To reconnect with nature and with the past, we recently visited a few burial mounts near Ootmarsum in Twente (NL). This is a protected archaeological site and visiting this sleepy site feels as if one enters a thin place.
Here was found the ‘Man of Mander’, a shadow figure in stone (body imprint in stone) of a person almost of 2 metres tall and having no feet. He has probably been a Stone Age hunter or farmer. As a burial gift, for the Afterlife, he carried a stone arrow head. Why his feet are missing asks for careful analysing. One explanation could be that he was encouraged by his tribal members not to dwell on Earth as a spirit, instead to journey to the After Life.
This area has had its burial chambers too, or ‘hunnebedden’ in Dutch, but they have long gone. Farmers and builders were, like us, eager to re-use large stones for building a nearby church and a pigsty. This sounds grinch-worthy and it surely is, but stones have a habit of looking perfect for re-using.
Standing there, in the cold, enchanted by the place, I read a poem about the burial mounts written by Mr. B.W.A.E baron Sloet tot Olthuys (1807-1884). The poem describes how the poet stands, like we did, near the burial mounts and muses about who lies there ‘sleeping for centuries’. All the sudden the poet becomes aware of a man. The man starts asking him questions. How is to believe in one god instead of many; how it is to work for another instead as for oneself? Is the poet as free and as in harmony has he, the Stone Age hunter, feels? I loved reading this poem because of the importance of empathy and asking questions (Cognitive Archaeology). Studying the unwritten past is like looking into a mirror and seeing our modern life and conditioning reflected. Asking questions to those living in the past is making an effort to step outside oneself, which is a very difficult yet wise thing to do from time to time.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Artist & Author of ‘Birds, Butterflies, Fish & Botany‘
at @mindfuldrawing on Instagram
Portfolio at Etsy.
Carefully cutting away the transfer fabric which held the original drawing of the crane birds. Next, I will be working on the Dutch landscape, which will have a low horizon. This will be a gift for my bird loving father, who had the luck of seeing a large group of crane birds flying over. An increasing number of crane birds are nesting in the Netherlands, which is great.
I have made a few Mandarin and Wood Duck cards, with a full colour inlay. They come in protective cellophane and a seal sticker. There are at my 
I lived some months near a duck pond in Ireland and that increased my appreciation for these capable birds. Yes, capable. We tend to think ducks are hilarious and silly, like geese, but ducks are threefold capable; they can fly long distances, dive deep, and can spend days on water. Mandarin ducks are perhaps the most loved ducks because they symbolize friendship, loyalty, and love. You send a Mandarin Duck card to somebody to invite or celebrate a long-lasting friendship, loyalty or love. Mandarin duck drawings and prints are my best selling items of my 
I followed a history course on the Celts and enjoyed learning more about Celtic Art. What I highly appreciated about Celtic art is that one can find different themes in one display of art. Hidden faces, different animals, or stylized motifs, all are woven together in a complex piece of art.
For Christmas, Yule or Midwinter, I drew a stag and used his curvy antlers to add birds to the scene. Hopefully you will be able to count 34 of them.
What have I learned so far about Sashiko? A lot! I should preform 10x better by stepping up in neatness, using better colours, and that the backside of the fabric shouldn’t look like a migraine. I can also speed up by using a longer needle. I wish that I could buy Kazu thread but I can’t read Japanese, so I can only buy Sashiko yarn via the English version of Amazon.co.jp. Last, by posting about Sashiko, I gained some very inspiring contacts, like 
