The year twenty-twenty is three days old already, and by now you must have seen my best wishes somewhere on the Internet (Facebook, my blog) but just in case you missed it: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!

The Top 2000 musical and creative blogparty, that ran through the last week of the year, is over and I am ‘back to normal’ again. I used the first days of the year to tie loose ends: I finished the last pages in my old ‘Chronicles’ (that journal is now full, a new bound Chronicles for this year lays waiting to be filled,) finished my ‘Top 2000 art journal’ and just enjoyed the quietness of my atelier without the computer beeping and submissions coming in all the time. The Top 2000 party was a huge success and a total of 263 pieces of art – spread over 7 blogposts – were published on my blog. (If you want to take a look: scroll down to former posts.)

I’ll show you the pages that I created myself during that week but first, let’s start with a haiku.

Friday haiku

The photo was taken on the last day of 2019 by my friend Lena Schreijenberg

I submit this haiku to Recuerda Mi Corazon where our lovely hostess Rebecca brings us all together to share a haiku on Friday: Haiku my Heart.

Top 2000 art journal

Each year, I bind a small journal to create the Top 2000 spreads in.
This year’s journal was 11,5 x 20,5 cm (4.5 x 8 inch)
Here’s the cover.

On the first day of the New Year, I finished my Top 2000 journal by making the index page and I added a plastic pocket on the last page to store the Top 2000 list.
Here’s all the spreads in a mosaic (if you want to see the spreads in a bigger size, go tho this gallery.)

The Chronicles of Marit 2019

The last spreads in my weekly art journal (click on the pictures to enlarge)

Week 51

Week 52

As every year, I take a selfie on the last day of the year and glue that on the last page of the journal. It’s a bit confronting to see me ‘grow older’ on those photos every year but hey, it’s honest and it’s me. (In this case, my beloved took the photo.)

And this is how I started the New Year, hope you had a wonderful start too and I hope I can inspire you again al through 2020. To start with that, there will an announcement about workshop(s) soon, so keep an eye on this place 😉

Je t’embrasse

This will be my last ‘normal’ blogpost of the year because next week, on Christmas day, the Top 2000 blog party starts and it will be a week filled with music and festivities and an every day ‘Top 2000 blogpost’… like every year, I am looking forward to this blogparty-week and all the inspiring art that people submit and that I will post on my blog.

You are welcome to party along with us if you like, even if it is just for a daily visit to look at all the art. And if you want to play along and create something (anything! So yes, a haiku will be welcomed too!) you can click HERE to read all about this blogparty and the “how to’s.”

So, what does ‘a Friday normal blogpost’ mean then?
For one: a haiku of course!

Friday haiku

The photo was taken by my friend Lena Schreijenberg

I submit this haiku to Recuerda Mi Corazon where our lovely hostess Rebecca brings us all together to share a haiku on Friday: Haiku my Heart.

And here’s my latest art journal spreads

The Chronicles of Marit – Week 49

The figure on the left is cut out of an art magazine, it’s part of a paining by Euan Uglow. I never heard of this artist so I looked him up… love his art!

The card to the right is an original lino print, made by my daughter in law: Guus. I made a plastic pocket on the art journal page so the lino stays as is – no tape or glue on it.
(Tip: when you create plastic pockets like this on your page, you can of course use the space underneath to write or decorate. Do this before you glue the pocket to the page!)

The Chronicles of Marit – Week 50

Yep, that’s me with a blue eye… on Wednesday evening I suddenly developed a blood stain underneath my eye… I guess a small vein burst. I did not feel it but I looked aweful with it and I guess everyone who saw me must have thought I was in a fight or something… It was more than a week ago that it happened and you can still see it today. The stain slowly fades though, so I hope to look like myself again at the beginning of the New Year.

I end this post with warm season greetings: wishing you beautiful holidays, a merry and loving Christmas and everything good for 2020. Hope to see you at the Top 2000 blogparty and/or next year!

Je t’embrasse

Friday haiku

The photo was taken by my friend Lena Schreijenberg

I submit this haiku to Recuerda Mi Corazon where our lovely hostess Rebecca brings us all together to share a haiku on Friday: Haiku my Heart.

There’s two art journal spreads I want to show. I save the third one I (week 49) for the next blogpost ’cause I don’t want to overload this blogpost.

(click on the images to enlarge)

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 47

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 48

And that’s it for today, short and sweet.
Thank you for visiting my blog!

Je t’embrasse

I plan to stay in my atelier this weekend, bind a new ‘Chronicles’ art journal for the coming year and contemplate my ‘word of the year’ for 2020.

The photo that my friend Lena took fits this December-feeling…

Friday haiku

The photo was taken by my friend Lena Schreijenberg

I submit this haiku to Recuerda Mi Corazon where our lovely hostess Rebecca brings us all together to share a haiku on Friday: Haiku my Heart.

On to my weekly art journaling.. I almost finished my tenth (10th!) Chronicles art journal… a journal in which I create weekly spreads. Ten art journals x 52 weeks… that’s 504 spreads over the last ten years in these journals only (520 minus 16 ’cause I started my first Chronicles in April 2010) Besides that, I have filled a lot of other art journals – some with a theme and some random. That’s an awful lot of art journals! There are times I create less but working on my weekly spreads has become a part of me. No matter what happens, creating a week-spread in my Chronicles is something I seldom skip…

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 45

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 46

We are in week 49 now, I know, but I create these pages in the weeks after (I keep a notebook on my desk where I jot down what happened each day, and use that notebook as a reminder to create my spreads.) The spread for week 47 is on my desk right now, almost done, and I hope to start on a spread for week 48 soon.

Top 2000 creative blog party – the countdown has begun

The end of the year, and my Top 2000 blog party, is getting nearer and nearer… the ‘voting week’ ends tomorrow and after that the list for 2019 will be compiled. The list goes online on December 20, so that is the date you can start submitting your art for this online party. However, the fun has started already in the Facebook group where people share their voting list and where I publish art ‘from the archives’ every day.

If you want to know more about my creative, musical blog party that will take place in the last week of the year, I suggest you click this link to find out all about it!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

Je t’embrasse

The photo was taken by my friend Lena Schreijenberg

I submit this haiku to Recuerda Mi Corazon where our lovely hostess Rebecca brings us all together to share a haiku on Friday: Haiku my Heart.

The temperatures dropping and the weather changing may have been the reason for me to pick that image of an icy wolf to use on my art journal pages. A wolf howling at… what? The moon? It’s a strong image isn’t it?

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 43

A few weeks ago, I joined a ‘swap’. I send a ‘surprise envelope’ to a fellow artist, filled with all kinds of ‘things’ like paper scraps, images and cut out sentences/words. I received a surprise envelope in return. You had to create ‘something’ using the stuff you had been sent. A woman named Martha send me “all sorts of green”, this is what I found when I opened the envelope:

I like greens but still I found it rather difficult to create with the paper and images that someone else picked…

I turned the papers and cut-out pictures to see what was on the back and there was an extra surprise: I found my name on the back! I decided to use the stuff on a Chronicles spread, cutting most of the images – using only parts as some sort of border – and I even cut up the sentences, turning the words into a found poem.

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 44

This spread doesn’t feel ‘like me’ but it’s an OK spread. And after all: it is good to be challenged from time to time, to step out of your comfort zone and do something different than the usual… so thank you Martha, for sending me this stuff!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today, have a nice weekend.

Je t’embrasse

but some routine settled in by now and I reckon I can find the time to do a round of desk-hoppin’ this week so HI, here I am again, catching up and showing you my desk.

WOYWW #545

I must be honest: I am writing this post on Sunday and the desk shows what is on it on Sunday morning. I hope to finish that Chronicles spread today and maybe play with the ‘green stuff’ too, if there’s time left. I joined a swap a couple of weeks ago – people send of ‘surprise envelopes’ containing all kinds of scraps and papers and ‘thingies’ and receive an envelope too, to work with. I received mine last week and as you can see, the woman who send me the envelope filled it up with all kinds of green paper and images… I think it will make a nice art journal page!

Because it has been 10 weeks since I showed you my desk, I have an extra photo for you… here’s the desk that is to my left. It’s filled with ‘old paper’ and stuff because on Saturday I will teach a workshop inspired by ‘old/archive documents’.

Yep, my job at the Zeeuws Archive is so inspiring that I made up a workshop with it!

This “Vintage” workshop is on Saturday in Middelburg, it’s only a couple of days from now, I know, but there’s still a spot if you like to join. Click the image for more info.

I may be busy but I never fail to work in my Chronicles art journal. I may be a few weeks behind but it’s the one thing that never gets abandoned… here’s the spread I created for week 42.

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 42

November is well on its way and I am preparing for December too… if you follow me/my blog for some time you know what that means: the Top 2000 blog party is coming up again! It’s still a few weeks before we can vote for the music-list of 2019 (the voting week is in the first week of December) and then another 3 weeks until Christmas, but time flies and before you know it the festivities start! I already jotted down songs to vote for and I am thinking about how I want to create-to-the-music this time. Shall I bind another ‘top 2000 journal’? Create on postcards maybe? Choose a theme to pick my songs? And will you join me in creating to the music? You ARE invited you know!!! Click the link to learn everything about this international blogparty!

I hope you liked to see/read an update from me. I am going to schedule this post now, and hope to visit you Thursday or Friday, I’m looking forward to see what you are up too!

Do those words ring a bell? A famous painting is called that way. I love that painting but most of all, I love that title. Whenever I see a pink-purple sky, those words come to mind.
Lena Schreijenberg’s photo reminded me of that title.

I submit this haiku to Recuerda Mi Corazon where our lovely hostess Rebecca brings us all together to share a haiku on Friday: Haiku my Heart.

For those who have never seen the painting: here it is: “Rosy fingered dawn” by Willem de Kooning.

And it is just a coincidence that my last art journal spread also shows yellow and purple…

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 41

And that’s it for today… not a long blogpost ’cause my son and his girlfriend are coming over this weekend and there’s some things that need to be done this morning – some housekeeping (make the beds!) grocery shopping – and I’ve planned some atelier-me-time this afternoon before they arrive.

It looks like it’s going to be a nice weekend, I hope yours will be nice too.

Je t’embrasse

The photo was taken by my friend Lena Schreijenberg

I did not manage to translate the last sentence in English with the right amount of syllables without losing meaning – you don’t mind having one extra syllable do you?

I submit this haiku to Recuerda Mi Corazon where our lovely hostess Rebecca brings us all together to share a haiku on Friday: Haiku my Heart.

Last weekend I spend quite some time in my atelier and got a few spreads in my Chronicles done, yay!

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 39

For the Dutchies, who I presume read the texts and noticed that I mention having a painful foot for WEEKS now: I went to the doctor this week and it seems I have a tendon injury (“tendinopathy” – peesontsteking) that needs to be look at by a podiatric physician – I hope he can do something about it ’cause I had planned to go for long walks and improve my condition just before the pain started. I even bought walking shoes, but I hardly had the change to wear them…

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 40

I like the spread I made for week 40. I used some old gelli-prints for the background, cut out the figure from a fashion magazine and gave it another head. She/he looks a bit sad but I wasn’t sad myself at all! It was my birthday week and besides visits from friends and family, I received a lot of birthday cards. I used an extra page in my Chronicles art journal on which I added pockets to preserve all the cards I received.

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 40, extra spread holding birthday cards.

Workshop “Vintage”

Last but not least: I teach a workshop in Middelburg on November 16th and there are still some spots available.

Click HERE for more info.

I wish you all a very nice weekend.
Je t’embrasse

I submit this haiku to Recuerda Mi Corazon where our lovely hostess Rebecca brings us all together to share a haiku on Friday: Haiku my Heart.

I just put our big plant (“Areca palm”) on the balcony so it can take a shower and lo and behold, it stopped raining… I could have known that! However, I bet that when I go outside to do the grocery shopping, it will downpour again. I think I’ll decide to stay inside, spend the day in my atelier and bake an egg for dinner 😉

I’m a few weeks behind in keeping my Chronicles art journal spreads going but last week I created two spreads and it won’t be long until I am up to date with these pages again. I only show you the spread I made for week 38 ’cause I have a card to show you too, and I don’t want to make this blogpost too long.

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 38

He: “that portrait on your desk, is that you in 10 years?”
Me: “No, that’s me right now.”
He: “Oh no sweetie, no way! You don’t look that old and tired at all!”
Me: “Awe, thank you hon. Luv ya!”

I may hate my wrinkles and eyebags when I look in the mirror (luckely, my beloved is right; it isn’t thàt bad) but I DO enjoy DRAWING wrinkles and eyebags!

On to something more colorful and youthfull then… my little (10 years old) big friend Dana had surgery and I made her this card to cheer her up.

That’s it for today, the sun is peeking through the clouds so I may do the grocery shopping after all…

One last thing:
Did you see I teach a workshop in Middelburg on November 16th? There’s still a few places available. Click the link in the side menu for more info.

Thanks for stopping by today, have a nice weekend.
Je t’embrasse

The photo is made by my friend Lena Schreijenberg

I submit this haiku to Recuerda Mi Corazon where our lovely hostess Rebecca brings us all together to share a haiku on Friday: Haiku my Heart.

My new job keeps me occupied three days a week, so I try to squeeze as much ‘must do’s’ and atelier-time in the four free days that remain during the week. At the beginning of the month I was still seeking, ’cause I wanted to do so much in those four days that I couldn’t really choose what to begin with, resulting in doing nothing… but a routine presents itself by now and I got two art journal spreads to show.

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 36

The Chronicles of Marit 2019 – Week 37

Thanks for stopping by today, have a nice weekend.
Je t’embrasse