We Will Never Forget by Gennie de Lange

The Author Gennie de Lange, being dyslexic, has drawn on the innate artistic gift she was given. She grew up during WWII in her grandparents’ vast house and forested garden. Being taken to the ballet to see Peter and the Wolf when she was tiny reinforced her beliefs which many children share that toys and […]

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The Author

Gennie de Lange, being dyslexic, has drawn on the innate artistic gift she was given. She grew up during WWII in her grandparents’ vast house and forested garden. Being taken to the ballet to see Peter and the Wolf when she was tiny reinforced her beliefs which many children share that toys and animals understand everything. Born in New Zealand in 1942, Gennie received her training at Wellington Polytechnic, The Hammersmith and Middlesex School of Art and The Chelsea Pottery in London.

Her ceramic paintings have been exhibited in the USA, England, France and Switzerland as well as galleries in New Zealand. Talking about her ceramics, In New Zealand she ran pottery classes on a Saturday morning for children so that they could enjoy the art of creating things. 

Tales of war from her father were real. He had led a New Zealand dive bomber squadron, from which only half returned. The camaraderie, dare devil escapades, laughter, determination, and sacrifice that everybody was prepared to make and endure were part of life. Her father always felt he was here on borrowed time. It was her father’s stories from his war years that got Gennie interested in the history of war which made her aware of the goings on and why she delved so deeply into this subject matter.

For Gennie, life is a gamble. Being a ceramic artist, every time she puts her work in the kiln is a risk. The glazes that she paints with are all varying shades of powdery grey. After hours in the kiln at very high temperatures, her painted tiles emerge transformed like stained glass. Her exhibitions often sell out. The viewers relate to the subjects personally, and see the dramas of their own lives.

Now in her eighties, she has turned to using her own ceramic paintings as the background. The Observer, who is a worn velvet antique toy, views the devastation of war. The sale proceeds from this book (so far New Zealand only) are going to a family orphanage in Ukraine supporting children who have been separated from their parents. Gennie believes the young people of Ukraine will eventually have the spirit and determination to rebuild their country.

Here is a look at our video chat:

The Book

The book is a collection of fifty very short poems about the terrible effects of war on people and the devastation left behind.  Each poem is accompanied by a picture of a ceramic painting on a tile done by Gennie de Lange herself. The images closely correlate to the message in the poems. They are bright, gregarious and most of them have a worn velvet antique toy in them, known as The Observer.

The author’s work is intense and attested, yet parallel with an edge of innocent freakiness when it comes to the childhood toy named ‘The Observer. The simplicity of the child’s toy pitted against the horrors and devastation of war. While Gennie’s work covers the general theme of war, she does touch upon what is happening in Ukraine at the present time. 

The poems and the accompanying artwork tell the story of war brilliantly. 

The Observer

The Observer is nearly a hundred years old. My father-law bought him after he left medical school in the 1920s. He needed support through life, as a third of his medical class had died from infections. There were no antibiotics in those days. During WWII The Observer was posted to Cairo where the doctor ran a prisoner of war hospital. Most of the men were Italian tailors who made uniforms until they realized it was more fun designing and making glamourous evening clothes for those on leave. After the war The Observer stood on the mantelpiece of the doctor’s surgery room, listening to how people coped with the unexpected sadness and pain in their lives. Nearly eighty years later The Observer looks on with knowing eyes.

Visit Gennie’s web site here:

www.genniedelange.com

Or connect with her on Facebook

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553132803439&mibextid=ZbWKwL

Publisher

Xlibris NZ www.xlibris.com   or www.xlibris.co.nz Bookstore/ search Gennie De Lange

Podcast Info

This podcast is available to listen to on all major podcast platforms search Talking Books hosted by J T Crowley. The video is available on YouTube search Talking Books hosted by J T Crowley, and now on Roku and Amazon Fire Stick streaming devices. Download the Experts and Authors app on your Roku or Amazon Firestick device or visit: www.Expertsandauthors.tvonline and click TALKING BOOKS.

Thank you, Gennie, for this podcast interview, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed nipping to Auckland in New Zealand to talk to you about your wonderful book. By zoom of course!!!

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