De Beeldenaar 2: Teun Hocks

With Teun Hocks, it was always playtime. You could let out all your energy with him and he wouldn't pay any attention. He was very entertaining and always enjoyed what we were saying and trying to create. 

The highlight of the lessons was making the annual cartoon. Teun would film every sheet we finished with a camera positioned in the middle of the classroom. 

At the end of the year, we watched the film together —that was a moment I'll never forget. It was something you had created with him and the rest of the group. It felt very special:

De Beeldenaar 1: Akke Sins

At the Beeldenaar art school for kids, Saturday mornings were organized so that you changed teachers and subjects every month. 

Besides Marlies, I took classes with Teun Hocks (a cool guy) for drawing, painting, and animation, and with Akke Sins for printmaking. 

Akke Sins was a striking, tall woman who was always calm and focused (something new to me). 

I remember that everyone in her class always tried to please her by creating beautiful things. A lovely woman, with a great gift for teaching. 

She owned a house in Oostende, which was very bohemian then. 

I am still very grateful for her lessons and for teaching me how to concentrate. 

When my mother was sorting out her old mail a few years ago, we found at least ten hand-made new year cards (woodprints, linocuts) adressed to my parents and to all the Jasjes (there are six of us).   

I just found a wonderful interview with her that includes this great photo of her with her dogs. She is 96 now.

Akke Sins 

In 1961 Akke designed my birth announcement card, which is very typical of her style: