Book

Home-In-The-Woods

‘Finding Dhyana in a Leftover Universe where Tender Time Sighs’

“When nothing looked familiar; my surroundings, choices I made and the person staring back at me in the mirror, I started to ask myself the questions: “Who am I? What am I? Where am I?”. With those questions in my pocket I embarked on a creative and spiritual journey through a forest, this puzzling maze we call life. With little steps and big dreams I started walking. Walking my very own path to find my self, to find my way home”.

In a realm of Magical Realism in a Leftover Universe, artist Diana van der Harst shares her experiences, thoughts and beings met along the way of this journey home. Characters emerged from her inner life and found their way into her artworks, with the first character being born in 2005. Slowly but steady a picture book started taking shape expressed in drawings, paintings, poetry, ceramics and textile art. A first draft in printed book form was realised in 2019. The book is showing protagonist Home-In-The-Woods, a dome home, going on a journey to find himself, a journey to find his home. Learning that Home is within. 

Diana draws inspiration for her range of work from her own life experiences and from human, animal, plant, inanimate and invisible beings surrounding her. Her love of all of life in its richness and variety has blossomed into the body of work that continues to evolve. Her work is intuitive, contemplative, emotional, spiritual, whimsical, harmonious and poetic. She is currently working on the second draft for her picture book expressed in artworks, written words and print form.