Tweet28-01-2011 om 19:29 by Sueli Brodin

Every Saturday morning, my husband and I take turns to accompany our son Tim to his cartoon drawing course at the Kumulus art centre in Maastricht. It is a pleasant 45 minute bike ride on the dike along the Juliana canal and the Meuse river.



My husband and I both enjoy these trips with Tim, because they offer us the opportunity for intimate one to one conversations with him. Sometimes Tim also likes taking off and biking on his own. He tries to spot birds and other small animals in the quiet and peaceful nature surrounding us.



It is a safe bike route to Maastricht and perhaps Tim could ride it on his own, but my husband and I also enjoy going into town every other Saturday morning, when the streets are not crowded yet.



The Kumulus art centre is located on Herbenusstraat in the Staten neighbourhood in the north west of Maastricht and I inevitably stop to take a picture of the beautiful view on the Meuse river every time we cross the Wilhemina bridge.



My husband discovered a short cut from the Brusselsestraat through the Cellebroedersstraat that takes us directly to the backside of the Kumulus building. It’s an unconspicuous and well hidden cobblestone alley, open only to pedestrians and bikers, which carries all the charm of old Maastricht.



It’s only since we started taking this alley that we learned about the existence of the Cellebroeders chapel, which offers a programme of classical concerts every Sunday afternoon. The 16th century gothic chapel is also a coveted location for wedding ceremonies.



The design of the imposing Kumulus building is attributed to the Limburg architect Pierre Cuypers, whose works include the Rijksmuseum and the Central Station in Amsterdam.



It was built in 1912 by the Maastricht catholic brotherhood de Beyart and served as the St Servatiusschool.



Nowadays, the Kumulus centre for amateur arts is open to all and offers a wide range of cultural and artistic activities in the fields of visual arts, music, dance, theatre, creative writing, and audiovisual and digital art techniques.



The building is quiet and almost deserted on Saturday mornings. Tim and I often take a moment to admire the art works on display as we walk through the clean, spacious and welcoming corridors on our way to his classroom.



Tim started drawing as soon as he could hold a pen. He has always been a spontaneous and productive drawer, and a characteristic feature about him is that he goes through phases in his choice of subjects. There have been phases in the past when he would be interested in nothing else but firetrucks, medieval castles and fortresses, Suske and Wiske cartoon characters or kingfishers. At the moment, he is going through an airplane phase, and draws almost exclusively airplanes.



Tim’s drawing course lasts for one hour and a half and focuses more specifically on cartoon drawing techniques. He says that he doesn’t feel the time go by. He is also learning to work with different types of pen and paper. His lesson last week consisted in producing a manga cartoon with ink on Japanese rice paper.

He feels comfortable in the small group of seven children of his age but works quietly, not necessarily partaking in their conversations. He likes his teacher, a young graduate from the Art Academy in Maastricht, and says that she draws remarkably well and tells many funny jokes during the lesson.



It is a pleasure to see the radiant smile on his face at the end of his lesson as he proudly shows me his new creations and everything he has learned...



And then it’s time to bike back home together through the fields.




Further reading: Kumulus - a hill, a cloud? A painting, a dance!

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