And now what?

So the book is ready for print in two languages, - Reflections from La Herradura, and in Spanish: Reflejos del Paisaje Humano de La Herradura. It’s a story-telling journey through an enchanting village –, and it is good! Not because I say so, but because both my English and the Spanish final proof-readers, who do not know me in person, say so! My confidence is intact, but, I have to admit, the journey to get here was both exhausting and interesting. And now, the final result is a unique combination of guide book, history book and biography rolled into one, offering the reader a privileged, ‘behind the scenes’ look at life in La Herradura and a fascinating glimpse into the minds of its artists and visionaries. I’ve written it in a conversational style that makes it accessible and suitable for all types of readers. I even made a special oil painting for the cover which depicts a flamenco dancer and a white village separated by a horseshoe, as the Spanish word ‘herradura’ means horseshoe in English. To realise this book in both languages I have paid the translator, various proof-readers and other set-up costs, both in cash and with art, and finally the English and the Spanish version are now in the care of the print-on-demand printer that I work with. So far so good! There is that word again…. Good!

But now what?
Now I need to get the book to as many readers as possible in order to help turn this special village, (the place I fell in love with on my first visit in 2004), into a cultural hotspot, as that is my dream and that of many of the artists, musicians, writers, painters and other interesting souls who have participated in the book. Launching a book costs money. In order to do it well I need a considerable amount and my pockets are now empty.

Why do I care?
Well apart from having invested about a year and a half of my life and a lot of money in this project, I also care about this village that is my home. It deserves to have its cultural agenda more widely known. Many interesting things are happening here and you might want to know about them when you get a chance to visit La Herradura, which quite frankly, is a must.

So I have to find a solution. After having studied crowdfunding sites I realise that I do not have enough followers on social media or personal email contacts to organise a successful crowdfunding project. It has to be more personal. I have to put on a brave face and ask for help.

I NEED YOUR HELP!

Angel Galdo F. and Mercedes Rubio (the first sponsors)

To make things interesting for any potential sponsors out there, I will be offering an incentive - call it a ‘Thank You!’ in the form of a raffle. Every donation of 10 € will be allocated a raffle number. So if you donate 50 €, for example, you will get 5 raffle tickets. On the day of the launch of the book, which will be on 17th of April 2016 in La Cochera in La Herradura, the prizes will be drawn by someone who has not been involved in the process of creating this book. Don’t worry if you do not live in the neighbourhood. If you win, your prize will be shipped to you the following week.

In order to cover the costs of the English and Spanish book and the cultural website that I am currently working on I will need your help! Whatever I can raise will be invested in the launch and to pay off expenses incurred along the way. So whatever you would like to donate, please feel free…every little helps!

I am offering a range of prizes for the raffle - big ones and not so big ones. These will include:
• 3 flamenco hangers worth 15 € each
• 2 sets of 20 postcards worth 25 € per set
• 2 sets of 12 mandala cards with envelopes worth 30 € per set
• 2 sets of 3 books – Cheers, Secret Thoughts and Reflections from La Herradura, in English or Spanish worth 49.50€ per set
• 2 sets of 4 mandala prints worth 60 € per set
• 2 wooden flamenco wall-hangers each worth 95 €
• a ‘surrender’ ceramic statue worth 235.00 €
• an original mandala painting worth 375.00 €
• an original flamenco painting worth 900.00 €

Front and back of surrender statue (9x9x9cm)

Sponsors are important
Your money counts and as a token of appreciation, everyone who has donated 100 € or more, will be named as a sponsor on the special cultural La Herradura website that is in the making, with, if desired, a photo with a caption and/or business link (optional) to a website. Sponsors of more than 250 € will be mentioned both on the website, see above, and in the book.

Sponsors go into a separate raffle for the oil painting (Seaside Reflections) used for the cover of the book, worth 2,500 €.

‘Seaside Reflections’

So would you like to be part of this interesting cultural project? If so, please send your donation via PayPal to renate@renate-kunst.nl / Opt for donation and write down your name. Any amount is welcome but for raffle tickets the minimum amount is 10 €. You can also transfer your donation directly into my bank account in The Netherlands, Arnhem

IBAN number NL71 INGB 0005 541225 in the name of R.H. van Nijen
Or into my bank account in Spain, La Herradura:
ES04 0487 3219 2790 0001 0003 BIC GBMNE SMMXXX in the name of Renate Henriet van Nijen
Please state your name and email address and ‘La Herradura project’!
As soon as I am notified of your donation you will receive an email with your raffle ticket number(s).

Thank you so much - here’s to helping to put La Herradura firmly on the cultural map!

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A Food artist in Spain

What does food have to do with living as an artist in Spain I hear you wonder? Well, I like cooking, I enjoy writing about food, I tend to slightly change recipes that I find online or hear about and I even like to create my own recipes. I think that means that I am creative with food, in other words, I am a food artist. Living in Spain means you have access to wonderful indoor and outdoor markets with an abundance of vegetables and fruits. Needless to say that the produce freshly picked from nearby lands are usually very tasty as they have had plenty of sunshine. My weekly shopping list always includes a colourful palette of fruit and vegies such as tomatoes, cucumbers, papaya, broccoli, and artichokes when in season, and much more. I am in the lucky position to not having to buy avocados, nor quite a few types of fruits as Miguel, my husband, owns a small farm where he commercially grows avocados,

chirimoyas* and nispolas*.
He has also planted a few banana, orange, lemon and mango trees for family consumption only. Great news for a foody, with a preference for healthy foods, like me. However, I do tend to eat more than my body can process. Having inherited a thyroid problem and fat genes instead of money means it certainly is a challenge to keep my body in shape. In fact, I have failed miserably and now that menopause has been added into the mix I often see myself reflected in the shape of a tele tubby, with bingo-wings both above and below the elbow, when passing a shop window. My body is screaming at me with aches and pains as soon as I move and a blood test I took six weeks ago showed that my cholesterol was too high. That and the shrunken clothes in my walk-in wardrobe made me decide to sort myself out. But how? I have never been much of a meat eater and the biggest part of my life I was a vegetarian, and eggs, milky coffees and most of all cheese and yoghurt were part of my diet, more so than carbohydrates and recently I also ate the odd piece of fish. It did not turn my body into a healthy vehicle and meant I had to make a drastic change, so the past six weeks I have spent as a vegan. Although I thoroughly enjoy my smoothie of banana, orange and spinach and cleverly create vegetable spreads and super delicious sweets made of dates, nuts and coconut I now am back in the world of carbohydrates. Potatoes with vegetables or wholemeal bread with home-made humus and crunchy salad leaves, tomatoes and some avocado slices easily replace cheesy pastas. So how come I still have all these aches and pains and am not even slightly going in the direction of being the stick-insect that I perceive most vegans to be? What am I doing wrong? OK it doesn’t help that my aching temple, as some people refer to their body, is rather incapable of doing intensive sport activities, but even so I feel rather frustrated that I haven’t shed some weight at least. I do not want my life to be about food but here I am, writing about it in my blog with yet another resolution to cut out half of my healthy fat consumption and reduce my carbohydrate intake again. And the artistic part of all this? Well, perhaps I have to find a way to get my body back into shape with extreme measures. That does not mean that you have to as well and I still enjoy writing about food. Thus I have decided to share recipes that I have created or heard of and especially loved, over the past twenty years or so, on my new blog. I will add snacks and dishes regularly and you can expect to find quick and easy to make dishes with an Italian or Spanish flavour, original recipes that people eat in their homes and are usually not served in restaurants, as well as dishes you have perhaps heard of and recipes you have never heard of. Feel free to check it out here.
www.renartsworld-food-artist.blogspot.com

• The chirimoya is thought to be a fruit native to some parts of Southern America, but it was then transported to many places including Andalusia in Southern Spain. It has a creamy texture and is very sweet and is often referred to as a custard apple.
• Nispola refers to a Spanish exotic fruit. Nispolas were imported from the Far East in the 18th century grown for the Spanish market. Its flavour is a blend of peach and pear but can be somewhat sharp. It is known as a Japanese medlar pear.

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Gnomes with an opinion

A few years ago on a very hot summer’s day my telephone rang. Hi Renate, how are you says Monica, a German lady who I had met years earlier at an art fair. Monica asks me whether we could meet up, as her partner Gerda had 'been told' that we had to exhibit our work together in a village along the coast. I was curious and the next day I drive down the long winding mountain road to visit the remote cottage tucked away in a sea of green avocado plantations and silver-green olive trees. I turn right into a dirt track which leads to the house of Monica and Gerda and am greeted by big smiles on their round faces. It feels as if I am entering a delusional world and I suddenly think… They are going to eat me! However, I am warmly welcomed by the two very big ‘white witches’ as they call themselves. They are both wearing the same big blue dress without sleeves with a Kangaroo type pocket on the front. Their huge breasts are dangling clearly visible and freely under the thin cotton fabric. It feels soft, hot and humid during the awkwardly long hug. Messy long, grey hair is framing their white, sweaty faces, completing the picture. Makeup doesn’t fit into their world. Gerda looks somewhat wild with her watery blue eyes. They tell me that she is the creative mind and the healer of the two. I am invited into their home, an oasis of calm in a wonderfully warm atmosphere. Everywhere I look I see angels, Tutankhamun replicas, ceramic sculptures and buddha images.

I feel relaxed and at ease. Whilst Monica is giving me a cup of herbal tea Gerda tells me about the gnomes and fairies that are invisible to most people. With a mysterious smile she explains that many think she is crazy, but continues very seriously that gnomes and fairies have told her that it is time for a joint exhibition of my art and their dresses. Monica, who seems to attend to all Gerda’s wishes listens. There is a fairy-tale atmosphere and their strange harmonious relationship seems to work perfectly. Gerda pours me another cup of tea whilst Monica enters the living room with a large number of sweaters, jackets and dresses hand-knitted by her. I am totally amazed when I see the beautiful colours and motifs used. The cardigans and dresses have long pointed hoods that perfectly fit their pyramid-like shape. Gerda then explains that she has received a message from her gnomes to create square dresses. Monica leaves the room to get them and shows me a variety of thin one-size-fits-all square dresses made of thin cotton fabric, beautifully hand-painted by Gerda with colourful symbols and flowers, birds of paradise and Egyptian motifs on the square dresses. They tell me to try one on and I am pleasantly surprised as for someone who never wears a dress I am filled with enthusiasm. I very much admire the work of Monica and Gerda and tell them that I feel their clothing is certainly worthy of an exhibition. They don’t sell their work to the public but Monica and Gerda like to exhibit their dresses and cardigans along with my paintings and ceramic sculptures. It seems like a good plan and I feel optimistic and happy when I drive back home; the exhibition date set.
Two days later my phone rings... I am very sorry Renate, says Monica, unfortunately the gnomes have told Gerda that after all it isn’t the right time for an exhibition
I cannot help but feeling disappointed!

Talking about angels, feel free to check out my designs on environment-friendly tote bags (no more plastic bags floating in the oceans) in RedBubble

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