Friday haiku

Chronicles 2025 – Week 51

In mid-December, a nasty cold struck me. I had to stay home from work and sit it out. Acrylic paint, paperscraps, stamps and cut out images.

Chronicles 2025 – Week 52

Background: gelliplate print. Inspired by various art journal spreads I saw on social media, I ordered some punches to cut squares of various sizes out of paper. I punched out a square from each Christmas card I received, so I have the memories in my Chronicles journal without having to keep all the cards.

Chronicles 2025 – Last page

I close my journal, as I do every year, with a recent photo of myself (and this year, also with a short “review” of the year). The text on the right says “keep on smiling”.

I’ve been a member of a creative Dutch Facebook group Jook’s kunstcafé  for years. The group’s administrator, Joke, is loved by all the members and in early January, Joke would turn 70. At the end of 2025 there was a secret call to make a card for Joke’s birthday. All the mail was sent to her daughter-in-law, and on her birthday, Joke received a large box full of happy mail. It was a huge surprise for her! I’d responded to the request and created this card for her birthday.

… and now I close the book (journal) on 2025 and hope this year will bring less health problems and more happiness. My your days be peaceful and bright too! Seeya!

Chronicles week 48

I have a lot of cousins and for the first time in our lives, we organized a special “cousin day. It was lovely, fun, emotional, and at times hilarious… by adding fold-outs to my pages I was able to fit a lot of photos on the spread.

Chronicles week 49

My Top 2000 voting list on the left, photo’s of me with my friend Lenny on the right (‘then and now’)

Chronicles week 50

The brother of my beloved passed away… the memorial card is in that pocket. I also caught a nasty cold in week 50 (it lasted for two weeks, and I’m still coughing…)

This is my last ‘normal’ blogpost for this year… hope to see you at the TOP 2000 BLOGPARTY (check out the link, it’s fun and it’s free!) and if not, see you in 2026!

Chronicles week 42

Chronicles week 43

Chronicles week 44

I kept on running behind on creating weekly art journal spreads so at the end of this month I did what I advised my Chronicles workshop-students when they are running behind: I caught up up by making a few similar looking, fast and fun spreads.

Chronicles week 45

Chronicles week 46

Chronicles week 47

Thank you for stopping by,
Je t’embrasse

Chronicles week 38
Background: underneath pieces of paper painted over with acrylics. The still-life is a stamp I carved and the little letter-piece (“L’art pour l’art”) is a photo of a collage that I created for Special Agent Collage Collective (mission #21 Why art?)

Chronicles week 39
Acrylic paint partly through a stencil, border made from paper scraps. Not much more to say about this spread, just playing (and I love Pippi!)

Chronicles week 40
This week was my birthday so I created a fun looking birthday girl (although her eyes look a bit sad don’t you think?) My parents gave me money to buy a new perfume – my mum added a tester and I like the smell of it, that may become my new ‘signature perfume’. Also, my son came to visit. His birthday was back in July and I promised him that he also could choose a perfume for himself so off we went: visiting a perfume store. We had a lot of fun smelling different scents and we both ended up choosing a perfume to our liking.

Chronicles week 41
Background: acrylic paints and a few paper scraps from my stash. The pieces of leather and parchment are from a book-restauration course I take. We had to learn to determine the different pieces and how to handle it (glueing, restauring) 

Thank you for stopping by, I’m gratefull that you still visit my blog!
Je t’embrasse

Chronicles week 34
A bit of an angry/sad spread ’cause this was the week the specialist called me to tell that all the tests showed that I have dystrophy in my foot.

Chronicles week 35
The rheumatologist gives me a cortisone injection in my foot and wow, suddenly I can walk without pain again! He warns me that this is a temporary solution—the pain will return, and it will be a long process before everything is completely back to normal. But for now, the swelling is subsiding, and I’m happy with the freedom that comes with pain-free movement, although I can’t force it (no long walks!)

Chronicles week 36
A lot of journaling about my beloved having to go to hospital and in the middle of that all, me preparing for the leporello workshop I have to teach in the weekend…

Chronicles week 37
Completely drained… so I created a spread without much words.

Thanx for stopping by my blog
Je t’embrasse

Chronicles week 29
A quick and easy spread ’cause the summer came with tropical temperatures and it was way too hot to create or even stay in my atelier… and of course the Tour the France was on the tv so when I didn’t have to work, I spend the warm afternoons on the couch watching the race. Background: orange acrylic paint.

Chronicles week 30
Another quick ‘cycling spread’. More orange acrylpaint and big illustrations.

Chronicles week 31
A little more work-intensive spread: some collage on plain paper and a lot of text.

Chronicles week 32
Week 32 was one to quickly forget… my foot still hurts and I was grumpy all week. A toxic-coloured green/yellowish painted background, some grey/brown paint through a stencil and some ink splattering. The big words are all synonyms for ‘angry’.

Chronicles week 33
The week that an MRI scan of my foot was taken (I had to wait two months for that due to a waiting list!) and a postcard from my son – who was on holiday in the UK – arrived. O, and a picture of Madonna ’cause I bought a new bra and no, not one of those she wears ;D

Thanx for visiting my blog
Je t’embrasse

I have a few to show you from the weeks before though… May and (first weeks of) June: enjoy

Chronicles Week 20
Background with acrylic paint. Collaged figures and a postcard from my dad. Text with paint and (on the right) black marker.

Chronicles Week 21
Acryl paint background. Head cut out from a magazine. Funeral card of my uncle who’d passed away.

Chronicles Week 22
A simple spread: left over gelli plate paper, black acrylic paint, stamps for the ‘week’ lettering and a cut out image.

Chronicles Week 23
Acrylic paint, cut out images and a small photo of the staff outing (showing collegues from work)

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog still
Je t’embrasse

Chronicles Week 15
A week in which I had my ear syringed, had to go to the annual ‘spot check’ (skincancer – still clean, fortunately!) and – yah, well – also had a check-up visit to the dentist. I’ve had all that, and now everything works (again.) So I made a cheerful spread, with a background of colorful acrylic paint and pieces of fruit- and flower- napkin. The photo on the bottom right comes from the internet and shows Mathieu van der Poel, cyclist/racer and winner of Paris-Roubaix, at the legendary shower block that lays at the finish.

Chronicles Week 16
I have had problems with my left foot for a while now; an x-ray was taken a while ago but nothing is broken or torn. A muscle or inflammation, they thought, but nothing helps and I am hobbling more and more so since Wednesday I sit, holding my foot elevated again. I fill the days with gaming, watching TV and a quick art journal spread: blue acrylic paint and some random pictures.

Chronicles Week 17
The GP sends me to a specialist with my foot problem. I see a rheumatologist and he thinks there must be a small tear in my foot after all. More X-rays are taken, the results will be available next week. Because of the Easter holidays, our island is again full of tourists. It is extremely busy at the coast (camping) as well as on the roads and in the city. On Friday, my son and his beloved are coming to stay for a weekend! We chat, they go into town (all kinds of events going on since it is King’s Day, I can’t go because of my foot) and we have a ‘gelliplate session’. Spread: acrylic paint, pieces of gelliplate prints, a photo of my son and his girlfriend gelliplating and a photo froom the 70s, “Easter rush”, that I cut out of a book and was made by my father.

Chronicles Week 18
Nothing broken or torn in my foot, so I’m prescribed a heavy course of medication. Luckily I can go to work because I can sit there and I work with my hands, which still work fine *grin* Other than that I can’t do much more this week than rest my foot. Spread: background of acrylic paint and some pictures from my stash. The bottles refer to the fact that my signature perfume has been taken out of the collection after 40 years and that I shall have to find me another signature-scent.

Chronicles Week 19
After 10 days of medication, it finally seems to be getting better with my foot and I can walk again without much pain. A great relief, although I am still very careful. Sunday is Mother’s Day, the photos on the spread are of my mother and me (the black and white photo, 1965) and of me with my son (1994.)

Are you keeping a ‘visual diary’  kind of art journal? If so, do include a photo every now and then… it’s wonderful to see those pop up on a spread when you look at it years from now!

Thanx for stopping by and reading my blog still
Je t’embrasse

At the end of March, my beloved’s cancer treatment started with an operation on his eye at the EMC in Rotterdam. In preparation for the radiation therapy, some sort of ‘clips’ had to be placed around the melanoma in his eye, as ‘pickets’ to demarcate the area that has to be irradiated, however… when he came round from the anesthesia, the ophthalmologist/surgeon reported that she had not placed any ‘markers’ in his eye because… the melanoma had disappeared!

…… HUH?

The ‘birthmark’ that was there (and I did indeed saw it too on the ultrasound: some sort of tumor/thickening in his eye) has probably been an effusion of blood or something… the ophthalmologist was just as flabbergasted as we were. The cancer treatment (proton radiation) that was already planned has now been cancelled.

We spent the days that followed in a slight state of bewilderment, we could hardly believe it and the news only sank in slowly.

A week later – when his eye had recovered a bit (because of course there had been some tinkering in his eye socket during the operation) we had another appointment. Again a lot of photos and scans were made and the eye was once again examined and fingered from all sides (eeeck!) but a tumor does not return within a week of course so there really, REALLY was nothing found anymore. So that was it. We could not be happier! So now the time has come for him to build up strength and energy again. Babysteps, but he/we’ll get there.

All these events, right up to the good news (week 13) and the extra eye check (week 14) were jotted down in my weekly art journal alongside with some ‘local’ and ‘trivial’ news like bycicle races. Of course I journal in Dutch but I hope you’ll get the overall idea by seeing the atmosphere and pictures on the pages… enjoy!

Chronicles 2025 – Week 9

Chronicles 2025 – Week 10

Chronicles 2025 – Week 11

Chronicles 2025 – Week 12

Chronicles 2025 – Week 13

Chronicles 2025 – Week 14

Thanks for stopping by.
Stay healthy and enjoy life.
Je t’embrasse.

In between my job and doctor-appointments, creating in my art journal brought a bit of distraction. I had to depict heavy subjects but nevertheless, the spreads still look kinda nice…

Chronicles 2025 – Week 3

Chronicles 2025 – Week 4

Chronicles 2025 – Week 5

Chronicles 2025 – Week 6

Chronicles 2025 – Week 7

Chronicles 2025 – Week 8

Thanks for stopping by.
Stay healthy and enjoy life.
Je t’embrasse.