New York Part 4

And of course there were the museums! We made a list of museums we wanted to visit and tried to prioritize…have to go back to New York!

Guggenheim is a beautiful building. To my disappointment the Kandinsky floor was closed to the public. The rest of the museum was dedicated to an exhibition by two very silly Switzers ..we will say no more about it.

But yes the Metropolitan is the BEST museum in the world!!! I could go there every week! The building is beautiful, the collection breath taking. We planned our must see floors ahead and enjoyed Chagall, Kandinsky, Calder, Miro and many more!! And very clever , the museum has set out a walk for one-day-visitors so you can have an impression of the collection without going crazy.

And at the American Museum of Natural History, a lifelong wish of mine came to happen in seeing the MOST beautiful dioramas in the world. Those of you who follow my blog a little longer know of my passion for dioramas.

These can be over a 100 year old and come from an era without TV, Film, color photos and traveling was a thing for the happy few. The marvel and wonders they must have caused. Mr. Walker does not share my passion but he admitted that it was pretty amazing.

I was so happy.

Love and Liefs, Johanna

 

About Christmas And A Few Of My Favorite Things

“At Christmas everybody invites their friends and thinks little of even the worst weather.”  Jane Austen, Emma

And my dear friend Jane is so right. What is not to love about Christmas, about the Holidays! Celebrating and being grateful for love, hope, new life and old friends.

Of course, I have not been in the shops anymore since last November;0) Cannot find much Christmas spirit there to be honest!

And yes, yes, I do love the decorations too…Kitsch and all!! My vintage Christmas music all through the house (poor Mr. Walker…)

And talking about friends…this delightful chalk ware dog from the thirties was a present form my lovely friend from The Netherlands, who visited me not so long ago. ( and I moped for the longest time after she left again…) She knows me well, I was over the moon with it. It looks so much like the first dog, Mr Walker and I had together , named Saar. I pat it on the head every morning and think happily of my wonderful friend and that fabulous Saar!

And if you want to know how to make these lovely little dioramas yourself, here is the link to my previous blog.

Ach wat weer verrukkelijk knus met al die Kerstspulletjes overal!! En die leuke hond was een cadeautje van mijn lieve vriendin die hier onlangs was. T lijkt precies op onze eerste hond, Saar. Dus elke morgen krijgt ze een aai over de bol en ik denk blij aan mijn vriendin en aan Saar. En als je ook van die leuke mini diorama’s wilt maken, hier is de link naar mijn vorige blog.

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Another Diorama

‘Children have one kind of silliness, as you know, and grown-ups have another kind.” -C.S. Lewis

I love making dioramas. I saw this glass cone and knew it was perfect for another diorama. I just opened my drawer with small/found/discarded thingies…and out came this little sea world.

I suppose psychologist have something to say about this…but I am not such a deep thinker ;0)

Here and here are a few more.

Love and Liefs, Johanna

 

This Week….Dioramas and Sketches!

Well the last Christmas decoration I unpacked were the Christmas dioramas I made last year.

It was nice, bright sunny weather, so I had to play and make photos first.

If you want to make them too, on my previous blog you can find the tips and tricks here.

After that, I had to be firm with myself and get out my sketchpad and go to work.

Once I started …all was well in the world again of course;0)

And thank you Valerie and Boomdee for great photos as inspiration!

Als laatste klus voor de Kerstversieringen de kerstdiorama’s van vorig jaar uitgepakt. De zon scheen er zo mooi doorheen, ik moest er even mee spelen en kiekjes schieten;0)

Maar daarna was de pret over..studie en tekenen. Ook erg fijn weer hoor!

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Diorama

Definition of DIORAMA according to merriam-webster.com:

• a scenic representation in which a partly translucent painting is seen from a distance through an opening
•  a scenic representation in which sculptured figures and lifelike details are displayed usually in miniature so as to blend indistinguishably with a realistic painted background
• a life-size exhibit (as of a wildlife specimen or scene) with realistic natural surroundings and a painted background

I have a passion for dioramas. To me, they have that eerie Victorian feel of beauty and somewhat gruesomeness: these scenes locked in a jar. ..yes, try to analyze that ;0)

I love making them from found objects and things I find in thrift stores for next to nothing. Odds and ends from drawers with no real purpose (anymore). I am totally in love with this wedding cake ornament..poor things waited for me in a box with other treasures for 0.25 cents.

I never think out/ design a diorama ahead of time. I just lay out a group of things and look at my collection of glass containers of any kind and I let it happen.

In my opinion…one should not think too much ;0) But they do make lovely objects to photograph, not?

One day I will go to New York and look at the most beautiful dioramas in the world in this museum.

Ik heb een passie voor dioramas en vind t heerlijk ze ook zelf te maken van allerlei overgebleven dingetjes die ik overal en nergens vandaan haal. Op een dag, ga ik naar New York, naar dit museum om de mooiste diorama’s in de wereld te bekijken.

Love and Liefs, Johanna