Mirjam de Nijs
Getting down to work
Atelier
| For
a long time I had a comfortable studio in the country, in Ouderkerk. In
2002 this situation changed and I had to look for a new studio. After a
lot of roving around I ended up in Schellingwoude. It is said that this
is the last remaining piece of free state in Amsterdam. It is an
exceptionally
rugged, masculine environment. I work here with
great
pleasure. |
Putting hands to work
| I am busy with a large marble
statue. In between I make other statues with soft stone, such as
alabaster and serpentine to research the possibilities of more complex
forms. I
love simplicity. But also diversity. Perhaps I can add this diversity
to
the statues whilst finding simplicity in the expressiveness. It
surprises
me that this research leads to completely new forms. But now I have reached a point that I am curious how these experiments will influence statues of a harder type of stone. I make statues from hard stone that have a sturdy foundation whilst softer stones lead me to experimenting and playing around. I find both interesting. |
Developments
| When I started working in stone,
I was pleasantly open-minded. I hope that I will never lose this
freshness. Then I busied myself with researching the egg form. An
exceptionally beautiful and fascinating form. I was curious as to what
would come out of this
research. Basic forms have begun to interest me. The circle, the triangle and the square. Via different types of stone I ended up at granite and it is as if this rock hard type of stone now forms the basis for all of the work. I carried on working with other types of stone and since 2001 with surprisingly soft stones such as serpentine. During the exhibitions it was noticeable how great the diversity of this work is. The possibilities are inexhaustible. Maybe I expect to find limitations, but they aren't there. Very pleasant. |