Sunday, 7 December 2014

Houses, birds and donkeys

Hi Everybody!
Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Today I had an outing to the 'Niederrhein' (Lower Rhein), the land along the Rhein between here and the border to Holland. My neighbour Gabi invited me, and we visited Xanten - an old Roman town, and Kevelaer, a town which has been a centre of pilgrimages for hundreds of years. As a bonus we also visited Gabi's Mum, who lives in a village near there, so it was a wonderful time out. I will show the photos tomorrow when I have sorted them, and have just included one today.

For Art Journal Journey I have made another collage. Some time back I painted several backgrounds with black gesso, and I used them this week for my collages. This looks like a row of houses again, and perhaps those are the birds that visit my balcony every day. I added colour with pastel chalks to give more depth to the background. I really enjoy these collages made with these simple scraps, the remnants of so many other projects.






Today started out cold and misty, but in the afternoon we even saw the sun a few times. The birds are always waiting in the trees for their balcony breakfast:



My cheeky robin was the first one to come today:


This group of men were rowing really fast:


The ducks and seagulls looked happy, as always:


I met this robin down at the Rhine:




Taken today in Xanten  at the Christmas Market 


Have a great day, take care, 
and thanks a lot for coming by!


22 comments:

  1. A really stunning creation again today Valerie, wonderful colours and super imagination you have...love my journey into your land..aNNie xx
    {The Journey is the Start – my personal blog}

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  2. Hi Val, it's cold and damp here, brrrrr! Love your new collage, very effective on the dark background. Glad you had a nice day out! The photos are gorgeous, too, and especially love the last one, 2 very interesting creatures there! Have a great day, hugs, Sarah

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  3. Da hast Du Deinen schönen Reste perfekt verarbeitet in dieser wundervollen Collage Valerie!
    Super Dich zu sehen auf dem Foto! Sehr schick siehste aus!
    Und Deine gefiederten Freunde sind wunderschön alle!
    Die Ruderer müssn ja kräftig rudern, um nicht zu erfrieren...lol!
    Einen schönen Sonntag!

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  4. I hope you know which donkey is which!

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  5. Your collage today reminds me of a bird condo! Thanks for sharing the photo of the beautiful creatures! Can't wait to see more!

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  6. Valerie, I just love your collages.... their gorgeous, and I'm in smitten with the donkey sculpture.
    Lovely post;)

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  7. How fun!! I wish we had a Christmas market!!
    Love your bird photos- our birds look so different and have the same names- I enjoy calling my husband in to look- look- Look at Valerie's birds!! ") He indulges me in this! teehee

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  8. Wie schön, dich auf dem letzten Foto einmal wieder persönlich zu sehen, du schaust so fröhlich aus!
    Ein tolles Vogelhaus ist deine Collage geworden!
    Lg Ulrike

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  9. Sounds like you really enjoyed your trip out Valerie and you look very happy in the picture with the beautiful donkey sculpture. Beautiful photographs of the birds and the Rhine again as well.

    Love the artist collage and it definitely seems to be influenced by what you see along the way and show us in your photographs.

    Love Chrissie x

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  10. What a great photo Valerie, you obviously had a jolly day out! Love your collage, the birdie looks great framed in the window. (Re sewing machine, did you take out the bobbin case, there might be a needle tip or something lurking in there?) xx

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    1. Yes, I did, and cleaned it out thoroughly, but something is still making a very nasty noise - yikes!

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  11. Look at you! I do so envy your day trip! Your collage is fantastic, what a great way to use scraps.
    Love your pictures, so what else is new!
    Sandy xx

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  12. Valerie, this collage on a smaller scale would make a wonderful holiday card. It is very festive, bright and cheery. I always enjoy your photos and the one of you adorned in that wonderful scarf is a favorite. You look terrific and the 'donkey' merely adds a festive atmosphere.

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  13. This is a beautiful collage. I see that you had fun there.

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  14. Lovely piece the bird is so sweet! Love the photo of you with the beautiful scarf, you look fabulous! Big hugs, ~Diane

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  15. Love the picture of you and the donkey!!! All bundled up and warm. The collage is great and love all of the bird photos ♥♥♥♥

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  16. Another fabulous house themed collage Valerie and really love the photos again, those robins look amazing!

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    1. I love those robins, they are so cute and cheeky!

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  17. Fabulous page, the birds would be lucky to live in such an opulent house. Sounds like you had a fantastic day out, it was good to see you in a photo. Look forward to seeing more of your day trip.
    Yvonne xx

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  18. Hi Valerie, Sounds like you enjoyed a fun outing and look forward to seeing your pics. Your creation is another amazing piece. Great to see you in the last pic and that big wonderful smile!!
    Blessings

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  19. Lovely to see you, Valerie, you look terrific.
    I enjoyed seeing the robin too and you house collages are fabulous.

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