etsy blog - the storque: shop local germany

..check out this really nice article by jenny aka pearlswirl who was kind enough to including my little etsy shop in her feature. thanks, jenny!

the storque - shop local germany

frankie 2009 calendar

one of the loveliest maganzines on this planet, amazing frankie magazine from australia has published a stunning art calendar for the year 2009 and guess what - i'm in it!! yay!! this is SO cool.....Featured among other great artists like Beci Orpin, Kat Macleod, Lilly Piri and Catherine Campbell, it’s an exclusive, large-format calendar ring-bound and printed on beautiful art paper and it can be all yours for only AUD29.95 + postage. Get your copy here...

...and here's a peak on my contribution: an all exclusive frankie version of the blue hey bunnies :)

only 10 days to go...

...and i am working almost non-stop on new things for the walls at winterleuchten! this one features a new linocut of the little robin living in my garden, carefully cut out and pasted to an old piece of wood, which i have painted with thinned oil inks before. i don't know if i can sell this, i like it so much! maybe keep it myself... (original size is app.6x8inches)



and here's yet another cat collage on canvas board. love the color contrasts and structures, the pink pattern is also a linocut print i specially made for use in, well, collages... (original size app.6x6inches)

enjoy your first december days..

*WINTERLEUCHTEN**2008*

you are cordially invited to visit the annual winterleuchten christmas market at the nordbahnhof waggons in stuttgart!!!

13.+14.12.2008 from 14-22 hrs.

***************************************************
ihr seid herzlich eingeladen zum winterleuchten weihnachtsbudenzauber an den waggons am nordbahnhof in stuttgart!!

13.+14.12.2008, jeweils 14-22 Uhr, Puppentheater ab 16 Uhr

***************************************************
www.winterleuchten.de info@winterleuchten.de

winterleuchten poster print // printmaking week 47

yes, i did it!! i have finished the last two blocks for the annual winterleuchten market poster print. yay!! it was damn cold in my studio, no fun printing at all. also i have cut my thumb while carving the last block and it hurt, especially when it got soaked in terpentine...anyway, i am very releived the biggest work is done and the print came out quite nice. now it's ready to be processed..


printing the first layer, a light yellow...



second layer, a transparent cyan blue. it's much more radiant in reality, the photos don't show it very good. but hey, the weather and light was a washed out dark gray. brrr...


and this is it!! well, what is aaalways great is, when you discover shortly before printing, that you have cut a wrong date!! i made it 2009 instead of 2008!!!!! amazing! i mean, there i sit three days designing and cutting on the block, carefully watching every detail, rethinking twice, three times and i don't recognize the mistake?! gosh, where was my mind???? now i have to carve a single 8 to replace the 9, well, well....as my grandpa used to say: if you don't have in your mind, you might have in the legs ( deutsch: wer's nicht im kopf hat, hat's halt in den beinen.)

enjoy the weekend! the weather reports here are threatening us with hail and snow..yuk!

work to do

yes, smells like work, kitties! shogo and keks show much interest in my linocutting efforts. i have cut this first plate for the yearly winterleuchten poster last week and there are still two plates to go! the winterleuchten is our yearly christmas market at the waggons at nordbahnhof, stuttgart, which this year takes place from 13-14 dec. i have decided to make a brandnew 3-color linocut for the flyer and poster, whcih allows me also to make a special edition of original prints (a souvenir from the winterleuchten market). as always - i am late in time and should work nonstop on the cut. but today it's monday, monkey monday as we like to call it, started bad, cold outside, even though the sun is shining, i am tired and i don't want to work!!!!!!! a t a l l!!! guess it's shitty cold in my studio, so i don't feel the urgent need for test printing, i am so unmotivated!! terrible, but hey - i am a freelancer, i can decide when i take time off, no?! sigh... had so many orders from the shops, too (awsome!!!), so half the day went by on this and sometimes, like today, it takes away my energy for all the other, creative stuff... UGH!


anyway, the first plate of my poster print came out quiet nice, i think. let's hope for better, energy fueled times and the first test print results....( i don't even want to think about the whole digitalizing, repro kinda procedure yet)

maybe i should just take a hot bath and watch disney movies for the rest of the day..

shopping on dawanda

the last weeks were, still are really busy! i am missing time to find muse and inspiration, to work on new things, to doodle myself away... instead commission work, organisation, bureaucratics are keeping me busy, but more about this next time... so TODAY, i want to share with you how i spoiled myself lately, here are some of my dawanda favs, hope you don't mind ... :D


i found this gorgeous purse in my dear friend tabea's shop borsellina. i LOVE the japanese fabric, pattern, the greens, reds and creamy colors on this. it's like made for me and even though my closet already is a borsellina branch office, i can't get enough of her bags and treats. apropos bags! there's a matching tote bag in her shop, too. you think i should get it?!

check out her dawanda boutique here or her webshop here



oh i LOVE this pretty drawing!! wish the original would be available. if i could pay it, though... this is the prettiest lucky goldfish ever by talented maki shimizu, a japanese artist in berlin. i discoverd her work earlier in a berlin shop called neurotitan, where i purchased other postcards from her amazing ukiyo-e, modern time woodcut prints. she also has a shop on dawanda. please check out makis shop
oh and this was on my mind way too long, since i discovered it on dawanda months ago - finally it's mine! i totally fits my actual needs for nest building ( oh dear wintertime!) and goes perfect with the new sofa. Screenprinted and handsewn of course, plus there's a whole series of cushions, which all together tell a sweet little story by lalitah

so good night all, sweet nesty dreams to all of you ^_^

memo me! - card game

a few months ago, i needed a special birthday gift for a dear friend. she's a big fan of my handcarved stamps and always wants a printed thing from all of them, so i decided to make her a memory card game, which features the whole variety of my stamps. i had so much fun making these, trying out new combinations, new colors, patterns etc, that i decided to make some for the shops, too. it was quiet an effort, but i think they make a really nice and special gift, not really as a "serious" card game, but as a lovely collectible item for paper lovers and craft fanatics. and it's fun to play them, too!! so, here's the mini memo me! available in my dawanda shopette...

my foxy notebook

as flo the fox found so many friends in such a short time, he is now featured on little moleskine journals!! of course handstamped with my handcut fox stamp and a handpunched bubble added- reminds you of everything you never intented to forget.
... ;)

available in shops now...

new stuff for the shops

so, finally - the very new and unfamiliar feeling of being a married woman (hehe, still wondering..) has kind of settled and i found the time to post some new things in my dawanda shop, hopefully will list them on etsy this weekend...

here's a closeup of the keyrings i made from wood, of course handcut, painted, printed, polished and each one of a kind. i think i will not produce them big time, as it is quiet an effort to make them. so, only a few available!


then i made a new version of this print from 2006, which i titled "stammheimer fruehling" it translates into "spring in Stammheim". Stammheim is the part of Stuttgart where i live and has a, well, "famous" history. In the 70ties, some of the leading heads of the RAF terror group committed suicide in the Stammheim High Security Prison, where also the court trials were handled. They called this time the "Stammheimer Herbst", which means the "Autumn of Stammheim" and it was one of the most dangerous and political heavy times of terror that Germany had to deal with since the war.. everybody in Germany connects Stammheim only with these horrible happenings and almost nobody knows how beautiful and peaceful this place is, outside the penitentary...........so, yeah, the coin always has two sides... When we moved into our little house in Stammheim in 2004, i discovered a box with old black and white photos from J's grandma. She was a very -ehm- lively girl in her younger years and there was this photo of her and one of her dates, all dressed up and looking like young Bonnie and Clyde, having a romantic rendezvous in the spring blooming park. I made this linocut from it and well, called it - Stammheimer Fruehling. For me it also symbolizes the start in a new life that J and I have kicked off when moving to Stammheim and sometimes we proudly perform under the name of "Stammheimer Fruehling".

Gee, I hope I got this all right in english words, not that there will be any misunderstandings..but anyway- the print is available in shops now ;)

love+happiness

....we just got married!!

this was that: yardfestival 2008

what a blast! not only was the yardfestival a great success, big fun and harmony party, it also hit me with a cold, so i was not able to post anything until now. i want to thank everybody who was involved, who helped, all the volunteers, musicians, artists, organizers, guests and happy people!!

this year's festival was very peaceful and loving, but unfortunately a very tragic incident casts it's shadow over the happiness: on saturday morning a young man, who spent the night partying at the yard, was hit by a train on his way home. we are all very shocked and sad. our thoughts are with his family and friends.



the tower, built by aaron and weiny. madness in wood!!


the einkaufswaggon, e.g. the yard shop with my siebenmorgen stuff..



you find more photos from the yard here and more information in general here.

yardfestival 2008

here we go again!! it's time for the annual yardfestival at the waggons at nordbahnhof stuttgart, the last anarchist and freeminded resort in town. haha, well in real, we are very stubborn and not a little freeminded at all....BUT - for 3 days we forget everything and celebrate the finest independent music mania, party galore, art, installations, theater, shops, graffiti, performance, food, drinks, lights and sounds.. all happening in and around the old train waggons at nordbahnhof stuttgart. this time may be the last yardfestival for ever! so take the chance and get there, DO NOT MISS THE CIRCUS!!!!

SiebenMorgen will host the Einkaufswagen again, the shop waggon, where original art and souvenirs from the yard artists are available....only there.

find out more and all at www.yardfestival.com

breakdown

4 weeks ago, my internet provider decided to cut me off the line without further notice and reason. after the first shock of being offline (imagine!) we spent hours and hours in the terror of service hotlines to find out why and whats going on. a crazy mess went on, but I am way too tired to explain this whole crap again, it really got on my nerves so bad and i had to explain it over and over again to hundreds of incompetent call agents. so annoying. you can imagine. and still not solved to my sufficience.

but at least, i'm back online!! sorry for my long absence! i totally lost my daily routine and could not work my shops as i wanted to, i had so much new stuff to list....and so much other stuff to do....

so, being offline gave me some time to finally paint the kitchen wall. it's cosy, no?



aaaaand ..... we've decided to invite two little friends to live with us! please meet...


keks and shogo!


keks is cookie in german, she's cute like caramel candy! and likes to eat - a lot!
shogo is japanese for strong warrior and suits the black panther well. she's a hunter, a samurai cat. together they're like yin and yang, shadow and light ... a chocolate cookie with cream filling ;)

be back soon with news from the printmaking studio...... happy weekend all of you!

printmaking // week33

no matter how hard i try, seems like i never become a daily blogger! photos piling up in my folders, waiting to be posted, getting old and out of date before time. so, here are some of the pics i took last week while working on new prints in the studio. i wanted to make a new edition of bird prints. except some single prints, all of last years edition sold out. for all the blossom and birds print i have used my big cherry blossom block as a background so far, but i plan to do "bigger" things and projects with it and don't want to spoil it in mini formats. it's my favourite print block, also my biggest one ( see a wall size deco on my flickr )

SO, inspired by a beautiful old japanese brush painting, i made this linocut of a plum blossom twig above. my favourite bird needs a comfy place to rest...



here's the first layer, printed with a light blue on chinese book pages (interestingly from a chinese travel guide to germany!)

then i printed over it again with the plum blossom twig, this time in a transparent, but strong florentian red which gives the whole thing a little more depth.


i don't know how you call this traditional japanese "instrument" for printing. its a strong cardboard covered with banana leaf and is perfect for use when printing fine lined blocks, because you can accentuate pressure and press very gentle.


here's a sneak peek of the little titmouse, the most exciting moment, how did the print come out? are the colors, position, paper right? make up your own mind....



soon to be listed in the shops......

happy weekend, all of you :D

why's da sky blue? - miniprint

last week i worked on new stamps and print plates and ruined quiet a few. somehow my hand was not as steady as it should be and the easiest things went wrong. at least, the last and most important stamp i made, late at night, cut very carefully, almost like a linocut, the little birdie above, came out just the way i wanted, even a little better! yay! i tried to give the lines a more calligraphic look, more edgy. they remind me a bit of comic style lines, like in a marvel comic..
anyway, i then used it as planned for a new edition of miniprints, made another stamp for the lettering and colored the little bird by hand with thinned ink- and here it is:


just asking! suggestions, anyone? ;)

new in the shop!!

oi, times are busy! last week my little cousins anne and frederic came for a 5-day-visit, so i did not find to work on anything, even though i urgently should have, but - we had so much holiday fun with the kids, will post later about it... but NOW - here's something new for the shops:

i felt like the 'love is all you need' - postcard could need a little facelift, so i carved a new text stamp and altered the design a little. the lovebird now rests on a delicate twig, ready for take-off....what do you think?!



and here's the little BE birdie again, saying 'tschilp!'out loud (which equals 'chirp!' in german words) on a brandnew series of moleskines. theres also a different color version available, soon to be listed...

but right now, i have to go out in the heavy pouring rain ( i wonder where this comes from so suddenly) to get paper supplies from the shop on the other end of town. pffff. great time to go and buy and transport delicate japanese papers through that humid mess. for real, it did not stop raining for the last 40 hours or so, and the water is not just dripping, it's pouring!! monsoon in stuttgart! sucks. on the other hand, good reason to stay inside, at the homework desk, sip on green plum blossom tea and work quietly on new prints and papers. so i don't feel too bad about not going to the studio and not printing the missing numbers of the comission print edition. (which, by the way, i have submitted a week ago and which was very well received. yay!!!!)

have a lovely (and dry) day!

Casa Guapa de Tamuziga /Essaouira, Maroc

Here's something special I want to share with you: A friend of mine, the sweet Nadine, who I met some years ago at the place where I have my studio, has told me many times before about the house she has bought in Essaouira, Maroc, and which she was rebuilding with lots of efforts into a guest house. She has a website now and I was amazed to see what a beauty she created! The Casa Guapa de Tamuziga (which is the old name of Essaouira) is a real treasure, wonderful, individually decorated appartements, with lots of care and love for details, maroccan styles, colours, tiles, furniture.... a gorgeous terrace, where's also a small appartement to rent and an artist studio in the basement to come, where her boyfriend Tibari shows his crafts and art. So if you are ever looking for a super charming, affordable, familiar and really special place with the best service by lovely Nadine (she's an angel, for real!) to spend your holidays in Maroc, this would be my first choice.

new in the shop!!!

finally - here it is! the new birdie postcard, made with the stamps i made a while ago (see below;)
perfect for birthday or - as each day is a day to BE - just for everyday's pleasure (you will meet this little Be birdie later soon on different occasions ...)


and i also promised earlier to make BIG SiebenMorgen Souvenirs, big surprise bags, and here they are!! filled to the rim with handprinted paper goodies, such as a postcard+envelope, 2 little greeting cards, 2 gifttags, handprinted stickers and origami papercrane.
all contents were carefully chosen to make a lovely match and each bag is a unique blend of little SiebenMorgen delights. you'll find them in my dawanda shop ... there are more to come

SiebenMorgen feature on Modish blog!!

my dawanda shop has been featured on the wonderful modish blog, check it out:

http://modish.typepad.com/modish/2008/07/sieben.html#comments

so nice to receive such great feedback and support. thanks to all you siebenmorgen friends out there!

time cats

wow, time flies when you are having fun....indeed! its more than a week gone since my last post, so many things happened! my comission print is finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YAY!

it came out great, but was SO hard to print. i messed up 50% of all prints with the last block, a pity, but theres no other way to do it. i felt so much pressure while printing and was pretty nervous, too, but needed to stay focused and calm, concentrated and decisive. i tried to work the samurai way - take your decision within seven breaths... and it helped a lot! on tuesday i felt like getting a fever, headache, cold, everything at once. i am used to this kinda "body behaviour" or physical reaction, i usually get real sick two days before opening a show or ,like this time, before submission date.

oh and in the meantime, while the prints were drying, i made some new collages with the black cat, white cat print. i love it! better than the original print....want to do more like these, but have to reprint cats, first. this one is listed in my dawanda shop.

hope you had a nice week, enjoy the rest of the weekend!

rewind: last week

last sunday, it started to rain, so i stayed inside and spent some time at the work desk, for pure pleasure. this is what came out of it, a new bird stamp and bubble for B day cards and else. i also made new birdie moleskines and little note cards, i love the new stamp! will post some pictures of all when they are ready for the shops..and when i find the time !


on monday, the sun was shining bright again, hot summer day. i totally overslept because stayed up too long working at my desk, so i was late for the studio. no good start when you have important things to do..


but.. it was sunny and bright at the studio, too, perfect for printmaking! and - after many many hours, i finally succeded and finished the printing blocks for the comission print. i spent the last few days with printing, testing out colours, finding the right tones, papers, inks.... it's giving me quiet a pressure, submission date is getting closer. the five layers are not easy to print, especially the last one, which is only a handful of fine lines , going all over a A3 format block, and after days and hours of printing, it's hard to stay always a 100% concentrated. but today, finally, i found the perfect match, colorwise, and tomorrow i'll find the perfect paper match. the print will first appear in a 2009 calendar among other print work by different artists and i guess this is the only sneak preview you will get. sorry! ;)