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T : Since 2017, I’ve been following Merel Slootheer with her Precious Matters company. And so I visited this exposition in Amsterdam which was organised by Maaikes Livepainting, a very talented artist who paints bees and wasps. I was so pleasantly surprised what insects can inspire us to create. Here are some of the artists I met for the first time here.
Ever since I was a child I have been making things. I played with dolls, and I would design their clothing. I read DIY-books. I visualized making things, I am an autodidact in that way. As a child, school didn't suit me perfectly. Out of all the courses, 'Mix Academy' was the only one about art. This art school suited me and I studied there from 2002-2004 alongside my full-time job.
I never had a lot of confidence, until I decided to quit my job after 14 years as a calculator-work programmer at a maintenance company. I could never fulfilled my true potential there, but did it because I was good at it. Now, I’m doing something with my heart and soul. That gives me confidence and it shows. It also helps me to
connect me with like-minded people.
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The ‘slow business’ arose because I had more time to look at things, and to observe the garbage around me. I started to research the different kinds of garbage and came to the conclusion that the problem of garbage will never end. One third of garbage is from myself, my neighbours’ houses and our pockets or bags, ore drop it by accident.
In my opinion, the only solution is to arrange a large group of daily litter pickers who pick at least one piece
per day and then spread the news that picking up dirt is 'chiq' and 'artsy'.
I collected drink cans because I thought it makes a beautiful material to work with. By cutting the metal with simple scissors I discovered a beetle. I realised that this was a perfect spirit animal for me. Beetles are often cleaners. So I challenged myself to pick up one soda can and remake it into a beetle each day during 2016.
The project is called #ElkeDagEenKever.
"I played with dolls, and I would design their clothing."
little beetles
Every day, Sandra makes a new discovery about insects that help provide new inspiration for her work. Beetles have taught her so much about nature.
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Since I started my ‘beetle life’ I started to follow other artists on Instagram. Basson Handre makes beautiful pictures of insects. Kafka8makes insects from metal wires. Christopher Marley’s colours and compositions inspire me. Carim Nahaboo makes interesting drawings and illustrations for ‘The Beetle Collector’s Handbook’. Another book that inspired me is ‘Het Wonderlijke Insectenboek’ which Bart Rossel and Medy Oberendorff designed. Last but not least I let Andy Warhol’s beetle-print ‘Happy Bug Day’ inspire me. At first I copied Andy. Now I make my beetles “Andy-like” in my own way.
I never make sketches before I design a beetle. The garbage let’s the beetle arise from it. The cans have so many inspirational prints that inspire me. Those prints lead me in deciding what form to cut and what lines and dots to put on for the decorative finishing touch. Because there are so many kinds of beetles I never get bored making them.
lees verder
On a sunny day Maaike saw a bumblebee on a sunflower. She took pictures and started to draw the little insect and started thinking about the important role of insects in nature. By her art she wants to raise awareness about the important role that insects have in nature. Her insects are realistic even with her own interpretation.
After making a lot of photos of her subject form different angles, she chooses the perfect one and starts with a sketch. Than she starts using pastel; with every layer more details become visible, giving a better insight into the form of the insect.
She gets inspired by the following artists she follows on Instagram: @denisoktyabr, @zhaoyang3665, @Izumi_kogahara and @radrabbit7. She finds their work powerful impressionable and because it is more abstract, she can augment it within her own ideas.
maaikeslivepainting.nl
"By her art she wants to raise awareness
about the important role that insects have in nature."
lees verder
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I get inspiration from the strangest and most random places. It can be a bird or insect obviously, but also a sentence, a book, a movie. I also love old myths and tales, and a lot of contemporary artists and illustrators inspire me. Artists like James Jean, Takashi Murakami, Jan Fabre, Les Deux Garcons, Darwin Sinke and van Tongeren.
For me the most important thing about these artists is the fantasy that they put into their work. Whether illustration or sculpture, they are “one image” stories that inspire the mind to wander. The quality of craftsmanship gives me something to aspire to match. Movies could be the “Lord of the Rings” (I love a good fantasy movie), “The Cell” or any fantasy movie really. Book wise… dark material or comedies such as
“The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” are great. I love mythology and fairytales and so obviously the works of the Brothers Grimm are also on my reading list. I have attended almost every opera performance I could and I receive a lot of inspiration from classical music, as well as theatre-design and costumes.
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think about the project
non-stop..."
lees verder
The pill is at the centre, either a tablet or a capsule made from resin. The body, wings, antennae and legs are first drawn in illustrator and then laser cut from the carton in which the drugs once were packaged.
I soon saw
that these questions
cannot be answered in
a clear-cut way.
lees verder
scroll down >
T : Since 2017, I’ve been following Merel Slootheer with her Precious Matters company. And so I visited this exposition in Amsterdam which was organised by Maaikes Livepainting, a very talented artist who paints bees and wasps. I was so pleasantly surprised what insects can inspire us to create. Here are some of the artists I met for the first time here.
lees verder
T : Since 2017, I’ve been following Merel Slootheer with her Precious Matters company. And so I visited this exposition in Amsterdam which was organised by Maaikes Livepainting, a very talented artist who paints bees and wasps. I was so pleasantly surprised what insects can inspire us to create. Here are some of the artists I met for the first time here.
little beetles
Every day, Sandra makes a new discovery about insects that help provide new inspiration for her work. Beetles have taught her so much about nature.
"I played with dolls, and I would design their clothing."
Want to see more and enjoy the special effects? Check the aricle on your Desktop computer or tablet.
scroll down
"By her art she wants to raise awareness about the important role that insects have in nature."
Want to see more and enjoy the special effects? Check the aricle on your Desktop computer or tablet.
scroll down
and think about
the project non-stop..."
Want to see more and enjoy the special effects? Check the aricle on your Desktop computer or tablet.
scroll down
The pill is at the centre, either a tablet or a capsule made from resin. The body, wings, antennae and legs are first drawn in illustrator and then laser cut from the carton in which the drugs once were packaged.
I soon saw that these questions
cannot be answered in a clear-cut way.
Want to see more and enjoy the special effects? Check the aricle on your Desktop computer or tablet.
scroll down
T : Since 2017, I’ve been following Merel Slootheer with her Precious Matters company. And so I visited this exposition in Amsterdam which was organised by Maaikes Livepainting, a very talented artist who paints bees and wasps. I was so pleasantly surprised what insects can inspire us to create. Here are some of the artists I met for the first time here.