Book review – Creative Quest

Another book review. Since the whole Corona crisis thing I have been focussing more on reading. Which has been paying out big time. My reading skills are getting better which after my brain damage wasn’t a guarantee that It would become better again.

I still get tired easily when reading but reading now goes faster and I remember somewhat more. It’s also something I can easily cut into small segments.

So yeah, been reading more. And reading some cool stuff as well. This review is on a book written by Questlove which deals with creativity and how you can set your mind in a way your creativity flows. And how to deal with distractions , and make it more of a framework. 

Every chapter deals with a topic which creative people are faced with, building your art, managing tasks surrounding making art, getting your art out there and sell it. Networking , staying in touch with people. And so on. 

I have music as a hobby and I know this won’t turn into a career anytime some. But everything in the book is applicable to the creative side of other professions whether it be as a software developer, product manager , journalist. Most professions have a creative side to them. And need a mindset and framework to fit that creative process.  It’s making sure all the conditions are set for being at your best creative wise. 

So I highly recommend this book for basically everyone that feels the need to be creative as a hobby or in parts of their job. 

Graffiti until July

Last few months I have been walking a lot , and most of the time I walk under an overpass. It’s been made a legal wall some time ago and people can take their time creating cool pieces.
And they do 🙂 , I love this art form. Most date from early February until last month or so.

So a few pieces for you to enjoy. And many thanks to the artists for putting them up.

Recovery and pictures

A few weeks back I suffered an encephalitis due to a virus that got stuck in my brain. Now I am getting back from that which isn’t all that easy. Progress is slow , and not always a straight line up.

In order to get my health back I need to do some exercising , no running so I stick to walking for now. One of the advantages is I get to take my camera with me and snap some pictures. A few I have uploaded and added.

Frankfurt – day two

Our second day in Frankfurt, again a pretty hot day. So today we started out early. We got breakfast at Matilda’s Kitchen in the Westend which is a residential area. Where most of the residents seem to have retired. Pretty early in life.

After a nice breakfast we walked around and got on the subway to the museum riverbank. Which proved to be a very good choice. We visited the Städel.
There was an exhibition on 80’s artists from the BRD. Not entirely our cup of tea, but some nice pieces. The modern art exhibit had a few very cool art works. Would have been great to have just one on your own wall. A poster just isn’t enough. Also some very nice paintings from painters like Max Beckmann. Also some works from old masters like Vermeer, Rembrandt etc.
They advertise with them as well but that doesn’t reflect the overall collection. Which has a lot more to offer. I really liked the 19th and 20th century exhibit a lot.

There was also a photography exhibition with work from Barbara Klemm. which was very cool. She made pictures of people watching art and artist portraits. As well as some nice street photography.
We had read about it but didn’t realize it was at the Städel.

It’s a very big museum and it took up lot’s of time. Very worthwhile if you get the chance. The other 33 museums will have to wait for another time.
After the Städel , we got hungry and visited the first place nearby. A burger joint which wasn’t bad. After refuelling we headed back to the city centre. I wanted a jacket which was nowhere to be found. So off to the Nordend again. For our last night in Frankfurt and the final night of our holiday, which is always a bit sad.

We again made use of the excellent and fast public transport network and ended up at the Weinstube. Which is absolutely great. Nice wines and also nice small dishes to go with the wine. A very good way to end the day. Back at the hotel we went for a swim on the 18th floor of the building, normally nobody is around especially at a late Friday night. Not so much this time. Lot’s of people. So after a quick swim and looking at the view we left again. We had one last drink at the bar and headed up to our room. The thunderstorms had started and we had first row seats. Floor to ceiling glass rocks. After watching for a bit I fell asleep.

Frankfurt has been a very nice surprise with a lot of very cool places and neighbourhoods to visit. It’s worth a visit , take a few days and just wander around you will enjoy it.

Amsterdam

Yesterday we went to see an exhibition at Huis Marseille , it’s in a very nice old house along one of the canals. The building alone is worth the visit. The exhibitions were excellent as well. First one on the work of Cor Jaring, he used to work at the docks and started making photo’s. Later on he made a living out of it. Beautiful pictures from his trip to Japan and very nice pictures by Sander Troelstra which portray Cor in his final years. Really liked it.

Another one was by Eddo Hartmann, pictures from Pyongyang. Very desolate pictures with lot’s of empty spaces outside and inside buildings, subway stations etc. Haunting sometimes. Like there’s absolutly no one there. Very well taken pictures. Enjoyed it a lot. The museum also has a backyard and with the nice weather it was an excellent place to relax.

Next up was lunch at “cafe de Pels” , beer and a sandwich. Next stop was the museum van Loon. Which is a big mansion from an old merchant family. Not really my cup of tea. Although it’s nice to see all the old furniture and craftsmanship that went in to make it. It’s not something I can spent hours watching. But once again a beautiful garden, were we spent some time reading.

Last museum of the day was Foam , with an exhibition from Noémie Goudal, she made structures (from paper I think) and puts them in a landscape. Very cool indeed. There was also a series by painter Carel Willink. Skies over the city a study on clouds for a painting. I didn’t enjoy it that much, but maybe I just reach my art and museum limit for the day.

Time for food and drinks at the foodhallen/ , always nice. Then a nice dinner at a tiny cafe near the Nieuwmarkt , forgot the name. Well it was something with bear in the name. All round a very good sunny and relaxing day in Amsterdam.