‘Who were the Celts?’ a wonderful course at at Oxford Department for Continuing Education gave me so much inspiration. I enjoyed it from the first till the last day and regretted it came to an end. One of the essays I had to read was an essay on Iron Age mirrors. ‘Mirrors in the British Iron Age: Performance, Revelation and Power, by Melanie Giles and Jody Joy.
Iron Age 50 BC – AD 50 Found in 1908 near Desborough
After reading about Iron Age mirrors, I set out to draw the Iron Age Desborough mirror. Through drawing I would gain more insights into its decorations and its function. Iron Age mirrors that were beautifully decorated and made of bronze and iron were found in graves of high status Iron Age women.
I like to say something about high status Iron Age women. One might think ‘high status’ refers to rich women or wives of rulers or kings. But although both accounts can be correct, high status refers in the Iron Age more to women being leaders or shamans.
The essay discusses how Iron Age metallurgy and how a whole community was involved in the making process. Also, it discusses social relations, grave goods, and the compass drawn motifs of repeated and distinctive forms arranged into intricate and flee flowing designs. Fascinating, to say in the least. The question begs why were mirrors used as grave goods? The easiest answer does not always work, one being that the Iron Age lady was buried with her belongings. Perhaps the mirrors were not possessions but (diplomatic) gifts. And why would a deceased lady take a mirror, she wouldn’t need it in her afterlife, or would she?
Imagine looking into this mirror. The effect of seeing your face in the reflective properties of the plate, disrupted or enhanced by its La Tene decorations would …yes, what would you see?
Giles and Joy describe how the decorations on the mirrors are not only used to deceive the eye, but also to reinforce the reflective qualities of the mirror plate. The anthropologist Alfred Gell points out that Iron Age mirrors could have expressed political power and legitimize associations with the supernatural. This is hard for us to understand but in order to understand what Gell states requires us to imagine a time in which you only saw your reflection in (restless or calm) water, in shiny objects, like copper, bronze, silver or gold. How special such mirrors would be! Imagine now that next to not frequently seeing your reflection, you were raised to notice all sorts of shapes in water, smoke, old trees, and rocks. We have a clear sense of what we see is real and what is imagination, but for ancient people perhaps seeing was just seeing, whether it was imagination or fact. If the under-upper and middle world aren’t having hard borders, perhaps seeing imaginative, hallucinative and factual weren’t compartmentalized either.
Working on Desborough Iron Age Celtic Mirror; adding a golden border.
When I suffer a migraine aura, I see things that do not exist and things that I need to see are gone. I can pass a person in a street who is missing his head! Perhaps looking into an Iron Age mirror yields a similar effect as having a migraine aura because Iron Age mirrors have blanked out spaces and thus provide viewers with a disorienting and distorted image of themselves. Yet, an Iron Age mirror has not only missing parts (blanked out spaces, decorated with a basket woven texture) but carefully chosen synchronized but flow-like playful, witty, and mischievous botanical and animal patterns. What effect would looking into a shiny plate, with a deliberate disorienting pattern have? Here the essay explains more about the ‘technology of enchantment‘ and goes deeper into psychological war-fare though powerful visceral and visual effects. It informs the reader about the Fang People of Gabon who used hallucinogens before looking into mirrors, and states that these Iron Age mirrors were not real mirrors (not for checking hair or make-up). In fact, the mirrors played a role in rituals to release the soul to its afterlife.
Desborough Mirror copied by Paula Kuitenbrouwer. Mixed media; Derwent graphite & metallic pencils, and bronze coloured ink.
During the time that I spent drawing this Iron age mirror, I tried many things. I tried to project my face behind the decorations, fusing my face and the decorations and then see all sorts of animals. Of course, this is a very poor attempt to understand its magic. But I have to do it with a large doses of imagination and hours of drawing as there is no way I would be able to hold the mirror up and have a look in it. And even if I could do that, there wouldn’t be a ritual that would be helpfully performed by an Iron Age shaman who would be experienced in travelling between worlds. (Or brainwaves, or different stages of consciousness, whatever way you might define shamanistic journeying).
My concluding thoughts are that by looking into this mirror, in an Iron Age ritual ceremony, with an Iron Age cognitive mindset, maybe, as a dying lady of high status, I would find great comfort in seeing my old face being obscured with these splendid swirling decorations. I would be calm as I have seen, thanks to my migraines, things that aren’t there and fail to notice things that are there. I would probably enter theta brainwaves the same way as after sitting down for a longer time in meditation or -more Iron Age style- looking into the smoky swirls of an open campfire. I might start seeing my face, combined with the swirly flowing embellishments turning into animal and ancestral spirits.
One has to understand that the Iron Age was full of spirits, spirits we have carefully abandoned from our modern life. But just as they have been forgotten, it doesn’t mean these spirits aren’t there. I would most certainly find an ancestral spirit that would ‘present’ itself as so much of my own face would be blanked out, and only essential and familiar facial lines would still linger in the reflective image. Or perhaps, I would see a beautiful stag or another mammal, and experience it as my guiding spirit animal. Perhaps I would see the hybrid human-animal dressed-up shaman of the village giving me instructions to journey to the Other-world.
All in all, it would perhaps release my soul into an in-between world in which I would be able to project comfortably to what I would need to see. I would probably have been fasting during the last days of my life, I would be susceptible for my imaginative mind to dominate and thus the softly and dreamily reflecting mirror would get a transitional quality and function. Or perhaps I would look and whisper some wise words, like Tibetan shamans who look into mirrors to see the future and the past, wise words that would be helpful to my tribe. The Fang people of Gabon use mirrors to contact their ancestors. Do Iron Age mirrors have a similar function?
Obviously, many things become possible should such a highly valued mirror be available to a tribe. There are many more than this Desborough mirror only. One by one these mirrors and their fascinating embellishments are showing us that Iron Age metallurgy and shamanism practices were interrelated and that highly decorated ‘magic’ Iron Age mirrors were much appreciated by Iron Age peoples.
P.S. During the hours that I was drawing the Desborough mirror, I travelled between worlds too. I had to descend from my creative, spiritual plane of manifesting ideas to the mundane world of running errands. As the trees were shedding their leaves, I noticed many decomposed leaves with open parts resembling mini Iron Age mirrors scattered on the street. If you can not enjoy looking into the Desborough Iron Age mirror at the British Museum, do not despair, mini versions are freely available every autumn.
Art cards are available at Etsy (and can be framed as small memories to this exquisite mirror):
Paula holds an MA degree in Philosophy and she is the owner of mindfuldrawing.com. Her pen and pencils are always fighting for her attention nevertheless they are best friends; Paula likes her art to be brainy and her essays to be artistic.
Paula’s art shop is at Etsy and her portfolio is at Instagram. Contact her freely should you like to commission her or buy her art.
After publishing their first Literary Ladies Gothic Magazine, the literary ladies Maryse Kluck and Maricelle Peeters wrote, designed, and published the sequel The Romantic Literary Magazine. Like its predecessor, this magazine contains references to Romantic novels, including titles by lesser known authors. It also gives advice on how to write a romantic novel.
Maryse Kluck, Student History at UUMaricelle Peeters, Student Graphic Design
As young girls, Maricelle Peeters and Maryse Kluck were homeschooled in Belgium where they participated in homeschool meetings, coops, and workshops. After their families moved to different countries, they lost contact. They reconnected in their twenties at the time Maricelle had settled in South-Africa and Maryse in the Netherlands. Ever since, their joint interests, their love for books, and creative writing lead to projects in which their creativity and knowledge bloomed. The Literature Magazine is one of these projects. The magazines consist 100% of Maricelle’s and Maryse’s research and design; it reflects their literary knowledge based on university lectures, broad readership, and unwavering love for literature.
The Romantic Literature Magazine consists of 59 pages that thoroughly enlighten you on the artistic movement called Romanticism. Mostly aimed at literature, it also dives into its origins, historical backgrounds, various sub-genres, and authors belonging to this movement. The magazine is packed with knowledge and provides readers with a crash course in the Romantic movement. It offers readers plenty of links, definitions, and sub-genres to explore. This magazine is for A-Level and Bachelor’s level, for literature lovers, book and writer groups, art-students, and librarians.
Here we have two aspiring writers helping you to understand this beautiful artistic movement with a magazine that is pure eye candy. It draws you into the world of Romanticism through reading and its enchanting illustrations.
Do you have to write an essay on Romanticism, or you need to quickly familiarize yourself with Romanticism, download this magazine and I would be seriously surprised to find you not enjoying it or not saving it for later assignments. It is a gem although after reading the Romantic Magazine, I am more inclined to say ‘it is sublime’.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer
I admire the magazines of the Literary Ladies very much and I wish to support the Literary Ladies’ passion of promoting literary knowledge and the joys of reading. The first three homeschool families or students who buy either the Gothic or Romantic Magazine through Stuvia can send me a Tikkie and I will restribute payment (after proof of purchase). Use the contact form, please.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer, Drs., owner, commission artist and writer at mindfuldrawing.com, a website full artwork, art-musings, art-appreciation, and art-essays. Paula holds an MA degree in Philosophy and loves painting and drawing. Her pen and pencils are always fighting for her attention nevertheless they are best friends; Paula likes her art to be brainy and her essays to be artistic.
This article contains desperate remarks by those who live close to a patient suffering from dementia. Those who have contributed to this article are willing -albeit anonymously- to open-up about their thoughts, doubts, and feelings.
By sharing honest comments on living with dementia patients, readers are -hopefully- offered some support in dealing with their harrowing feelings. Sharing thoughts on the difficult predicament of dealing with a family member suffering from dementia feels like backstabbing them. However, not being able to talk about the unspoken terror of dementia is suffocating as well. Those taking care of loved ones suffer from feelings of guilt, anger, and loss. We must acknowledge the dark side of having to soldier on with a depressing task.
Nancy Reagan called dementia ‘a truly long, long goodbye’. She nailed it. It is draining.
‘I don’t want to visit grandma! She is not my grandma anymore‘ is a text in one of the many children’s books on dementia. Children say things adults are ashamed to say but feel nonetheless.
Books for children on dementia illustrate this article, showing ‘between the lines’ the inevitability and importance of helping young generations to understand the worldwide growing epidemic of dementia. A pandemic we don’t even fully comprehend ourselves.
THOUGHTS & DOUBTS
“Since my parent started to suffer from vascular dementia, I have searched for answers to burning questions. But most answers promote saint-like qualities, like endless patience and replying to meanness with kindness. I find it hard to muster positive feelings during the long journey. Moreover, I wasn’t looking for advice on becoming a nurse or saint. On the contrary, I looked for explanations on how damaging it is to be in close contact with a demented person/parent. Like when your demented parent is frequently body shaming you. And when your demented parent calls you degrading names. When you are at a total loss whether what your parent says is parental manipulation or madness caused by cognitive decline. You have to look hard because most advice is about increasingly devoting your time to caring or even to stopping and reversing their cognitive decline. This is unfair because dementia neither can’t be stopped nor reversed”.
Dancing with Memories, by Sally Yule and illustrated by Cheryl Orsini. ISBN: 9780733342578
ANGER
“For centuries women were trained to keep their emotions and anger to themselves, and to venerate her parents. In case a daughter blows her top, especially whilst taking care of a parent, that is seen as something punishable. I was called a witch and madwomen, such highly predictable reactions that a male dominated society has instilled in us since the Middle Ages”.
CARING FOR CARETAKERS
“I need to understand why I always fall ill with a sore throat and tiredness after having kissed my demented parent. Is it the lack of personal hygiene among demented patients? You are continuously advised to be careful not to infect elderly, but what about a contrariwise situation? Elderly take tons of medications which caretakers do not take and perhaps these medications protect them? (Just one of the unanswered questions). Another example: when I google for creative help with dealing with a demented parent, I am advised to keep a demented patient happy and stimulated with crafts, like colouring books (which I bought for my parent). But why is all advice geared at those suffering from dementia? There seem to be a lack of empathy with those who deal with a demented patient. Demented parents might live for another 5-10 years. It took me courage to admit and reconcile with the fact that 5 to 10 years is too long from me. My reservoir of loving feelings (many based on gratitude) has dried up. I have no emotional fuel anymore and that makes me feel guilty.”
Why Doesn’t Grandpa Remember Me? A Children’s Book about Families Affected by Dementia. Author: Robert Sky Allen PhD. ISBN 979-8886443431
OPENING THE FLOOD GATES
“Over time I started to notice that the more honest I spoke out about the human predicament of having a demented parent, the more flood gates opened up about suffering from dealings with demented family members. This felt like opening Pandora’s Box ; all manner of misery and evil flew out. Only one evil remained inside the box: ‘hope’. Hope that things will improve, which won’t happen”.
Grandma and Me: A Kid’s Guide for Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Beatrice Tauber Prior Psy.D. (Author), Mary Ann Drummond RN (Author), Julia Walther (Illustrator)
“My friend has her father coming over almost daily. She looks out of the window and there he stands in her garden. ‘Oh no, there he is again’, she moans. It is painful to see how a loved and respected parent becomes a burden”.
“It is so hard when your parent, who has been a beacon of sanity and even wisdom, starts drifting”.
Written by Registered Social Worker and Dementia Care Expert, Jaclyn Guenette / Edited and Illustrated by Award-winning Author & Illustrator, Kathryn Harrison. ISBN 9780994946768
WHEN DEATH IS DENIED
“Dementia has existed in past times, but I can’t help thinking that modern medicine has made it much worse. People die less from flu, heart diseases, diabetes, and strokes. Elderly patients are pulled through health crises, however there are no medicines that keep their brain functioning. Then, when death is denied, dementia knocks at the door”.
“Tricking death? We know from Greek Mythology what happens when somebody tricks death. Look at Sisyphus! Sisyphus could be a perfect metaphor of dementia: everyday a demented person takes pills or participates in workshops to strengthen and recover neural pathways only to progressively suffer from cognitive decline.”
Nice to meet you again, by Suzanne Bottum-Jones. ISBN: 978-1942586340
TIREDNESS & GOLDEN YEARS
“I am so tired. I am so so tired”.
“Those who take care of their elders with dementia are 50-70 years old themselves. Being confronted with dementia is hugely depressing. If there is any happiness in the golden years it is obliterated by having to take care of demented parents”.
Really and Truly by Emile Rivard & Anne-Claire Deslisle, ISBN: 9781445119410
LACK OF EMPATHY
“I felt like dying myself, that exhausted I was taking care of him during the pandemic. I had to train him to understand the pandemic and its hygienic guidelines. He was convinced Covid wouldn’t affect him. He -by then- suffered from idée fixes about living independently and healthily up to the age of 100. Empathy seemed gone. He denied the toll caring for him took on me. I would become collateral damage to his relentless ambition to stay ‘independent’; but what he didn’t see that his ‘independent living’ was based on me taking care of him at least three times a day! When my daughter said to him that I was worn-out and depressed, he said ‘Good for her’, that uncontrollably mean he was. He wrote emails to my husband that I was crazy. It is said that demented women often grow depressed and demented men become mean. Boy, can I testify to that. There is nothing rewarding about taking care of somebody with dementia. It is losing, losing, and losing”.
United: Caring for Our Loved Ones Living with Dementia, by Gina Awad and Tony Husband (Robinson 2022). ISBN 9781472146519.
“There are so many now with dementia and Parkinson! It is shocking. Who is going to take care of all these patients?”
“The years my parent was slightly demented, were the most difficult. Everybody was mental and evil according to my parent; suspicions ruled his mind. His paranoia spread like wildfire through his family and friends. Once diagnosed with dementia, chicanery progressed into a more passive condition, which was less hard on those around him. The classic tale of dementia, isn’t it?”.
Dementia not only affects the minds of its victims; it also creates a world so fragmented, so skewed and redundant – so indifferent to normal rules of behaviour – that caregivers unwittingly become part of the madness. And this, unfortunately, is what the doctors and the guidebooks offering counsel to caregivers often fail to notice. Because we automatically posit a clear distinction between caregiver and patient, between the normal and the abnormal, we don’t see that the true burden for caregivers is, in fact, the absence of such a divide. When a loved one loses cognitive purchase, it’s not only his or her world that begins to unravel, but the caregiver’s as well.
Grandma by Jessica Shepherd, ISBN 978-184.643.5973
EMOTIONAL CONFLICT
“My conflict is mainly two distinct voices battling inside my head; one coming from the grateful ‘child’ (implying it is pay-back time, thus taking care) and the other voice is coming from anger that she didn’t take pre-emptive measures when she was still capable of doing that. It is horrible to see a person turning into a shriveled and mad version of herself. Who wants that to happen to oneself and their family?”
“One day he suddenly said, ‘I apologize for having become such an oaf. I apologize for my bad behavior’. I was astounded and it broke my heart to know he was aware of his decline. This was one of those rare moments of self-reflection which make you -for a short moment- think his dementia was just a bad dream. It is like a candle that has burns brightly, then starts to flicker, and finally extinguishes. That flickering self consciousness of demented patients is so hard; one moment you have a reasonably meaningful conversation with the person you remember, the next sentence it is gone. Dementia has you fluctuating between love and loathe. Eventually you grow so emotionally exhausted that you start worrying about your own mental resilience. I often thought let me take care of an unknown demented person and let the family of that person take care of my father. Having no past, no blood ties, no love would make it less debilitating”.
I love my Grandpa! by Sally Flint, ISBN: 9781912535767
HOUSING
“We have an army of old, vulnerable, and invalid people living in spacious houses whilst young couples can’t find homes to buy. Our society suffers from an epidemic of dementia and ill, old people who do not enjoy or maintain their large homes, and can’t keep their gardens. They are encouraged and facilitated to grow old at home because of a futile idea that living independently would slow down dementia. That is a fallacy. They occupy not even a third of their homes and sleep 60% of the day, while young families wait for suitable houses for years. We need more -not less- old people’s homes. And fear of being a resident of an old people’s home should be tackled with smart campaigns.”
The Tide by Clare Helen Welsh, Illustrator: Ashling Lindsay, ISBN 978-1788810869
ESSENTIAL SELF DEFENSE
“Stop visiting your demented family member if your parent hurts you. They do not remember your visit anyway”. (Trainee nurse).
Coffee, Rabbit, Snowdrop, Lost by Betina Birkjaer, Anna Margrethe Kjaergaard, Kongerskov ISBN: 9781592703739
SENSE OF LOSS
“During the first stages of their cognitive decline often there is loss of hearing and/or loss of sight. Patients feel the impending and inevitable loss of independent living too. If I only had known beforehand that all that loss would be projected on me and that my caring (for years!) would be trashed. My demented parent has blamed me for the whole caboodle but even that is now forgotten and now he grabs my hands, kisses them, and won’t let go. I have gone from an angel to a villain and back to an angle again in a matter of 2 years. It is maddening having to go through this”.
“My siblings took the side of my demented parent and were quick to echo accusations that I, the primary caretaker, was a crook, a thief, and suffering from madness. (That accusation of madness was really the world up-side down). Dementia is a huge catalyst for conflict. It is not that only one brain deteriorates, the whole situation it is like being close to a dying star: the demented person expands before he/she implodes. It is unbelievable how much energy, money, and suffering went into this chapter of life“.
A Doll for Grandma by Paulette Bochnig Sharkey (auteur), Samantha Woo (Illustrator), ISBN 978-1506457383
BODILY COMMENTS
“I know that I have a curvy body but to constantly hear that I have big boobs is not nice”. (Trainee nurse, old people’s home)
“I read that an indigenous group had a special name for demented elderly: ‘Those who forgot to die’. I understand that name now that I have seen dementia close up. The body keeps going while the brain is dying; the body survives the brain”.
Always My Grandpa – Linda Scacco and Nicole Wong, ISBN 978-1591473121
UNSOLVED ISSUES?
“There is a theory that demented persons dwell on earth longer because there are some unresolved emotional-psychological issues. Isn’t that an overly romantic notion? How perceptive would a demented person be to therapy? Often their memory is damaged, and having a meaningful conversation is impossible. Any unresolved issues will stay unresolved”.
Ice Cream with Grandpa: A Loving Story for Kids About Alzheimer’s & Dementia by Laura Smetana (Author), Elisabete B. P. de Moraes (Illustrator), ISBN 978-1737140948
NO CURE FOR DEMENTIA
“The medical industry and doctors are largely responsible for suffering families. I understand they are bound to their Hippocratic Oath, but saving old people’s lives when they are suffering from dementia is questionable because there is no cure for dementia. The daily burden is not carried by doctors but by family members and it feels like staring into the abyss”.
My Book about Brains, Change and Dementia, by Lynda Moore (auteur), George Haddon (Illustrator). ISBN 978-1839977480
DEMENTIA AS A MARKET
“I read your article in its beta-version and I thought it was a cute idea to embellish your article with children’s books. Having no young children it had escaped me that there are so many children’s books on dementia. It made me wonder how big the dementia book market is. I googled it and a world opened: so many books on dementia! For those who taking care, autobiographies of patients, colouring books for dementia patients, children’s books, and self-help books. Although I am happy that not only the pharmaceutical companies and their shareholders profit from dementia, it is kind of sad. Everything surrounding dementia is loaded with sadness”.
Big Bear, Little Bear and Dementia, by Katie Faulkner and Iain Welch, ISBN 979-8751316563
HIGH EDUCATION MASKING ONSET DEMENTIA
“Remember Sister Monica Joan from the popular television series ‘Call the Midwife’? She is a well educated nun and it is unclear during the first episodes whether Sister Monica Joan is highly educated and knowledgeable about classical literature (she is throwing around impressive literary quotes), very eccentric, or…. in her early stages of dementia. The best remedy against dementia is learning and storing knowledge, but being smart and knowledgeable also disguises dementia. With many well educated elderly, families often dwell in the dark too long about the onset, progression, and various stages of dementia. My family spotted dementia 2-3 years earlier than doctors did; for 2-3 years we thought we were growing intolerant”.
Mijn oma is opeens heel anders, S. Rieckhoff Sibylle Rieckhoff, Jürgen Rieckhoff Dutch, ISBN 9789053415238
FIGHTING OR ACCEPTING DEMENTIA?
“We are in conflict with demented patients. We actually are fighting them, aren’t we? We approach them with our typical West-European, fixing ambitions. We fight their decline and we want to stop their regression into their past. We stimulate them to be in the here & now, and we make them swallow daily cocktails of dopey pills. Why do we not accept their senility? What are we doing to them and to ourselves?”
“I heard a sweet story. An old buddy, in his late 80s- visited a demented lady. The demented lady was in a jubilant mood. She was saying something incomprehensible and then she burst out in laughing. Her infectious giggles made the buddy laugh which made the demented lady laugh even more. For the duration of their coffee meeting they enjoyed fits of laughter. They had a jolly good time. If only I had seen those two!“
-XXX-
A huge thank-you to those who have contributed to this article. Special thanks go to the trainee nurses.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer, Drs. M.A.
Paula holds an MA degree in Philosophy and works as an artist in Utrecht. She is the owner of mindfuldrawing.com, a website with academic essays, short articles, and most of all, Paula’s artworks. Paula’s pen and pencils are always fighting for her attention nevertheless they are best friends. Paula likes her art to be brainy and her essays to be artistic. Contact Paula freely for commissions.
Should you be appreciative of this article and of other essays, please consider supporting my work.
Butterfly with poem art card by Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Two Butterfly with Poem by William Wordsworth, Art Cards by Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Two (2) Butterfly with a poem art cards with matching envelopes. The poem is ‘To a Butterfly’ by William Wordsworth. Free shipping. One for keeping: one for sending.
Poem:
Stay near me–do not take thy flight!
A little longer stay in sight!
Much converse do I find in thee,
Historian of my infancy!
Float near me; do not yet depart!
Dead times revive in thee:
Thou bring’st, gay creature as thou art!
A solemn image to my heart,
My father’s family!
Oh! pleasant, pleasant were the days,
The time, when, in our childish plays,
My sister Emmeline and I
Together chased the butterfly!
A very hunter did I rush
Upon the prey:–with leaps and springs
I followed on from brake to bush;
But she, God love her, feared to brush
The dust from off its wings.
William Wordsworth
Who does not feel enchanted by Koi carps? The way that they gracefully slide through their watery world makes us believe that they represent our thoughts and feelings. These large, but ever so elegant, soft-finned Koi carps swim in freshwater; they appear and disappear, come and go from all directions, like our thoughts during meditation. The more the Koi carps feel relaxed whilst being watched by you, so our thoughts slow down during meditation as we do not engage with our thoughts, but observe them manifesting and disappearing. Koi carps stand for prosperity and success. Their hardy nature has also led to Koi being associated with longevity.
NINE KOI CARPS
Here is another Koi Carp commission. The typical number of Koi fish in a Feng-shui is 9 because it means unity, prosperity and longevity. The number nine represents attainment and completion.
MONOCHROMATIC or GRAPHITE ART
I also accept monochromatic (graphite) Koi carp commissions. Would you miss colour? That depends on what art you prefer and what kind of art decorates your home. Perhaps your home has neutral colours? Or your home is alludes to the 17-18th century? Or you have an earth home with only greys and ocher tones? Monochromatic art is soulful and although colour makes people happy, monochromatic art is without doubt a bit deeper.
Monochromatic Koi Carp Art Work by Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Contact me freely to commission your nine Koi carps. I make a colourful composition for you with measurements of 46-61 cm i.e 18-21 inches because these big fish need space. Compositions with 2 or 3 Koi carps can be smaller in size (and consequently lower in price).
Questions I will ask is whether you prefer accompanying lotus flowers and what colour Koi carps you favour. Also I need to know whether your preferences in relation to its orientation: horizontal (landscape) or vertical (portrait).
See more about commissioning me and its price indication at Etsy.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer, Drs. M.A. Paula holds an MA degree in Philosophy and works as an artist in Utrecht. She is the owner of mindfuldrawing.com, a website with academic essays, short articles, and most of all: artworks. Paula’s pen and pencils are always fighting for her attention nevertheless they are best friends; Paula likes her art to be brainy and her essays to be artistic. Contact Paula freely for commissions.
Two (2) Koi Carp Art Cards
Two Koi Carp Art Cards by Paula Kuitenbrouwer. They are professionally printed, double folded art cards. They come with matching envelopes. One for keeping: one for sending.
There are customers who frame the card. Free shipping.
‘Would it be possible to commission you for a cottage drawing, a bit like your see on this card? But with a Yorkshire cottage in a Yorkshire countryside? But not a summer scene; actually it should be autumnal. Could you add mushrooms and late autumn butterflies? And perhaps ravens in the sky? For decoration, lots of ivy? Yes, brambles are fine too. I like the cottage to be a bit bigger. The hills with a steeper gradient? Would this be possible?‘
The answer is ‘yes‘ because I like to hear about your preferences and I like to draw beautiful, softly rendered monochromatic art. Colour is also possible but I prefer classical, 17th century drawings that have so much technique and soul. Put a monochromatic drawing in a wooden frame with a golden edged mount and your cottage art will be timeless.
Please, do return here regularly because I will posts updates on my work in progress.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Commission Artist in Utrecht, Netherlands (and preferring her holidays renting a lovely countryside cottage in the UK).
Should you have questions related to (possible) commissions or technical questions, please use the contact form.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer
Paula Kuitenbrouwer, Drs. M.A. Paula holds an MA degree in Philosophy and works as an artist in Utrecht. She is the owner of mindfuldrawing.com, a website with academic essays, short articles, and most of all: artworks. Paula’s pen and pencils are always fighting for her attention nevertheless they are best friends; Paula likes her art to be brainy and her essays to be artistic. Contact Paula freely for commissions.
Paula has her shop with originals at Etsy & her portfolio at Instagram. Art cards are available in the shop on this website.
Two (2) Mandarin Duck Art Cards (Standing)
Two double folded art cards that come with matching envelopes. The mandarin ducks are standing on one leg, close together to confirm their life long bond. Two cards: one for sending: one for keeping. There is a larger image inside for framing.
Free shipping.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer 