Have a cup of tea?

All true tea lovers not only like their tea strong, but like it a little stronger with each year that passes.  

{George Orwell, "A Nice Cup of Tea"}

I found tiny tea pots and cups in a store for decorations. You know me. I had to take them. I had to make earrings out of them ^^

I used a quite big silver ring for the tea cup so that it hangs a little bit deeper. Otherwise it would have looked strange with the size difference between the tea pot and the tea cup.

Still carving leftovers of the print block...

One of my favorite quotes... now I should just start to live up to it ^^

Da es sehr förderlich für die Gesundheit ist, habe ich beschlossen glücklich zu sein.

I decided to be happy, it is excellent for one's health.

J'ai décidé d'être heureux, c'est excellent pour la santé.

                                                                                               (Voltaire)

And also a little leaf.... and a second insect wing :)

I glued the quote stamp on an old wooden stamp handle (without the original rubber).

While carving I am mostly using just two blades: One straight with a sharp point and a v-shape lino cutter. If there are rules I am following it would be mostly this three:

• always cut diagonal to get a broad base for the motif (1 / 2)
• outline the motive first (v-shaped blade) (3)
• always cut inner corners from the inside out (4)

This is the v-shaped blade of my lino cutter. Mostly I am using it to carve the outlines of my drawing.

I am just using the point of my paper knife or scallpel to cut in the corner. 

Joseph von Eichendorff...

Wünschelrute (1835)


Schläft ein Lied in allen Dingen,
Die da träumen fort und fort,
Und die Welt hebt an zu singen,
Triffst du nur das Zauberwort.
 
 
This is one of my favorite little poems. I found a little piece of paper where I had once copied it in school so I wouldn't forget it. Finding this I just had to smile. I am still entranced from the melody which lies in this poem. I am not the biggest fan of his novels and a lot of his other work is really not my taste... Maybe the romanticism / late romanticism is a little bit too much over the edge for me ^^. Strange enough that some of my all time favourite poems are from this era and even from Eichendorff. (and even to imagine that I fall in love with some poems at school! normally every poetry and / or literature in school is instinctively abandoned by kids ^^)
 
The only problem is to translate it from the original german to english. I have found some translations but every language is special on it's own and there is always something one cannot really translate, just give a small image of it... This is why I try to read stuff in the original language (if I am able to read it ^^).
 
But still: Here one of the translations I found :)
 
The titel may be wishing wand or divining rod... I found it here. The translator also offers some different versions :)
 
 
Songs repose in things abounding
that keep dreaming to be heard,
and the world shall start resounding
if you hit her magic word.
 
 
PS: I am doing a little bit but time is eaten up at the moment. So please be patient, I will be going to write some new blog entries and show new stuff in a few days. :)

For my own consideration.. again and again and again...

"Was immer Du tun kannst oder träumst es zu können, fang damit an. Mut hat Genie, Kraft und Zauber in sich."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In englisch:

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it"


One of these times where I feel the translation is missing something although it seems like an easy and quite (rare enough) direct translation. But somehow... I don't know... the german original quote hits home better.

For science and art...

"The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones, which ramify, for those brought up as most of us have been, into every corner of our minds."


John Maynard Keynes,
The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (13 December 1935)
English economist (1883 - 1946)

Just another life sign...

I am still following my New Year's pledge... create more stuff and don't allow any banal and common excuses.. there are none!

But I don't like to post something which is not finished... I am not sure why, but somehow it seems not suitable for me. *shrugs*

Also there is some stuff which was finished but meant to be a gift and therefore can't be displayed here now :)

I have now a deviantart account (thanks to lachafa :) ) --> saraccino

My small avatar (which is now also on top of the blog) was made put of one picutre with my small tentacle rubber stamp :)

I like this one...

...although I only quote a part of the original sentence ^^

"The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists [...]”


(Charles Dickens)