I found these two side by side in Top1s den.
It brought to mind the Venn Diagram.
(I was a math addict in high school).

x ∈ A (the bust contains copper)
x ∈ B (the grater contains copper)
x ∈ A ∩ B (both bust and grate contain copper)

I can't think of another element contained in both A and B.
Can you?

We went on a cross-country trip to the Kunsthal in Rotterdam and had a lovely time at the opening of Johan Kramers "ByeBye Super-8" project.

I'll be posting more about Super-8 over the weekend, so stay tuned!

PS I am pleased that the first prize in the National Poetry Competition went to a rather decent poem (not by me, alas). I am, however, disappointed that the Top3 again only contains poems by male poets. I wonder if there is something about the female angle that is at odds with modern day literature?

I think it was Joseph Beuys who said "Every man is an artist".

And so it is. Naming Top4, Top3, Top1 and myself as my favorite artists may sound presumptuous, but what I am really saying is that art is all around us, incorporated in our culture, our lives, our nature.

Notwithstanding the fact that some people are keener to explore their artistic side than others, I do believe that Mr Beuys was right.

Hop on over to Theresa for more Corner Views of the world!

From September till March, our rather boxed-in house is not sunny at all. So, what do you do with the one and only ray of sunshine beaming in at half past eleven in the morning, knowing it will be gone in about half an hour? Fool around, that's what.

.. in which you'll find words like "KONEN" (rabbit), "ROS" (rose) and lots of little hearts.

Top1 (depicted true-to-life on the right) and Top3 (the little guy on the left) share their love for Warhammer. They've set up a large gaming table in the attic above the workshop, where they'll play for hours on end if not interrupted by such pesty things as, oh say school, work, household chores, eating, sleeping. You know, the regular stuff.

So, you can imagine what a feast it was to have Johan Kramer come up and film Top3 with this precious hobby of his, for the ByeBye Super-8 project.

We haven't seen the footage yet. Top3 is eagerly looking forward to his big day come Wednesday.

No sign of winter aconites or snowdrops yet, but after almost six weeks, the amaryllis I bought for Top4 is budding out. We'll have to take extra good care of it now.

This truly is how the (organic) egg came out after boiling it... I just gave it some eyes, with pin-heads. Enhancing its form, so to speak.

Go on over to Theresa for more Corner Views of the world!

On January 26th, the sweet project Johan Kramer initiated to say goodbye to Kodachrome Super 8 shorts (in which Top3 is participating), will officially open in the Kunsthal in Rotterdam.

As the prize-giving ceremony for the Türing National Poetry Competition (one of my poems made it to the Top100) is on that same evening, just a couple of hours later, in the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, I am in a bit of a pickle...

I guess I am counting on the poetry people to be mature enough to accept the fact that one of their prize winners (oh, who am I kidding? But let's assume my poem does win a prize, just for arguments sake) will not be present at the ceremony due to family obligations. After all, they have my address ;-)

Click below for an impression of the Super 8 project. You can see Top3 at approx. 0:35.

Originally, there was way more cotton involved. Top4 had the locomotive steaming in big (BIG) tufts...

Oh boy, this has been a week.

Weird, astigmatic, tired eyes notwithstanding, I did it: click on over to see my handywork.

If all else fails, I can always inquire after a job as website developer...

This is as close as we've gotten to a snowman thus far this winter. My hands are extremely sensitive to cold, which means I cannot venture outside without at least two sets of gloves on (not really useful when it comes to snow sculptures) and the rest of the family apparently does not bother with snowmen or -women. Barbaric, in a way.

I have strayed from blogging every day, and although I do try, I can't promise anything for the future.

At the moment, I am in the midst of a hefty WordPress operation (I'll never give up, never!), because I need my other website in tiptop shape for my nomination for the Dutch National Poetry Competition. Just in case...

Also, I've been struggling with the weirdest eye sight improvement in history. After almost a week of agony, I decided to try some contact lenses from an old prescription (PWR -7) instead of the PWR -8.5 from my latest prescription and heck, gone are the incredible nausea, belching and headaches. Still not 100%, so I'm having them checked out tomorrow. Certain family members have suggested I should probably eat less fruit and vegetables, but I am determined to gulp down at least a pint of veggie juices a day - even if this means that I will have to get a new prescription now and then.

And last but not least, I've been painting and writing. As always. Never give up, remember?

Go on over to Theresa for more Corner Views of the world!

See that small strip of green towards the bottom? That's where I am right now. Yearning for spring...

I just spent two whole days trying to get my other site running under WordPress. Oh, I was so clever, I had nice colors and a static homepage and a link to my album with paintings. I even had a language selector for English and Dutch!

But then I discovered that the theme I had chosen, does not allow for category posts to appear in a list. So all my poems ended up as title thumbs across the page. Not pretty.

At my wits end, I decided to try out a few other themes. Let me tell you, it went downhill from there...

So, I am once again stuck with very basic HTML.

And now, to me, it seems that Top4 has found the best use for computers. A picture frame. Nothing more, nothing less.

"For I am the Alpha and the (inverted) Omega..."

This is a test pewter cast of a design Top1 is planning to introduce in silver.

As there is little demand for high-quality armour these days (museums are on a tight budget, and re-enacters are cutting down on their hobby expenditures), Top1 is opening a web shop soon, where he will showcase his designs for fibulas, pins, buttons etcetera.

This afternoon, Top4 was really frustrated because Top3 and I gently tried to help her with her writing.

Most five-year olds have difficulty spelling their own name correctly, let alone a four-syllable word. But alas, Top4 had a hard time believing that "KNUTSELPLANEET" (crafting planet) is a rather difficult word to write.

I didn't see the planet itself, on the back of the paper, until after she went back to school.

2011 = Year of the Crafting Planet. She might be on to something!

(The only Tea Party we could ever endorse!)