Weekend Mix

Hi Everybody!

It's Friday, which means it's soon weekend - enjoy!

Last week I made this little album by recycling a blouse

which I did not like wearing. I utilized the snap-fasteners 

from the front to make the clasp. The pocket was made from a 

piece of the sleeve. There are 2 signatures inside, also machine sewn,

and once again with smaller, concertina pages in

between for private journaling. I am linking to

Paint Party Friday:

And for Art Journal Journey I have a hybrid page for Linda's lovely

theme of '50 shades of red' - there's always lots of red in my beloved London:

Today I am sharing some photos taken in the Town Museum 

(Stadtmuseum) in the Altstadt of Düsseldorf, and these ones

are all about 'Mother Ey'

Johanna Ey (1864-1947) was a lady, born near Düsseldorf, 

who kept a cafe in Düsseldorf's Altstadt and this developed into a meeting point

for artists, authors and especially painters. She was well known for

giving artists and students credit and taking pictures as payment . She opened

a gallery nearby where she showed their pictures. With the rise of the National Socialists all of her proteges, including many famous names - Jankel Adler, Adolf Dell, Otto Dix, Max Ernst,Bruno Goller, Adolf de Haer, Otto Pankok. Jacobo Dureda,Gert Wollheim - to name just a few-were banned and their art was forbidden.. Many of 'her' artists painted her, and a selection of her portraits are shown here. Her name is very well known in Düsseldorf, and there is a street named after her:

At the moment there is an Otto Dix exhibition in town, so I am going to see it tomorrow . 

Have a great day you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

Bird on a branch

Hi Everybody!

The weather gods have been kinder to us this week, it's
good to see the sun again!

For Paint Party Friday, hosted as always by Eva and Kristin, I have a
mixed media piece(16x11") to share. It's been on the go for a loooong time,
and I managed to finish it this week. The raven is symbolic for all the birds I love to feed and watch here. The burlap pieces look like houses, and as they are woven from threads, they are there to remind us that our lives are being woven
everyday. At the bottom are some pieces made to symbolise the ships
passing up and down the Rhine, and the
corrugated cardboard is for the town walls, which surround us.
I had fun with this one!

I am also linking to Simon Monday Challenge, my fave tool (heat-gun, scratchy brushes) and to Stamps and stencils (home made bird stencil, 

diamonds & numerals) texture, crackle and paint.

The moon looked like a squashed pumpkin:

Some photos from my walk:

The swamp is thawing out:

Some photos taken yesterday waiting for the tram in town:

Have a great day you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

This n That and a makeover

Hi Everybody!

This little wooden lady was sent to me a couple of years back by Chrissie.

She had blond plaits, a green dress and a yellow shirt. She's

been hanging about over my stove for a couple of

years, and the other day I heard her complaining

that she felt neglected and dirty. She was indeed

a bit greasy and dusty, so stringent measures were 

necessary - I ripped off her 'wig', gave a

her a good scrub, and then painted her anew, with

a blue dress, pink blouse, and shiny shoes. I made her

a new wig -her hair looks better than mine just now -

and gave her a fresh bow. She said she was fed up with hanging

out in the kitchen, so I gave her some arms and some knitting

to keep her busy. 

 Then she said she wants to stay in the living room, and the iron

frame of the mirror really magnetised her:

Now she can talk to me when I'm in here:

And a quick look at another little tag I made for a neighbour:

 These booklets were made from the last batch of marble paper I

made. The paper is all home made - just not by me - and the booklets were sewn with a simple brochure technique:

Today I enjoyed a walk through the grounds of the old Diakonie here,

the hospital where Florence Nightingale did her training. I love all the

rather shabby Victorian buildings, and the rusty adornments everywhere.

Elizabeth, look, lots of rust:

Have a great day you all, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!