impressions of WaardArt weekend, plus random images, short book review

making love

fruits from the garden

walnuts collected here and there

Instead of showing my work in my own studio during this year's WaardArt Studio Weekend, I opted to share space in Nicolaas Groenendijk's home&studio, together with Aukje, Laura and Nicolaas himself. An impression:

 

I want to gush ever so slightly about Dee's novel. Imagine Jane Austin meets John Irving meets Barbara Kingsolver and then some! I don't mean to say that she doesn't have her own voice, she does and her's that good! The book is ruthless in the amount of gruesome details. It is thrilling and a genuine page-turner: I read well into the wee hours for several nights eager to finish (not wanting to but having to). There is joy in the minds and hearts of the main characters because life even in despair has those moments of lightness. Finally I felt it was moving as in heartfelt and honest. Thank you Dee! Despite your (and my initial) misgivings: 'can a white author write about slavery from the viewpoint of people of colour?', you managed to pull it off. We do not question Flaubert when he claims Madame Bovary c'est moi. Nor Agatha Christie who I assume never murdered anyone, yet was capable of writing her detectives from a killer's viewpoint. Imagination is paramount. It is feasible, because we are human beings with empathy and when we are truthful we can imagine what it's like to be the other, in fact we are.

All I want to add (apart from The Weight of Cloth is simply briljant) : read this book and decide for yourself!