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IntroductionPeople live through their senses. Taste, touch, smell, hearing and last but not least vision. Ever since high-school I remember myself to be seeking those experiences both as consumer as well as provider. And although I love to eat, drink and cook or to listen to and play music there is one aspect that that really surfaced: the shape of things.
These webpages tell something about myself and show some of the things I have made. What is presented is only a small fraction of photo's, renderings and drawings that were realized over the years. As all these designs are mine, nobody is allowed to use any of the designs or their pictures without my written consent. All designs are dated and registered. Because my focus is on creation instead of production I have no intention of selling jewelry or furniture to individuals. Companies nevertheless are invited to purchase licenses. BackgroundMost of my life took place in the city of Rotterdam where I was born in October 1959. That was also the city where I graduated from the medical university. My ratings at school were quite adequate but never truly outstanding as I was far too easily distracted with all the joys that life has to offer. My income ever since is being mainly gathered working self employed in the field of computers (mainly complex software engineering and network infrastructure). Being a medical doctor turned out not to be the thing for me. One thing that always kept popping up is the urge to create and shape things, as these web pages will testify.
Apart from some obvious drawbacks, not being professionally trained in the craft of design does gives one the opportunity to explore and express ones own vision to a great depth. I have always preferred learning by exploration, driven by need. I have never felt comfortable with the folly of the day and other peoples methods to achieve such goals. However much I like to be full-time occupied designing, I refuse to violate my own folly in favour of industries. It is what I am. Working in IT does buy me that independence. Design conceptsIn order to explain how I design, I would like to tell how I observe. There are two simple rules that help me look at things and form an opinion. First it should touch me. Second I should not be able to change it without weakening it. All is in vain if something fails to touch the heart. It's good that this is subjective because it leads to richness in style. The intrinsic strength of something is somewhat more objective but is determined by the amount of background you learned on the subject. Abstract art is a nice example. One picture of Pollock or Mondriaan is confusing. An overview exhibition that shows the artists progress is an entirely different thing. Personally I have always admired work that is highly autonomous, does express much of it's own background and context.
In the same fashion I hope to have created objects that you, as an observer, can appreciate or critique without reading all this silly text. One other motive in my work is constraints. In a world where everything is allowed there is no criterion for optimization. Worse, I find it hard to think of anything new without some form of limitation.
Things I prefer are honest and solid materials like steel, wood and stone. I prefer solid wood over veneer and stainless steel over chrome. The one thing I cannot stand is fake, be it in objects, food or personal relations. Yes, I do prefer good honest vinegar over sweet chemically flavoured sweets.
I do hope you, observer, will appreciate what I can offer you on these webpages. Even if you must miss the ring of steel, the cold touch of stone and the smell of bee-wax on wood. Also, I do hope you can find the time to let me share your impressions in an Email. It can be both pleasant and helpfull to look through another person's eyes because they will see different. Kind regards, Peter. |
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Peter van den Heuvel The Netherlands +31 487 50 99 50 |
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