Inspired by an event of no significance

Introduction

Some of Marlies' works are in the possession of family and friends. Denneke, a niece of Marlies, shares her memories of her aunt and photos of the works she owns here.

Thank you so much, Denneke, for your great story and the beautiful pictures! 

The work of Marlies means a lot to me

I often think about the beautiful works of Marlies and how delicate and small she made them.

Perhaps it was the unplanned element (putting small pieces in the kiln whenever there was some leftover space) that led to the most beautiful results.

Then again, there's that finely sculpted little animal.

Inspiration from Japan

Marlies read haikus, and the Japanese influence was noticeable everywhere she lived.

The garden at her house on the Baronielaan was so beautiful. She had 'green foam', as she called it, growing everywhere. It flowed over the ground almost like a river.

That little plant is called 'baby's tears'. I still plant it in my own small garden.

‘In winter it turns brown,’ she would say, ‘and then, in spring, hop, it starts living again.’

Thick, big boulders lay at the back of the garden with that green blanket flowing next to them. In the front yard, she had East Indian cress growing over bamboo on the ground, like Matisse.

It was like a square carpet of flowers. I always enjoyed seeing Marlies’s home, wherever she lived.  She had great taste.

A poem by Ling Yu

Last month in Trouw (21 June 2025) Rob Schouten reviewed a collection of poems by Ling Yu (Inspired by an event of no significance). Ling Yu is Chinese, not Japanese, but nevertheless I was reminded of Marlies for a moment.

I think it's a beautiful poem:

Myself, My Train, and You

3.

Today would be hard to describe as blessed - 

Cold damp air, no hunger in the gut

 

Could be worse. The sky looks dusky, dimmed down

As if retreating to the eighteenth century

Having no radio. No lightbulb

Chilly drafts left by the night watchman

Lantern shaded in red. Wilted almond petals falling

Kindling set alight, boil a bowlful of thin noodles-

Ink stone frozen in the master's study

Careless servant sent away

To borrow a fiber-tip pen

In the twenty-first century

He stumbled upon a new name

Tried on a pair of jogging shoes

The master would not recognize

Ling Yu (translation Denis Mair)

A group of masks

A pensive mouse

Bowl (see No. 50)

Two goblets (see No. 17)