La rentrée - Back to school!

Hello to my new followers!

Slowly but surely I'm reaching the 50 milestone! ;-) Maybe I'll do something to celebrate this ... still pondering.

Last week and weekend (back to school etc.) were busy and ... it was once proven that life and death are close together. On Saturday morning we had to bury one of our uncles (due to an accident at work - not his fault) who was beloved by everyone ... Our whole family still feels numb.

This was followed by a birthday party in the later afternoon. Both of our daughters were invited and we didn't want to spoil their pleasure  (I wanted them to have a little fun after such a sad beginning of the day).

 

On Sunday we went to a book market in open air which is kept twice a year (May and September) in a pitturesque setting. My husband noticed a whole box of books "in my domain" as he called it and brought it to my attention. I bought five books craft books for a bargain (first book top left and all four on the bottom row):

 

I also purchased another book that has childhood memories "De kabouter" (The Gnome) by Rien Poortvliet (paintings) and Wil Huygen (text). I don't recall if mom gave it away or that I disposed of it at a certain moment, but I wanted it back :-)
 

Extract from Wikipedia:
Rien Poortvliet (August 7, 1932 - September 15, 1995) was a Dutch draughtsman and painter.

Born in Schiedam, he was best known for his drawings of animals and for "Gnomes" in the famous series of books by Wil Huygen.

 

Being a plasterer's son from Schiedam, making a living as an artist did not seem an option for Rien Poortvliet. His parents were strict Dutch Reformed and were opposed to the idea of their oldest son going to an art academy.

 

Rien's aptitude for drawing showed early on. After primary education the young Rien worked at an ad agency, where he could make some use of his talent. He unmistakably also had talent for the advertising profession, because after he had completed his draft time in the Navy he rose to senior manager at Lintas, Unilever's ad agency.

Yet Rien took more pleasure in the work he did on the side for several publishers. He illustrated various books. He was also a passionate hunter, which led him to drawing various nature subjects.

By the end of the 1960s, Poortvliet was able to make a living as an independent illustrator.

To supplement his income, he made a book out of his drawings and watercolours based on his hunting experiences. Later on, he also made a similar work concerning the life of Jesus Christ.

Poortvliet saw himself as a characteristic narrator. His drawings told the tale, and at most he added a short caption.

For years his works were published by Van Holkema en Warendorf in Bussum, where his "Leven en werken van de Kabouter" (co-authored by Wil Huygen, English title is "Gnomes") saw an astonishing 59 printings. With the Gnomes series Poortvliet acquired international fame. While he was alive, but more so after his death this series took on a life of its own, and was turned into an animated series.

His books were translated into English, French, German, Swedish, Finnish, Italian and other languages.

I really enjoyed this day and was happy as a child to find a couple of books that really compliment my library.

On the stitching front I worked some more on my Serengeti mandala but progress is slow gowing due to the different colour changes and quarter and special stitches. I've almost finished the first corner ornament but there are 3 more to follow and a third of the month has already passed! I fear that I won't be able to finish this part before the month's end.

 

 

The Zebra panel isn't finished yet

 



Other thing ... I really want to start stitching on a couple of ornaments for Halloween and Christmas (for the moment I'm still able to restrain myself starting something new).

Have a nice week!
Ann