Tag Archives: drawing

Teabag Totems

I love the alchemy, which happens when you take something insignificant and useless which is about to be discarded and turn it into something special and exquisite.

For a long time I have been saving my used teabags, as they are very helpful when you want to light a fire. Now it has become winter and we will not make a fire outside for a while, and my husband urged me to rather get rid of the teabags we are now using…

He is right. But I cannot help it, that once I get pressurised into discarding something, my mind will switch into alarm mode to check if there are not any other ways to recycle or reuse it.

And so the Teabag Totems were born. A series of animal portraits painted onto used teabags.

It is not so easy to paint such tiny portraits on crumbled teabags, but it is lots of fun and I enjoy the different animal characters surfacing in the portraits. Everybody who has held one of these Teabag Totems in their hands loves them.

Their fragility, the softness of the teabag and their unique personality turn these tiny works of art into something truly precious and special.

If you are interested to have your favourite animal or totem animal painted on a teabag and delivered to you or a friend, then just contact me in the contact form below. You can also select one of the finished little teabag artworks shown below. The portraits are painted with high-quality gouache paint and fineliner onto 6 x 4cm used teabags.

Please contact me if you would like to purchase your own Teabag Totem. It comes in a see-through plastic box, which is also suited as a temporary display stand. After I received your order, I will send you an invoice. Only once I have received your payment, your Teabag Totem will be sent to you.

(Please click on the images to see a larger view.)

View more Teabag Totems by clicking here.

And here is my framing suggestion:

This neat box frame seems perfect for displaying your Teabag Totem. (Frame from Boesner, CAJA, white wood 13x18cm)

I also love that one can hang it on a wall, or just let it stand on a shelve...

Cute is the new black.

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It feels as if I have not posted a new blog for ages… Even though I have promised myself to just write and share things when I really feel called to it, I do also feel a bit guilty, when I neglect my blog and all you wonderful followers.

And the longer I do not get to write, the more difficult it is to decide what to write about. There are so many things I dream of sharing with you, so much art just waiting to be seen and ideas I would love to let out of the cage of my skull.

(Click on the images to see a larger version of the artwork.)

Today’s choice has been influenced by a dream I had in the night. I almost never had repeating dreams, but it was the fourth time I dreamed about a similar situation: A little colourful bird comes flying up to me, right up to my face. Without any fear, instead with full intention, trust and love. It then kind of snuggles up to my face, always on the left side, and I can feel its soft feathers, the lightness of their touch and a mix between the warmth of such a small body and the coolness of the stirred air around their wings. Every time I am surprized by this unusual behaviour and feel so honoured and happy to experience it. I wish I knew what this means!

So, in honour of the little dream birds, I will share with you a series of works on paper depicting small birds. I started painting them in a whimsical mood two weeks ago.

I shared them on my Facebook page and while some people really liked them I also got a remark by a fellow artist (whom I do not know personally) saying: Kitsch as kitsch goes…

Well, yes. It took me a lot of time to be okay with such comments. And still I get a tiny bit insecure, as I have been filled up with all these preconceived ideas of where I should fit into the art world, and kitsch was/is generally frowned upon.

But I have to admit, I have found that there is a part of me, which just feels as happy as a little playful and carefree girl, when I create or see cute, pretty sweetness, adorable animals or some gooey fairy tale magic. Yes, sometimes that gives me the warm and fuzzy feeling, which I need to submerge in every now and then, to feel complete.

I love what Amanda Palmer had to say about creating art:

“People working in the arts engage in street combat with The Fraud Police on a daily basis, because much of our work is new and not readily or conventionally categorized. When you’re an artist, nobody ever tells you or hits you with the magic wand of legitimacy. You have to hit your own head with your own handmade wand. And you feel stupid doing it.

There’s no “correct path” to becoming a real artist. You might think you’ll gain legitimacy by going to university, getting published, getting signed to a record label. But it’s all bullshit, and it’s all in your head. You’re an artist when you say you are. And you’re a good artist when you make somebody else experience or feel something deep or unexpected.”

I am getting better and better at just listening inward to who I am and what my needs are and follow them. Not caring too much about the opinion or reaction of others. I am proud of that! And I love that I can do it all in my creative expression: serious art, political art, big, small, land art, installations, drawings, prints and warm and fuzzy sweetness. After all, there are no rules. Really.

And maybe you can also use a bit of adorable cuteness and lightness in your life today?

(Click on the images to see a larger version of the artwork. Oh, and in case you do not know: all my work is for sale, unless stated otherwise. And I happily ship to anywhere in the world. )

Permission to Play

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Untitled, Acrylic on acidfree paper 170g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

Please click on images to see a larger version.

Recently I have allowed myself to make some abstract paintings for the first time in my life.

Do I need permission, you might wonder? Yes, because most of my life I thought it is too easy and superficial and thus not becoming for a ‘serious and deep’ artist like me. So I just did not allow myself to go down that route.

I had so much fun playing with my new colours and I loved the results! I posted some of these abstract paintings on Facebook and got a lot of positive response and my heart just warmed up and I felt happy and satisfied.

Those of you, who follow my musings here regularly, know that I have had my struggles with fitting into the art world and making sense of it all. I had serious doubts about just about everything. Always questioning if what I am doing is purposeful, important, serious enough, good enough, likeable and sellable and so much more.

This used to drive me crazy and kind of paralyse my creative flow for most of the time. It took so much effort to do things anyway. To get up and paint or draw or create despite all my doubts and insecurities… To make art, even though I have already so much art piling up, that will probably never find a way out into a gallery or somebody else’s home.

To deal with depression and try to not to loose hope…

Somewhere along the way things turned so bad, that I decided to take a break, even though that thought seriously freaked me out. But I knew I had no real choice. Being depressed and creatively paralysed was anyway not really supportive of producing any good art or make me feel happy and excited.

Sea Turtle by Imke Rust
(Water-colour pencils, Acrylic and gel pens on acid-free 170m/g2 paper, 29 x 21cm)

So I quit going to the studio. I quit pressurising myself to produce any serious art. I stopped writing proposals for stipends, grants or exhibitions. I even stopped going to see other art exhibitions, as I realised that every time I see other art, I start comparing myself: either thinking that everything great has already been done by people who are much better or feeling I have so much more to offer than the artist I see, yet they have a show and sales in a fancy gallery and I don’t.

It took a lot of courage, but I decided to start doing only things I really want to do, things that are fun or make me happy. Even if that meant sleeping most of the day – if I felt like it, I did it. Yes, my mind was racing and blaming and I was feeling so guilty and lazy, but on the other hand, my body gratefully accepted and turned around for just another few minutes of rest.

The struggle between my critical mind and my soul’s desires was huge. Mostly I could not even remember what my soul wanted and my mind was loud and full with ‘should’s and should not’s and trying to know and understand it all from a rational perspective. And very often I ended up wasting time in front of the computer, because that at least felt like I was doing something productive.

Ever since I can remember, I was very aware of other people’s needs, expectations and emotions. My survival instinct as a child quickly realised this could be a valuable gift that I hoped would help me to fit in perfectly and make everybody around me happy. I was good at that – always being thoughtful, kind and pleasing.

I am sure in many ways this unconscious strategy really ensured my sanity and survival. But it was not always successful. The more people I had around me that needed pleasing at the same time and the more complicated things became, the more I felt like failing and was failing. And the more confused I got and ultimately depressed. Especially because there was this deep, throbbing feeling that there was more to my life, than pleasing others and being socially acceptable. Just how could I ensure my survival if it depends so much on others? On a more practical level: people have to like my art in order to buy it, so that I can pay my rent.

Rhino Angels, Pencil on grey paper 110g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

Anyway, I promised myself to follow my heart and listen to my soul and was adamant to push through on that. Until I figured out that I have absolutely no clue who I really am and what my own desires are – I was so good at soaking up other people’s desires, that I never gave much attention to my own. So, I tried to remember. I just could not. And every time my heart or soul nudged me with a little idea or urged me to just draw a cute little picture, my mind was racing and shouting again, finding hundreds of reasons why I should not.

I tried to compromise. I told my mind, that it is ok to play, I have a few more savings and one small alternative source of income and for right now, my survival will not be jeopardised (one of my greatest fears). I told my mind, that I will spend ‘just a tiny little snipped of time’ playing with paint or resting or enjoying watching the clouds pass by –surely that would be ok? This little time will make me happy and give me more energy to one day show up for the big work with all new enthusiasm and creativity.

The negotiations were tough and endless, but somehow, I guess out of pure desperation I nudged out more and more time and space to just be, to play, to muse and to not worry.

And I decided to ignore the inner critic as best I can and give myself permission to at least try to follow up on some crazy or fun ideas I have. To try out different things, so that I can finally figure out my own true inner desires again and express them.

Neon Butterfly, Acrylic on acidfree paper 170g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

The struggle has not ended, but I have a feeling I have come a far way. Being brutally honest with myself has helped a lot. And being kind and understanding with myself – wow, I did not realise how difficult that is!

It has also helped me to share my experiences and thoughts in this blog. Even though I have only allowed small glimpses every now and then, I feel that I have so many thoughts and experiences swirling around in my mind, that it would help me to just express them. And I hope it might help others reading it, to find some inspiration, help or just a feeling of not being alone with your troubles.

Much of the time I spent on the computer, trying to be busy and avoid looking deep into my own soul, has been spend on the Internet. I have read a gazillion motivational, self-help, inspiring blog posts. And yes, many of them were helpful and inspiring and I am so grateful for the access to all this information we have.

It struck me how so many people who can be viewed as successful and happy from the outside, are or have been struggling with many of the same issues that I struggle with. When such people are willing to share and expose their most vulnerable parts, their fears or mistakes, it gives me hope, as I realise we are not alone, nobody is born ‘perfect’ and if they can find answers and solutions, so can I. And I can learn from such a great pool of wonderful teachers, who probably never even see themselves as teachers.

That is the reason, why I feel that I want to share more of my inner world and thoughts in this blog, even if they are not directly related to my art. And I hope in some small way it might be an inspiration or helpful to some of you too.

Please click on the images below to see a larger version.

Falling Leaves, Pen on acidfree paper 170g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

Untitled, Ink painted with a feather on acidfree paper 170g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

Flying Crows, Far Away, Ink on acidfree paper 170g/m2 29,7 x21cm, © Imke Rust

How to create miracles

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As you probably know, I am a big believer in miracles. They do happen, all around us, in big and small ways.

Happy by Imke Rust (Ink on 250g/m2 acid-free watercolour paper, 14,8 x 10,6cm)

Very often we are waiting for that one big miracle to happen! Like winning the lottery or living in eternal bliss… And then we are upset if that never seems to happen.

That always reminds me of the joke of the guy who prays for weeks to win the lottery, until he really gets upset with God and vents his frustration about his prayers not being heard. Suddenly a voice thunders down from heaven, saying: Meet me half way – buy a ticket.

So, whenever I am waiting or hoping for a miracle to happen, I wonder if I have done my half? Have I bought the ticket?

Sometimes it is so very simple: I always wish for the miracle of being able to do what I want to do with total freedom. Just create whatever I feel like. Instead usually a little insistent voice in my head rumbles: NO – you can’t do that! That will not sell! That is too easy! No way, what will people think if you paint like that?! Now, really, do you think any gallery will take you seriously when you show stuff like that? Ok, that is pretty neat, I like that – BUT how do you think this will generate any money? Remember, you need to pay your bills…

And so it goes on and on, and sometimes I find a successful way to navigate through this and be kind-of-happy. Until I realise that I have more and more work, and still very little income. Then I work harder at doing things, which I think will be better suited to generate an income, improve my career options and become a successful artist. This usually ends up with me being frustrated and depressed. And feeling like lifting up my fist to the sky and say: I have done my part, now where is that miracle of total creative freedom without financial worries I have prayed for?

During one of those frustrated times a different, kinder and gentler voice suddenly popped into my head and matter-of-factly said:

Some miracles you just have to create yourself.

What? Me? How? (I have already tried all those little tricks which I have read about, such as visualisation, praying etc.)

And then I realised: Yes – I can!

Sure. Even if it is for short periods of time, I can just choose to be happy and do whatever I like. I will not starve immediately. No seriously bad things will happen if I take an hour or so of my time and create whatever I feel like… I just need to make the choice and do it!

And so I created this miracle. An hour or two of blissful and fun painting of pretty stuff and trying my hand at lettering – just because I felt like it.

Some miracles… 3 artworks by Imke Rust (Guache, ink and pen on 170g/m2 acid free paper, each 21 x 29,7cm)

Too often we are waiting for something outside of us to happen or change. From now on, I am committing to always find what I can do to bring me closer to create my own miracles. And do it. It is a blissful feeling to see all the potential miracles around me.

You might say: oh well, that’s too easy and not going to be a long-term solution. Granted, I have to keep repeating it. I think that would be possible, if I just choose to.

So here is another real big example from my personal experience.

Many years ago, I wrote down a list of things I truly wished for in my life. I read all about manifesting whatever you want and I decided to try it out. One point on the list was a real biggy. I had bad eyesight and needed to wear glasses. I hated that. And I wanted the universe to give me perfect eyesight so that I would never need glasses again.

You would agree – if the universe got that right, then I really would truly believe that nothing is impossible. It was on the list and so I waited. And waited. And waited. A few years later I found the list again, and ticked of some stuff, but the big wishes like the perfect eyesight were still unchanged. Nothing has miraculously happened. Maybe I just had to admit that it was a bit too idealistic of me to believe that it could happen.

I pondered about this for a few days until suddenly I had a small epiphany. I just received some money, which was owed to me for a long time, and I did not really expect to ever get it. I believed that it is not good to let money lie on a bank account, it would be better to invest it into something. But what? What would be a good investment for me? Something that would not depreciate in value? Something I really wanted or needed?

A few of my friends had done eye operations and were really happy with the results and suddenly it struck me that this money would be able to cover the cost of such an operation.

The miracle was there for me, I just needed to make the choice and buy the ticket.
I did.
Within a few weeks of preparation and five minutes of operation I had perfect eyesight. What a miracle!

My first public outing after my eye operation, celebrated with a visit to the Goodman Gallery in Cape Town. (March 2011)

I often thought miracles would have to come falling from the sky in some supernatural manner. There might be some that do, but most are pretty damn ordinary miracles. I mean, isn’t it just totally amazing that it is possible to laser your eyes and within 5min have perfect eyesight? Wow! I am still in awe and so incredibly grateful!

So, remember:

Some miracles you just have to create yourself.

And you can!

Panther Dreams by Imke Rust (Guache, ink and pen on 170g/m2 acid free paper, 21 x 29,7cm)

The Ink Oracle

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Girl Playing with Ink and Foxes (Watercolour 6 ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

It is a blessing to be versatile and enjoy working in so many different mediums, styles, sizes, themes and approaches.

Yes, neither you nor me are drunk, I DID repeat that three times.

I need to remind myself (and the world out there) about that. Too often, I get frustrated with the challenge of trying to explain who I am and present myself to galleries or other people who are used to people specialising in one thing. People love the simplicity of boxes, into which you have to fit nicely and which can easily be understood and stored…

And I understand…

I will never forget meeting the ‘plastic wrap artist’ in Beijing in 2008. He showed me several really thick catalogs of his work. All he painted was super-realistic renditions of people wrapped in see-through plastic. That simple. Nothing else.

Even if I do not remember his name, I will always remember what he does and if ever I need a painting of a person wrapped in plastic, I will know exactly whom to ask. That is the beauty of specialisation. And it is real easy and great for marketing and selling your art.

Every time I make art and do something different, I get extraordinary excited.
Every time I fall madly in love with the new work, the style, the medium and the subject matter. But, no matter how successful the work or how much fun I am having, I could never imagine doing thousands of those same different-similar works for the rest of my life. Or even for the rest of the year, or month…

You might have noticed that I have changed my ‘job-description’ from political artist to environmental artist to painter to conceptual artist or a combination thereof. I have never been fully satisfied. I am or have been all of that, but never exclusively.

I am all of that… and so much more.

So my latest change is to this description: Multi-Passionate Creative Being. For now that seems to be the best short description I can find. Even if it is probably not as easy to understand as ‘The Plastic Wrap Artist’.

In celebration of my versatility I would like to share a small insight into one of my current explorations. The common denominator: working in a small square format and on paper. Mostly in inks and watercolours, but not limited to that.

What makes these works really exciting for me, is that I have promised myself to work as intuitively as I can, i.e. paint the first thing that comes to mind and then just continue with what the artwork dictates. It is kind of like a dialog.

Wildly scary is the second aspect that I have challenged myself with: just draw or paint what I feel, without any judgement.

In other words: banning the inner critic. (Which feels like overthrowing the lifetime president…) And no labouring to get things to look ‘perfect’. Rather let them feel right and let them be.

Thank you for bearing with me and my ramblings and reading till here! Finally you can have a look at a selection of these latest works:

Holding Rhinos (Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

Shy Girl (Ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

Why Are We Not Wild? (Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

Giving & Taking (Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

The Horse is a Problem (Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

Untitled (Ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

Leopard (black & red) Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust

Leopard (black & red) (Ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

Winter in Berlin (Ink on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

Raven (Ink & watercolour on paper, 20x20cm by Imke Rust)

Connecting the Dots

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I am on a mission to connect the dots of my life to finally figure out some important things. As part of that, and for some fun learning, I enrolled into an exciting course learning about totem animals and how they can help and guide us in our lives.

The course gives so much food for thought. Even though I initially I enrolled in the hope of ‘just some creative fun’ to add spice to my serious soul search for deeper answers, the course has completely drawn me in and provided such a lot of serious and exciting insights.

Between happily jumping into the fun world of the animals and wonderful kindred human souls who are part of the course or tribe and drawing back in resistance to so many different issues, I have managed to delve deep and hold on to this crazy ride.

I am trying to really let myself go with the flow and allow things to happen. And that is what I want to tell you about.

Black Leopard. Sleeping

Ok, so my main foundational totem is the black leopard. I guess I need to write much more about that at another time, but now I am onto something very different and more immediate. I had been thinking about how the leopard pulls its prey into a tree, to keep it safe from other bigger predators. Two other totem animals of mine move into trees (or live there) for safety.

Then it struck me, that I had a vision about myself as a tree two days ago and because it was so striking I made a small painting in my sketchbook about it.

I felt as if I was a tree growing from the top downwards, with the bottom trunk and roots missing.

The tree could not bloom or produce leaves until those parts eventually grow and connect it with the earth and its nurturing soil and water, its hold and steadfastness. A place to be.

Floating Tree (quick sketchbook drawing)

I took a photograph, in order to be able to share it or continue working on it in a digital format. When I downloaded it, I realised that there were still a whole bunch of other older photographs I have taken, but not downloaded yet…

Interestingly they were mostly of trees – treetops in the mist and a wire baobab tree that we got as a gift for our wedding. And of the bottom of my coffee cup, where the residue has left…. You guessed it: the shape of a tree floating in the air.

Coffee grounds in my mug: can you see the floating tree?

Wire Baobab Tree from Namibia – another photo found still on my camera

My favourite tree is the Baobab. So I looked up its symbolism. Its protective, nourishing and healing and can survive in harsh climates, because it stores water in its trunk. It is also a symbol of strength…

It is also known as the ‘upside-down tree’ – according to myth, the gods planted the tree upside-down in error.

Which reminded me of my initial version, of the tree growing from the top to the bottom and also about something I created just over a year ago, when I felt depressed and generally pretty lost:

Sometimes the world seems upside down

These are so many dots connecting and I will have to ponder about the lessons that entails. So I decided to write it down. While writing, I thought I could just as well post it as a blog. I thought that this is probably a bit too spiritual and way-out for my main art blog and I decided to post it first on my Baobabs, Magic and Art blog. And then it struck me that even the title of this blog adds another dot to connect to the mystical tree…

And it led me further to another poem and image, which I had made and posted on there in June last year:

Trying to grow new roots
In a foreign land
With my feet on unfamiliar ground

Trying to become grounded
Return to the earth
And feel at home

Drawing strength
From below
From belonging

I have no roots
Here
Yet

And hopefully I will eventually find or grow my roots so that this tree won’t be floating around in uncertainty anymore, but will find its place and grow into a big nurturing, protective, creative and healing tree. 🙂

Wishing you a beautiful start to the week!

Happy Easter Bunny!

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May this happy Easter bunny jump straight over the rainbow and into your heart!

Happy Easter Bunny (Ink & watercolour on A4 watercolour paper + digital text added) by Imke Rust ©

I do not really celebrate Easter and have always found it quite odd how the Christian story of Jesus’ death and resurrection was combined with colourful eggs, chocolate and cute bunnies… But I guess as long as it has meaning and importance to somebody, it is cool, and it is good to have rituals and reasons to celebrate.

Possibly my inquiring mind too often asks ‘Why?” and is not easily satisfied with the ‘normal’ answers if they do not make sense to me. And I am puzzled by how many people never even ask this question, or are just too easily satisfied with the often superficial answers or reasoning.

Actually I do like rituals and the whole original idea behind them. So I thought to share with you an Easter ritual which I found quite cool:

Collecting Easter water in silence…

A few years back I had the privilege to celebrate Easter with some friends in Germany who had a very special ritual. We had to get up some time before sunrise (a real challenge especially in the cold weather) and go to the forest to find a natural spring. All this time nobody was allowed to talk or say anything – which made me be very aware of everything we did and contemplate the energy of the spoken word. Somehow it felt really sacred, and I think that it focused the attention strongly on the intention, instead of dispersing it with too much ‘mindless chatter’. I do believe that words are a strong creative force and whatever we say has an impact on our reality.

At sunrise everybody collected some fresh water in glasses which we brought along and took some of the water to sprinkle over us and wash our hands. The water which was collected is called Easter water and will be kept in the house for the whole year as a kind of protection and blessing – it is supposed to stay pure and fresh for the whole year. Only once the water has been collected and the sun has risen, everybody stands in a circle, hold each others’ hands, say grace and blessings and wishing each other a ‘Happy Easter’. Somehow I really liked that.

Happy Bunnies

For today I decided to share with you my ‘Happy Easter Bunny’ to bring you a smile and some happiness. And to remind us all, of how grateful we can be. This bunny is the weirdest looking creature, rather ugly in a way and surely not able to hop along in a graceful manner with those legs – but still, it seems to be so happy and full of lightness, radiating warmth and love and not caring a single bit about the outside circumstances. I wish that he may pop up in your minds and hearts whenever you feel down, lonely or insecure and remind you look for the beauty and blessings in even the darkest moments.*

So, wishing you all a very happy Easter bunny and enjoy the weekend and celebrations – remember, there always is something to celebrate 🙂

* For everybody who wonders how I work or come up with the images:

The birth of the Easter Bunny

Often I just put my pen to paper and start drawing whatever comes to my mind – in this case I saw an image of an owl and started to draw the eyes. Then I am guided by the drawing and somehow it tells me what to do next. I do not consciously think about it, but just follow what feels right. Being very rational, it is often really difficult to let this happen, because my mind tries to tell me stuff, like: ‘you drew owl eyes, so this must become a bird’ or ‘this is really ugly, you can’t do that’, ‘this is not the kind of legs a bunny has…’. I try to ignore the critical voice of my mind and just follow my heart and eye and am often really surprised by the outcome and the insights I get from the process and the final image. It is as if a kind of dialog happens between me and the creature that I create. If you are interested to read even more about my art making process, you might want to look at one of my earlier posts “…and sometimes they tell me their names“, which is still very popular and insightful.

Bird of Darkness

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Sketch illustrating the feeling I tried to describe in words

So,
Bird of darkness, you are back again,
nesting forcefully in my crown.

Thrusting your claws into the depths of my heart.
Stubbornly refusing to be shooed away.

You spread out your wings
not to take flight,
but to cover everything under your gloom.

You stifle me.
Repeatingly
pounding your angry beak against my head.

Oh, when will you leave my branches again?
Lift your heavy weight of me
and let the sun flow back into my emptiness?

And why have you chosen me
To make yourself at home?

Oh, when will you return to your own darkness
again
and give me space to breath?

…to be?

(Sometimes I get overwhelmed by feelings of depression and on the advice of my friend and healing facilitator Jutta Dobler I decided to try and embrace the feeling instead of fighting it. And this is what came out of it – the text and a few days later I made the quick sketch while waiting for the dentist. I am no poet, but still thought I would like to share these scribbles with you.)

Art Clubs – what a brilliant idea!

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Sold! This lady will be traveling to her new home(s) in Denmark.

I have just sold this drawing on paper from my current figurative series to the Danish art club “C67” (from the town of Hjørring) after they visited me in my studio. Their visit to galleries and artists’ studios in Berlin was organized by the Danish artist Mads Dahl Pedersen, who’s studio is in the same building as mine. (Go and check out his artworks by clicking on his name, once you are finished here).

Besides being happy about another sale of my art, I also got to know about art clubs for the first time. Here is what I learned about them:

Art clubs are very popular in Denmark and it sounds like such a cool idea: Each member pays a small monthly fee and the money gets used to buy art. The members of the art club can then hang the work in their own houses for a month, after that time the work goes on to the next member, so that everybody gets a chance to live with the artwork. Once a year they hold an auction, where the members can bid on the works they really like and want, and the highest bidder gets to be the final owner of the work. What a cool idea to stimulate the interest in art and keep it fun and interesting, while at the same time building up a good collection of art!

This particular club has eleven members. I think that is an average number so that each member can have each artwork for one month in the year. And each member pays about 60 Euros per month. I guess the amount payable is made up by the group and depends on their income. So that starting an art club is not a matter of being well-off, but rather of putting your money together to buy great art. And you meet once a month, go to galleries together, talk about art and exchange ideas and views.

Maybe this idea can take root in Namibia (or wherever you are living)? What do you think, is this a brilliant idea or what?

Tate Kuru, a tree and a road – a story of courage and doing the right thing

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A little sketch I made to remember this awesome story

Some years ago I lived in Oshakati, a town in northern Namibia, which was/is a crazy mix between traditional Africa and urban shopping centers, absolute poverty and tremendous wealth, thousands of people and similar amounts of donkeys, goats and hungry dogs roaming the streets. Not really a pretty place, but interesting and alive.

The time there left a huge impression on me in many ways and left me with quite a few stories to tell. The memory of one story suddenly returned to me in vivid colours and stubbornly keeps sticking in my thoughts. I guess it is a good time to tell and share this story, as it is so inspiring. Here it goes:

One day we left Oshakati, driving north-west towards Ruacana with a friend. The surrounding area is pretty flat and the road at most places unimaginatively straight, except for one place. About 50km outside of Oshakati the straight road heads straight towards a gorgeous, huge tree. Shortly before the road meets the tree it makes a bend to the right and travels around it, just to take up its normal course shortly afterwards. I commented that I thought that was great of the engineers that they did not just chop down the tree in their way, but instead planned for the street to go around it. Our friend smiled and told us, that the engineers and road builders had no intention to do this, but planned to fell the tree. A ‘Tate Kuru’ (Ovambo for wise old man) – I assume from a nearby village – found out their plans and did not want this ancient, impressive tree to die to make place for the street. He pleaded with them, but the authorities were not interested and told him the tree has to go in the name of development.

The old man was not that easily impressed, so he went home, got his gun and sat under the tree, threatening to shoot anybody that tried to remove him or the tree. He sat there for a very long time, day and night, protecting the tree from the developers and nobody knew what to do with this stubborn and determined ‘Tate Kuru’. Eventually his perseverance of this one old chap won and amazingly the developers build the road around the tree. Unfortunately I do not know who this guy was… I would love to meet him and thank him.

I made a tiny little drawing to remind me of the responsibility and power we all have towards our environment.

The moral of the story?

If one old man can protect a tree from a tarred road and rich developers, so can you and me. We just need to remember what is really important and act accordingly. And remember this very special ‘Tate Kuru’ if you ever feel that you are all alone or not strong enough to make the world a better place.

You alone can make a difference, and if we join forces, we can make an even greater difference. And sometimes some bold actions and perseverance is needed.

Just to prove to you that this story is not made up, I have located the spot on Google satellite images and marked it for you. You can clearly see the road making a bend around the big dark tree.

If you want to know why this story is so important to me at the moment, read on:

I am really concerned about the future of our beautiful Namib Desert and coastal area around Swakopmund – just recently the Namibian Cabinet has agreed to sell 700 hectares of the Dorop National Park to a company who plans to build a huge industrial and chemical plant. Eventually they will need about 3000 hectares according to their plans, also all inside the recently established Dorop National Park. The same company (and some others) also has plans for marine phosphate mining along our coast and they have already acquired the respective EPLs (Exclusive Prospecting Licenses). In most parts of the world it is prohibited to mine marine phosphate which is highly radioactive and scientists do not know what impact the mining could have on the ecosystem and oceans. You can get much more detailed and scientific information about this on “The Earth Organization Namibia” blog.

Have a look at some of the artworks which I have made for this cause here. And watch out for my exhibition in Swakopmund in December!

About a year ago a small group of concerned citizens has got together and are trying to spread information on this situation and the possible consequences and to protect our home from pollution and exploitation. They have formed several Facebook forums and they have also started a petition.

Please support this cause, by joining the Facebook groups, signing the petition and by getting informed and active in whatever way you can.

Link to the Petition: (just click on the links to be taken straight to the respective sites)

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/the-ministers-of-environment-tourism-and-fisheries-marine-resources-listen-to-scientists-don-t-let-phosphate-mining-threaten-namibia-s-ocean

Facebook Pages:

Industrial Swakopmund?? What future do we want!

We Say NO to Gecko’s VIP Industrial zone near the Namib Coast

A good summary of some background information can be found at:

“The Earth Organization Namibia” blog

Also:

Encourage your family, friends and contacts to send their e-mail addresses to the following e-mail address so that a comprehensive mailing list can be maintained and all those can be reached and kept informed about the environment of the Namibian coastline and its ocean:

swakopmundmatters@mtcmobile.com.na