Gristmill chalk postcard

Chalk drawing of the last corn mill in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

The period of studying traditional trades in Grade 3 of Waldorf pedagogy is often looked forward to all year round, because this period often gives rise to many nice trips.  Trades are examined; the farmer is plowing, wheat is sown, grain is harvested.  Or there is a visit to a flour mill, which with its impressive stature often has a huge attraction for the children.  The revolving blades that turn the millstone through intriguing constructions and grind the grain into flour.  The flour is then used to knead dough for loaves of bread or bake delicious pancakes .

Geertje Kapteijns (1980) is a visual artist, living in Dordrecht, Netherlands.  When her children went to a Waldorf school, she was introduced to the way in which the seasons and annual festivals are celebrated and how children are able to be children during childhood.  This has proved to be a huge source of inspiration.  She started making chalkboard drawings and over time, she released them as cards, as well as her watercolour paintings as cards.  The cards are small works of art that encourage a conscious reflection on a certain time of the year or a certain event and the feeling that goes with that.  Drawings that make you look forward to remembering a beautiful moment.  

There is something magical about a chalkboard drawing.  Because of the black background, you not only apply color when you start drawing, but also light.  Chalk as a material is vulnerable but also very flexible, you can make quick impressions with it, but you can also work with it in detail.  The board drawings are transient, and eventually become again.  However, this also creates space for a new drawing.

Geertje uses Mercurius chalkboard chalk for all her chalkboard drawings

10.5 x 14.8 cm.

Print of a chalkboard drawing on a large quality paper card.

Printed in the Netherlands.