God Jul/ Happy Yule/Winter Solstice

Islender, islandstrøye eller færøytrøye, skandinavisk betegnelse på en tykk arbeidstrøye eller genser av ull, opprinnelig håndstrikket, senere maskinelt fremstilt. Trøyene har oftest hvit bunn med et enkelt mønster i svart eller rødt.

Icelander, Icelandic sweater or Faroe jumper, Scandinavian term for a heavy work sweater or jumper of wool, originally hand-knitted, later machine-made​​. The jerseys are usually with white background with a simple pattern in black or red.

 

Sea turtles and a new tattoo



Baby sea turtles at the http://www.ioseaturtles.org/pom_detail.php?id=45 



I have for a long time been a big fan of sea turtles, they are just amazing creature, and they have been around since the dinosaurs!

At the beach where we will release the turtles.

When at Bali, Pol and I attended a CS (CouchSurfing) Event where we visited a sea turtle "orphanage" and released some sea turtle babies at the sea.

In Bali there has been an alarming decrease in sea turtles nesting on the beach, due to tourism and also an increased interest in the meat and for religious sacrifices.
Several organisations around the island are trying to protect the hatching grounds or collect the eggs and then releases the baby turtles when they have already hatched.

  

They were not used to the sand!



Finally in the ocean, swimming away from the beach. They will not be back before in 30 years!

 The tattoo was made by Dewa at Kuta Beach, www.dewa17tattoo.com

It was after spotting Arthur's tattoo during the release of the sea turtle babies that we decided to go to Dewa. Late in the night we arrived, but luckily he had time for us.

The Goddess of the Sea, in Balinese Hindu tradition.

My souvenir from Bali.

Groninger Museum

The Groninger Museum, seen from the canal side.

The bridge to the Museum, when it opens up for boat traffic you can see the typical Delft tiles.

http://www.groningermuseum.nl/en

Evening, Canoe Lake, 1915-16, Tom Thomson

The Pointers, 1916-17, Tom Thomson

The Groninger Museum had several temporary and permanent collections when we visited in August 2012.
I saw a poster on the train station in Den Helder regarding the exhibition "Painting Canada, Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven" and got very fascinated by the poster picture ("The Pointers"). That was when I decided to go to Groningen and see this exhibition.

Lawren Harris, "Untitled Mountain Landscape", c. 1927-78.

J. E. H. MacDonald, "Lake O'Hara", 1930

A chinese artist, Yin Xiuzhen, was also displayed there at the time, installations with philosophical undertones.
For all her installations, she always uses a lot of second hand clothes that she stitches up into new creations. Amazing!

"Collective Subconscious", 2007

Her newest installation; "Nowhere to land", 2012.

One year in The Netherlands

So,
last year I moved to The Netherlands, a country rich in historic and contemporary art.
We have been so many places to see different kind of arts, and for each museum and gallery I have bought a couple of postcards that I have put in a small album.
Here is the list of places Pol and I have visited during this last year:

- Het Scheepvaartmuseum;The Maritime Museum in Amsterdam which has an extensive collection of paintings and drawings describing Hollands past and present maritime life.

-Hermitage Amsterdam, the exhibition "Rubens, Van Dyck & Jordaens".

-  The Rembrandt House, Amsterdam, where Rembrandt lived and had his galleries.

- The Escher Muesum in Den Haag, http://www.escherinhetpaleis.nl/

- Optical Illusions, which was a exhibition on the top floor of the bookstore Selexyz in Amsterdam.

-Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, http://www.franshalsmuseum.nl/

-Kröller-Müller Museum in Hoge Veluwe National Park, http://www.kmm.nl/

We also went on holiday to Spain and went to the art museum in Sevilla; "Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla", with a lot of typical catholic art of saints and stories from the Bible, but also from city life, like the bullfighting and portaits of rich and famous Sevillians.