Denim Art !

 

A picture that caught my eye…..just so….…. an incredible work of  art  using discarded denim jeans.  Two graceful horses drawing  a carriage, the typical Delft street, the detailing of the windows, the bicycle against the lamp post ……and  a replica of “The girl with the pearl earing” Johannes Vermeer’s famous painting!   Not to miss the W of the Wrangler jeans pocket on the road!  And the cat on top of the stairs! It was an incredible work of art that captivated me. The more you looked at it, the more of the detailing you start noticing!  

I read more about the artist Marrie Bel, saw photos of her fascinating creations and realized that she lives in the Netherlands.    I made up my mind to reach out and check if  I could visit her on my next trip to Amsterdam.

I messaged Marrie on Facebook a fortnight before my trip and was thrilled to see her response.  Although she conducts quite a few workshops, there wasn’t any in the week that I was there. But she offererd to give me a short 2 hour workshop at her home.  Wow!  This was wonderful!

So early one morning in the week that I was in Amsterdam, I took an intercity train to Steenwijk a small town about 150 kms away.  The train journey was lovely and I enjoyed watching the farm lands and the sheep, horses and cows on the rolling grasslands.

Marrie was kind enough to meet me at the station and drive me to her home.  The work of art that had brought me all this way stood right in front of my eyes and I took my time gazing at it!  There were other collages too, each one more beautiful than the other. 

For the workshop, Marrie offered me a choice of either a picture of a cottage or a flower vase on a table.  I selected the vase as it looked less complicated than the cottage. 

There was a neat pile of denim jeans and  cut pieces from which Marrie picked out  a few.  She explained the method of cutting a template out on paper and then cutting it to perfection out of the denim piece.  The selection of the right shade of denim is just as crucial as getting the right cut.  Under her expert guidance I was actually able to start piecing  it together.

A pleasant  two hours just whizzed past and it was time for my return train.  I carried my little canvas and the rest of the pieces to complete the work at home.  

We said our goodbyes with the hope that we meet again! 

To a wonderful artist and new friend, Thank you Marrie Bel!

You can see more of Marrie's work here https://www.facebook.com/Zandoogje

The completed project