An open letter to our firstborn (geskryf in sy moedertaal)

Liewe Etienne,

Vandag is jy 14 jaar oud. Jy word so vining groot.

Hierdie foto van jou is geneem in 2012, jy was toe 4 jaar oud.

Dieselfde jaar het daar n compilation of the world’s 100 most threatened species in n artikel verskyn deur die Zoological Society of London as n boek “Priceless or Worthless? In die lys was daar ook n renoster Dicerorhius sumatrensis (Sumatran rhino). Renosters is ongelukkig n

“…critically endangered species with less than 30,000 rhino living in the wild today. At the start of the 20th century, there were over 500,000. Human activity has caused this dramatic decline in rhino numbers.
In fact, the Western black rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes) was declared extinct back in 2011, when the IUCN Red List changed its status from Critically Endangered to Extinct.”

So toe jy so klein was, het Mamma haar bes probeer om rubber rhinos te maak om geld in te samel om n renoster se lewe te red. Dit het nie uitgewerk nie. En as daar een ding is wat ek vandag vir jou wil se, is al werk dinge nie altyd uit soos mens wil he nie, kan mens ten minste altyd probeer om n verskil te maak. So al kan ek nie n verskil in n renoster se lewe maak nie, hoop ek dat ek n verskil in jou en jou boetie se lewe kan maak, soos wat julle n verskil in my lewe maak.

Tyd is n snaakse ding. Dit is moeilik om te waardeer wat jy het tot mens terugkyk, maar dan is daardie dae lankal verby en net herhinneringe is al wat oorbly.

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” “If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present.”

Things not to worry about:

Don’t worry about popular opinion Don’t worry about games Don’t worry about the past Don’t worry about the future Don’t worry about growing up Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you Don’t worry about triumph Don’t worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault Don’t worry about mosquitoes Don’t worry about flies Don’t worry about insects in general Don’t worry about parents Don’t worry about school Don’t worry about disappointments Don’t worry about what is priceless Don’t worry about what is worthless in this ever changing world of ours. Don’t worry about rhino’s but don’t forget about them too…!

Maar kom ons kyk nou vorentoe. Jy is n tiener. Jy staan aan die begin van n nuwe fase en ho:erskool loopbaan. Geniet elke oomblik. Moet asb nie te veel worry nie, veral nie oor sommige dinge in die kort lys hierbo nie.

Ek wens dit was maklik om vir jou te vertel wat dit behels om mens te wees, en hoe om in die wereld te oorleef. Die diereryk is gemaak om te oorleef deur n proses van evolusie. Mense is diere ook en ons is gebou om te oorleef in n wereld vol van ander mense. Ons ‘swem’ daagliks deur n ‘see vol mense” Soos n vis kieue nodig het om te oorleef in die see, so het ons n brein en kritiese denke om te oorleef en met ander mense te ‘deal.’ Net soos die see vol soutwater is, so is die see van mense vol moeilike dinge om te hanteer en van te leer.

Ek is dankbaar om die pad saam met julle te stap.

Ek is en sal altyd trots wees om te se ek is jou mamma. Xxx

P.S en onhou:

It is the rhino’s intimate connection with the earth that makes it a perfect symbol for confidence, assurance, steadiness, and sure-footedness. When we are feeling insecure, nervous, or disconnected, the best tonic for our nervy ails is to allow the rhino to run through our spiritual realm.

Luckily I don’t suffer from Triskaidekaphobia…

Art portfolio- my work

Triskaidekaphobia = Fear or avoidance of the number 13… I do feel sorry for the Triskaidekaphobia sufferers who also celebrated their birthday on Friday.

I always wondered why 13 is considered unlucky…well here is one explanation:

“According to folklore historian Donald Dossey, the unlucky nature of the number “13” originated with a Norse Myth about 12 gods having a dinner party in Valhalla. The trickster god Loki, who was not invited, arrived as the 13th guest, and arranged for Hoor to shoot Balder with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Dossey: “Balder died, and the whole Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned. It was a bad, unlucky day.” This major event in Norse mythology caused the number 13 to be considered unlucky

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! Friday was my lucky day especially because it was the 13th …

but I must admit that after 44 years on this planet, I am still wondering:

What I do know is that Alfred Hitchcock was also born on that day, and to quote him:

“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.”

My dear friend Karen (who I know for almost 2 decades now) and I are also very lucky to celebrate our birthdays on the same day.

So roll out the red carpet, because we started celebrating a week ago already like two queens of the celestial jungle, who never tire of lavish and exclusive parties. 😉

I am also happy to announce that Ronell Pitout was the lucky recipient of the Choc bunny that was a giveaway at the opening of the Thread(ed) exhibition in Pretoria which opened a day after my birthday. I could unfortunately not attend the opening, but I am happy Bunny found a home.

On that note….I will leave you with a quote from Mr Hitchcock:

“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.”

So until next time my friends, remember:

Oktobermaand

Studio news/blog

Dit is die maand Oktober!

Ek dink die mense vier

Vir ewig in die hemel

Oktobermaand soos hier!

Wat wens jy meer as blomme,

as helder dag en nag?

Wat kan jy beter, mooier

of heerliker verwag?

Ek is nog in Oktober!

My tuin is nog so groen,

So wit met al wat mooi is,

met bloeisels van lemoen,

So pragtig in die môre,

so heerlik in die aand!

Ek is nog in Oktober,

die mooiste, mooiste maand!

Wat gee ek om die winter?

Wat praat jy nou van Mei?

Wat skeel dit as ons later

weer donker dae kry?

Ek is nou in Oktober,

die mooiste, mooiste maand…: (n gedeelte uit die gedig deur CL Leipoldt)

Ai, ek wens ek kan saam met Leipold stem, maar Oktober is my blouste, blouste maand. En dan praat ons nie eers van die sinus/hooikoors aanvalle nie!

So ek volg maar Antoinette Pienaar se raad:

“Sleurwerkies kalmeer jou. Dit bou keerwalle teen die smart.”

Einste Antoinette het ook gese:

“The reality of dealing with your own shit (in my geval snot) is n lewensbelangrike ding. As jy eers met jou eie kak vrede gemaak het, val baie ander dinge in plek.”

Meisie met varkore aka Self-portrait as a garden gnome

Intussen het ek erens gelees dat Greta Thunberg (julle weet mos wie dit is) in n vorige toespraak die volgende gese het:

“I have many dreams. But this is the year 2019. This is not the time and place for dreams.”

Liewe genade…okay dit is ietwat uit konteks, sy het ook gese: “The time for fairytales is over!” Later het ek wel die bostaande woorde wel in konteks te siene gekry: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/greta-thunberg-congress-speech-climate-change-crisis-dream-a9112151.html

Collage (private collection)

bladsy uit die kinderboek: Agterstevoorland (1971)

“A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin” -Unknown

Nou ja liewe mens, op daardie nooit groet ek eers…

O, maar voor ek vergeet…ek het n nuwe woord geleer: EUCATASTROPHE !

Die woord is blykbaar deur J.R.R Tolkien geskep en dit beteken:

A happy ending!

Ons gesels, Deo volente, weer in November.

Flashback and Forward Friday

Studio news/blog

Me, on this day, back in 2002… a bride to be. Photographer Ruline Spies

The more I think about it, the more every exhibition opening, or the anticipation of it, reminds me of my wedding day; because on that day, one invites eyewitnesses to take note of what you’ve done, or what is about to come. It also celebrates new beginnings, or happy endings….

I am looking forward to see and meet you at the following upcoming exhibitions:

22 and 23 September 2018: In Baardskeerders Bos Art Route

and

03 October 2018: “Minutes to Midnight” a solo exhibition at 99 Loop gallery, in Cape Town

Mayday mayday mayday

Studio news/blog

Lately I’ve been watching a series on Netflix called “Touch”. Today I would like to share a quote from season 1 episode 4, which really ‘touched’ me 😉

“The first transatlantic telegraph cable was made of 340 500 miles of copper and iron wire, designed to stretch 2876.95 miles along the ocean floor. Once the cable was in place, you could use electrical impulses and signal code to send any message you wanted to the other side of the world.”

Visual journal collage

“Human beings are hard wired with the impulses to share our ideas…and the desire to know we’ve been heard. It’s all part of our need for community. That’s why we’re constantly sending out signals and signs. It is why we look for them from other people. We’re always waiting for messages. Hoping for connection. And if we haven’t received a message it doesn’t always mean it hasn’t been sent to us. Sometimes it means we haven’t been listening hard enough.”

studio view – work in progress

“In spite of all our communication technology, no invention is as effective as the sound of the human voice. When we hear a human voice, we instinctively want to listen, in the hopes of understanding it. That’s because the human voice resonates differently from anything else in the world.”