to single out the one person in the room who doesn't like cats...

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    1. Hi Idske, oh I love both dogs and cats too! I quite like the independent nature of cats, but I like the loyalty of dogs as well.

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  13. Josje,

    so beautiful, both the book and tiles. What wonderful skills to have and so many possibilities!!

    Fi xx

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    1. Isn't it great to learn all of these techniques?! And this is one I (and you) can actually do at home, as opposed to porcelain painting or silver smithing ;-)

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  14. Hello Josje,
    Both projects are just beautiful. The dog is so well done, I really admire your painting skills. The book is just great! Definetely a terrific class to take.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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    1. Thanks Giac! Yes the book class was really good as these techniques can be done at home with a relatively small investment in tools and materials. Best wishes, Josje

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  15. You sure have wonderful classes offer where you live!!! I am always amazed by all the different artists that I know you have had classes with.
    I love your tiles and the book. You did a beautiful job painting the dog. How are you going to use the tiles? I can't wait to see the cat!
    WOW! miniature book binding sounds like it would be great fun! Did you buy all those stamps so you can make more books? I have always wondered about how to do that.

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    1. Hello Catherine! I am fortunate to live close to Trees Beertema, she is the one hosting most of these fabulous classes. She has a wonderful 'classroom' , excellent B&B facilities (which I don't use as I live close by), huge room for lunches and dinners, and she's a terrific cook. She invites many great miniaturists to come over and teach. Perfect! Of course I don't go to all classes as I can't afford it, but I am very lucky even to be able to take two classes a year or so. Next summer Bill Robertson is coming over, yeah!!

      I would like to use the tiles in my kitchen, but as my plan is to tile the entire kitchen there is no way I will be using porcelain tiles throughout (far too expensive, the tiles are a dollar a piece and I'll need a few thousand- gasp!!!!). I will be using my own trusted paper technique which probably means the porcelain tiles will stand out. I'll have to see if I can incorporate them. If not, I will frame them and hang them in the entryway to the kitchen.

      The book making is a lot of fun. Tine had some stamps in the kit she gave us, but I also purchased some extra stamps from her. I can tell you I got very greedy when I saw this huge collection she had! But of course chances are I won't be using them very often, so I had to remain sensible and not buy too many.
      You, as a metal smith, would probably easily be able to make your own stamps! I'm sure you can find lots of info on the internet (YouTube perhaps) on how to do this!

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  16. I think it's wonderful that you involve yourself in these classes and that you're always learning to do out of the ordinary things. Your work is always a pleasure to see!

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    1. Thank you Lucille. I so enjoy taking classes. It is lovely being with fellow miniaturists, enjoying a great day with often wonderful food, getting to know people who are true masters at what they do, see their work and learn from them how to make something myself!

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  17. The tiles are really nice and I'm looking forward to seeing how you use them.

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    1. Thanks Irene! I am going to try and incorporate them in my kitchen, but I'll have to see if it works!

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  18. Hi Josje,
    Again the dog you've painted looks wonderfull.
    Looking forward to see what your next porcelain painting project will be.
    And the bookbinding workshop was so much fun and so many more books to make!
    But the only problem is...time....like you've allready said.
    At least we've got enough ideas/plans for the future...we're lucky!

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    1. Hi Jeffry, Yes, we are lucky! Your projects have turned out fantastic as always. With a little time and practice our books will be perfect :-)

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  19. Precioso trabajo y con apariencia muy real
    Deseo que el 2013 sea un año de mucha ilusión y creatividad
    Mucha suerte!

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    1. ¡Gracias! Mis mejores deseos para el nuevo año!

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