A MAGAZINE FOR PAPER LOVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY ALICIA BOCK HAND-LETTERING MEVROUW KNOT

CELEBRATING CREATIVITY, IMPERFECTION AND LIFE’S LITTLE PLEASURES

FREE
32-PAGE
WORKBOOK
INCLUDED
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BACK

I am my own muse.
FRIDA KAHLO (1907-1954)

Learning to look at your body in

a different way Why your next
self-help book may be a novel
Exercises for a less distracted
life EXTRA: 4 mini posters
 PHOTOGRAPHY HOLLANDSE HOOGTE ILLUSTRATION SHUTTERSTOCK
This Flow Belongs To

Artist Frida Kahlo was born in ‘La casa azul’ (The Blue House) in Mexico City. She kept coming
back here throughout her life. Four years after Kahlo’s death, the house became the Frida Kahlo
Museum where some of her paintings and personal possessions are kept.
 ‘ Friendly ,
kind - hearted and
open - minded people
live everywhere ,
which is nice
to keep in mind
at a time like this ’

4_
 Flow founde Irene and
Astrid in 2008 with the
very fit sue of Flow

What We Have Learned

We have been making Flow for over a decade HAPPINESS IS FOUND IN SMALL
now. What has been a real eye-opener over the THINGS. Sometimes, we would think too big
past ten years is that there are extraordinary and too impossibly. Life can be complicated
and inspiring people all over the world who are perhaps, but when you think of the small
struggling with the same things as we are. things that make you happy—for example,
Because the Dutch Flow was followed by peeling an orange in one unbroken spiral—you
English, French and German editions, we’ve keep seeing the beautiful things which are
been meeting readers from other countries, right there in front of you.
and we’ve learned that, around the world,
people want to worry less, live more slowly, YOU ALWAYS MISS MORE THAN YOU
enjoy things more. Thanks to Flow (and yes, EXPERIENCE. We write about it often in
also thanks to Instagram), we’ve come into Flow: the fear of missing out. But life is not
contact with a lot of different great illustrators about what you could have done. Don’t be
and writers. We’ve emailed with them, they’ve led on by all that stuff on social media.
come to our editorial office, and sometimes
we’ve met during one of our Flow trips to the STOP THINKING MORE OFTEN. If there
US, Japan and South Africa. It has given us is anything that we’ve learned in recent years
more confidence. Friendly, kind-hearted and it is that we are responsible in part for holding
open-minded people live everywhere, which is onto our problems, fears and assumptions.
nice to keep in mind at a time like this, when And we learned that you can flip that on its
the world seems so complicated. The following head—but also that so many people are
are the life lessons from Flow that we cherish. walking around who have exactly the same
going on in their heads. As teenagers in high
LIFE OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE school, we would have liked to have been
CAN BE VERY GOOD. Learning new things taught how to live life. So actually, we’re
is fun and keeps life interesting. Dare a little making Flow for our own sakes, too. We are
more, do something that scares you, but never done learning, and we still learn from
choose goals you can reach. every story.
BACKGROUND PATTERNS SHUTTERSTOCK

[email protected] [email protected]

You can follow us on flowmagazine.com, (flow_magazine),

(Flow Magazine INT) and (Flow Magazine).

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 Flow 32

TIMEPages 11 to 36
PEOPLE
Pages 37 to 70

13 MY BODY IS A TEMPLE 4 0 I N T ER VI E W
The way we view our own body has a great effect on our As a single mother with three children in diapers and not
health and happiness. Journalist Otje van der Lelij explores a penny to her name, Dutch architect Francine Houben
the various influences at play. didn’t exactly start her studio at the most convenient of
times. But she struggled through and is now the creative
21 WHAT ARE YOU UP TO? director of a world-famous, award-winning firm.
In every issue, we check in with people who are doing what
they love to find out about their projects. This time, we talk 50 N EW T HI N K ER S
to an artist, ceramicist and illustrator. British professor Edith Hall believes that happiness is not
a given; we need to work on it each and every day. As a
2 8 COME FLY TO ME scholar of classics, she is particularly inspired by Ancient
Journalist Jeannette Jonker describes the joy birds bring Greek philosopher Aristotle and his thoughts on themes
her as they flit into her daily urban life. such as happiness and friendship in the fourth century BC.

3 4 KICKING THE CHAT 56 C H I N ESE R E U N I ON

Living without WhatsApp: How would you cope? Or should Ten years ago, Caroline Buijs left the world of travel to
that be: Could you cope? It’s one thing turning off your take a new career path: that of journalism. The subject
notifications, bings and whatnot, but what if you turned it of her first feature was Angie Guo, a local guide in China.
off altogether? Journalist Anneke Bots finds out. Caroline visits Angie in Beijing to catch up on what has
happened in her life since they last met.

H OW TO G E T YO U R H A N D S 66 M E, MY SE L F & I
O N A C O PY O F F LOW: Curious what it would be like to spend 24 hours in nature—on
Subscribe and get Flow delivered to you anywhere in
the world. See page 48.
her own, without a telephone, book or food—journalist Eva
Loesberg embarked on a controlled adventure by a lake in
Order a copy online from our web shop:
flowmagazine.com/shop the woods. Terrified as she was when she set off, she
Find a copy in your local store.
survived. And here, she tells her tale.
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Cover: The photograph of the Frida Kahlo mural by Campos Jesses was taken by Luis E. Vásquez O.
See page 10 to find out more _7
102
PICTURES
Pages 71 to 96
LIFEPages 97 to 139

74 TH E I LL US T R AT I ON 9 9 T H E GOO D ST U F F
US-based artist and designer Danielle Kroll buys books Our favorite websites, books, apps and more.
from thrift stores and gives their pages a beautiful new
lease of life. 102 A N OV E L L E SSON
Journalist Mariska Jansen shares the books that made
76 F I N DI N G O R DER I N F L O RA lasting impressions on her, some of which turned out to
While stewing in her bad mood one not-so-fine vacation be real eye-openers.
day in Spain, journalist Jocelyn de Kwant noticed a plant
brandishing all the stages of a flower’s life: from bud 10 6 W H E N L E SS GI V ES MO R E
to fruit. She picked a few, arranged them in order and Journalist Maaike Helmer describes how the Japanese
photographed them. It lightened her spirit, and she has now concept of ma has helped her on her path to inner peace.
made it into a series that brings her a great deal of peace.
112 E ASY ESC AP E
8 4 T HE M US EU M O F M E Everything is much slower in a camper trailer. Which is
A feature about the small, personal objects that tell the why journalist Caroline Buijs likes to escape to hers. A lot.
story of someone’s life. In this episode: Ann Demeester,
director of the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, 118 T H E PH I L OSO PHE R
the Netherlands. In this piece, we take a look at a famous philosopher, the
Flow way. Here’s an illustrated profile of Immanuel Kant.
8 6 WI S H YO U DR EW HER E
What do illustrators draw when they are on vacation? We 12 0 MI N D F U L F I L L - IN PAGE S
take a look in the sketchbooks of five Flow contributors. Being in the here and now really helps us in our busy lives.
Hopefully these tips and exercises will help you in yours.

13 9 W OM EN H E R OE S
In each issue, an illustrator tells us about a woman they
admire. Here’s it’s the turn of Anne Bentley.

FLOW EXTRAS
C OV E R P O S T E R S
(Page 54)

F LOW M I N I C O U R S E
WO R K B O O K

_9
 Behind the Scenes
Women Hero ,
s page 139

Offline
with Flow,
s page
34

DRAWING ATTENTION
TO WOMEN
STOP USING WHATSAPP “In Flow we have been paying tribute to
‘Could I do it too?’ wondered journalist Anneke Bots while the lives of women who inspire us for

PHOTOGRAPHY CAMPOS JESSES (ON THE COVER) ILLUSTRATION PENELOPE DULLAGHAN BACKGROUND PATTERN SHUTTERSTOCK
she was writing ‘Find me @nowhere?’ (page 34): “I suspect I years,” says Flow International’s General
could, but I’d rather not. For me, the ease and conviviality beats Managing Editor, Alice van Essen who is
the aggravation. And I’m not the only one because despite all responsible for the rubric ‘Women Heroes’.
the critical noises, it was tough finding people who have removed “We want to know the story of their lives,
the app from their phone. Perseverance also seems to be an art. how they grew up, who they loved, where
Self-proclaimed techno-philosopher Rens van der Vorst, who has they got their inspiration from, and where
deleted the app, compares being on our phones now with how they found the strength to go against the
people chainsmoked in the past, and how both seem normal in current and the spirit of the times. For me,
their time. Which begs the question: How easy is it to quit?” as a woman, nothing beats being inspired
by powerful women such as Virginia Woolf,
Margaret Sanger or Alice Walker (see page
139). And I’m not the only one; when I
asked illustrators who regularly work for
Flow which women they admire and why,
they came up with a most surprising list.
At the back of each issue, in ‘Women
The artists Heroes’, a different illustrator tells us about,
of Campos and beautifully illustrates, her heroine.”
Jesses during
the installation
of the mural.
Kahlo’s head
was painted
separately.

ON THE COVER
Art Director Karin Sonneveld mural that adorns the entrance of image with his iPhone, so the
spotted a street art piece of Frida a nightclub in Buenos Aires called resolution wasn’t big enough for
Kahlo on Instagram and asked Fridha. It was made by a collective the cover. But when I mailed him,
image coordinator Marjolijn of three artists that go by the Luis said he was happy to go and
Polman to see if she could hunt name, Campos Jesses. I found a take another picture, this time with
down a photo of the artwork that picture on Instagram made by a his new camera. This resulted in
could be used on the cover. “I photography enthusiast, Luis E. an image in which the summery
found out that it’s a nine-meter-tall Vásquez O. He had taken the colors pop even more.”

10 _
time
 time

PHOTOGRAPH ON THE REVERSE SIDE OF THIS PAGE SHANE ROUNCE/UNSPLASH.COM

Although Daucus carota, or wild carrot, occurs naturally in large parts of

the world—and is often considered a weed—it is in fact quite difficult to
cultivate. It just prefers to decide for itself where it wants to grow.
Its delicately beautiful umbelliferous flowers turn into decorative
seedheads when flowering has finished, as the image on the reverse
testifies. Wild carrot is also known as Queen Anne’s lace and, for
obvious reasons, bird’s nest.
BE KIND TO
YOUR BODY
OTJE VAN DER LELIJ WAS ALWAYS CRITICAL OF HER
OWN BODY, BUT BEGAN LOVING IT AGAIN WHEN SHE
FIGURED OUT HOW TO LOOK AT IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

_ 13
Many of my childhood memories are “People spend a large part of their psychologist and body image
physical ones. I have a vivid memory working day talking, reading and researcher Jessica Alleva of Maastricht
of an afternoon playing on the typing; there isn’t much physical University in the Netherlands. “For
riverbed of the Loire with my family labor. Movement is marginal: pressing example, we associate obesity with
in France. Barefoot, I stomped across screens and buttons, making phone laziness and lack of self-control, and
the shallow river. I built dams with calls. Of course we still have a body, in our society wrinkles symbolize old
slippery rocks and the water, warmed but its contribution to our life is age and an unhealthy lifestyle. If you
by the sun, flowed softly through my limited.” That means that we’re have wrinkles but you still feel young,
fingers. I wasn’t in my head, but in becoming more and more ‘head’, or you’re a bit overweight but not lazy
my body. I was my body. But as I and less and less ‘body’. in the slightest, then you don’t
grew older, I became more and more recognize what you see in the mirror.
‘head’. At university, I spent many SEEING BUT NOT FEELING You become alienated from your
hours bent over thick tomes, taking The virtual world is also responsible own body.” In addition, Alleva says,
notes. At home, I fed myself with for this ‘discorporealization’, Dutch women don’t look at their reflections
literature, newspapers and films. philosopher Ad Verbrugge writes in his with the friendliest of gazes. They see
I paid a lot of attention to my book Staat van verwarring (State of their body as an object and look at it
thoughts—too much so. I would drift Confusion; Dutch only). In the virtual with the eye of an outsider (Is my
around in my head endlessly. French biotope where we spend a large part dress okay?; What do I look like to
philosopher Descartes’ famous of the day, we’re in a space we can’t other people?).
theorem cogito, ergo sum (‘I think, touch, Verbrugge observes. Our eyes This third-person perspective is
therefore I am’) was my forgotten and ears are stimulated, but our other informed by the images present
body’s proxy. But I also noticed how senses (touch, smell) fade into the everywhere in society of what an ideal
much importance is attached to a background. We see images of a body should look like. But, according
beautiful body in our society, which is beach on Bali passing by online, but to Alleva, that ideal picture is far from
so focused on appearances. When I we don’t breathe in the fresh air or realistic. “Scientists think the ideal
did pay attention to my body, it was feel the sand under our feet. We scroll image is more unreal now than ever
not in a ‘feeling’ way but in a ‘judging’ through the photo album of someone’s before,” she says. “Women must be
way: My knees weren’t pretty; my desirable life, but we completely fail slim, fit and muscular—but not too
stomach wasn’t flat enough. Even to notice that this person is actually much so. They must have large
though I decided it shouldn’t matter, deeply unhappy—something we’d breasts and a narrow waist, and
sometimes I’d feel startled when I see much sooner if they were always look young and youthful.” It’s
saw a picture of myself and wonder physically present. Through all that an almost unattainable ideal that we
if that was really me. surfing and texting, Verbrugge are confronted with every day. We
argues, we’re becoming alienated scroll through the most beautiful
HEAD OVER BODY from the corporeal dimension of life. pictures on Instagram and Facebook.
Australian philosopher Damon Young Perfect bodies wave and smile at us
finds it quite understandable that MIRRORS everywhere, implicitly or explicitly
we’re becoming somewhat alienated “The disconnect that people can feel selling the message that a beautiful
from our own bodies in today’s world. regarding their bodies also has to do body is important for success and
“Today’s society makes a major with the attributes that we assign to happiness in love and at work. “It’s
demand on our mind,” he says. certain body types,” says Canadian difficult not to be influenced,” >

_ 15
 ‘TO LOVE YOUR BODY MORE, IT’S GOOD TO THINK ABOUT
ALL THE THINGS YOUR BODY IS ABLE TO DO’

Alleva says. “Even though you know me pleasure?). What’s more, you’ll And by the tenth attempt, his
that the images are unrealistic, you have less awareness of your own movement only appears more and
internalize them. You subconsciously physical arousal, so you end up also more wooden. Von Kleist writes that
compare your own body with the enjoying sex less. An outsider’s gaze from that moment on, the young man
manipulated idealized image.” also disempowers you, because underwent an incomprehensible
I once worked at a glossy magazine you’re letting your self-esteem change. He stood in front of the mirror
myself, so I know how often the depend on the judgment of the other, all day and the longer he did, the more
images are Photoshopped. And or on society. “Women who look at his attractiveness disappeared. It was
I think: Come on, don’t be so themselves with a third eye (Am I as if an invisible and bewildering
superficial, surely you’re not sensitive good enough? Do I look beautiful to power had settled around his otherwise
to all these images of artificial beauty other people?) are then more insecure free motions like a tight corset. After
any more? But maybe it affects me about their bodies,” says Alleva. a year, there was no trace of the
more than I’ve realized. I don’t exactly “They are more likely to suffer from sweetness in him that people around
cheer when I’m standing in front of eating disorders and are more likely him had previously admired. In real
the mirror. And most of my vacation to consider plastic surgery to ‘fix’ their life it’s like that, too, in Reinhard’s
snapshots stay safely hidden away on appearance. Your body becomes like opinion. She writes that the more you
my hard drive. If I spot a double chin, a prison, with you trapped in the task try to be more beautiful, young and
a roll of fat or an unattractive grimace, of achieving an unattainable ideal, fashionable, the more you lose your
I immediately delete the photo. That’s and if you don’t manage to achieve appeal. That’s the beauty paradox
not who I am, is it? Or rather, who it—almost always the case—you feel she describes: Deliberate beauty
I want to be? But those pictures like you’re a failure.” always has something stiff and
probably just show me the way I determined about it.
actually look sometimes, the physical THE BEAUTY PARADOX
‘imperfections’ that belong to me. So Ironically, you don’t necessarily SO MUCH BEAUTY
why do I find it so uncomfortable to become more attractive if you work To love your body more, it’s good to
be confronted with that? Nobody’s hard on making your body more think about all the things your body is
perfect, right? Surely real life includes beautiful, writes German philosopher able to do, Alleva learned during her
making mistakes and being less Rebekka Reinhard in her book Schön! Ph.D. research. In one study, she
attractive, too? (Beautiful!; unavailable in English). instructed women with a negative
According to Reinhard, German writer body image to write about what their
THE THIRD EYE Heinrich von Kleist makes that bodies are capable of and why they
“There are quite a few difficulties with strikingly clear in his essay On the are so grateful for that. “Women find
the outsider’s gaze,” Alleva says. Marionette Theatre. She explains that it difficult to look at their bodies that
For example, you’ll experience less Von Kleist describes in his essay how way,” Alleva says. “It’s not something
pleasure between the sheets if you’re a young man sits down on a stool we’re used to doing. But our body is
paying too much attention to how you after a bath to dry his foot. When he capable of so many beautiful things.”
look, because you’re then thinking looks in the mirror, for an enchanted The women spent three periods of
from the point of view of the other moment he’s reminded of a Greek fifteen minutes writing. “Each writing
person (Does he/she find me statue in a museum. When the boy assignment in the research project
attractive?) instead of focusing on tries to make the beautiful movement had a different focus,” Alleva explains.
yourself (What do I like? What gives again, the enchantment is broken. “In one, the women wrote about >

16 _
LEARN MORE ABOUT BODY IMAGE

‘Embrace’: A lot of women

aren’t happy with their bodies.
They don’t feel good enough
because their shape doesn’t
match some unattainable ideal.
“Lose weight, eliminate
wrinkles, fight cellulite.
We’re constantly forced to UNHAPPY ABOUT YOUR BODY?
become someone else,” says VISIT A MUSEUM
Taryn Brumfitt, the Australian
founder of The Body Image In her book ‘Schön!’, German
Movement. With her documentary, philosopher Rebekka Reinhard writes
‘Embrace’, she hopes to that we particularly like what we are
contribute to a more positive conditioned to like, what is familiar
body image in women. to us. And the fewer things we are
‘Suddenly, My Body’: American exposed to, the harder it is to judge
Poet, feminist and activist what’s beautiful and what’s not.
Eve Ensler always lived in Reinhard writes that beauty is very
her head. In a poetic speech much like food: Only someone with
for TEDWomen (available on lots of culinary experience can judge
YouTube), she talks about the whether a poached goose liver terrine
distance she always felt to with pears, kohlrabi and smoked pigeon
her body, and how her work breast goes better with a beer or a
in the Congo and her illness Riesling wine. According to her, you
helped her to get in touch can develop your skills of discernment
again with reality and the with regard to your own body by going
embodiment of being human. to museums more often. Borrow the
eyes of an artist—Rubens for example.
For him, large bodies do not signal
plumpness, but opulence, an open
mind, a carefree spirit and
joyfulness. If you can see that,
Reinhard argues, you will also look
at your own body in a friendlier and
less inflexible manner.

_ 17
‘MY BODY PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN EVERYTHING
THAT MAKES MY LIFE WORTHWHILE’
 ‘WHEN I’M ON MY RACING BIKE OR MEDITATING,
I AM MY BODY AGAIN AND I DO NOT JUDGE IT’

the health aspect: The body can works the other way around: The as a result—I experience more
digest food, absorb vitamins and heal more you love your body, the better oneness. Perhaps this also explains
from injuries. Another focused on the you’ll want to take care of it.” the current popularity of yoga and
creative side: You can dance, paint I can relate to that, too. I’ve started meditation. People are in their heads
and write with your body. They also eating healthier, exercising more and so much that they really need to feel
wrote about their senses, physical putting the brakes on quicker when their body again now and then.
achievements and what the body things are stressing me out. And I’ll According to Young, who also
can do in relating to others: You can definitely pass on things like Botox. practices yoga and meditation, you
cuddle with it, make love and make I think that Botox is too easily being gain a more complete picture of your
eye contact. After writing three seen as similar to coloring your hair own body on the yoga mat. “By slowly
different times, the women already or waxing your legs. Botox is actually stretching and bending you regain
had a more positive body image and a poison that is injected into your a sense of your body because
felt better about how they looked. An facial muscles, paralyzing them; you become aware of what usually
effect that still lasted a month later.” that’s what makes the wrinkles fade. is unconscious,” he says. “Not only
I can totally imagine how that would However, research has shown that visually, but also from the inside out.”
work. My relationship to my body has these muscles play an important You experience a richer idea of
changed since becoming a mother. I’ve role in communicating: They are yourself, which Young compares to
become kinder to it. That’s possibly important for reading as well as a “kind of interior design”: you start
due to this mind shift from thinking feeling emotions. When you let to feel at home again in your interior. I
about how my body looks to how it Botox do its work, you not only recognize myself in these poetic words.
functions. I found it nothing short of a disguise your own emotions, you When I stretch or meditate, I become
miracle that my two girls grew in my can’t read others’ facial expressions aware of muscle groups I had forgotten
body, were fed by my body, and still as well anymore, either. We recognize I had. I feel the air flow in and out of
are wrapped in hugs by my body every emotions by imitating them very my lungs, and notice where tension is
day. What I was not yet as conscious subtly. Botox disrupts that imitation residing in my body. At such a moment
of is that I also use my body to dance, process by paralyzing your own facial I feel very physical, very close to

TEXT OTJE VAN DER LELIJ ILLUSTRATIONS LUCY DRISCOLL

write and make music. And that it’s muscles, thereby limiting your ability myself. Just like on that beautiful day
actually quite special that my body so to see other people’s emotions. on the riverbed of the Loire where I
clearly indicates when I’m overdoing it Switching off one of my body’s played so happily as a little girl. I had
(‘Stop!’) or feeling inspired (‘Continue!’). functions feels more like a mutilation no body then; I was my body.
My body is much more than the than a prettification. Not something
aesthetic object that I’ve always been I’d call ‘being kind to your body’.
critical of for not living up to the beauty
ideal. It plays a major role in everything AT HOME IN YOUR BODY
that makes my life worthwhile. My My relationship with my body has
body is actually my best friend. improved even more since I started
exercising and meditating. When I’m
READING FACES on my racing bike or meditating, I
“Many people think that once you’re am my body again and I do not judge
satisfied with your body, you’ll ‘give it. It seems as if the distance I always
up’, as it were,” Alleva says. “But it felt to my body has become smaller

20 _
 INTERVIEWS JEANNETTE JONKER PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY THE INTERVIEWEES, DANIEL BRANTLEY (PORTRAITS PAULINE), NOEL DEASINGTON (ALL IMAGES NAOMI), KARA HYNES (TEA TOWEL AND CUSHIONS CLAIRE),
NATALIE MCCOMAS (MAIN PORTRAIT AND WALL HANGINGS CLAIRE), ALEX SCHOELCHER (SMALL PORTRAITS CLAIRE) HAND-LETTERING VALESCA VAN WAVEREN

Artist
Claire Ritchie
Ceramicist
That’s what we asked

PAULINE WOLSTENCROFT
three creative entrepreneurs.

ILLUSTRATOR
NAOMI WILKINSON

_ 21
 ‘COLOR IS A WAY
IN WHICH I CAN
CONVEY FEELINGS
AND EMOTIONS’

Claire hanging out

with her work

Claire in
her studio

Fabric wall hangings

22 _
 Diary drawings Tea towel used to wrap a gift

Claire Ritchie
Artist, designer and creator Lives in Brisbane,
Australia, with her partner and two daughters
Claireritchie.com.au

What are you up to? I’ve just launched one that has grown on me more recently
a small range of homewares that I is pink. I used to avoid it in my life as it
designed and made myself. They are annoyed me that pink is so strongly
functional pieces that will bring a little associated with being female. But now I
splash of happiness to your space. Up love it together with blue, red or yellow.
until the end of last year, my focus was on
clothing, but I decided to expand my What is your creative process? I
creations with the edition of homewares. can have an idea in my head for a few
days, brewing away, while other times I
Why is color so special to you? I feel have to sit and draw for a few hours. If I
very drawn to it in all aspects of my life. feel stuck, I try to do something totally
Color is a way in which I can convey different. I used to feel that I had too
feelings and emotions. Funnily enough, many things going on: drawing, sewing,
‘My latest collection of
printed cushions’ I start drawing solely in black marker on pattern making... But now I use that to
paper as I can focus on the shape and fuel each process. If I don’t feel like
balance of the piece that way. Then I add sewing, I’ll draw, and vice versa.
the color once I have digitalized the
piece. The addition of the color can take What is your work schedule like?
minutes or weeks. It takes its own Technically I work three days a week. I’ve
window of time, as it is an important tried really hard to adopt a healthy
aspect of bringing the piece together. balance with work and family. I love my
work, but if I don’t have down time and
Do you have a favorite color? Blue! I spend time with my family then my work
love how clear and focused it makes me suffers. After all, the things you do
feel. I used to love red a lot when I was outside of work are often the things that
younger; I felt very drawn to the intensity can inspire something new in your work
and passion in the color. And another or gives you perspective. >

_ 23
 Hand-painted stoneware mugs

Pauline Wolstencroft Sunset in

Ceramicist and librarian Lives in Los Angeles, Malibu, US
US, with her husband and three children
Paulinewolstencroft.com

What are you up to? I’m working on about the forms or shapes of the pieces
some newer, bigger wall pieces. They as I am about decorating them. A lot of
are slab-built landscapes that almost my work is based on landscapes. Some
look like paintings, but they’re made of designs are based on the coastline of
ceramic. I work on this project if I have California and the surrounding mountains.
a stretch of time without any orders Others are just imaginary landscapes.
from my website. It’s hard to do both
at the same time as ceramics is such Can you describe your work Hand-formed
a time-consuming process. schedule? I work as a librarian in an art sunrise tray
museum four days a week. I have a very
What appeals to you about analytical side as well, and I love to do
ceramics? I used to paint, and it research; being a librarian satisfies that
bothered me that a painting is just part for me. But I love the art side too,
decorative. When I started with ceramics, so this gives me the best of both worlds.
it felt so good to make functional objects Most of the time I make ceramics in the
that were both useful and decorative. evenings and weekends.
The material is also appealing to me. It
forces me to be more patient with myself How do you create a piece? First,
and to take more time. I sketch the design. During this stage,
there’s room for a lot of experimentation. I
How would you describe your plan the design and color scheme as there
work? My background is in graphic isn’t much improvisation when I’m painting
design, but I am somewhere in between a piece. After that, I create the piece out of
the design world and fine arts. I have clay. I let it dry and fire it in the kiln. I fire it
more of a painter’s eye, but the way I once and draw the design on it with a
create is more design-focused. I am really pencil. I decorate it with a combination of ‘At work in my home studio’
drawn to colors. I am not as passionate underglazes and then fire it again. >

24 _
 Mountain planters by
Pauline Wolstencroft

‘WORKING WITH
CERAMICS FORCES ME
TO BE MORE PATIENT
WITH MYSELF AND TO
TAKE MORE TIME’

_ 25
 ‘I LOVE
EXPERIMENTING
WITH PATTERNS
AND COLORS IN
MY WORK’

Naomi at home

26 _
 Illustrations for ‘I tend to have several ‘My dog Lenny
The Atlas of books on the go’ usually keeps me
Happiness by company whilst
Helen Russell I’m working’

‘Sketchbooks are a great

place to try out ideas’

Naomi Wilkinson
Illustrator Lives in Bristol, UK, with her partner
and two children Naomiwilkinson.co.uk

What are you up to? I have a few illustration and the possibilities felt really
professional projects I’m working on exciting and fit my personality more than
and possibly a short animation project fashion. I’m also useless at sewing.
‘I love how
too. Also, we moved into our house last
colorful my
year, so we’ve been gradually fixing up How important is your work to you?
workspace is’
the house and garden. Creating work gives me so much
satisfaction and I get so excited when I
How would you describe your work? get a new project, especially when it’s a
It is colorful and joyful. I love making bit of a challenge. Even when I don’t
pictures that have dynamic and interesting have a set brief, I still find myself creating
characters. I also love experimenting with work for fun.
patterns and colors in my work. I’m a bit
color-obsessed and will always notice What do you like to do on a day
great colors and color combinations, off? I’ve recently become a huge fan of
whether it’s on a wall, dress or biscuit tin. gardening. We’re making a big vegetable
That naturally bleeds into my work. bed, so I’ve been busy growing little
seedlings. Also, I am obsessively
What inspires you? I get inspiration researching interesting flowers and
from fine artists like Milton Avery, Pauline plants. Aside from that, I love reading,
Boty and David Hockney, as well as cooking, swimming in the local outdoor
mid-century graphics, packaging, kids’ pool, going to art exhibitions or walking
books, interiors, films, books and daily life. in the woods with my family.

How did illustrating become your

specialty? I’ve always loved drawing.
Originally, I went to art school to study
fashion, but that didn’t suit me. I tried

_ 27
 Nature

For the Birds

It’s as if they’re telling you to stop and look
around: Journalist Jeannette Jonker tells us
why she loves spontaneous little get-togethers
with robins, jays, starlings and other birds.

You should know that I grew up in a village, surrounded The fact that I saw a jay in the middle of the city for
by nothing but fields. The only distractions were the the first time in my life is not as surprising as it seems,
occasional lambs, a few cows here and there, and one says Anneke Blokker. As a city ecologist and co-author
or two people. So it’s wild that I never noticed the birds. of a guidebook on wild animals in Amsterdam, she
There was really nothing to do in the village—and I lived knows that there are 350 different bird species in the
there until I was nineteen—so I had plenty of time to city, including migratory ones. About 200 species even
spot them. Didn’t I look around me as a child? Is it nest here. “There is a lot of different vegetation here,”
possible there are more birds in Amsterdam, the Dutch she says. “There are enclosed courtyard gardens, parks,
city in which I live now? Or is it because of my urban and balconies full of plants. And despite appearances,
life that suddenly I’m appreciative of the little fluttering there are more trees in Amsterdam than people. For
creatures and their homes? many birds, the city is a kind of forest nowadays.”
According to Blokker, animals in the city actually benefit
CHEEKY JAY from people. “To them, we’re a great source of food,”
My first encounter with the Eurasian jay (the Garrulus she explains. “For this reason, a moorhen (Gallinula
glandarius, a colorful and common bird in Europe) was in chloropus) or mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) will
the middle of Amsterdam. The cheeky critter was peeking react to us very differently here than in a village. They
into my window, posturing grandly on my balcony. He associate you with food, so you can get very close.”
looked me up and down, and I stood staring back from And for people, birds are a great source of
the other side of the window, quite amazed. Because of entertainment. “The other day,” Blokker shares, “I was
his striking plumage with an iridescent streak of feathers, I walking through a busy shopping street and there was a
was under the illusion I had spotted a rare specimen. But flock of starlings [Sturnidae] sitting on the overhead tram
no: this jay is actually a garden-variety bird. In my nature lines. I was treated to a fabulous starling concert, but no
guide, I read that this bird is a member of the crow family one else seemed to hear or see them. City people are
and is quite observant. They are very clever animals that, often in a hurry, while it can be so nice to stand still.
just like squirrels, hide nuts and seeds for future use. You’d be surprised at what you see. I recently missed >

_ 29
 ‘A bird that suddenly appears
can jolt me out of a hectic day’

a train because I was watching a starling couple. They were over birds ever since. Dorrestijn’s bird book (in Dutch
imitating all the sounds, even the train’s. It was so funny to only) begins with an ode to the long-tailed tits (Aegithalos
see them walking around between all the travelers.” caudatus). He writes that the birds are constantly in
conversation with one other. He also explains that
PEERING THROUGH BINOCULARS sometimes one might talk to itself, expressing how satisfied
It was my meeting with Dutch writer, comedian and bird it is with its life: ‘Wonderful day, really wonderful day. Lots of
enthusiast Hans Dorrestijn years ago that changed my view tasty mosquitoes here. Those little ones with lots of juice’.
of birds forever. I was interviewing him about a bird guide Everybody has their favorite bird, and mine is the robin
he had written. Now and then he would jump up to peer out (Erithacus rubecula). When one shows up, I drop
of his kitchen window with binoculars. “Look at that everything to watch it—it is the most beautiful bird to
beauty!” he’d cry. I had no idea what to look at, but his me, because of its red breast, but also because of its
enthusiasm was so contagious that I’ve been marveling perkiness. The British must feel the same way, because
they made the robin their national bird. When I’m
gardening, robins often come and watch what I’m doing.
With casual aplomb, they observe me with just as much
curiosity as I do them. Recently while I was walking, two
OUT IN THE PARK robins flew out in front of me. They seemed to be playing
a game of tag, with one always chasing the other. My
Dutch environmental psychologist Joren thoughts about work and family just melt away in moments
van Dijk is researching the kind of like that, because I’m completely absorbed by what I see.
environments in which people best A bird that suddenly appears can jolt me out of a hectic
thrive. According to him, we generally day and make me stop and watch what’s going on around
relax more easily in a natural, green me. I appreciate the unpredictability of it enormously.
environment. “There are a lot of people,
sounds, buildings and vehicles in a CITY PRANKSTERS
city,” he says. “Humans are generally According to Blokker, living in the city is a challenge for
good at ignoring those distractions, but many animals, but birds can handle the dynamics of it nicely.
it does take energy. We come up with all “The interesting thing is that they seem to be adapting to it,”
kinds of ways to shield ourselves from she says. “The great tits [Parus major] sing a little higher
those stimuli, such as withdrawing, to rise above the city noise, and the beaks of blackbirds
looking at other people less, or putting [Turdus merula] are becoming more pointed because they
on headphones. Observing nature or are pecking for food between the pavement stones. Crows
greenery also helps. The mechanism in [Corvus] and woodpeckers [Picidae] also make clever use
the brain that you use to ignore stimuli of what the city offers. For example, crows drop nuts at the
and to make yourself focus can become traffic lights, so that the cars crack them open when they set
exhausted. In nature this ‘attention off at a green light. Woodpeckers drum on traffic signs and
mechanism’ gets to recharge. Someone who lampposts to mark their territory; the more noise, the better.
sees a lot of greenery is therefore more Once you become aware of these kinds of things, you start
capably armed against exhaustion. That’s experiencing the city in a whole different way.”
why nature in the city is being valued Incidentally, the great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos
more and more.” major) is doing very well in my city. They love the old
Amsterdam city trees. They peck holes in them and find >

30 _
 ‘For me, birdwatching is a reminder that I have
to take time to stand still and look around’

insects in the bark. I don’t usually make a concerted effort CHILDHOOD PASSION
to spot birds, but the woodpecker shows itself remarkably Menno Bentveld, presenter of a TV and radio program
often (and very audibly) in my neighborhood. The other about animals and the environment in the Netherlands,
day, one literally fell at my feet. I was walking with my is noticing a rise in interest in birds. “Through my work,
partner around our community garden and a young I learn a lot about them and it’s making me appreciate
woodpecker fell out of a tree and into the ditch right them even more,” he says. “As a child, I was already
in front of us. Our rescue attempt was heroic, running fascinated by birds and nature. We had a vacation home
through nettles and fishing the bird out of the water. on the coast and were always outdoors. We walked in
But sadly, the little pile of soggy feathers didn’t recover. the dunes and would go on excursions with the ranger.”
Days later, all I saw were a few red feathers in the grass Bentveld feels lucky to now be able to develop his interest
as a sad reminder of this doomed rescue mission. in a professional capacity. “I’m constantly going on
excursions with experts who tell me a lot about their field.
I was recently out and about with a professor of animal
ecology. He is researching the European pied flycatcher

TEXT JEANETTE JONKER LINOCUT PRINTS JAMES GREEN, JAMESGREENPRINTWORKS.BLOGSPOT.CO.UK

(Ficedula hypoleuca) and said that many migratory birds
are suffering from the effects of climate change. When
FURTHER READING (AND PLAYING) they come back from Africa to breed here, they need to
be able to catch caterpillars for food when they’re raising
‘The Robin: A Biography’, by their young. But because temperatures are rising, the
Stephen Moss caterpillars are emerging before the bird eggs hatch, and
‘Ten Thousand Birds: Ornithology Since the birds are missing out on their most important food
Darwin’, by Tim Birkhead, Jo Wimpenny, source. But not the pied flycatcher. Instead, it’s returning
and Bob Montgomerie from Africa three weeks earlier. Isn’t that incredible? I also
‘Welcome to Subirdia: Sharing our find the flight of migratory birds an amazing phenomenon.
Neighborhoods with Wrens, Robins, Some fly tens of thousands of kilometers. The common
Woodpeckers, and Other Wildlife’, swift [Apus apus] can stay in the air for two years; they
by John M. Marzluff even eat and sleep up there.”
‘H Is for Hawk’, by Helen Macdonald
(see also page 102) OWL STRUCK
‘Life List: A Woman’s Quest for the Now, spotting birds is not a very serious affair to me. I
World’s Most Amazing Birds’, by Olivia don’t even have a pair binoculars and I don’t feel the need
Gentile. Also look for Gentile’s to camp out in the bushes waiting for rare specimens. For
feature, ‘A Feminist Revolution in me, birdwatching is more of a reminder that I have to take
Birding’ online. time to stand still and look around. When birds cross my
‘The Art of Mindful Birdwatching: path and show themselves to me, I experience a moment
Reflections on Freedom & Being’, by of happiness.
Claire Thompson But I have to admit that I did actively search for the
Bird Bingo, by Christine Berrie, is brown owl (Strix aluco) I heard calling in the middle of the
a beautifully illustrated bingo game night the other day. Its call was coming from close by, and
featuring 64 bird species from around I was determined to find it. We had just come home from a
the world. great concert, but when I finally caught sight of that owl,
high in a tree, that was the real highlight of the evening.

32 _
‘I WHATSAPP, THEREFORE I AM’. SOMETIMES, IT FEELS LIKE THAT. CAN WE
REALLY LIVE WITHOUT THOSE LITTLE BLUE CHECK MARKS? DEFINITELY, BUT
IT DOES TAKE SOME EFFORT, AS JOURNALIST ANNEKE BOTS DISCOVERS.
 Insight

I can hardly imagine life without He was spending at least two and a half turned into addicts.’ He sees even more
WhatsApp. It’s so ideal for making hours each day on his phone, and a parallels: One is, just as it is irritating to
appointments, keeping each other large part of this time was on WhatsApp. breathe in someone else’s second-hand
up-to-date, or just asking someone a “I always wanted to be able to respond smoke, it’s incredibly annoying to see
quick question. I hardly make phone fast, but most of all I wanted to be the someone’s eyes wander to a screen
calls anymore; the app has become my funniest and wittiest,” he says. “It took that’s lighting up and typing a response
most important line to the outside world. up too much of my time and attention. ‘that just can’t wait’. We have to use
WhatsApp also means getting I wasn’t even able to spend an hour and what we learned to address the nicotine
bombarded with useless smiling emojis, a half concentrating on a soccer match addiction, Van der Vorst says. He
thumbs-ups and other trivialities. Or without sending people WhatsApps the advocates text-free zones, such as
being in a group with twenty people whole time. The crazy part was that I during meetings, at festivals and in train
who all feel the need to tell that one didn’t feel good at all afterward; I was compartments. He even sent a proposal
sick group member to get well soon. annoyed that I hadn’t paid more to the Dutch Hospitality Industry
And then there’s the compulsory nature attention to the match.” Association about converting the
of the app: ‘Why haven’t you answered Van der Vorst saw similarities between soon-to-be-eliminated smoking areas
yet? You read my message, didn’t being on WhatsApp and smoking: in bars into smartphone-free areas.
you?’ Yes, you can turn off notifications The way we constantly check our
and the check marks, but it still remains smartphones now is similar to how we BL UE CH ECK MAR KS
slightly Big-Brother-like: The minute you smoked one cigarette after the other in Nonetheless, smartphone owners
start typing, you become visible. Even the 1970s. “We thought that was really around the world send messages daily
if my phone is set to ‘do not disturb’, normal at the time,” he says, “but if you via WhatsApp. This is also what makes
it still burns a hole in my pocket. think about it, it was of course absurd.” it so hard to stop, according to Dutch
Whenever I get a free moment, such media psychologist Mischa Coster.
as standing in line at the supermarket, WH ATS AP P- F RE E Z ONE S “Not only is the app an easy way to
waiting for a traffic light to turn green, In his book, Appen is het nieuwe roken stay up-to-date on everything,” he
and even, I confess, walking through (WhatsApp Is the New Smoking; Dutch says, “people are also afraid they
the city, I can’t stop myself from quickly only), Van der Vorst shows how we can might be missing something. This is
checking my WhatsApp messages. apply the lessons we learned from understandable, because WhatsApp
smoking to our phone habits. Okay, he has become a standard means of
JUST L I K E S MOK I NG admits, WhatsApp won’t kill you—unless communication for day-to-day things, so
The downsides of this handy app are of course you’re hit by a car driven by you really can miss out on information.”
becoming increasingly more noticeable. someone sending text messages—but Coster also sees how the little blue
They don’t outweigh the advantages (for the analogy does apply to many other check marks have a real effect on us. “If
now), and this applies to most people aspects. Much like the tobacco industry, you have sent a message and don’t get
incidentally, but there is a small vanguard app builders have a preconceived plan a response even though you can see
that is sick and tired of it and has been to make sure we get addicted. Tech that it has been delivered and read,”
rigid about deleting it from their phones. companies use all sorts of marketing he says, “this can quickly feel like a
One of these people is Rens van der tricks to make sure that we reach for rejection, even though the other person
Vorst, head of IT Innovation at the Fontys our phones dozens—sometimes is probably just busy or wants to think
University of Applied Sciences in hundreds—of times each day. ‘Just like about their response. There are a
Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and a with smoking,’ Van der Vorst concludes, variety of reasons someone might not
self-proclaimed techno-philosopher. ‘the users are the victims. We have been answer right away, but we still feel >

_ 35
 ignored or that we’re not important after all, they have to be kept up-to-date when it comes to getting involved in
enough. This is how it can take on on the class outings and the contribution teaching their children about using their
an entire life of its own.” for the teacher’s birthday gift. Given all phones,” Calis says, “but, up to a certain
the groups we are constantly being age, they can check their child’s behavior
WH AT SA P P TRA I N I NG added to, our degree of irritation can rise and talk about what they see. They learn
And then there are those group texts that fairly high. And ‘quietly sneaking away’ more by talking about it. As an example,
go off the rails. When the WhatsApp isn’t an option, because the other suppose someone says something mean
group for my son’s class recently members can immediately see when you about someone else in a WhatsApp
exploded in an effort to find solutions leave the group. Dutch author Mayke group chat. You could ask your child,
to the head lice problem, ranging from Calis, who has written extensively about ‘How would you feel if someone posted
photos of hair clippers to people wearing unhealthy social media use, has noticed something like that about you?’ Allowing
those nets for packing oranges around that there is more self-regulation. “A children to make the rules themselves,
their hair, and then emojis started flying nonsense story gets called out faster,” under supervision, also often works
back and forth, a couple of the parents she says. She also advocates WhatsApp well. Children really need rules, and
quickly left the group in irritation. These training for children and young people, sometimes they honestly don’t know
people were then simply re-added to the with a major role set aside for parents what they’re doing wrong on WhatsApp.”
group by the group moderator because, and schools. “Many parents get cold feet
STR ANGE TIMES
For now, those quitting WhatsApp will
mostly just get pitying looks. Van der
Vorst finds he often has to explain why
GOING ON A WHATSAPP DIET he got rid of it, but he has also noticed
that it’s a much-discussed topic; people
There are several ways you can reduce your WhatsApp intake: realize that they are extremely focused
Turn off or mute your notifications—or at least those on their phones. And Calis believes that,
of group chats. The little blue check marks can also be eventually, we will decide to cut back

TEXT ANNEKE BOTS ILLUSTRATION PENELOPE DULLAGHAN

turned off. Go to Settings in the app, then Account, then ourselves. “We live in a time in which
Privacy, and turn Read Receipts to Off. we’re so busy navel-gazing and are
Choose a set time each day to read group chat messages hyperfocused on ourselves and our
(and respond to them, or not). Don’t be afraid to hold phones,” she says. “We are constantly
a mirror up to yourself, however confrontational it may ‘on’. I think that we will feel more and
be, and use an app, such as Moment (free), that keeps more of a need for peace and quiet. We
track of how much time you are spending on your phone. want to look around more, live in the here
Leave your phone on the other side of the room so that and now. After all, offline is the new
you can’t just reach for it without thinking. luxury. It’s a breath of fresh air to not have
Turn your bedroom into a Wi-Fi-free zone and leave your to look at a screen for a while.” Van der
phone in the hallway or the living room at night. Vorst mostly hopes that we will look back
IPhones offer the option of a grayscale screen, which at our use of phones the way we now
makes it less tempting to keep scrolling on your phone. view smoking. “Hopefully, later on we will
In Settings, go to General, Accessibility, Display realize what a crazy time it was,” he says.
Accommodations, Color Filters, and select Grayscale. “when it was normal for everyone to keep
staring at that tiny screen.”

36 _
people
 people

PHOTOGRAPH ON THE REVERSE SIDE OF THIS PAGE KIEN DO/UNSPLASH.COM

Wild grasses, such as the Agrostis gigantea (also known as redtop)

on the front of this divider, tend to be especially impressive when
viewed in large swathes, swaying and whispering in a gentle breeze.
Often you don’t realize how pretty the individual panicles are until you
take the time to look at them closely.
 HAND-LETTERING VALESCA VAN WAVEREN PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES

(1928-2014)
M AYA A N G E L O U
AMERICAN POET & ACTIVIST

_ 39
 FRANCINE HOUBEN

‘I like to invite
people to see
things differently’
SHE DIDN’T PLAN TO BECOME A WORLD-FAMOUS
ARCHITECT WHEN SHE CHOSE ARCHITECTURE AS A

CAREER, BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. FRANCINE

HOUBEN TALKS ABOUT HER PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.
Interview

_ 41
 In the classroom in 1972

Mecanoo,
1984
With my children at the construction
of the TU Delft Library

With architect
Kazuyo Sejima

With my
father at a
NAME: Francine Houben
construction
BORN: 1955 in Sittard, site in 1958
the Netherlands
CAREER: Houben is co-founder
and creative director of
Mecanoo Architects, which has
designed buildings such as
the Montevideo residential
tower (Rotterdam, the
Netherlands), the Library 1965
of Birmingham (UK), and the
National Kaohsiung Center for
the Arts (Taiwan). She is
currently working on the
renovation of the New York
Public Library on Fifth
Avenue (US). Houben has three In 1988, a time
adult children and lives with of great change
her husband Hans Andersson in
Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

42 _
 PAST

‘HANDLING MY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE STUDIO AS WELL AS

ALL MY EMOTIONS, WITH THREE CHILDREN IN DIAPERS AND NOT

A PENNY TO MY NAME: I WAS IN SURVIVAL MODE’

My surname is Houben, but I think moving around inspiring: going to together for seventeen years, for
I would have preferred my mother’s new places and making them your me the children were the crowning
last name, Cappetti. Not only own. And because I was the fourth glory of our relationship.
because I like it, but also because I child, I was allowed to do whatever I tried for a long time to
see how important she’s been for I wanted. I was the youngest understand the why of his
me and the family I grew up in. daughter and perhaps the apple of choice, later I gave up—or,
My mother was born in 1924, my father’s eye, who was away for rather, simply accepted it is
the only girl in a family of six boys. business a lot. what it is. I probably looked like
Her brothers were allowed to go to As a child and adolescent, I was a wreck in those days, but I kept
high school in the city, but she was a little naive—and I still am in ways. smiling. I had my own company,
sent to the housekeeping school in If you know everything in advance, so I had to do well. Handling my
the village. During the Second you will walk around with an responsibility for the studio as well
World War, she was active in the enormous weight on your as all my emotions, with three
resistance, as were her brothers shoulders, because you also know children in diapers and not a penny
and parents. She served as a what will go wrong. By the way, to my name: I was in survival mode.
courier and cycled, eighteen I think today’s children feel that But—especially in the first years—I
years old, from the east of the more than we did. I can see it in was really supported by my family:
Netherlands all the way to my own children. There is so much by my parents, my brother and his
Amsterdam (roughly 80 km/50 more stress, so much focus on wife, a cousin who came to live with
miles). After the war, she met my achieving success. When I was us, and our neighbor. My children
father and they married and had young and made the choice to were raised by an extended family
five children. I’m the fourth. My study architecture, it was not out of and that may not be the way I grew
mother never had an official job; an ambition to become what I am up, but it’s beautiful and valuable
she ran the house and managed today. I was ambitious in the sense in its own way: it takes a village to
the family affairs, and did so that I wanted to learn something, raise a child. >
with enthusiasm. but it didn’t occur to me that I had
Because of my father’s work, we to chart my life’s path in advance.
moved a lot and she was the one Or that I would later have a studio
who always organized everything: that is known all over the world.
finding a house, putting contractors The early days of my
to work, doing the paperwork, company coincided with the
looking for new schools. She wasn’t most turbulent period in my
one to watch our hockey games or life. I had just given birth to twins,
talk to the teacher if there was a already had a two year old, and we
problem; we had to do that had built a house shortly before. I
ourselves. She was there for us felt like the happiest woman in the
in a very natural way. It felt whole world. Then my partner left
safe at home. This contributed me. My world collapsed; I hadn’t
to my happy childhood. I found seen it coming at all. We had been

_ 43
 PRE SENT

‘MY MOTHER, WHO NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRAVEL

MUCH, THREW US OUT INTO THE WORLD. WHEN I WAS NINETEEN

I TRAVELED THROUGH THE US ON GREYHOUND BUSES’

My oldest daughter, now 27, when I traveled through the I went back to the US often over
recently moved in with us again US. The first time was when I the following years. I immersed
for a while. I call this generation was nineteen. My mother, who myself in the nature there; the
‘boomerang children’: children who never had the opportunity to travel National Parks are exceptional. Not
travel all around the world, but also much, threw us out into the world. only how they conserve nature, but
come back home now and then. My brothers and sisters all went also the junior park ranger system
My daughter lived in Chicago, in to uncle Jo, a missionary in and the visitor education programs.
the US, for a while and worked at Malaysia. When it was my turn, My boyfriend at the time and I
an architectural firm. Gradually, she my mother called on friends who would buy a car for each trip. We
became more and more interested had just moved to Buffalo, New always went camping and it’s
in yoga, meditation and healthy York, and that’s where I went. On really great, sleeping in a tiny
eating. She did yoga training and the plane, I met some guys and I tent. Cooking on a campfire
while she was still working in an stayed with them in New York for a and listening to the crickets at
office in the US, she started giving few nights. They had a Greyhound night. You very quickly become
yoga classes. We’re now also trying bus pass, and that seemed like a part of—there you have it again—an
to set that up in our studio. Her good idea to me. In the end, I was extended family. Nature and how
house is almost finished now, in Buffalo for a week or two and we deal with it has always been
she’ll be living in Rotterdam, the spent the remaining six weeks very important in my work. To me
Netherlands, too. I really enjoyed traveling through the US on it is a logical, integral part of a
having her around for a while again. Greyhound buses. building or built environment.
I learn from her. She has It was 1976, the year of the I’ve always traveled a lot, but two
many more tools than I ever US Bicentennial and the Summer years ago I decided I’d like to work
had to deal with stress, for Olympics in Montreal, Canada. I more in the Netherlands. It’s a very
example. ‘Mom, you have to went to see them, too. There were interesting country. It has nothing
meditate,’ she tells me. But I think people selling tickets outside, but I to do with my age; I am 64, but you
I’ve already developed my own way didn’t have any money. If I used can grow old in architecture, so it’s
of dealing with stressful situations. my charm, I could get in not like I’m going to retire soon. >
I’m very good at turning myself and anywhere. You could already
my senses off. When I go to sleep, I see the flair, entrepreneurship
do that consciously. And if I don’t and naivety that are so much
sleep well for a while, I know it’s a part of me then. When I tell my
because of the creative process. children this story, they immediately
But the yoga exercises she has say, ‘You can’t just ask to get in for
sketched out for me and that she free!’ But I did. That entire journey
says I should do during and after was like an oil spill: I’d make a
a long flight are high on my list. friend here, they’d know someone
My greatest source of peace is I could stay with there, and I kept
nature, the outdoors. I only really getting to know more people. I got
got to know the great outdoors very far on US$10 dollars a day.

44 _
 With Queen Beatrix at the
International Architecture
Biennale Rotterdam

With husband Hans in

their house in Rotterdam

Urban development
project in Tirana,
Albania, 2006

At the opening of the

Library of Birmingham
with director Brian
Gambles and Malala
Yousafzai

Receiving the
BNA Kubus 2018
oeuvre prize

With architects Zaha

Hadid, Odile Decq and
Kristin Feireiss in 2003

In front of the Library

of Birmingham in 2013

_ 45
 FUTURE

‘THESE ARE INTERESTING TIMES IN WHICH WE LIVE.

I FEEL URGENTLY THAT THINGS HAVE TO CHANGE,

THAT WE CAN’T GO ON THIS WAY’

When I was left on my own 27 years My mother suffers from dementia These are interesting times in
ago, people said, ‘Statistically now and is living in a nursing home which we live. I feel urgently that
speaking, you’ll have a new partner in Haarlem, the Netherlands. She things have to change, that we can’t

INTERVIEW CLEMENTINE VAN WIJNGAARDEN PHOTOGRAPHY BONNITA POSTMA, JUST JUSTA (PRIVATE COLLECTION BNA KUBUS PICTURE),
within three years’. I remember didn’t live in that city before, but we go on this way. The strange thing
thinking, ‘Then let me just sleep chose it because two of my is that the US fascinates me,
through the next three years’. The brothers live there and a third but it is a country that is still

COR DE KOCK (PRIVATE COLLECTION QUEEN BEATRIX PICTURE) STYLING ANNE-MARIE REM MAKEUP CARMEN ZOMERS AGENCY
statistics turned out to be spot on. brother works there. I think it’s really very old-fashioned, especially
I met my current husband within special that my brothers are taking in the construction industry.
that time period, when the twins on more of the care load than me I find it a challenge to invite people
were two years old. He had three and my sisters, but as my eldest there to see things differently.
children, too, slightly older than brother once said, ‘We lived in a I was recently awarded the BNA
mine. In the beginning, we matriarchy; there was no difference Kubus, an award given out by the
sometimes talked about having between how the sons and Royal Institute of Dutch Architects.
another child. I was 38 when we daughters were raised in our home’. The thing is: you’re never an
met, so it was a possibility. But we Well that shows here, too. I try to architect on your own. One person
both also felt that we should count visit my mother every month. I’m is in charge, but every design, every
our blessings as it was: six healthy glad to see that, while she may be building, is a work of communal art.
children. It was good. becoming childish because of the I contribute to all of our projects,
Our children are all grown up dementia now, she’s still happy. although I may be more involved
now; my husband’s already a The five of us taking care of with some assignments than others.
grandfather. My children aren’t my mother together creates a The library in New York is getting
talking about having children yet, bond and gives a purpose to a lot of my attention right now. That
but I like the idea; I’ve told them who we are with and for each also has to do with my love for
that I’d be happy to babysit one other. We have always been close, the US.
day a week. I’ve seen how nice it but now more than ever. I always In my thank-you speech, I
is when children have a chance to listen with astonishment to people dedicated the BNA Kubus to my
be close with their grandparents. who say that they have broken ties mother. From her, I learned to be
You can pass on so much: with a brother or that a mother is on independent and self-reliant, gifts
knowledge, but also norms and good terms with one child but not in she gave me quite naturally with
values. Now and then I’m touch with the other. We can’t even which to approach the world. I am
plagued by doubts: Did I do imagine anything like that, even grateful to her for that.
ILLUSTRATIONS SHUTTERSTOCK

a good job, have I given my though we’re all very different. I also
children what they need? Of try to teach my children to help each
course they didn’t grow up in a other. And it’s not that you should
traditional family and sometimes I never argue: When I was young, my
feel troubled by that, kind of guilty. brothers, sisters and I also fought
If anything goes wrong, I’ll think, a lot with each other. But always
‘Is that why?’ But I also think it’s being there for each other in the
just life. end is something to treasure.

46 _
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48 _
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_ 49
 New
thinkers

British professor Edith Hall is inspired by the ideas of

Aristotle. In the fourth century BC, this Greek philosopher was
already studying themes such as happiness and friendship.

In your book Aristotle’s Way So what kind of happiness is bad luck. But you have to make every
you refer to the Greek Aristotle talking about? bit of difference you can make to be
philosopher as our new Aristotle was the first philosopher to the best possible version of yourself.
happiness guru. What is enquire into subjective happiness—not Saying that happiness is a choice is
happiness according to Aristotle? short-term, subjective happiness, like very much the way we think today.
First of all, we do tend to use the pleasure, but happiness in the long That’s a very big responsibility.
word ‘happy’ a great deal. In the term. His project was: How to achieve Because if you fail, you can only
common understanding, it’s often true inner peace and purpose, which blame yourself. That’s the downside
used to mean a very temporary thing, is self-generated and not dependent of it. But if you try, you are probably
that lasts for a few hours. You feel on any outside factors. He developed still less unhappy than if you haven’t
happy because something nice has a sophisticated, humane program for tried. And that’s a heavy responsibility
happened, like you buy a Happy Meal becoming a happy person, and it but also very liberating, because it’s
or you go out for a few hours and feel remains valid to this day. Aristotelian up to you and nobody can take it
happy. In ancient Greek, there were ethics encompass everything modern away from you. I’ve talked to
also words for that feeling, but they thinkers associate with subjective psychologists about that, and many
were more like pleasure, ecstasy or happiness: self-realization, finding of them say that the things Aristotle
bliss. And then there’s also the ‘a meaning’, and the ‘flow’ of creative said are very similar to a lot of
important difference between involvement with life, or ‘positive psychologist’s work today. They are
subjective and objective happiness. emotion’. Becoming subjectively very surprised at how much he was
When people are looking at you from happy as an individual, Aristotle aware of already that long ago. So
the outside, they might say you’ve insisted, is your unique and yes, it’s a choice, it’s an attitude, it’s
lived a happy life. That means that, momentous responsibility. It is taking charge. You can’t go around
for instance, you didn’t have any bad also a great gift; it is within most blaming other people for your misery.
accidents, financial problems or people’s power, regardless of their Of course, people do bad things to
poverty. I often use the example of circumstances, to decide to become you. And if you’re an Aristotelian,
Queen Victoria: She lived to be 90 happier. And the way that you do that you’re absolutely entitled to seek
years old, all her children outlived her, is by deciding to become the best justice. But if you don’t achieve this
she did a good job at what she was possible version of yourself, giving peace with yourself you cannot
doing. But she may have been that there will always be limitations. ultimately blame it on anyone else.
subjectively absolutely miserable. You accept that and you may have You’ve got to take charge; in terms >

_ 51
 of developing whatever talents you But in the book you say you have Aristotle was the opposite. The effective
have and fulfilling any desires you to keep on working on happiness. creation of happiness, for Aristotle,
have. He strongly believed that we’re Yes, happiness is a verb, not a noun. cannot be done alone. Friendships are
all born with a massive potential, but You don’t suddenly arrive at it and the cement that holds society together.
he put the emphasis on the individual then it’s a state that you’re in forever Humans may enjoy brief periods of
to do something with that potential. afterward. You have to keep on solitude, but they flourish optimally
working at it, every day; continually when they live in association with other
What is the first step you have thinking very hard and carefully about humans and animals and engage in
to take? your decisions, making them in a reciprocal good deeds. He talked a lot
Well, you have to first decide that you serious and careful way, and working about the importance of really close
will try to develop whatever potential constantly on your virtues and vices. friends, that you can complete each
is inside you. But the core of my book Aristotle believed that if you train other, and this can get better in time,
is about knowing yourself. That’s the yourself to be good, you will discover the more things go on between you and
starting point of really trying to apply that a happy state of mind comes from the more you trust them. But he also
it. It requires, in the beginning anyway, habitually doing the right thing. In fact, said that you don’t have time for more
a lot of hard work and thinking about the only way to be a good person is than four or five of these friends, in
what behaviors you’re ashamed of, to do good things. You have to treat order to give properly. Aristotle made
or at least are making you unhappy. people with fairness repeatedly. As a a distinction between three categories
You do have to work very hard on co-parent, you need to happily stick to of friends: As well as those very close
yourself and how you behave and be the childcare agreements made with friends—‘friendships of the good’—you
very honest with yourself. Because it your ex, no matter how angry you are have ‘friendships of the pleasure’.
won’t work if you’re not, if you delude with them, and always pay the cleaner These are friends you love being with
yourself. If I speak for myself; I know in full if you cancel their session. We and with whom you share interests;
that I can be very resentful. I love are inclined to let negative emotions you may go swimming with them or
revenge but I know it won’t make guide us in all kinds of situations, but go drinking with them. And then you
me happy. And what if I learned not if you consciously try to do the right also have ‘friendships of utility’, which
to pursue it, except of course when thing, after a while you will start doing sounds awful, but we do have them
we’re talking about questions of actual it unconsciously and automatically. all the time. The mothers at the
justice. When someone hurts my That’s the beauty of it: once you’ve playground, the neighbors who feed
children, or breaks into my house internalized the habit, it goes without your cat when you are away, and
and destroys my property, the revenge saying and you’ll see that you feel a many of your colleagues. And all
is appropriate. But spending the next lot happier. these friendships are also very
30 years obsessing all day, every day Aristotle talked a great deal about the important for the community. Because
because of some bad thing someone’s value of friendships and the community. when you get more love and more
done to me or said to me will not make Friendship was absolutely huge for him. respect from everybody else, the
me happy. So this is something I’ve According to him, one cannot be whole community becomes happier.
had to work on. I’ve had to let go of human and cannot flourish without What I find very interesting is that
a lot of vindictive anger. But everybody it, because we are fundamentally Aristotle also stressed the importance
will have a different set of things to social animals. Many other ancient of leisure. That makes him very
deal with in order to be the best philosophers focused on themselves, modern as well. His radical ideas
version of themself. preferring to be alone in a cave, but about leisure have implications for our

52 _
TEXT SJOUKJE VAN DE KOLK ILLUSTRATIONS AND HAND-LETTERING VALESCA VAN WAVEREN

own times, especially his insistence written this book at 30 though. Over
that leisure is more important than the last 30 years, I’ve had a lot of Edith Hall (1959) is a
work. On the one hand, Aristotle’s practical experience with life. I’ve British scholar of classics,
concept of leisure encompasses been a mother, a stepmother, I’ve specializing in Ancient
necessary relaxation after work, bodily seen friends come and go, I’ve had Greek literature and
rest and recuperation, and amusement career problems, and there’s mental cultural history. She is
or pleasurable entertainment to thwart illness in my family. So I felt I had also a professor in the
boredom. But it also includes every enough case studies to be writing the Department of Classics and
other form of activity in which humans book. And what I also find important Centre for Hellenic Studies
engage after fulfilling the laborious is that Aristotle has made me aware at King’s College London in
tasks necessary to secure the means that I have to keep thinking about the UK. She has published
of survival. Leisure, Aristotle insisted, death. This may sound strange, but more than twenty books,
if used rightly is the ideal human state. you need to think about your own broadcasts frequently on
death in order to create this arc of radio and TV, works as a
What has studying Aristotle your life and create some happiness. consultant with professional
meant for you personally? You want to be able to lie on that theaters, lectures all over
Thanks to Aristotle, I’ve been a very deathbed at total peace with yourself the world, and publishes
happy woman for the past 29 years. and think: Whatever people may say widely in academic and
Immersing myself in his work enabled of me, I know that I have done mainstream journals and
me to choose the right father for my everything I could. newspapers. Her most recent
children. I have been able to work book is ‘Aristotle’s Way:
very hard at my career, but also been How Ancient Wisdom Can
able to be a very committed mother. Change Your Life’.
It’s all in Aristotle. I couldn’t have

_ 53
 Extra

Four Mini Posters

A sample of our very own cover models

When we had just started publishing Flow, one

question we received often from readers was why
there were no conventional photographs of smiling
women on the covers. It was because we preferred

ILLUSTRATIONS YELENA BRYKSENKOVA, JANET HILL, AMY BLACKWELL, SARAH WALSH

the look of notebooks and children’s books far more,
so we chose other cover images, often illustrated
and with scenes featuring flowers, plants, stripes
and other patterns. We also happened to find our
own cover models: illustrations of women, drawn
and painted by artistic minds from all over the world.
The women on the following pages—printed on extra
thick paper—have all appeared on Flow covers in
the past. Our very own cover models—some smiling
and some not—were drawn by regular Flow
contributors Yelena Bryksenkova, Janet Hill,
Amy Blackwell and Sarah Walsh.

54 _
 A thing of beauty
is a joy forever:
its loveliness increases;
it will never pass
into nothingness.
John Keats (1795-1821), English poet
 Travel
story

BACK
TO ANGIE
Before becoming a journalist, Caroline Buijs organized trips to
China for a living. That’s how she met Chinese travel agent
Angie Guo, the subject of her first professional article. Ten
years later, Caroline returns to Beijing to see her again.

There she is, on a fine and sunny Sunday afternoon For years, we emailed each other almost every day
in Beijing: Angie Guo, standing in my hotel garden, for our work, exchanging news about the weather, our
surrounded by bamboo, little ponds and red lanterns. children (one child in Angie’s case), and anything fun
Give or take a few weeks, it’s been exactly ten years we’d been up to. When I was in China, we enjoyed
since I last interviewed her during my vacation to China. I some great meals together of course, because China
met Angie for the first time in 2002, when she visited our has the best food in the world.
travel agency in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I was
organizing trips to China and she was our woman on the PLEASANT INDIFFERENCE
ground, arranging everything from airline and train tickets My fascination with China started in high school in the
to hotels and excursions. She was very good at it, mid-1980s, when we discussed the country for my
because she understood what our customers liked (a favorite subject, history. China’s Imperial past, the Long
guide that takes you to the local market and explains how March, the Gang of Four, and its disastrous Cultural
to prepare unfamiliar vegetables, for example). I liked her Revolution: I found it all equally fascinating, and I
immediately. Not only because of her intelligence and already knew for sure I would go to China one day.
sense of humor, but also because she was making her More than ten years later, in 1996, I boarded the train in
way through the Dutch snow in stockings and shoes Moscow, Russia, with my boyfriend, now my husband,
without complaining. Her official name is Guo Huifang, and arrived in Beijing after a week-long trip through arid
but everyone in China is given an English name by their Russian steppes and tundras. One of the first things I
English teacher, so she is called Angie. noticed in China at the time was that I wasn’t >

_ 57
 ‘ I was absorbed into the very large masses,
and as a result I quickly felt at ease in China’

attracting any attention. Of course my Western appearance accidentally become pregnant anyway, she would
made me stand out in the streets, but people left me definitely have decided to keep it, despite the problems it
alone—very different from my experience in India, for would cause (parents of a second child are fined, and there
example. Maybe it was more than being left alone, I would be problems registering at school because a second
actually felt that the Chinese reacted to me rather child would, in fact, be illegal). To prevent further aging of
indifferently. I didn’t mind that; it kind of made me feel the population and to limit the shortage of labor, it was
I was blending in. I was absorbed into the very large decided in 2015 to permit having two children. Her brother
masses, and as a result I quickly felt at ease in China. and some girlfriends have had a second child, but Angie
Angie will forever be intertwined with my first steps in has kept it at one child and feels happy about that.
journalism. A day before I went to China on vacation in
2008, I jumped in the deep end by quitting my job at STUCK TO YOUR SMARTPHONE
the travel agency to become a freelance journalist. But While we are eating, I notice that everyone here is
besides writing a travel brochure, I didn’t have any writing continually scrolling on their smartphone (a Huawei,
assignments lined up. The interview I did with Angie Xiaomi, and the odd iPhone), even while eating or with
during that vacation ended up being my first story as a other people. Ten years ago, there weren’t any
brand-new journalist (for the Dutch magazine Esta). After smartphones and now it’s impossible to imagine a world
that, our contact eventually dwindled to sending digital without them. Impossible almost anywhere, but perhaps
Christmas cards back and forth, but it’s funny how you more so in China. I myself have a love-hate relationship
can immediately feel a connection again with someone with my phone, because I can tell how often it distracts me
you haven’t seen for a long time. unnecessarily. Does Angie recognize that feeling? And are
the Chinese newspapers or magazines writing any articles
ONE CHILD IS FINE about being online less? “Yes,” Angie says, “I’ve read
My hotel is located in a hutong, a traditional neighborhood stories like that. That discussion is just getting started here,
built with narrow streets and alleys, and a wall all around it. but it’s not a major theme yet. Personally I’ve noticed it was
Many hutongs have been demolished in recent years, but costing me too much time to respond to all my messages
many have also been rebuilt, so that Beijing still feels on Weibo [a combination of Facebook and Twitter—Ed.] so
familiar to me. After exchanging gifts (Dutch syrup waffles I recently stopped using it. When I would give a message
for Angie, green tea for me), we walk to a restaurant to from a friend a ‘like’, I felt I should also ‘like’ all my other
catch up. It’s a typical Sunday afternoon, and the friends’ messages and I became very uneasy with all this
restaurant is full of families and groups of friends—food is social pressure. We try to limit Chao Chao’s telephone use.
always a festive occasion in China—and our table is soon To stop him from getting addicted we only let him go online
covered in bowls of Chinese spring onion dumplings. We for fifteen minutes at a time, but of course that often just
show each other our family photos. Angie last saw my doesn’t work—he always asks for more.”
children when they were three and six, and I saw her son A smartphone is totally indispensable in China, and
(Liu Haoyan, who goes by Chao Chao) when he was two; chiefly for practical reasons, as it’s used much more
now all three of them are teenagers. Ten years ago, I asked intensively than in Europe. For example, in the restaurant
her what it’s like to know all your life that you can only there’s a QR code on our table that Angie only has to scan
have one child, and she replied that she couldn’t even with an app on her phone—WeChat—to pay the bill. And
remember being told; it was just a fact of life. She also there are more applications. On every street corner in
didn’t think that she’d want more than one child, because Beijing, there’s a row of orange or yellow rental bikes (such
she already finds life busy enough as it is. But, if she had a big difference with ten years ago, when bikes had >

58 _
 1 2

4 5

3 6

1. Angie and Caroline in 2008.

2. Street near Caroline’s hotel. In the past, it was hard to get coffee in China; now there are lots of hip coffee shops.
3. A hutong in Beijing. The texts on the gate are New Year’s wishes that are pasted there on Chinese New Year’s Day.
4. Angie’s coffee cup at work, a gift from a colleague in the Netherlands.
5. Dumpling restaurant on a Sunday afternoon.
6. Rental bikes in Beijing, close to Angie’s work.

_ 59
 1 2

44

3 5

1. Bird cages in the 798 Art District in Beijing.

2. The Purple Bamboo Park on a Sunday afternoon.
3. In the background, the building with Angie’s office.
4. Angie and Caroline in 2018.
5. You can also pay with your smartphone via QR code in noodle eateries.

60 _
 ‘ In China , privacy is experienced differently , and we ’ re not
just talking about the public toilet stalls without doors ’

almost disappeared from the street scene). These bicycles install VPN can do it. I don’t think many Chinese people
can be hired, again using WeChat, by scanning the QR really feel a need for YouTube. Not only because most of
code under the seat, which unlocks the bike. Another them here don’t speak English, but also because there
handy feature: You don’t have to return the bike to the are many Chinese sites that offer the same thing, like
same place you picked it up from. Angie uses her Youku.com, or the TikTok app for music videos. What I
smartphone for everything: ordering a taxi, paying, particularly like about foreign sites is that there’s less
showing her ID card, traveling by bus or metro. Apart advertising than on ours. Sometimes the VPN doesn’t
from the fact that I can’t use my phone in that many ways, work well and that’s especially frustrating when I can’t
I might also value my privacy more. I don’t even have access a site I need for my work.”
many customer loyalty cards, for example, because I don’t
want to share my personal data. But in China, privacy is WITH THE FLOW
experienced differently, and we’re not just talking about After lunch we take the bus to Angie’s office, and on the
the public toilet stalls without doors. Not only WeChat, but way I notice that Chinese people are much better dressed
also the government tends to collect online data from you nowadays. The suit jackets people wore always seemed
more readily. I discovered this as soon as I arrived in two sizes too large, but now they are nicely fitted. Most
Beijing: Digital prints were made of all ten fingers and my young people are wandering about in the latest fashions,
palms, too. At my hotel, I’m only able to use the Wi-Fi if I and while ten years ago I would still see the occasional
log in with my passport number, which feels kind of blue Mao suit, worn by a senior citizen, now I don’t see it
strange. WhatsApp is blocked here, so Angie and I use anywhere. And I notice more things: In my hotel’s hutong,
WeChat to communicate. I also have no access to my plenty of people are still carrying around the traditional
other usual go-to apps: Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, green-tea-filled jam jar, but in central Beijing it’s more
Instagram and YouTube. commonplace to see people holding a Starbucks coffee
cup. In my hotel room, the thermos flask with painted
LOOK AT THE WORLD flowers that used to be refilled with hot water twice a day,
I ask Angie what she thinks about the Great Firewall of the has been replaced by an electric kettle.
Chinese government. “I use a VPN [virtual private network, The bus comes to a standstill quite frequently. There are
with which you can use a different IP address to gain so many more cars compared to my first time in Beijing
access to blocked sites—Ed.],” she says, “to bypass the (owning your own car is a status symbol for the still-
firewall. For example, I read The New York Times on my growing middle class in China), that it doesn’t surprise me
phone almost daily to expand my view of the world and that my weather app regularly announces ‘unhealthy air
improve my English. Not many Chinese people use VPN, quality for sensitive groups’. Is this something Angie feels
as far as I can tell, but I think that anyone who wants to concerned about? “Yes, for sure,” she says. “On days >

Do you want to see how WeChat works in China? On flowmagazine.com we posted

a short film about it, made by ‘The New York Times’ _ 61
 ‘ My motto is “ Work happily , grow together” ,
and that comes first , before making a profit ’

when the pollution is severe, I feel very worried about it. If to accept that you will encounter obstacles in your life and
it’s really bad, I wear a face mask, and I have an air purifier that you have to overcome them,” she says. “So when I
at home. On the positive side, smog is now getting more started to feel more and more depressed about my work,
attention. Old, polluting factories are being closed down I realized that I shouldn’t sit around waiting for something
and solar and wind energy is on the rise. The introduction to change, but that I should bring about the change
of electric cars is unfolding very rapidly here too. Luckily myself.” Angie called a colleague and asked whether she
the air quality last winter was better than the year before.” thought she should start her own business. Not only did
In 2009, Angie moved from provincial town Zhengzhou she tell Angie she should, but she also added that she
to Beijing for her husband’s work. She didn’t think the would gladly go with her. Eventually Angie managed to
transition was that big. “But then, I really like changes, take all her colleagues, and her customers, with her; she
that helps,” she says. Does that have anything to do wasn’t held back by a non-compete clause. The first thing
with Taoism, the Chinese philosophy that assumes that Angie did was build her own personal work culture. “My
everything is always in perfect harmony and that this motto is ‘Work happily, grow together’,” she says, “and
harmony is not fixed forever, but constantly changing? So that comes first, before making a profit. A good working
that it’s best to move along with the current of changes? atmosphere and culture of trust are very important to me.
“I didn’t read Laozi’s Tao Te Ching until last year,” Angie For example, we have a fruit break every afternoon. I pay
says, “but I was already familiar with the idea. Perhaps it’s for the fruit, and each department takes care of buying
become integrated into Chinese culture because of its their own. Each department also receives a budget to
long tradition, but I don’t know. It may also have to do with do something fun together every month. Work is such
personality; some people like change, other people don’t. a big part of your life, I think it’s very important that you
I have a lot of self-confidence and can feel comfortable enjoy yourself.” Angie encourages all her staff to keep
anywhere. I always say that I’m a person with a lot of luck, learning. She bought everyone the book Lean In by
but that luck comes from changes.” American businesswoman Sheryl Sandberg, for example.
“We’ll then talk about that book for an afternoon, because
GROW TOGETHER my message to women is: Show yourself, don’t hide,
When I look back on the past ten years, the most important you’re allowed to be confident,” she says. “Besides that,
change in my own life has been the switch to a completely I’m not much of a talker, I only give a short speech a few
different line of work, brought on in part by reading the times a year.” It is by coincidence that Angie only employs
book The Artist’s Way by American writer and filmmaker women (“The men who’ve applied so far have not been
Julia Cameron. For Angie, too, the biggest change suitable,” she says). They all work full-time; on average 38
occurred in her work. As she became increasingly unhappy hours a week. “Working hours are flexible,” Angie says.
with the travel company she worked for, she started her “Some choose to start early and take a shorter lunchbreak
own company (also organizing trips for foreign customers so that they can leave on time to collect their children from
in China). “I felt that everything I was doing wasn’t being school, although for many people it’s still the grandparents
appreciated or respected enough,” she says, “and I knew who do that. And sometimes, if someone has a good
my colleagues felt the same. I wrote a fiery letter to the reason to work from home, that’s possible, too.”
management and warned them that if nothing would
change, people would leave, but there was no response.” BALLROOM DANCING IN THE PARK
For Angie, there was also a book that pushed her to In the late afternoon sun, we walk from Angie’s office to
take the leap: The Road Less Traveled by American Zizhuyuan Park (also known as the Purple Bamboo Park)
psychiatrist and author M. Scott Peck. “It helped me not far from her home. Parks in China are still the busy >

62 _
 ‘ The life lesson my parents gave me was : Learn more
about the world in order to get to know yourself ’

and sociable places that they’ve always been, the perfect also with girls, and vice versa. There is a strong emphasis
place to go with family or friends on Sunday afternoons. on learning. Almost all school children take extra lessons;
During the week, mainly grandfathers and grandmothers so there’s no time to fight.”
come here with their grandchildren. There is a striking
increase in prams being pushed around, compared with SENSE OF FREEDOM
the past, when the children were carried and held. There is At the end of the afternoon, we eat at a Peking duck
still old-fashioned ballroom dancing in the park, to music restaurant. Talking about politics in China is always a
played on small speaker boxes people bring with them. A bit uncomfortable, but I ask Angie how she feels about
little further on, two women are singing with the help of the change that allows President Xi Jinping to rule
a karaoke machine, t’ai chi is practiced on the grass, and indefinitely. “To be honest, I don’t follow politics much,”
old men sit and play cards. Like many parks in Beijing, the she says. “You really have to be part of the political system
Purple Bamboo Park dates from the Ming Dynasty and is if you want to have any influence. But as long as China is
very attractive because of the arched bridges, weeping doing well, I don’t see a problem—and he is no longer a
willows and the lake on which you can go boating. Angie young man, of course.” Angie says she finds it difficult to
loves coming here. When the weather is nice, she goes for have a good opinion about democracy. “I realize more and

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY CAROLINE BUIJS ILLUSTRATION ISTOCK WITH THANKS TO DIMSUM TRAVELS
walks with her husband and son here in the evening. “I more that our country is complicated,” she says. What
don’t know what your teenagers are like,” she says, “but she does know is that the gap between rich and poor is
mine hardly ever tells me anything about himself anymore. becoming smaller thanks to the still-growing economy.
Even when I ask him a direct question, I don’t get much Moreover, it is official party policy to eradicate poverty.
of an answer. But during our walks, he often does start “And corruption is decreasing, and bureaucracy is also
talking of his own accord.” being cut back,” she adds. “You can now register a new
company or apply for a driver’s license online. It used to
BOYS AND GIRLS cost me endless paperwork and hours of waiting. The
Last time I interviewed Angie, I asked her what the most tax rules were once rather opaque, but now you can
important difference was between her childhood and that view an instructional video on the WeChat account of
of her parents. “The world is so much bigger and more the Tax Authorities.”
open to me than it was to them,” she told me. “I read a lot Angie is also positive about how many people are
of books—with my reading club we read Chinese but also receiving better education: they are learning better English
foreign literature, such as Pamuk and Murakami—and I and are more confident to start a conversation. “And
think I understand more about different cultures. But then people are more civilized in general; there’s less spitting on
that was the life lesson my parents gave me: Learn more the street,” she says. When Angie brings me back to my
about the world in order to get to know yourself and to hotel by taxi after dinner she tells me, “I can only speak for
find out what you should do in the future.” This time I’m myself when I say that I feel free. I can do anything I want
curious to hear what Angie thinks is the biggest difference and I earn enough money to be able to afford things. I
between her childhood and her son’s. “In my day, China travel a lot, often go abroad and manage my business my
was doing much worse economically and children were way. I feel stronger than ten years ago.”
not raised as comfortably,” she says. “There were fewer
educational opportunities. I remember that there was a lot
of fighting at my primary school; every school had its own
gang. That has really changed. Children are much nicer to
each other and boys no longer only deal with boys but

64 _
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Flow subscribers receive a 10% discount on selected items in our web shop _ 65
 Insight

Me,
Myself
and I
Twenty-four hours in nature , alone. No telephone , no book ,
no food. Journalist Eva Loesberg was curious what impact
it would have on her and embraced the adventure.

It’s July 5. I set down my heavy backpack between Rijk Smitskamp, the founder of this nature quest, was
two trees by a small lake—or, more accurately, a large far from reassuring during the introduction meeting.
pond—somewhere in the middle of a forest. This is my “The whole point is to be confronted with your fears to
spot for the coming 24 hours. Henrik, the supervisor of overcome them,” he said. “An outdoors nature quest is
this nature quest, saves the GPS coordinates so that meant to push you to the edges of your comfort zone.
the ranger can find me in case of an emergency (a It might be cold, it might rain, there may be animals,
thunderstorm or a flash flood) and then he leaves. I am you might not sleep. But what you then take back with
on my own now. I look at the green water in the pond. you into your daily life is the sense that you have
For weeks, I have been fantasizing about this moment. overcome all of this. You have yourself and that’s all
How would I feel, with all those empty hours ahead you need. You can feel confident that you’ll make the
of me? Sitting still, something I—to my husband’s right choices.”
annoyance—never do. There is always a plan to be
made, some weeding to do, someone to email, a son IMPROVISED TENT
who wants to play a game or a daughter who wants to The concept of this nature quest is based on the
learn to ride a bike. When I try to relax anyway, I read a ancient rites of passage of native people who sent their
book or I ‘enjoy a run’. Maybe that’s what appealed to sons into the jungle for a few days, to return as men
me about the nature quest: how radically different it after a fight with a snake, or vision of an ancestor.
will be for me, because I’m unable to find peace on my “Even now—or especially now—in a world where
own surrounded by all those distractions. Here, there’s we are constantly running from one commitment to
just me and nature. No food, no Netflix, no WhatsApp, another and do so much ‘because we have to’, nature
no magazines. I love the idea. And I’m petrified. Will I can be a great teacher,” Rijk said. “We have so many
be able to stand the silence, the boredom? And how distractions, so much to process, that we often
will the wild animals react? don’t know who we are anymore.” >

_ 67
 ‘ The silence I had been expecting
doesn ’t actually exist at all ’

I’ve been given a tent cloth for shelter, a whistle and CRICKETS, DRAGONFLIES AND SPIDERS
a tarp to lie on. I myself brought a sleeping bag, a mat, I feel a gentle breeze. The leaves of the large tree
warm clothes, toilet paper, a shovel to dig a hole for a that I now live under are rustling. An intense fatigue
toilet, a flashlight, two bottles of water (one mixed with overwhelms me. Of course, I can also lie down in the
lemon juice and maple syrup), anti-mosquito spray, tick circle. Watching the passing clouds—not fluffy sheep,
tweezers and a hat. That’s it. but wisps, like the smoke from a chimney—I suddenly
Just like at home, I immediately make a plan. First, hear birds singing and chirping, as if they’ve just
I’ll hang up the tent cloth, then make my bed and then arrived. It’s the same with the buzzing bees, which are
establish the circle Henrik described: “If you want to hopping from flower to flower in my circle and flying
take on the challenge,” he said, “make a circle with a out again. Chirping crickets are hiding in the tall grass.
diameter of four meters and stay inside it. You will find The silence I had been expecting doesn’t actually exist
everything you need there.” Namely, yourself. Like a at all. Splash, something jumps in the water. Two
woman possessed, I get started. I choose two trees, dragonflies skim over it. There is so much to be heard
stretch the ropes, remove thistles, pull off protruding and seen. A spider is hanging upside down in its web.
leaves and unfold the groundsheet. But I am still not A line of ants marches past, heading toward their anthill
satisfied. I switch trees and turn everything around until with white grains clenched in their mandibles. Some
it feels right. walk around the tall blades of grass; others over them.
I like the idea that five other ‘questers’ in the same ‘Hey guys, there is a better way to get there’, I think out
forest are setting up their ‘camp’ at this same moment. loud, because nobody can hear me anyway. But then I
I met them for the first time this morning. They include realize that I’m the crazy one, not them. What does it
a young woman who works for the World Wildlife matter how long they take? And who says the shortest
Fund, a university lecturer, a physics student, a route is the best?
theology student and a mother who runs a design Proudly, I think: I can do this. This morning, when I
agency. We are each alone, but still in this together. was trying to pack my bag at the same time as making
One is about to have a baby and sees this as a rite of sandwiches for my children, feels eons away now. How
passage; another is so tired of the bustle in the city could I have thought I’d be bored? Nature is moving all
that she has given herself these 24 hours of restfulness the time; there is always something to see. Once you’ve
as a gift. adjusted to the rhythm, which is so much slower, time
Once I’ve put the mat and sleeping bag under the flies. The sun disappears from my circle and sinks
tarp, my residence for the night is ready. I make a behind the tall trees. I must have been sitting here for
circle out of branches, and am quickly able to settle hours already. What is it about nature? You don’t need
in—though I don’t know exactly how quickly, because a mindfulness course to feel in the moment. According
I don’t have a watch or clock. That’s when I feel like to Dutch scientific journalist Mark Mieras, there is
it’s really started. The sun is high. It’s mid-afternoon increasing evidence that the stress-reducing effect of
and I have hours and hours to go. I don’t have much nature comes from phytoncides, a substance that
experience with meditation. I reassure myself that if I plants and trees secrete to protect themselves against
don’t manage to keep sitting here, I’ll just walk around insects. When we inhale these during a walk in the
and, in 24 hours, it will be over and I can check the woods, for example, they wake up our immune system
nature quest off my to-do list. and the stress hormone level in our body drops. >

_ 69
 ‘Only when the whinnying dies away in the
distance , do I dare to breathe again , and get up’

Another explanation for the ‘coming home’ feeling in aside. And see three colossal beasts standing by the
nature is that we come into contact with soil bacteria pond a few meters away drinking. I can hear the
that we have evolved with in tandem, and they cause gulping and snorting. I see their huge muscles moving.
serotonin to be released into our brains. They are such powerful animals. If only I had a camera,
I think, as the first rays of the sun frame them in halos.
NIGHT OUTDOORS The brown one seems impatient, or maybe playful. It
Whatever the explanation, I feel cheerful and calm. I am runs back and forth across the sand. Please don’t run
hungry, though. But the fasting during this quest has a into my tarp, I think with my heart pounding loudly. Only
reason. “Eating has become a habit in our society,” Rijk when the whinnying dies away in the distance, do I
said. “We put all kinds of food in our mouth without dare to breathe again, and get up.
thinking about it. It’s all a distraction, just like checking
our phone. It’s good to become aware of that.” I mostly NO MORE LISTS
notice that not eating gives me a floating sensation, The sun still has to rise much higher before Henrik will
which in turn makes the conversations I’m having in my pick me up around noon. I long for my children, my
head with family and friends have a sentimental effect husband, food, a chair to sit on—the ground is very
on me. hard, after all—but at the same time I don’t want to
It’s getting cooler. “Make sure that you enter your leave. The peace that I feel is almost intoxicating. I
sleeping bag when you’re still warm,” Henrik had said, don’t remember ever feeling this way before. And it
so I take off my shoes to put on thicker socks and am didn’t take any effort. I’m already making a resolution
promptly bitten under my foot by a horsefly, which I to spend much more time outdoors. It’s with good
then fight with for a while because it would like to bite reason that forest bathing is so popular in Japan. That’s
me again. I’m on guard. Night falls. Unlike all of my a form of movement meditation among the trees—often
friends when I told them what I was going to do, I’m for one or two days—that helps against fatigue, stress
not worried about feeling unsafe from people roaming and other ailments. But according to researchers

TEXT EVA LOESBERG PHOTOGRAPHY KYLE MIMS @MIMSKYLE

around. Somehow, I feel secure in my spot. As if the from the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, Japan, a
trees, whose leaf clusters I can now trace from three-hour nature walk will also calm the mind and
memory, are protecting me. Also, I have a whistle. If I body, enough for a whole week.
blow on that, the questers who are somewhat near me Back at base camp, we eat lentil soup and share our
will hear it. No, my only concerns are foxes, snakes, experiences. Some of us found it more difficult than
mice or rats coming under my tarp. And then there’s others, but we all agree that it’s totally absurd that this
those giant wild horses that we saw during the walk natural environment, which has such a magical effect
and that I’ve heard neighing in the distance several on us, is not cherished more lovingly.
times already. Two days later, despite having eaten a huge pizza,
Snugly tucked in, I lie on my mat listening to the I still feel lightheaded. Everything seems to be simpler
rustling in the bushes. As if I can keep the animals at and easier with the after-effect of nature still lingering.
bay with my ears. And then, when I least expect it, I fall Not only did I check off the nature quest from my to-do
into a deep sleep. When I wake up, dawn is breaking. list, I’ve deleted my whole to-do list. We’ll just see what
I’m guessing it’s around 5 a.m. The horses! I’m going happens. And for how long I can hold on to this
to keep lying here, staying completely silent. I hear peacefulness within me.
hooves. My mat vibrates. Carefully, I push the cloth

70 _
pictures
 pictures

PHOTOGRAPH ON THE REVERSE SIDE OF THIS PAGE RYAN BOOTH/UNSPLASH.COM

Anthriscus sylvestris, also known as cow parsley, is a wild flower that

grows in meadows and on roadsides throughout the world and is, in
fact, considered invasive in many places. Thanks to the airy cloud of
flowers it produces, however, this dubious reputation hasn’t stopped it
from becoming a cottage garden favorite and a much-loved flower for
wild-picking. The umbelliferous cow parsley flowers are very similar to
those of the wild carrot (see first divider in this issue), and
the two often get confused. The dark variety on the front is called
Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Raven’s Wing’.
TEXT ESTER SCHOLTEN ILLUSTRATION AGNES LOONSTRA (FROM THE BOOK CRAZY CAT LADY BY WORKMAN PUBLISHING)

Dutch author Ester Scholten and illustrator and regular Flow contributor Agnes Loonstra are friends,
doppelgangers and cat lovers. Together they made the book ‘Crazy Cat Lady’. @crazycatladydoppelgangers _ 73
American illustrator DANIELLE KROLL loves thrift stores. She likes to buy old books and rip out pages to repurpose
them. “With a twist, I change the story of the photo, hauling it out of oblivion,” she says. Hellodaniellekroll.com; @daniellekroll
 The
illustration
 ONE DAY, JOURNALIST JOCELYN DE KWANT BEGAN

SORTING AND PHOTOGRAPHING FLOWERS ACCORDING

TO THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF THEIR LIFE CYCLE.

IT’S THE MOST CALMING THING SHE’S EVER DONE.

 Nature

RUBUS FRUTICOSUS The blackberry provides a nursery for many butterfly species to lay their eggs in.

LAMPROCAPNOS SPECTABILIS Also referenced as Dicentra spectabilis, the lyre flower, lady-in-a-bath or bleeding heart.

ROSA RUBIGINOSA ‘I was cycling through the park and stopped when I saw this wild sweetbriar rose in full bloom.’

_ 77
 ‘ The flowers remind me every time
of a very simple truth : Nothing in life
knows only a time of blossoming ’

PISUM SATIVUM ‘The common pea, from my vegetable garden. As the flowers wilt,
the pod slowly grows out of the the bud, holding the seeds (the peas we eat).’
 CYTISUS SCOPARIUS ‘Common broom from my garden in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.’

LANTANA CAMARA The outer flowers are red, the middle yellow, which is why this variety is sometimes nicknamed ‘Spanish flag’.

DORONICUM ORIENTALE A spring sunflower (leopard’s bane) Jocelyn found in a Spanish garden.

80 _
LONICERA PERICLYMENUM ‘Honeysuckle
smells so good on summer evenings.’
 PAPAVER RHOEAS ‘This giant poppy is called Mother of Pearl. I dried the seed pod and saved it for next year.’

A few years ago, I was in a bad mood even though wild roses, jasmine, dandelions. Sometimes I also look
I was on vacation. I was in Spain and the sun was them up and learn about them. I marvel at leaves that
shining, but I was feeling down and worrying about disguise themselves as flowers, and vice versa, and the
different stuff. A few bad things were going on, and I names that are so different in each language—and I also
was angry with someone. That’s the gloomy mood learn a lot from the responses to my posts on Instagram.

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY JOCELYN DE KWANT HAND-LETTERING VALESCA VAN WAVEREN

I was in while sitting in a lush Spanish garden, Really looking at something properly makes me feel
surrounded by flowers but not really seeing them. so calm. It also reminds me every time of a very simple
They were just background. But then I noticed a wilted truth: Nothing in life knows only a time of blossoming.
blossom hanging in a colorful Lantana bush (interesting The only flowers that bloom forever are made of plastic.
fact about the Lantana camara: Each blossom is In real life, things are constantly budding, blooming
actually a cluster of little flowers). As I continued and wilting. And it happens all at the same time; these
looking more closely, I noticed more of them. I also saw things go hand in hand. In addition to everything that’s
flower buds that could burst into bloom at any moment. ending, there’s always something about to flourish. And
And a cluster in which the flowers had faded into little each stage is good for something. Nowhere can that be
black berries, probably containing the seeds for the seen as clearly and beautifully as in a flower bush.
next generation. All the different stages of a flower’s life
cycle, cozily hanging out together in one flower bush. More flowers from Jocelyn can be found at @jocelyndekwant
Without really thinking about it, I picked some and #jocelynsflowerstages.
blossoms and arranged them in the right order, neatly
in a row. I took a photo of them and posted it on my
Instagram account. This whole process had made me
happy; I felt so light and cheerful that I almost forgot
how gloomy I’d been feeling when I started.
Long story short: It is on that vacation that I
discovered a new hobby. I have continued doing this,
arranging flowers according to their life cycle and taking
a photograph. Sometimes I stop when I’m on my way
somewhere, to pick something that catches my eye:

82 _
 NEW!

(IM)PERFECT
GIFT
THE BRAND NEW MY PERFECTLY IMPERFECT LIFE WORKBOOK

HAS A WELCOMING, COME-AS-YOU-ARE MESSAGE:

EMBRACE THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU YOU, FLAWS AND ALL!

Practice
self-care
with joy.
ILLUSTRATION SHUTTERSTOCK BACKGROUND PATTERN SUZANNE NUIS

This new guided workbook was inspired by the popular My Perfectly Imperfect Life calendar, and combines the interactive
fun of a fill-in journal with a timely focus on mindfulness. My Perfectly Imperfect Life inspires you to let go of the pressure to
be perfect and to celebrate quirks and slip-ups rather than judge them. It includes prompts for easing up on self-criticism,
hints for making a to-do list of non-urgent things, a playful scale that helps you see silver linings, and much more.

Illustrator Karen Weening has managed to capture lots of relatable moments of imperfection, like a yogi turning right in
class when everyone else is going left, or a woman taking a perfect selfie amid the messy backdrop of her room.

MY PERFECTLY IMPERFECT LIFE COSTS €14.95. IT IS AVAILABLE FROM THE FLOW

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Flow subscribers receive a 10% discount on selected items in our web shop _ 83
 museum director,
Ann Demeester

Museum of Me
ANN DEMEESTER IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE FRANS HALS MUSEUM IN HAARLEM,

THE NETHERLANDS. “IN LOOKING FOR MEANINGFUL OBJECTS FOR MY OWN

MINI EXHIBIT,” SHE SAYS, “I SUDDENLY REALIZED THAT NEARLY EVERYTHING IN

MY HOUSE HAS A STORY—OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE THROWN IT AWAY.”

1 Barry the ex My husband

Gerbrand gave me this Barry 5 Who’s Bob? A friend gave me
Barbabob when my son was 9 The art of giving Beatrix
Ruf, former director of the
White single; it’s one of our guilty born. He sees Barbapapa as a Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the
pleasures. The ironic thing is that ‘reflection on the fluid identity in our Netherlands, once gave me this bizarre
the portrait of White could easily society. Sexual, but also in other roles little painting as a sign of mutual
be a portrait of my ex. we have as individuals’. It’s funny to professional respect. I don’t even know
see it this way. who the artist is. For me, it has a much

2 Mystery

TEXT CHRIS MUYRES PHOTOGRAPHY RONALD DE BOER/STUDIO 5982 STYLING ANNE-MARIE REM
My grandmother on higher value as a gift than the art itself.
my father’s side collected these
6 Liberation ring Make-up,
folklore dolls. She lived with my
grandfather in the former Congo, in
jewelry and tight pants weren’t
allowed at my high school in Belgium. 10 Stress ball As the director
of contemporary arts center
a closed compound, and I think that Even though I was a very diligent De Appel (The Apple) in Amsterdam, I
these dolls had something to do with student, I was incredibly rebellious in had the difficult task of finding a new
her longing for the outside world. I terms of my personal clothing style. building. Afterward, we distributed
still hope to find one of her diaries I got a navel piercing right before I these stress balls to everyone. It
one day. started college. It felt so liberating. symbolizes the hectic period, but also
the frivolous approach to it.

3 Wedding logo We had our

7 Secret letters My best friend
wedding announcement made
by the brilliant Will Holder. Using a
and I sat next to each other in
class and still wrote each other a 11 Rituals In Belgium, you get
ice cream in the shape of
marker, he wove my and Gerbrand’s letter every day, laying bare our entire a lamb for dessert at your First
initials together, and this became our souls. The almost symbolic intensity Communion. You have a mini sword
wedding logo. of teenage friendships, as well as a to chop off the head and then red
medium such as the letter—I find syrup starts flowing, representing

4 Progressive insight I once

had to put together a
these things so incredibly beautiful. blood. I always loved this ritual and
have always cherished the little sword.
retrospective of the Dutch artist
8 Mother’s doll I have been
Rob Birza’s work. At first, I didn’t
like his work, but I gradually came
dragging this head of my
mother’s first doll around with me 12 Family history This ivory
crocodile is from Congo and,
to really love it. Birza gave me this since I left home. My mother is still among other things, it stands for my
kitschy vase. It reminds me that alive, and the doll meant a lot to her, family’s discussions about colonial
sometimes appreciation is a gradual and even though she’s not really a history. I’ve always been very interested
rather than an instantaneous process. pack rat, I am. in, and passionate about, this subject.

84 _
 2

5
8

11

10
12

_ 85
SUN, SEA, SAND
AND SKETCH
A BEAUTIFUL FAÇADE, EXOTIC PLANTS OR INTRICATE TILES: WHEN
YOU’RE ON VACATION, YOU TEND TO HAVE SLIGHTLY MORE TIME,
AND INCLINATION, TO TAKE IN YOUR SURROUNDINGS, SIT DOWN

AND GRAB A PENCIL. FIVE FLOW ILLUSTRATORS SHARE THEIR

SKETCHBOOKS TO SHOW WHAT INSPIRED THEM ON THEIR TRAVELS.
 Inspiration

Jennifer Bouron
I like to go on vacation to get new as I can. I chose these beach finds
inspiration. Houses, vegetation... because I like their shapes and their
they’re different at every destination. texture and I couldn’t wait to draw
If I don’t have my sketchbook to them. Shape is very important in my
hand, I just take a photo and draw work; it’s what inspires me most.
it later. I don’t really have a special
vacation sketchbook but I’m thinking Tip: A drawing is one of the best
of getting one for my next trip. souvenirs you can bring home with
I made these drawings last summer you from your vacation. >
on the beach, which is not far from
my home. Even the walk to get there Jenniferbouron.com; @jeninuferu
is beautiful, so I love going as often

_ 87
 Valesca
van Waveren
When I’m traveling by myself, I often manage
to get some drawing done. However, if I’m
with my husband and son, I prefer to do things
with the three of us. When I draw, I tend to
experience the place where I am even more
intensely. I love to paint things that jump out
at me—anything from the letter font on the
street signs and the different colors of the
houses to the plants and the pots they’re in.
They are mostly everyday things that I have
time to notice when I’m on vacation.
The pages you see here were made when
I got home after a vacation in France and
Portugal. I like just painting the things I see,
but I also enjoy playing around. That’s easiest
when I use a collage technique: a wrapper
from a tin of mackerel and a little paper bag
that I got when I bought some postcards are
perfect starting points. I prefer to make
something entirely new out of such items,
rather than just keeping them.
I often take a short break with three friends.
We have a copy of Wreck This Journal by
Canadian author and artist Keri Smith that we
always take with us, and it’s turned into a real
mess now. So for our next break, we’ll be
making our very own ‘sketch and scrapbook’.
We’ve called it the ‘Big Little Ladies Book’.

Tip: Vacation sketchbooks don’t have to be

pretty—you’re on vacation after all. It’s fine
to keep it rough and ready: as long as you’re
having fun making it, and enjoy looking at
it afterward. >

Valescavanwaveren.com; @valescavanwaveren

88 _
 Abigail Halpin
When on vacation, I often find myself
drawing the plants and wildlife that
are unique to the area I’m visiting.
I’m very inspired by nature, and I
love looking for the similarities and
differences between my own home
and the places I go.
I don’t necessarily draw every day
while on vacation, but I’ll often be
jotting down ideas or sketching things
inspired by whatever I’ve seen. Some
days, I just soak up what’s in front
of me, tucking it away in my head for
inspiration later. I usually bring a small
Moleskine sketchbook with me. It’s
just the right size and fits perfectly in
my backpack. I also love that it has an
interior pocket, so I can store things
like ticket stubs and pressed flowers.
This illustration is from when I
visited Ireland last winter. I remember
getting out of the car at Maam Cross,
a crossroads in Connemara, County
Galway, looking over the fields and
being overwhelmed by how beautiful
it was. I wanted to capture that
emotion in my sketchbook when
I drew these pages.

Tip: Drawing on vacation is about

capturing the spirit of your travels
and it doesn’t have to be a perfect,
finished piece of art. >

Theodesign.com; @abigailhalpin

90 _
‘I looked over the fields
and was overwhelmed
by how beautiful it was’
 Meera Lee Patel
I like drawing food, windows, doors, patterns and inspired and in awe, and I wanted to capture those
my feelings. I often wish I was able to capture a emotions with paint. The piece above is part of a larger
memory with paint in the moment, but most often pattern I saw while in Barcelona, Spain.
I’m drawing the things and places I experienced from
photos. This helps me be present in the moment when Tip: Make time for drawing, but float it into your day
I am traveling. I do have a special vacation sketchbook, organically. When you’re in a coffee shop or bar, for
however. I made my first one by hand-binding example, or when visiting parks or beautiful buildings.
watercolor pages together and sewing a cover Any moment where you are at peace, stopping to enjoy
out of canvas. the sight of something wonderful in front of you, is the
I made the illustration on the left on my 30th birthday, perfect time to draw. >
which I spent in Zion National Park (Utah, US) and
at Antelope Canyon (Arizona, US). I felt free and Meeralee.com; @meeraleepatel

_ 93
 VALESCA VAN WAVEREN PHOTOGRAPHY JONA ROTTING (VALESCA VAN WAVEREN), LINDSEY GRACE WHIDDON (MEERA LEE PATEL)
TEXT CAROLINE BUIJS ILLUSTRATIONS JENNIFER BOURON, PENELOPE DULLAGHAN, ABIGAIL HALPIN, MEERA LEE PATEL,

Penelope Dullaghan
When I’m on vacation, I tend to draw what I see: Tip: Keep your supplies minimal. I usually travel with
pretty plants, buildings, colors and my impression of a small palette of gouache or watercolor paints, an
a place. It’s nice to not have a deadline—so if I only ink pen and my sketchbook. That way there’s not a
get half of a drawing done, there are no worries. lot to carry around, and it’s easy to do a quick
The drawings here were done on a family vacation drawing when you feel inspired.
to Costa Rica. It was very different from Indianapolis,
US, where I live, so drawing what I saw there helped Penelopedullaghan.com; @penelope_dullaghan
me slow down and take it all in. For me, it was a
good way to see everything more clearly.

94 _
 ‘It’s nice to not have a deadline—so if I only
get half of a drawing done, there are no worries’
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96 _ Flow subscribers receive a 10% discount on selected items in our web shop
life
 life

PHOTOGRAPH ON THE REVERSE SIDE OF THIS PAGE STANISLAV KONDRATIEV/UNSPLASH.COM

The seedhead pictured on the front is Ammi majus,

a white-flowering plant that is part of the Apiaceae family and occurs
in the wild in many places around the world. It is much-loved as a
garden plant because of its lacy flowers, but also because of the
delicate seedheads that are especially beautiful after a frost. Ammi
majus is also known as false bishop’s weed, false Queen Anne’s lace or
bullwort, and shares many characteristics with both cow parsley and
wild carrot (see earlier dividers).
 The Good Stuff
Favite ar, as, bks and me

C RE AT I VE T I C KET
Sun, sea, sand, snow, souvenirs, stories to tell...
vacations have plenty of positive benefits. But
did you know that traveling can also boost your
problem-solving skills and creativity? Studies
show that new sounds, smells, tastes, languages
and sights create new synapses in the brain,
which can, among other things, positively affect
your ability to be innovative. So next time you’re
facing a creative block, simply pack your bags
and immerse yourself in a different environment.
Your mind will thank you for it.

‘Life  to be lived ,
not controlled ’
Ralph Waldo Ellison (1914-1994),
American author and literary critic

Food Art
Those little stickers found on
fruit: We take them off
S TOP AND SME LL T HE RO SE S absent-mindedly while
peeling the zest from an
In her book Nature Tonic: such as the joy of
orange or before biting into a
A Year in My Mindful Life, journaling sensory
crunchy apple. But these
journalist and regular nature, the Zen of forest
cute creations deserve a bit
Flow contributor Jocelyn bathing, the simple
more attention than they’re
de Kwant (see also page pleasures of botanical
given, which is why it’s worth
76) encourages us to drawing, and ways to
visiting the Instagram
soothe our urbanized contemplate seasons,
‘gallery’ @fruit_stickers,
souls with a daily dose of time and reconnect with
where you’ll find a
ecotherapy. Comprising Mother Nature, be you
wonderfully curated
365 practical prompts in a city street or a
collection of these mini
and lengthier meditative country meadow.
works of art.
notes, it covers themes Leapingharepress.co.uk

_ 99
 Game of Girls
Zuzia Kozerska-Girard, founder of Playeress, has given
TA L KI N G ’B OU T that much-loved guessing game of our childhoods,
MY GE N E R AT I O N Guess Who?, a fantastic 21st-century makeover by
Ever wondered why you love replacing those everyday (mainly white) males with
listening to the same songs, legendary women throughout history. In Who’s She? we
albums and bands over and over say bye-bye Mr. Blonde-Hair-Blue-Eyes, hello Harriet
again? According to a study by Tubman; adiós Senior Blackbeard, hola Malala Yousafzai;
streaming service Deezer, we stop and au revoir Monsieur Bald-Bespectacled-Man, bonjour
discovering new music when we Marie Curie. And instead of asking about appearance,
hit the age of 30. This is partly due you ask about accomplishments. (Thankfully the
to obvious factors, such as not beautifully made game also includes biography cards.)
having as much free time, but also Playeress.com
because of the overwhelming
amount of choice available and the
good memories that are conjured
up when we listen to old songs.
But as nice as that sounds,
perhaps we should stop acting like
a broken record, and start making
sweet new memories...

S E E K AN D YO U S H ALL PLANT
Although we’re all for waiting a and so on, we’re also all for this needed the most. So, by searching
while before turning to good-old little green gem: Ecosia. This with Ecosia, you’re helping reforest
Google when we need to remember search engine donates 80 percent the planet one ‘oh-what-movie-did-
an actor’s name, a movie title, that of its advertising revenue toward she-star-in-again’ at a time. 
song we used to dance to at school planting trees where they are Ecosia.org

100 _
 LOVELY AND LEAFY
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station that is as unique
and beautiful as the
amazing plant in it?
Wanderlushinterior have
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Wanderlushinterior.com Rosy and Hollie from Books back in 2012 in London, UK,
on the Subway have one this fun concept has since
goal: to get more people expanded into a global
reading. They distribute initiative called Books on the
books on the New York Move, with more than twenty
subway, with the aim that ‘branches’ across fourteen
C ON S C I OU S C LOT H I N G people will take them home, countries. Find out more at
As the world’s second-largest polluter, the read them and share them booksonthemoveglobal.com
fashion industry has a lot to answer for. on by putting them back or booksonthesubway.com.
Fortunately, the number of sustainable when they are done. Starting
fashion labels is increasing—but they’re not
always easy to find. Fine Yellow is a fashion
website that scours the eco and fair fashion
world to find affordable, sustainable labels,
which it shares via its Our Brands pages
and blog The Fine Edit, where you’ll also
find personal advice for a more sustainable ‘And th I believe :
lifestyle. Fineyellow.com
that the fr , expling mind
of the individual human
 the mt valuable thing
in the wld ’
John Steinbeck (1902-1968), American author

_ 101
 Insight

Life
Lessons
from
Novels
SELF-HELP BOOKS MAY BE EVERYWHERE, BUT JOURNALIST

MARISKA JANSEN FINDS SHE GAINS HER BEST INSIGHTS FROM

NOVELS. SOME BOOKS TAUGHT HER THINGS THAT HAVE ALWAYS

STAYED WITH HER (PROCEED WITH CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD).

JANE GARDAM ON MARRIAGE you enjoy now and then, and which sometimes dumps
Once when I was a newly-wed, I sat next to a lady I didn’t you out on the side of the road so you can take a
know at a dinner party. I told her about our wedding, and bumpier one.
her response was rather surly. Getting married was a piece Just before Betty dies at an old age, she realizes how
of cake, she felt. It was the long years after that counted. much she loves the man she spent her life with. She sees
Staying together was the real trick. I was a bit thrown by Edward in the garden, pretending to shoot birds with his
her directness at the time, and it wasn’t until years later cane. She thinks that he’s getting a bit strange, that it’s too
that I actually understood what she meant: That being in late to leave him. For me, this love was like so many
love isn’t a big deal. The important thing is to perpetuate marriages; not a fairy tale, but true love.
that love in a nice relationship. I later read about this
somewhat blunt life lesson in The Man in the Wooden Hat DANIEL KEHLMANN ON FEARS
by British author, Jane Gardam. The main character in this It is obvious from the outset that there is something fishy
novel (the second part of a trilogy) is Betty Macintosh, a about the remote Airbnb home Austrian-German author
young woman from the British upper class who was born Daniel Kehlmann describes in the novella, You Should
in the Chinese city of Tianjin in the early 20th century. She Have Left. In the book, the reader goes on a journey with
marries the lawyer Edward Feathers and spends her life in Susanna and her husband, the first-person narrator; the
the British colonies and England. couple are struggling with problems in their relationship
Married life is not always easy. Betty has a strong desire and the husband is reeling from it all. His state of mind is
to have children, but is unable to. Her husband is a portrayed dizzyingly in the book. Susanna describes how
workaholic and she is secretly in love with Edward’s the couple gets lost on the way to the bedroom while
colleague, who has the son she was never able to have. getting to know the house, and how they end up in a
For Betty, love isn’t a romantic fairy tale, but a path in life laundry room. A vacuum cleaner falls, and the pair listens
that you simply have to walk. The relationship is a pathway with bated breath as everything remains quiet. >

_ 103
 ‘Thanks to the way this book exposes the
strange way people’s minds work, I can now
view social events more from a distance’

The atmosphere in the vacation home is frightening. death you are grieving. An act that can help find a happy
Hallways seem longer than they are and when they walk medium between commemorating and forgetting. I
through the living room to get to the front door and go suddenly realized why I like sleeping in my mother’s
outside, they find themselves back in the living room. pajamas when I’m back at my parents’ house where my
What’s going on here? Ultimately, they don’t find anything. father still lives, and making tea in her teapot.
Once the narrator discovers a distressing fact about his
marriage, he grabs his drafting triangle and tries in vain to ELENA FERRANTE ON FRIENDSHIP
draw a right angle. Even this rational act doesn’t give him The hard part about friendships for me is that they often
peace of mind. appear to only be temporary, even if this doesn’t seem to
This is similar to what happens to me sometimes, when be the case at the time. My best friend from my teenage
a whole range of fears keep me from falling asleep at years was more important than my boyfriend at the time.
night. You can’t assuage fears by pouncing on them to find She was actually my life partner and back then, I thought
a pragmatic solution. It’s better to let them just wash over we would hang out together forever. But now, many years
you, and look them calmly in the eye. As my mother later, she lives in the US and I only know a little about her
always used to say: “You’ll see things clearly again day-to-day life, and she knows little about mine. My
tomorrow”. And sure enough, as daylight returns, the Brilliant Friend is about what happens to lives and
nocturnal ghosts resume reasonable proportions. That’s friendships, and was written by the (pseudonymous) Italian
also what happens in this book. As Susanna drives off novelist, Elena Ferrante.
early one morning, the narrator looks at the house from the It is the first book in a four-part series about Lila
driveway, relieved. It looked so different to him then. and Elena, two girls growing up in a working-class
neighborhood in 1950s Naples, Italy. The girls are both
HELEN MACDONALD ON LOSS AND GRIEVING outsiders and no longer fit in with the social environment
H Is for Hawk is the autobiographic story of British author they were born into. They’re smart and have so much
and naturalist Helen Macdonald, a young woman who more to offer than just getting married and having children.
copes with the death of her father, a falconer, by training Reading the book, I recalled how close friendships are
a hawk. Her grieving process progresses apace with her at that age and how these friendships change as lives go
hawk-training skills. There are times the hawk follows on. Elena goes to high school while Lila has to work at her
commands to the letter, but at other times, he flies off in parents’ shoe repair shop. Life never stays the same, and
search of freedom and the author chases him in a panic, the same goes for the nature of friendships. There are
through thorny bushes and over fences. many other friends these days, but that strong bond with
It’s much the same process we go through when we my best friend from childhood lives on deep inside me.
are sad about the loss of a loved one. There are times
of tolerable sadness, neatly tucked away in a box in our JANE AUSTEN ON PREJUDICES
heads and hearts. However, there is also the prevailing The brilliant thing about Pride and Prejudice is how British
melancholy. The great thing about the story is how author Jane Austen depicts the kinds of hypocrisy people
Macdonald, who has been around birds of prey her entire uphold, and how this stands in the way of their own
life but had never trained a hawk, finds comfort in this happiness. She describes a world that is ruled by
animal. An unusual bond develops between her and the appearances and material possessions. Why didn’t Mr.
hawk; it makes her feel closer to her father. Darcy chat with Ms. Long? ‘I dare say he had heard
What I learned from this book is that grieving is not somehow that Mrs. Long does not keep a carriage, and
a thought process, nor is it a case of taking refuge in had come to the ball in a hack chaise’. Austen also makes
keeping busy, but an act of devotion for the person whose the reader aware of the vanities and superficialities in

104 _
Our website regularly features items about books, ranging from reading recommendations to tips on how to
make more time for reading and online book clubs to join. Go to flowmagazine.com/books to find out more
 today’s world. A man who arrives at a party by inexpensive with the neighborhood children, digging around in the
rental car might secretly not be a very appealing catch for waste with their bare hands looking for treasures, and
some women. playing with a piece of iron wire.
Thanks to the way this book exposes the strange way When Reyes is five, María takes her and her sister on a
people’s minds can work, I am now able to view social events long lonely walk that ends in an unexpected way with the
more from a distance now and then. How would Austen view two children being dropped off at a monastery.
this gathering, I wonder, whenever I feel embarrassed and The author, who later became a successful artist in
uncomfortable at a party full of people dressed to the nines. Paris, France, writes about her childhood without shame
She has also taught me not to make everything about me, or scruples. She insisted that her letters be published
and this has made me a happier person. The fact that my unedited. She felt that the mistakes and imperfections
neighbor looks the other way, scowling, whenever she arrives belonged to her and her history. She accepted who she
home by bike—and I have no idea why—might not have was; her origins do not affect her own self-worth.
anything to do with me. Who knows? She might just get
that surly look whenever she’s cycling against the wind.

EMMA REYES ON SELF-WORTH

TEXT MARISKA JANSEN ILLUSTRATIONS JANET HILL

Colombian artist Emma Reyes wrote beautiful, detailed

letters about her childhood in Colombia. These letters MARISKA’S READING LIST
were later bundled in The Book of Emma Reyes:
A Memoir in Correspondence. In the first letter, Reyes ‘The Man in the Wooden Hat’, by
writes about her life in and around a poor little house in Jane Gardam
Bogotá near a garbage dump. She lived there with her ‘You Should Have Left’, by
older sister Helena, a little boy she called Piojo—she didn’t Daniel Kehlmann
know his real name—and María, a young woman with long ‘H is for Hawk’, by Helen Macdonald
black hair. They don’t really talk much in that little house. ‘My Brilliant Friend’, by
At this point, she doesn’t yet know the real identity of Piojo Elena Ferrante
and the young woman or what their fate is. ‘Pride and Prejudice’, by Jane Austen
Reyes describes how she used to lug a full chamber pot ‘The Book of Emma: A Memoir in
to the dung heap every morning to empty it. Then the best Correspondence’, by Emma Reyes
part of the day would arrive, playing on the garbage dump

_ 105
 IN SEARCH OF
NOTHING-
SOMETHING

In her search for inner peace , journalist Maaike Helmer discovered

the centuries - old Japanese concept of ‘ ma ’. Thanks to small , barely visible
moments , she’ s now able to escape the hectic pace of daily life.

106 _
Insight
 ‘MA ASSUMES THAT THE
SPACE WE WESTERNERS
MAY CALL “NOTHING”
IS ACTUALLY FILLED
WITH “SOMETHING”’

It was summer and all of the ingredients for total inner philosopher, Blaise Pascal once had something very apt
peace were there: the campsite in the South of France, to say about this: “Nothing is so intolerable to man as
the forest, the books on ‘how to find ultimate relaxation’. being fully at rest, without a passion, without business,
In spite of it all, I couldn’t quite manage to get into Zen without entertainment, without care”. It’s a very human
mode, which was strange because I wasn’t really that trait to always want to have something to do; people
stressed. I tried a few things, such as going to the were already struggling with this 400 years ago. We
campsite’s sauna more often, reading less, then reading prefer to find a distraction, because, as Pascal said, “All
more, and sitting around doing nothing. All of this only of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit
left me feeling frustrated. Nothing seemed to help me quietly in a room alone”. It’s hard for us to just ‘be’ and
relax. If I had known then that I would later read the to resist the temptation to be guided by our thoughts.
preceding sentence in a completely different way... “Our brains have the habit of wanting to stay busy all
because one year down the line, I have learned about the the time,” Muis says. “The easiest way to do this is in
Japanese concept of ma, a sort of nothing-something. fact to stare at your phone; it precludes the need to do
anything else to stay entertained or, rather, distracted. In
RELAXATION AS AN AGENDA ITEM the absence of a phone, our brains quickly turn to worry.
According to Dutch psychologist Suzie Muis, my vacation There is always something to solve; this is what our
is typical of the times we live in. “Not only are we always brains love.”
busy, we also place huge demands on life,” she says.
“Everything has to be perfect. This is why we’re WHITE SPACE
constantly under pressure; no wonder it’s hard for us In other words, it’s difficult but not impossible. If you delve
to relax, even though we have a need to do so in this ever-deeper into the subject of ‘relaxation’, you will end
information-addicted society.” She also believes that the up at ‘nothing’. In many Eastern philosophies, people
actual act of relaxation has become an agenda item that think about this word on a fundamental level. I was
must be done perfectly. “The fact that it has become intrigued: What could ‘nothing’ mean in my own life?
an obligation is the reason it fails,” she says. “All of the Could it help me achieve inner peace? After reading a lot
images on social media from one influencer after the on this subject, I discovered the Japanese concept of ma,
other, posts of them holding a cocktail on a sun-drenched which essentially means ‘interval’, ‘between’ or something
beach and so on, sure don’t help to reduce the pressure.” that is neither space nor time. It is used in Japan in the
Over the past year, I have noticed that slowing down, arts (things are suggested through either omission or the
putting on the brakes, doing nothing, and just lounging use of a white space), architecture (‘space’ can result in
around may be frequently used phrases, but they are still either tension or calm), music (the silence between
verbs, action words. Relaxation as a task on your to-do chords), stage productions, flower arrangements
list. We are looking for peace and quiet and though we (ikebana), etiquette (bowing with short breaks to show
look harder and harder, we still can’t manage to find it. respect to the person standing across from you), and
We don’t exactly make it easy for ourselves though, even conversations (silence is part of the conversation).
because when the time finally comes when we really Ma assumes that the space we Westerners may call
have nothing to do, we sit and stare at our smartphones. ‘nothing’ is actually filled with ‘something’. In his book
Why do we do this? The 17th-century French Waar geen wil is, is een weg (Where There’s No Will, >

108 _
 Examples of ‘ Ma’ in the Arts
When ‘ma’ is used in the fine definitely worth looking up). A
arts, music and architecture, variety of things happened during
a conscious effort is made to this silence between spectator and
use the given of ‘emptiness’. artist: smiling, crying, love,
This emptiness can fill itself fear, acceptance...
with calm, tension or expectation.
MUSIC
PAINTING Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu
A well-known Japanese work of art used the silence between chords to
that applies the concept of ‘ma’ fill it with the expectation of
are the folding screens, ‘Pine the next chord, such as in the
Trees’ by Hasegawa Tohaku. The composition ‘Air’. His music seems
use of white space in the work composed yet improvised at the
suggests a forest with pine trees, same time. He said of this, “What
even though the viewer is actually I want to do is not to put sounds
looking at a couple of trees in motion towards a goal by
portrayed with carefully controlling them. Rather, I would
considered brushstrokes. prefer to let them free, if
possible, without controlling
PERFORMANCE ART them. For me, it would be enough
A more Western example of art that to gather the sounds around me and
incorporates ‘ma’ can be found in then gently put them in motion. To
the work of Marina Abramović. The move the sounds around the way you
Serbian’s performance art uses the drive a car is the worst thing you
empty spaces between the artist can do with them”.
and the spectator, such as ‘The
Artist Is Present’ exhibit from ARCHITECTURE
2010 at the MoMa. Abramović sat The most famous example of ‘ma’
silent and motionless on a chair in architecture is the Zen rock
for 736 and a half hours, while garden at the Ryoanji Temple in
visitors could take a seat across Kyoto, Japan. The rocks appear
from her. This audience ultimately to be grouped at random, but at
totaled 1,545 people, including the same time, seem to have been
her ex, Ulay, whom she hadn’t seen very carefully positioned to serve
for 22 years (footage that is as refuges.

_ 109
 ‘SMALL MOMENTS, THE ONES
WE OFTEN DON’T NOTICE,
ARE ACTUALLY RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE BEAUTY OF LIFE’

There’s a Way; Dutch only), Henk Oosterling, author and in a children’s book, of all places: The Happy Hedgehog
former professor of philosophy at the Erasmus University by Swiss author, Marcus Pfister. The book is about a
in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, calls this the ki, or energy, hedgehog that is pressured by his grandfather to be
of kami, or the awe-inspiring. Put simply, and in a very sure to ‘get everything you can out of life’ (being the
Western manner: Nothing can also contain something. strongest, fastest, smartest), whereas for him, ‘getting
This concept fascinated me. The more I read, the everything you can out of life’ actually means that he
more I realized that there are set rules as well as freedom enjoys the little things that life offers every day. That
for interpretation in ma. Authors of articles regularly was it! The hedgehog got it! But what did he do that
recommend, apart from the ‘set rules’ for ma for I’m not doing? Lazing about, you could say, just looking
landscaping or flower arranging for example, trying to around. He’s mindful. It’s not that simple, however.
‘live ma’ in our daily lives, but it was never clear to me He does more; he sees what we can’t see, but what?
how to do this. Maybe Japanese people can do this Once again, philosopher Pascal had the answer to
automatically? What I did find out about it was that more this question: Small minds are concerned with the
than anything, ma is an internalized concept for many extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary. We
Japanese. I also noticed this when I spoke to a few often focus on everything except for the small, barely
experts about it: I was shown a varying array of visible things. These ‘normal’ moments mean ‘nothing’
manifestations of the concept and oddly enough, I to us. However, it is these small moments, the ones
understood all these different interpretations. Perhaps it we often don’t notice, that are actually responsible
is similar to the concept of ‘coziness’. We all know, for for the beauty of life when viewed in the grand
example, that fighting is not ‘cozy’, but what ‘cozy’ scheme of things: We should try appreciating these
is differs for everyone. I decided to just translate this nothing-something moments more often.
ma concept myself. I may not be a philosopher, but I As far as this goes, my daughter is a ‘great mind’
would imagine I’m free to give ‘something’ my own as I realized one day. As we were walking and I was
interpretation. What really struck me about the concept thinking about the groceries and an impending
is that ‘nothing’ can also be ‘something’. This last line is deadline, she suddenly let the following slip: “What a
a typical Western way of thinking, incidentally. We tend beautiful day”. And that’s when I really saw it, the things
to think in dualistic terms in the West; nothing and I normally managed to overlook: the old windmill we
something are two different things and therefore a were going past that was putting up a brave fight
combination becomes ‘nothing-something’. In Japan, against the test of time; the blades of grass slowly
where they are more non-dualistic thinkers (things can dancing in the wind to a beat only they can hear; the
be ‘and-and’ and merge into one), they would probably blue boat on the lake manned by two people who were
never come up with the word ‘nothing-something’. It’s both wearing a red shirt, and the white dog sitting on
just ma, end of story. the deck. A moment like this normally meant nothing
to me. It just wasn’t there. I was usually on my way
EXPLOSION OF BEAUTY somewhere, both physically and mentally. But now that
That nothing-something idea seemed like it could be I just allowed it to be, it displayed itself to me like a
a source of peace, calm and reflection. Now to see soundless explosion of beauty. And yes, it certainly was
where I can find it. I found the answer to that question a beautiful day.

110 _
 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT and nonsense, for example. What do I want to invest
My daughter’s amazement is not an isolated case; my energy in and what do I not want to invest it in
young children have an unlimited talent for being (anymore)? It’s as if the clouds are dissipating, and I am
amazed at the—in our view—most futile things. The seeing things more clearly. Days after my conversation
sun or a rock, for example. They drag a branch home with Muis for this feature, she told me about her own
with them like it’s the greatest treasure. And why experience with the concept of nothing-something.
shouldn’t it be? I decided to start behaving more like “After our conversation,” she says, “I started paying
the hedgehog and my daughter. This meant allowing attention and that’s when I noticed it. I was standing in
the interval, the nothing-something, to come between the kitchen and heard rain falling on our roof. It just
the things that I believe are ‘something’: my daily life sounded like rain at first, but after a while, it felt like
and my thoughts. This required me to ‘let go’ of my nature’s drum session. Strangely enough, I suddenly felt
head (and my phone!) and to let relaxation, curiosity connected, simply because I was open to experiencing
and amazement in. it differently. After we spoke, I honestly started seeing
TEXT MAAIKE HELMER ILLUSTRATIONS TAKU BANNAI

It wasn’t easy; my head wasn’t designed for this. things I hadn’t noticed before. I almost want to say it
Practice does make perfect, however. By continuing was magical, even though it was all so normal.”
to give these moments a name (I started calling it And this is it in a nutshell: The magic is in the
‘highlighting’), slowly but surely I got better at it, until mundane, in the space between you and me, in the
it almost became automatic at a certain point. It really composition of the flowers on the table. It’s also in the
was a unique experience. wind that blows through your loved-one’s hair. Nothing
is self-evident, and something is self-evident. But then
DRUM SESSION again, that’s hardly self-evident.
After applying my new way of looking at things for a
couple of months, it suddenly took on an incredible
side effect. Because the little moments increasingly
turned out to be big moments (my daughter’s laugh is
still the biggest conceivable moment), I started looking
at my life differently—distinguishing between sense
 Outside

AN OLD CAMPER TRAILER ON A CAMPSITE, AMONG THE TREES: A PLACE TO

SWITCH INTO VACATION MODE AS SOON AS YOU TAKE IN THE FOREST AIR.
JOURNALIST CAROLINE BUIJS WRITES ABOUT WASHING DISHES OUTDOORS,

LIFE WITHOUT A PHONE AND HOURS SPENT LAZING IN A HAMMOCK.

It always takes me by surprise, the peacefulness that I feel the tree leaves and watch the swaying treetops. A
as soon as I walk down the little path where our camper weekend in and around the camper trailer always gives
trailer stands on a campsite in the forest. It’s a dirt path me a moment of peace from my busy week, where my
with some grass here and there, bordered by oak trees brain and mind can relax. I sleep better here, worry
and hawthorn bushes. Now and then, you can see less and live without a schedule. In the mornings, I
another camper trailer through the greenery. They are all practically never know what I’ll be doing that day. Will
old and a bit worn around the edges—they were made in it be going for a bike ride, walking to the sea, or just
the 1960s and 1970s—but they are still beauties. The first lying in the hammock with a good book?
thing I always do when I arrive, after opening the camper
trailer’s windows wide and taking a few deep breaths of HOUSE ON WHEELS
forest air, is to fill the kettle for a cup of tea. I walk to the That this place is so perfect for relaxing and gives me
water tap a little way down the path, accompanied by the such a good vacation feeling after a mere fifteen minutes
chirping of birds. On my way, I notice how the leaves of wasn’t the reason we bought the camper trailer twelve
the oak and hawthorn have managed to become just that years ago. With two young children and an apartment
little bit greener since the last time I was there. Or, in the without a garden in the middle of a city, we were always
fall, just that little bit yellower. looking for a place to be outside in good weather: the
Actually, it’s not strange at all that I feel so peaceful kids’ pool in the park, the grandparents’ garden, the
here. According to American philosopher and playground just around the corner. Perfectly nice places,
psychologist William James, there is nowhere better to but always a drag and a hassle to pack bags, snacks and
relax your focus than in nature; you simply let yourself drinks, and lug it all up and down four flights of stairs.
be carried away by whatever appears before you. For I secretly dreamed of a vacation home, somewhere
me, that usually means I lie in my hammock under the in the countryside, where we could go for the whole
trees and watch the little robin hiding behind the wheels weekend. But every house I liked was far too expensive.
of the camper trailer, and sometimes carefully hopping Until I saw a mother from school throw her weekend bag
out. When there’s a sea breeze, I listen to the rustling of into the car on a Friday afternoon. “Are you going on >

_ 113
114 _ The first Tabbert camper trailer was built in Germany in 1953 by master bodywork builder and pioneer Alfred Tabbert
 ‘ There ’s no paperwork that needs
sorting , no laundry begging to be folded ,
no bathroom that needs scrubbing ’

vacation?” I asked. “Something like that,” she replied. the window open. We eat ice creams on the beach,
“I’m off to my camper trailer by the sea.” A house on take the annual ‘who dares to dive in first’ plunge into
wheels! That did turn out to be affordable. I looked the sea and, during longer public holiday weekends,
around on websites one evening and found a beautiful friends and family join us, setting up tents next to our
1969 Tabbert for €750. camper trailer. Just like at home, we have neighbors
After my husband and I found a spot on a campsite here you can chat with, but who you don’t have to visit
by the sea, a friend asked whether I minded having all the time. And just like at home, I have a favorite
to leave my house to go to the camper trailer. But ‘having second-hand store nearby. I actually live a kind of
to leave’ turned out to be an advantage and to contribute parallel life here, but—compared to the city—it’s a
to that vacation feeling: by being away from home—for a bit greener and, most important, a bit slower.
weekend or even for a day—there’s no room for worry. Everything takes more time and is less efficient here.
There’s no paperwork that needs sorting, no basket of There is no electricity and I cook (read: get by) on a
laundry begging to be folded, no bathroom that needs portable gas stove. Here I decide what to eat on the day
scrubbing. Here I can really get away from it all, just like itself, because there’s no refrigerator and the cooler holds
on a vacation. exactly one day’s worth of food. I wash the dishes by
And the camper trailer is always ready: When the hand, outside under the trees. I don’t look at my phone,
weather’s good, I live the outdoor life here every weekend, because there is no Wi-Fi and my 4G rarely works. And
without having to first search for a hotel, Airbnb or when something goes wrong with my bike, it’s not really
campsite. I can even decide to go at the last minute: a problem: The beach itself is no longer the end goal so
There are always enough clothes here and I can get some much as the walk there and back. Along the way, we
groceries from the farmer across the street. regularly lie back on the side of the path, watching the
And I know what I’ll find here; it’s always the same. clouds, or I pick wild flowers to dry at home.
In fact, I’ve known what I’ll find for twelve years. That I recently realized that a weekend in the camper
again makes it easier to do nothing at all here, because trailer is similar to what is called shinrin-yoku (forest
the beach and forest are already familiar. I can go there if bathing) in Japan, which refers to the beneficial effects
I feel like it, but there’s no need for sightseeing, and this of nature. Japanese researcher Yoshifumi Miyazaki
gives me the peace of mind I need to lie in the hammock describes it very well in his book Shinrin-yoku: The
under the trees for entire afternoons. Japanese Way of Forest Bathing for Health and
Relaxation. He writes that most people experience
CLOUD WATCHING well-being in nature and that is precisely why our stress
Just like at home, we’ve developed our own rituals levels are reduced. In his view, he writes, well-being is a
here. Early in the morning, when it’s still too cold state in which the rhythms of humans and nature are
outside, we listen to a bird concert from our beds with synchronized. Miyazaki shares that he already feels

116 _ Tabbert produced its 250,000th camper trailer in 2002

 such synchronization when looking at a potted on the forest floor. Even though that makes me feel
plant. There must be a connection with the seven slightly melancholic, it also feels right: It’s time to live
million-year-old evolution of us humans, he writes, indoors again for a few months, stretched out on the
when for the largest part nature was our habitat and couch with a wool blanket instead of in the hammock.
our body was adapted to it.

HIBERNATION CITY AND COUNTRY

My children are now teenagers. They find the camper
trailer boring (no Wi-Fi) and they’re not interested in During the Industrial Revolution, vast
nature (I hope that this will change as they get older). numbers of humans moved to urban
We wanted to close up our place about two years ago surroundings, which means that humans have
TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY CAROLINE BUIJS HAND-LETTERING VALESCA VAN WAVEREN

for that reason, but I’m so glad we didn’t, because spent over 99.99 percent of their time in a
now the city is getting even busier, and I don’t always natural environment. In 1800, three percent
manage to kick back and do nothing at home. The of the world’s population lived in urban
place is becoming even more valuable for these areas. By 1900 this was close to 14 percent
reasons. Nowadays, my husband and I sometimes and in 2016 it reached 54 percent. The
spend the weekend there together and leave the United Nations Population Division predicts
children at home alone—which is good practice for that this will rise to 66 percent by 2050.
them at being independent. But genes cannot change over a few hundred
More and more often, I also go there on my own years, which means that we live in a modern
during a weekday—sometimes to be able to work society in bodies that are still geared
quietly, without Wi-Fi, but often just to be there. It’s towards natural environments. According to
a funny situation every time I get home: My phone’s Japanese researcher and writer Yoshifumi
battery is almost always empty due to the lack of power Miyazaki, this inevitably causes stress.
source in the camper trailer, but I’m totally recharged. But there is hope: When we come into
Every summer, the Tabbert has to leave its spot for contact with nature (a forest, park or
seven weeks, when the campsite rents out the space to flower bed in the garden), we feel relaxed.
campers. That’s okay, because in the summer I prefer That is because our body (right down to
to go on vacation for as long as possible and preferably our genes) is tuned into it.
somewhere I’ve never been to before. When I clean the Source: ‘Shinrin-yoku: The Japanese Way of
camper trailer at the end of October and prepare it for Forest Bathing for Health and Relaxation’,
its hibernation, all those leaves that we saw growing by Yoshifumi Miyazaki
steadily greener on the oak trees in March have fallen

_ 117
TEXT CAROLINE BUIJS ILLUSTRATIONS DEBORAH VAN DER SCHAAF
 There Is
Another Way...
A workbook for living life with more focus
 Insight

LIVING MORE IN THE HERE AND NOW: SOUNDS GREAT,

RIGHT? BUT HOW DO WE GO ABOUT IT? IT’S SOMETHING

WE OFTEN FORGET TO DO IN OUR DAILY LIVES. HERE

ARE SEVEN WAYS TO TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH.

We have the tendency to live our lives on

autopilot, particularly when we’re really busy.
We start the day by mentally going through our
to-do list in the shower, making a quick call to
a colleague as we head to work, or thinking
about what we’re going to make for dinner
during a walk in the woods. We hardly even
feel the hot water from the shower, and our
attention is everywhere except on what we’re
doing, seeing or eating at that moment. This is
a shame: It keeps us from even noticing how
pretty the sun is shining through the trees, or
how delicious our muesli with yogurt and fresh
raspberries tastes.
All of these moments are actually ‘kicks for
free’, those little moments of joy that are just there
for the taking and which can help offset stress
and discomfort. Training can help you bring your
attention back to the here and now any time so
you can emerge from autopilot now and then to
truly notice those tiny moments of happiness.
Slowing down can also be a huge help.
The following pages contain a variety of
exercises to help you return to what you
are now doing and seeing and to slow down,
and also to help you realize that life isn’t
perfect—and that’s just fine. >

_ 121
 WATE R M OM EN T
There is an easy way to
practice being more in the
here and now. If you come
into contact with water
during your daily routine,
try to stop and be aware of
it. So, when you wash your
hands, water the plants,
take a shower or bathe
your child, try to focus
your attention on what
you’re doing.
It’s a simple yet concrete
way of being aware of where
you are.

Draw your favorite memory of water here (a warm bath, a lake where you had a lovely
swim, a beautiful sunset at the beach, and so on).

122 _
 TAKE A LIT T LE ST RO L L
Staying fit and slowing down actually
go really well together; research has
shown that walking around a bit at
various moments during the day is much
healthier than sitting the entire day,
working hard, and then going to the
gym twice a week. Traipsing around
every day might sound like utopia,
but something you can do is to amble
over to the coffee machine to get a
cup of coffee (or tea), go for a walk
if you need to make a call or walk
over to your colleague instead of
sending them an email.

Draw the routes that you covered walking around today.

_ 123
 ‘I am an old
man and have
known a great
many troubles,
but most of them
never happened’
Mark Twain (1835-1910), American author
 MI STAK E S A RE O K AY
Making something with your
hands—be it knitting, crocheting
or any other craft—is very mindful,
because it makes it impossible
to do anything else at the
same time (otherwise you’ll
ruin the pattern). It’s also a
great exercise in being less of
a perfectionist. This is why
kimonos and Persian rugs that are
made by hand by people who have
fully mastered these crafts always
contain tiny imperfections. The
idea behind this tradition is that
there’s only one person who doesn’t
make mistakes, and that is God or
whoever your deity may be. Going
easy on yourself is also a trait
that comes in handy when you make
something yourself. It’s okay to
make mistakes. Who is going to get
upset about that tiny hole in your
knitting or crochet work?

Which projects did you fail to ever finish because you were too much
of a perfectionist? Perhaps you could take another look at them, but
this time through more forgiving eyes?

_ 125
 STAR T O F T HE DAY
The way you get up in the
morning can affect your
entire day. Do you check
Instagram right away?
Or do you take your time
and drink a cup of coffee
or tea, or read your book
for half an hour first?

Write down another way you could start your day here.
B ACK BY PO PULA R D E MA N D
Even if you don’t have
children or yours are a bit
older, reading aloud or
having someone read to you
is always nice.
See it as something you
can’t do wrong; it’s a
relaxed moment to share
something with someone you
feel comfortable with.

Which books would you like to read to someone else,

and which ones would you like someone to read to you?
 The things
I love

The things we
both love

The things my partner (or friend, child, sister,

brother, father, mother) loves

128 _
 I AM O K AY W HE RE I A M
Not comparing yourself with others will
spare you a lot of agitation. This remains
a challenge, though, since social media
gives us a way to peer into other people’s
lives. Even though this can be nice,
sometimes we get the idea that everyone
else is having more fun than we are.

See if you can try to stop comparing yourself with other people
for just one week. Every time you catch yourself doing it,
shift your attention to something else.

Where did you end up refocusing your attention?

Did you feel calmer after the week was over?

Which three things were you grateful for this week,

or happy about?
COMPILATION CAROLINE BUIJS ILLUSTRATIONS KAREN WEENING

Something else that can help is to avoid getting distracted by

what other people are doing or thinking, but to use this as
inspiration instead. Be sure to trust your gut feeling and do
what makes you happy.

This feature was inspired by insights from the Flow ‘My Perfectly Imperfect Life’ book by Workman Publishing.
If you want to read more, please visit the Flow web shop at flowmagazine.com/shop to order your copy
 AVAILABLE
NOW

KEEP CALM
AND CRAFT ON

ILLUSTRATION AND BACKGROUND PATTERN SHUTTERSTOCK

In this book we give you daily craft assignments—from taking photos to drawing, from making collages to writing, and
from making patterns to stamping. There are 365 assignments to make you slow down and stand still. This guided
journal has been illustrated by Dutch illustrator Deborah van der Schaaf and contains extras such as stickers and cut-out
paper goodies that you can use with your projects. After a year, your book will be filled with beautiful things and your
head will be a little lighter—we hope.

THE FLOW KEEP CALM DAILY CRAFT BOOK COSTS €15.50

AND IS AVAILABLE FROM THE FLOW WEB SHOP.
GO TO FLOWMAGAZINE.COM/CRAFT TO ORDER YOUR COPY.

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 FLOW NEWS
PHOTOGRAPHY LUPEN GRAINNE BACKGROUND PATTERN SHUTTERSTOCK

IN THIS ISSUE: Two new 2020 Wall Calendars: Dare to Daydream and
My Perfectly Imperfect Life Also new: The Kids’ Book of
Paper Love How to order back issues The benefits of becoming
a subscriber In the next issue

_ 131
 AVAILABLE
NOW

OFF TO
A GOOD START
This 2020 wall calendar is an instant mood booster for
your office or home and a great gift to make anyone
happy all year long.

Lots of
everyday
daydrea
included

ILLUSTRATION AND BACKGROUND PATTERN SHUTTERSTOCK

The Dare to Daydream 2020 Wall Calendar will make your wall pop with color and
inspiration. From snowed-in cabins to vividly colored songbirds, and from vintage camper
trailers to surfboards, each month features bright artwork by illustrator Anisa Makhoul,
accompanied by fresh designs and hand-lettering, and printed on beautifully thick paper.

THE DARE TO DAYDREAM 2020 WALL CALENDAR

COSTS €13.99 AND IS AVAILABLE FROM THE FLOW WEB
SHOP AND IN BOOKSTORES ACROSS THE US. GO TO
FLOWMAGAZINE.COM/DAYDREAM TO ORDER YOUR COPY.

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 THERE’S
MESSAHEAD
(AND THAT’S A GOOD THING)

The My Perfectly Imperfect Life 2020 Wall Calendar is

the calendar that toasts to a year of simple, perfectly
imperfect experiences, rather than just the
Instagrammable, flawlessly curated ones.

ORDER
NOW
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKMAN PUBLISHING ILLUSTRATION AND BACKGROUND PATTERN SHUTTERSTOCK

Hray
f quiet
delights!

Life is full of moments that are imperfect, everyday, flawed and so-so, but that doesn’t mean
they don’t deserve to be celebrated. After all, appreciating the whole picture—including the
mundane—leads to greater long-term happiness than relentlessly pursuing perfection.
Every month, colorful illustrations—of plants, quirky clothes, messy buns, coffee stains, cats
and lots more—are paired with inspiring quotes and prompts about leading the life you want.
It also includes twelve illustrated postcards and a sheet of stickers.

MY PERFECTLY IMPERFECT LIFE 2020 WALL CALENDAR

COSTS €14.99 AND IS AVAILABLE FROM THE FLOW WEB
SHOP AND IN BOOKSTORES ACROSS THE US. YOU CAN ORDER
YOUR COPY AT: FLOWMAGAZINE.COM/PERFECTCALENDAR

_ 133
 AVAILABLE
FROM
OCTOBER 15

A SURPRISE
ON EVERY PAGE
Brimming from cover to cover with projects and other
paper surprises, The Kids’ Book of Paper Love is a
bounty of a book that begs to be folded, cut up,
collaged, doodled on and shared.

Perfect f
buing
artts

ILLUSTRATION AND BACKGROUND PATTERN SHUTTERSTOCK

A brand new book full of fun projects: from looping paper strips into a chain to
folding a paper house, and from making photo booth props to constructing a paper
flower bouquet or a paper terrarium. And there are lots of our signature paper
goodies, of course, including a foldout paper banner, postcards, glitter stickers,
a paper doll and a two-sided poster.

THE KIDS’ BOOK OF PAPER LOVE COSTS €17.95 AND IS

AVAILABLE FROM THE FLOW WEB SHOP AND IN
BOOKSTORES ACROSS THE US. YOU CAN ORDER YOUR
COPY AT: FLOWMAGAZINE.COM/KIDS

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 MISSED
ANISSUE?

If you missed a (recent) issue of Flow Magazine, please

visit our Flow web shop, where you can order back issues
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_ 135
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 COLOPHON

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_ 137
 INTHE
NEXTISSUE

The echoes of your childhood:

Why do they last so long?

How an eye for detail can

enrich your daily life

More space, relief, time

and pleasure after a year
of slowing down

Taking a bookbinding
course on the Scottish

PHOTOGRAPHY SUSAN BELL, FROM BOUND BY RACHEL HAZELL (KYLE BOOKS) BACKGROUND PATTERN SHUTTERSTOCK
island of Iona

EXTRAS: PAPER GIFT BAGS AND

AN ILLUSTRATED NOTEBOOK

FLOW MAGAZINE
ISSUE 33
Available in our web shop from November 12
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worldwide as of December.

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138 _
 WOMEN HEROES
Alice Walker by Ae Bentley
TEXT ALICE VAN ESSEN ILLUSTRATION ANNE BENTLEY

“I drew this portrait of Alice Walker because I was starting African-American woman growing up in the South. I think
a personal project: painting female Pulitzer Prize winners,” I might have a special interest in reading novels set in the
says painter and illustrator Anne Bentley who lives South because I grew up in Alabama.
in San Francisco in the US. “I admire her intellect and “This piece was drawn on my iPad. I use a lot of
activism, and the fact that she returned to the South in the layering, just as I do when painting with oils, so it’s a
US to fight for Civil Rights. I’ve only read The Color Purple, similar process without waiting for the paint to dry.”
which is such a beautifully written story about the life of an Bentleyworks.us; @annembentley

American author and activist Alice Walker is best-known for her novel ‘The Color Purple’,
for which she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 _ 139