Now, in the “Everyday Songs” post I talked about songs that I wake up with in the morning… but there are no songs that I go to bed with in the evening or that make me fall asleep. In fact, I hardly sleep. I suffer from insomnia. I sleep maybe 4 or 5 hours a night, and some nights I don’t sleep at all. No song can change that, BUT…. there is a sound that I fall asleep to almost every time I hear it. That ‘noise’ comes around every year in July (that’s righ now!) so I’m catching some extra sleep these days. You know why? the Tour de France started!

Here’s the ‘story’ (scroll a bit further for the translation) and the art journal page I created.

The journaling is in Dutch, here’s the translation:
With a bag of peanuts and a nice cool drink I curl up on the couch: ready for the broadcast of the Tour de France. Each year, in the month of July, I follow this heroic cycling race. Every day , for three weeks, I install myself in front of the television in the afternoon to watch yet another stage of the bicycle race. Here come the cyclists: a mixture of bright, colored garments and helmets. Images of rotating legs. Flickering wheels and derails. The broadcast is accompanied by the muffled sound of cheering people that stand along the side of the road and the monotonous murmuring voices of the commentators Maarten Ducrot and Herbert Dijkstra. Slowly but surely my eyes get all heavy… and in no time I am asleep. No matter how exciting the stage, no matter how high the mountains the cyclists have to climb and no matter how chilling the descent: I doze off. I’ve missed quite a few thrilling finals!

I wonder what song or sound makes YOU fall asleep?

The Casper blog Pillow Talk is fun to visit with all kinds of facts and posts about sleeping or you can check out more ideas on the Casper Facebook Page!” They, as well, like to know what sounds help you hit the hay.

What does one do when sleep won’t come…
Count sheep?
That’s possible, but there are more beautiful things you could do…

… like looking at the night sky for instance!
(and write a haiku about it for Haiku my Heart Friday)

Credit: Frank Zullo / Science Photo Library

..

‘Haiku my Heart Friday’ is hosted by Rebecca from Recuerda Mi Corazon.
For more haiku and photos, visit the blogs of the other participants.
You can find the list here.

I got the sweetest email from my blogbuddy Linda ‘Phinner‘ the other day!
It made me blush the way she praised me with my  ‘new art making’ (the
canvasses I showed on my blog in the former posts) and she asked:

I am also curious about your process and how you go about developing
such a piece…

The way I work on those canvasses is something I did ages ago in art school
as an ‘in between practice’ in some sort of lesson – I can’t even remember
exactly what the lesson or assignment was… Anyway, it came back to me
when the designer needed a ‘background’ for the cover of FEATURING.
He had some sort of ‘painting’ in his head and he asked me if I could make
what he described. The idea was to make just the layered ‘surface’ (gesso and
paint) but when he put the title and text on it, it ‘needed something more’…

and at that moment this ‘technique/way of working’ kinda ‘clicked’ in my head
so I went for it and we both love the outcome!

Yes, this is it. The front cover of the debut issue of the magazine!

Oh, and as you know, FEATURING has a ‘young team’ who
keep me sharp, modern and up-to-date (thanks girlies!) so
as of now you can find us on facebook too!

I love the fact that you can ‘officially LIKE the magazine now,
so go ahead if you LIKE to say that you LIKE FEATURING!
I will LOVE you for that!

Letters from the Wasteland

Letter #3

(Size: 16 x 11 cm - 6.3 x 4.3 inch)

The dimension was created by gluing paper over thread.
Here’s a close up photo

Letters from the Wasteland

Letter #4

(Size: 16 x 11 cm - 6.3 x 4.3 inch.)
Materials used: gesso, acrylic paint, Indian ink, washi tape,
scraps of handmade paper, piece from an encyclopedia page,
paper with woolen thread, strips(text) from a fairytale book.

With this last ‘letter’ we are right back where I started: sleep.
I hope you all have a good rest in the weekend  (keep your fingers crossed
that I will) and I see you next week… it looks like that will be one of the most
exiting weeks in my life!