New Quilt project

Still working with my new Macjournal. If You have an empty space with color you are not so distracted with everything You have to do when You write a blog, like making links and visit first a few websites. Also the pictures I want to put in will follow much later. Today is a lovely bright sunny, but still a cold day and I am not so sure what we will be doing, but we will find time to take a walk in our lovely city. After that it will be time to go upstairs in my studio and do some cutting and piecing work for my new project I started yesterday.

My niece Vivienne asked me many times if I would make a large bedquilt for her and I decided to do her this favor . Her birthday is at the end of June, so if I want to get everything done in time, I have to keep cutting and piecing some nice fabrics together. So here are my first 3 little blocks, I will make them larger, but at this moment I will make about 50 or so blogs all very scrappy but with her favorite colors.

Double Star Block

I lost it

I read a blog about Macjournal and thought I give it a try. The first entry I made is lost, somehow I hit a wrong button, but I do not give up yet. Maybe it helps me to be creative again with writing, I lost it a little. Just write and do not think to much about it. Well that is not easy to do. I could not follow the ultimate blog challenge anymore just to much other thinks going on and my fingers are not easy moving on my computer and feel a little stiff. What helped me was painting. I poured some inks on the paper, wait for the right moment to start drawing with my felt pen and so some nice paintings were created. That was a real healing proses for me. Here some pictures.

Japan and his bonsai's

We both love Japan. The many traditions, like the kimono, the beautiful tempel and gardens. As artist, we worked the first time in Japan in 1967 and fell in love with the country, the kimono's and the lovely bonsais. The small trees are taken care of so well and need almost as much attention as an animal. Trimming and cutting the leaves, so they stay small and putting them in small plates so they look great.

We almost wanted to import many bonsai,s and start a business, but we did not have enough experience to try and sometimes we are still sorry that we did not give it a change. Anyway we have many books about them and since 2 days Dieter made  lovely aquarels from them and I want to show them to You

I also made many kimonos in the last years and here is a picture from the artist him self in one of his kimono's.

Harp Music at the Castle Aerwinkel

Yesterday I went to the performance of 2 great artist in the castle "Aerwinkel"

In the wintersaison there are many concerts in the Castle and this was the last one of the season.

Claudia (Half Surinaams/Indiaans) loves South American music and fell in love with the harp musice from Luis Bordin (1926-2006)when she was 15 years old and promissed herself: One day I will be playing the Harp. She studied classic guitar in the Netherlands and when she met an artist who played the harp, she knew now is the time, and took lessons on de Paraguayens Harp. Since 7 years, she plays together with the fabulous guitar player Manito.

Claudia has a very warm and beautiful voice and her singing touched me deeply. Manito learned to play spanish and clssic guitar when he was only 7 years old. He is autodidact. For him the guitar is the extension of the soul.

Christal chandelier in the lovely room of the castle

It was a lovely sunday afternoon and I am sure to go to the castle Aerwinkel, whenever they give a concert.

The letter A

Today I  visited the blog from familybugs (50 blogging tips for the creativ seller)again and she had a good idea to blogpost by the alphabet to keep You going. Now for me that would man to start by the letter "A". So in my niche what does come up with the letter A? "A" is all I try to do: make "ART" If it is textileart or watercolor painting,

Tulips made by Dieter Lange

making one of a kind art figures. Acril paintings or Ooak Jewlery and bags. It is so much that it is very difficult for me to make a desicion what kind of art I will produce toay.

Recycled Ooak Handbag made by Coby Lange

When I was still working full time as a choreographer, that was also art. I had to come up with complex figures or very simple steps to make a dance work with the music. There is a lot of Art around us, as in Nature as on the streets, just have a look around You. I'm sure You will find some very close to home.

Meneer de Uil (MR. OWL)

In the Netherlands, we have many very good children TV programms,but many years ago, when our daughter Nathaly was a little girl, we HAD to watch "Meneer de Uilt" almost every day.

She sang the song too and a few weeks ago, I found a drawing from meneer de uil which she had made while she was only 5 years old.

  It is so pretty, that I decided to make this cute aimal in 3D. Not easy to do, but I now it will be a very interesting little figure and very recognizable.

Not ready yet , but soon. When it is all done, I will post it again.

Children between 3 and 8 years old draw mostly funny figures with a round body and long arms and legs.
So this will be something for me to do in the future. If somebody is interested please contact me

Souvenirs from Roermond

Today I received an email from Sandra Tyler, she wrote: Hi Coby I'm setting up a FB Page for the Woven Tale Press and incorporated your image into a montage of sorts for the cover...hope You are ok with that. You can see it at: https://www.facebook.com/TheWovenTalePress
So ofcourse I went to her site and LIKED her straight away and was number ONE. She wrote me back and told me she had alraidy 800 subscribers. That went very fast. Go and like her page, she is doing a great job with her
E book.
While You are there it is only one click away to my own fan page, so give it a try and stay informed at:
https://www.facebook.com/codiartlange
If You do, I prommise to like Your page as well.

Working on small keepsakes from our hometown Roermond just to try out if people are interested, I have made some necklages and keychains also some handbags, all with motives of my own textile art. Like the one from our townhall which You can see here.

Following the blogchallenge again this month and one day late, but I will try to keep up for the next 29 days,

Winter activities

It is been a while, but with this very cold and winterly weather, Dieter and I spent many hours together painting. Dieter made about 20 very lovely aquarels and I experimented also with watercolor. Here is one of my last paintings. I call it Underwater fantasie and is made with silk paint and pen. I enjoyed it very much and was almost like meditation.

But we also went to a nice exhibition with 3 artist in the so called "Achterhuis" The owner Ghiel Pijpers, provides local artists the opportunity to exhibit since 1994. 
The Artist : Mariette Verlinden, for Paintings and womenfigures painted on stone.

I liked them so much so I bought a nice piece. I think it is important also for other artist to buy Art if You can afford it ofcourse!

Lieke Bartels, Sculptures
Franka van Neerven, also Sculptures. Visit her website 
It was fun to talk to them and had some good wine too.

Music Cupboard

It took a while, till this little cupboard was so pretty. It has been standing in our hall for a while, some of my tenants left it there. Dieter, my husband was not pleased with it at all. I throw it away, he said. But I could stop him from that, then after a month: If it is still here tomorrow I will trow it away it is sooo ugly!!

No, no I will paint it white, I promise. So now I realy had to do something or otherwise this little cupboard was lost.
Once I played the guitar, but after I broke my wrist, 6 years ago, I could not play anymore, my left hand could not reach the strings. ( I still can play the piano, Lucky for me)

Now I picked up a few of my guitare note books, ripped them apart and glued them on this cupboard. It took a whole week to complete it.

Than I painted the inside white and finished it off with 5 layers of glaze. And voila a pretty little music cupboard and even Dieter was proud of me. It found its place in my studio and is filled up with all the books I collected the last years.

So cute!

If our godchild Jasmine comes to visit us, it does not take long, before my husband Dieter and she, start drawing. One after the other sheet of paper is used. Usually they have a sort of competition.
One doodled and the other has to make a drawing out of it. That may continue for a long time.

Girls talk.

Last week, Jasmine also made a few cute drawings, which I want to share with You.
Theay are good and funny. I think she got talent for drawing and painting and I hope she will not loose that spontaneity.

little cat, strawberry and pear

As for me I am very busy with decorating a very old cupboard with small pieces of paper, but more about that in my next blog.
So untill than.