Monique Sliedrecht Blog

All Posts

7 hours ago
4 min

Blow Out

I was travelling to Thurso with a friend (we’re in the same bubble), to pick up a prescription. It was a nice enough day. No wind, no r...

Monique Sliedrecht

Jan 9
2 min

The Sand Truck

A small orange yellow light blinks it’s way along the top road, across the open view of the living room window, distinctly noticeable in ...

Monique Sliedrecht

Jan 3
2 min

Clouds

It’s another crisp morning, clouds are hanging close to the horizon in the 'blue hour' of dawn. I make a coffee and stare out the kitche...

Monique Sliedrecht

Dec 25, 2020
2 min

Early Christmas Morning

'A Winter's Voyage' - Acrylic on Linen, Wood, Found Objects 2020 It’s early morning and still dark out. I decided to get up and sit in t...

Monique Sliedrecht

Dec 13, 2020
3 min

Water and Mist

A lot of rain has fallen this past week. The land is saturated. After a night of high winds and the drumming of raindrops against the w...

Monique Sliedrecht

Dec 6, 2020
4 min

Shoes to Fill

Yesterday, the shops in the Netherlands shut early and some 60% of Dutch people will have settled down to celebrate Sinterklaas, my frien...

Monique Sliedrecht

Nov 29, 2020
4 min

Advent Frost

Yesterday afternoon, at around 3:00, just before sunset, a friend and I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to drive up to the most northe...

Monique Sliedrecht

Nov 22, 2020
4 min

Wind

If ever one needed to clear one’s head, the northeast of Scotland is a good place to come. The wind will clear the cobwebs in no time! T...

Monique Sliedrecht

Nov 10, 2020
5 min

Light

A flat even dawn light met me through the partial opening in the curtains this morning. I could sense the stillness outside. There was no...

Monique Sliedrecht

Oct 27, 2020
5 min

Into the Unknown

Today is the day, almost 20 years ago, that I made my way over to Scotland for the first time. It was a spontaneous trip in many ways, fu...

Monique Sliedrecht

Oct 18, 2020
4 min

Making Space

I’ve been thinking a lot about space lately. Not outer space, though that’s not a bad thing to contemplate, but the continuous area or e...

Monique Sliedrecht

Oct 11, 2020
3 min

Thanksgiving

I just got back from a walk on the beach, caught by a light and misty rainfall. The wetness accentuates the colours of the limpid shells...

Monique Sliedrecht

Oct 3, 2020
3 min

Limitation

This week I decided to let go of the Edinburgh studio. It was a tough decision in many ways, as it is the link to the city and wider grou...

Monique Sliedrecht

Sep 20, 2020
3 min

Quiet Hovering

The last few days have been unusually calm in the north of Scotland - like the north is pausing in stillness. It is the tranquility of th...

Monique Sliedrecht

Sep 6, 2020
4 min

Art, Life and Wooden Toys

I’m sitting in the studio surrounded by bits of wood and found objects. Getting new window-doors put in has literally shed light on all t...

Monique Sliedrecht

Aug 29, 2020
7 min

Sea(sonal) Change

Sea Change When I was in Newfoundland for the first time a year ago I remember someone mentioning the fishing moratorium that was declare...

Monique Sliedrecht

Aug 17, 2020
4 min

Connection

We are very fortunate to have so many alternative ways of connecting in these times of uncertainty. Enforced physical distancing, signs a...

Monique Sliedrecht

Jul 31, 2020
2 min

Still Waters

I looked out the window one late afternoon and was stunned by the rainbow appearing eastwards over the sea after a huge and sudden downpo...

Monique Sliedrecht

Jul 1, 2020
2 min

O Canada

Today is Canada Day. O Canada our home in native land…. Some people refer to Scotland as ‘Little Canada’. I can see why. It sort of has ...

Monique Sliedrecht

Jun 22, 2020
3 min

Solen

What a day it was… The summer solstice fell on the 20th instead of the 21st of June this year, because of it being a leap year. And how l...

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