Dutch Delft Impression

For 17 years, we lived next door to the Sytsma family. Dan and Mary are both "blue bloods", which, to me, means they're full Dutch. While they were born in the US and are Americans through and through, they also embrace their heritage and ethnicity proudly. There's a saying they have: "If you're not Dutch, you ain't much." Well, they may be proud of who they are, but they are some of the warmest, most inclusive people I've ever met. Over the years we shared Washington Street, we became like family to them and they to us. We were invited to significant birthday celebrations and had many meals and cups of tea together.

All this to say that when Lydia left a comment that my card from Saturday reminded her of a Dutch plate she'd seen, I agreed completely and set about using a palette of blues today to try to evoke the famous Dutch ceramic art called Delftware. This stuff is WAY old--dating back to the 1600s--is handpainted and is available in a wide variety of items--vases, "wooden" shoes, candlesticks, clocks, dishes, etc. etc. etc. The most famous Delft are the tiles. Mary had her share of Delft, and I'm hoping she'll think this is a good impression of this art.

I used Night of Navy, Ballet Blue, and Brocade Blue from the Rich Regals color family, and added in Bashful Blue from the Soft Subtles. Again I colored on the large stamp with the brush end of my Stampin' Write markers. I didn't explain this last time, but the scalloped edge of the base is actually traced from the rubber left behind after I punched out the stamp. I just knew it would come in handy, since I don't have a punch that large!

After coloring the stamp and exhaling on it (just so I would insure that I wouldn't have to color it again), I traced the rubber outline and cut it out. Then I started thinking about creating a "tile" and the idea to cut the image in fourths came to mind. That accomplished, I knew I'd need something else to complete the look. I chose the smallest flower from the Flowery Friends set and colored it using the same palette. I then cut that into fourths and placed it in the corners. It wasn't until after I'd mounted everything on dimensionals that the thought came to me that I could've created a "glaze" for my tile by coating it with clear embossing powder. Oh well, next time...

I mounted it on Brocade Blue, after trying several different shades, and matted it with Night of Navy. The blue in Delft is very hard to match, but I think this is true to the spirit of the art.

I miss the times of tea with Mary at her house...we'd share news and commiserate and sometimes eat speculaas cookies, windmill shaped gingerbread snaps. Think I'll send her this little note just to tell her so.