vrijdag 24 december 2010

Goede dagen - Merry Christmas

I wish you all a merry Christmas! For unto us a Child is born, even in these turbulent days, the birth of Christ is an event of Hope for me and for you.
I wish you warm days of celebration, and love to meet you in the new year.

zaterdag 18 december 2010

Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

Take your time to watch this amazing video! Merry christmas everyone, Unto us a Child is given.

maandag 6 december 2010

It's been... good

So, the wintermarket is over for me. Met some lovely people, and mostly had a lot of fun. It was really cold, and the snow gave us that winter-atmosphere...
My shop was small, but filled with gifts and paintings. Although there were not so many people as were expected, because of the snowfall, I talked with a lot of people and sold enough of my handmade products.

I have made several new paintings which I will put on sale on Etsy. These paintings are only 35 euros, measure 30*40 cm, can be hung or can be arranged on a cabinet or... If you're interested, send me a message.


maandag 29 november 2010

Visit me at the Wintermarket



From Wednesday until Saturday I'll be at the wintermarket in Soest. They have made a small village in winter-setting, all filled with artists. Welcome!

zaterdag 27 november 2010

"Winter of Frost" has started


The frost made its own piece of art this morning, some drops were captured in frost.


A black roof layered with all sorts of things. I like the graphic lines and stillness in this image.

dinsdag 23 november 2010

this friday and saturday: winter-sale at the studio


This Friday and Saturday my studio is open to visit. I've made some small paintings for a small price, handmade some little notebooks, made a lot of christmas-cards and well... more to see.
The studio is open from 10-18, I'll put the heat on!

donderdag 11 november 2010

etsy, ehm... what?

Well, ETSY! The place to by handmade goods worldwide, an online marketplace where artists present and sell their goods, and yes... me too! I've got me own little shoppie: http://www.etsy.com/zizolabel.



Some of you might think: oh well, and...? Well, recent results have shown amazing numbers:

•$29.9 million of goods were sold in October, 12.4% higher than September's $26.6 million.
•That represents 1,677,986 items sold for the month, 14.5% higher than September’s 1,466,039.
•2,452,359 new items were listed in the month, 11.6% higher than September's 2,196,970.
•322,466 new members joined the Etsy community in the month, up 41,928, or 14.9%, from September.
•842,291,766 page views were recorded on the site in October.

Okay, so in other words: 1.6 million sales in October for a worth of 29.9 million dollars, that's amazing!

ETSY IS SERIOUS BUSINESS! Artists who are passionate about what they make, present their products to the whole world. All this creativity and unique, original drawings, paintings, scarfs, pictures etc etc can be found here!



donderdag 4 november 2010

currently working on...

I am currently working on some small textile accessories. My workspace is filled with textile, ribbons, buttons and me of course. Enjoying the fanatic sowing on the machine...



Next to being inside the workspace, I also enjoy the autumn colours, while they are still there:





I also have a lot of other things to tell you, upcoming events and so on... to be continued...

zaterdag 16 oktober 2010

illustrations in the bookstore





(copyright by ZIZOlabel)

So I went to the bookstore this Saturday and I sat down and began to make drawings, soon some children were approaching... wondering what I was doing. They sat down and began to fill the drawings with colours, really nice!
I enjoyed it, children were telling me about the giraffe they saw, the rabbit they have and so on, so I made some pictures to share with you. Of course no pictures of me, because when there were a lot of children I could not make a picture myself...

maandag 11 oktober 2010

kinderboekenweek - week of children's books

This week it's the week of children's books and a lot of activities are taking place. In bookstore "Pretletters" in Hilversum I will be making drawings of my animal-designs, and children can colour them at the spot! Exciting to be doing this for the first time, it will be this Saturday at the end of the morning.

As a child I was always reading, visiting the library every Wednesday and exchanging books with friends. My favourites were:
* Kameleon-series
* Olijke tweeling
* poetry by Lea Smulders

Recently I am more into illustrations, since I am also working on a small children's book with my mom... I found this book of Swiebertje at the thrift store, bought it for the lovely illustrations by Marjolein uit den Bogaard.



I did some google-search on her and found out that she is the daughter of the writer of Swiebertje, and after her marriage she was called Marjolein Bastin, the very famous Dutch illustrator! Amazing because these pictures are so different from the work she is doing now. And I also found that they (father and daughter) were living at Loenen ad Vecht, which is only a stone's throw away from where I live.

zondag 26 september 2010

Autumn leaves

Just heard Eva Cassidy singing a song called Autumn leaves, I really like it. It has that gloomy feel about it, which is the same as I am feeling right now while having a severe cold...
Therefore I am cocooning in the house, with some magazines, a good book and a cup of tea. Hope you are enjoying the weekend as well!

maandag 20 september 2010

dinsdag 7 september 2010

open atelier 10-15 September in Loosdrecht





Welcome in my atelier, it'll be open from 10-15 September (except Wednesdaymorning...) from 10-18 hours. I've made some new bracelets, fun bags, new cards and you can see a selection of my paintings. Location: Nw. Loosdrechtsedijk 106 in Loosdrecht.

Welcome to look around, do some shopping, have a cup of tea or coffee, or just a chat!

donderdag 2 september 2010

This Saturday in Baarn

This Saturday there is a cultural festival in Baarn. Some 25 artists are there to show what they make, furthermore there is music, cabaret and so on. Due to illness I cannot be there... so maybe next year!

Further info at www.cultureelfestival.nl.

maandag 30 augustus 2010

new acrylic paintings...

made several new acrylic paintings, two of which can be found in my etsy-shop.


dinsdag 24 augustus 2010

new bracelets in etsy-shop!

I have some new leather bracelets in my shop, a red one and a dark-red one.
You can also mail me if you are interested or buy them in my atelier (call me and I'll be there!).




maandag 16 augustus 2010

Visit the "houthakkersfeest"!



It is the 25th time that this market takes place in the small village Lage Vuursche in the Netherlands. It is all about wood, woodchopping, carving, enjoying nature and enjoying art. I'll be in one of the small market stands to present some of my new products, hope to see you there! It is this Saturday 21st of August.

donderdag 5 augustus 2010

New hand-drawn cards

I have made some new hand-drawn cards, in black and white. On a summer day I was just scribbling somewhat with circles and then I saw these faces and animals appear. I thought it was funny to make them into cards with a space to write, glue your own message... And children can colour the little caterpillar or doggie.
They are for sale in a set of 10 cards in my Etsy-shop.



(photos: ZIZOlabel)

donderdag 15 juli 2010

sketchbook project



There is this really fun project going on in the US. It's called the sketchbook project: one type of sketchbook with different themes, filled with sketches of all different people. Above you see the sketchbook of Kate Castelli.
These books are then exhibited all over the US, so you pick a sketchbook and it is filled with sketches about for instance the theme "Sleepless".
I am still thinking about joining, I like the theme "Figuring you out", would be good to practice sketching. Only thing is, it is all situated in the US, so you can't see any of it... Mmm, still thinking...

See for more pictures:
http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject/

dinsdag 13 juli 2010

finished!

I worked on an assignment, to make a second painting, and now it is finished. I am happy with it and my customer as well! The photo is a bit dark... and the glass is mirroring...sorry about that.


photo by: ZIZOlabel

students decorated some chairs

Luckily there are still students who want to learn the skills of fabricating and decorating chairs, a really precise piece of work. Here you see some of the results of the students of HM College in Amsterdam (www.hmcollege.nl). There were also young furniture designers, interior designers and boatbuilders. At the end of their schoolyear they held an exhibition to show the results. We also met some people building and testing piano's, that's really amazing. Unfortunately such skills are disappearing nowadays... I really think it is a shame, those young people so enthusiastic, I'd want to give them all a brilliant career!

vrijdag 2 juli 2010

EETHUIS-project in Appeltern

A friend of mine, Marijke Bruinsma, participated in a competition to design a garden. Together with Atelier Gras (www.ateliergras.nl) they designed a house filled with edible vegetables and fruit. They were one of the winners of the competition and now their house can be seen live in Appeltern!



Yesterday we were there and it was the best. We replaced some of the fruits and harvested a large amount of vegetables. Their EETHUIS can be seen until October.

look at my worksurface

My worksurface is a large piece of thin cardboard. Today I noticed the different colours and shapes I've made without noticing. I took some pictures of them, and now I notice the colourcombinations which I actually really like!



zaterdag 19 juni 2010

Flowers in the meadows of Switzerland

Some photos of lovely flowers in bloom, isn't it great, those colours, sometimes soft and sometimes bright?


(photos by ZIZO label)

I am reading a book about Vincent van Gogh at the moment and he is talking a lot about the colours he is using, especially the colour yellow, which symbolizes several things for him, like light in darkness and salvation.
Henri Nouwen, a well-known Dutch writer of several interesting books, describes how Van Gogh intended to make people see the compassion-solidarity and the encouragement he wanted to give through his paintings.
Makes me want to go to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, I have been there a long time ago, time for a new visit?

Fluffy, like dots in the sky



(photo: ZIZO label)

Sometimes clouds make a wonderful scenery: like here in Switzerland where small dots are flowing over a mountain top, while dark, large clouds are coming in above. Looking up to the sky I thought: hey, let's get a picture and see what will happen.
I love the shades of grey, and the dots of white.

maandag 14 juni 2010

Claudy Jongstra- a Dutch hero in felt


Made by Claudy Jongstra (photo from egodesign.ca)

A group of Dutch crafters writes on their own blog about inspration, designers and all things Dutch. They are featuring a youtube-movie about Claudy Jongstra and her process of making a GIGANTIC piece of work. Check it out on:

http://dutchhandmade.blogspot.com/2010/06/dutch-heroes.html

maandag 7 juni 2010

A man walking...


I have made a new drawing: first a rough painting and then filled in the details with colour pencil. It's just, I don't know, I like this man, he 's a bit melancholic, serious, at peace, or maybe he sees something which interests him... It's just a small drawing, but for me it is complete. I am curious what you think about it?

vrijdag 4 juni 2010

Louise organizes workshops



Recently I met Louise Adams, a creative woman who lives in Hilversum where she has her own studio. Each Saturday morning she organizes a workshop drawing in her home.
The 12th of June for instance it is a workshop about drawing roses. Roses are lovely and colourful with a lot of nuances, so interesting to try!
Check out her website: www.studiotekentaal.nl, for all her other activities.

maandag 17 mei 2010

OPEN STUDIO - welcome!

My studio is open for visit!
20-22 May (Thursday-Saturday)
24-29 May (Monday-Saturday)
10.00-18.00 hours

Studio ZIZO label at Nw. Loosdrechtse dijk 106 in Loosdrecht, The Netherlands.


In my studio you will find a display of several new paintings I have made, and also a series of new accessories (bracelets, key chains) and small gifts.
Please feel free to visit and see my work-environment.


Near my studio there is also an OUTLET-sale of office furniture, hosted by Aalberts Totaal Projekt. So if you are looking for a new table and chair you can find it here. See our add here: