“Try to make a Friday haiku on this one 😆”

Now that I am writing a post, I take the opportunity to show you the next art journal spreads in my Grandes Chaleurs” journal (11.7 x 8.3″ – 29,5 x 21 cm).

I created this one back in February already but had not show it yet

Grandes Chaleurs art journal: “this was personal” (Februari 2026)

The first time back in my atelier; after weeks of stress, worry, sadness and grief over the death of my mother; I created this spread. (The poem on this spread is written by my mum, Johanna Kruit, who was a writer and poet.)

Grandes Chaleurs art journal: “where is everybody?” (August 2026)

Thank you for stopping by my blog.
Kiss your loved ones, hold on tight and have a lovely weekend.

Small collages (approximately 12 x 9 cm / 4,5 x 3,5 inch)

I created these small collages in March I think (can’t find the originals to see what date is on the back… where did I put them? I can’t stand not knowing where they are so I may spend the rest of the afternoon looking for it…)

Special Agent Collage Collective

In 2022 I joined the Special Agent Collage Collective. I completed a mission to the satisfaction of the Head Quarters (where agent 001 holds sway) and received my membership card short after. Since then I am officially known as Special Agent 074.

We started misson #19 in September last year – yes, I say WE ’cause mission #19 was a collaboration task. I was assigned to a team of five people who had to work together. Each person started with a collage and sent it to the next person in line, who added something to it. The idea was to send the collages around until it returned to the first person. We had to create in black/white/gray until the last ’round’ – the one who gets the ‘starter’ back was allowed to finish it with some color. Here you see my ‘starter’ that I forwarded to the next person on the list…

… so there were five collages going around and – that’s just our luck – two of the collages got lost in the postal system. My starter was one of those… aarghhh. We solved the problem by printing out the last known collage photo and continued by working on that print. This month my starter finally came back so I could finish it adding some color.

Grandes Chaleurs art journal

I started creating in this journal back in 2015 (see this blogpost) and it’s still not full… I work in it every now and then.

Ze komt / She comes

Last but not least: a page in my ‘miscellaneous’ art journal. I created this last month when I stayed over at Jenny the Bode – we spend a nice afternoon creating together.

And that’s it for today folks… thanks for stopping by and if you’re interested in seeing my latest Chronicles art journal spread: keep tuned ’cause I may post those soon – like tomorrow.

Last Sunday I spend the afternoon making gelli prints and recording the session for my online workshop. My workdesks became pretty messy… I usually clean up after creating but not this time. It was late, I was tired and there was a cycling race on tv that I wanted to see so I left the tables as they were, thinking I could play with the gelli plate again on my free day. So here it is: my desk(s) as I left them on Sunday.

WOYWW #773

It had been ages since I created a scrapbook layout but the challenge over at Challenge YOUrself caught my eye. It showed a color palette that made me think of some photo’s that were made in Antwerp last january…

So I decided to play along and create a layout BUT… being rusty and all it took me FOUR DAYS (with some pauses in between) to get it done. How come I have no problem whatsoever to start creating in an art journal, no matter what size, but paralize as soon as I grab a 12 x 12 scrapbook? It became quite an obsession to get it done but hey… I finished it!

Here’s some random art journal spreads that I created earlier this year (I have several art journals in different sizes that I create in)

“There’s a morning to come…” (Grandes Chaleurs journal, spread  30 x 48 cm)

“Who are those people?” (Bauhaus journal, spread 29,7 x 21 cm)

My gelli plate is calling me and my fingers itch so I will put on an old shirt and start dipping my hands in the paint. I hope to visit your desks later today and/or in the days to come. Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Happy Easter (don’t eat too much chocolate!)

Friday haiku

Photo: @LenaSchreijenberg
I submit this haiku to Haiku my Heart

Next is a spread I created a while ago in my Grandes Chaleurs art journal, just for fun.

I hope your days are filled with friends, coffee (or tea), sunshine and laughter.
Keep on rockin’ in the free world!

Friday haiku

*Sandpipers (strandlopertjes) are such cute little birds that ‘run’ across the sand and there’s lots of them on our beaches. Behind this beautiful beach there’s that dome that is the nuclear power plant… isn’t it a weird insane picture?!

Photo: @LenaSchreijenberg
I submit this haiku to Haiku my Heart

It’s less fun here than you think
That’s the title of this art journal spread (click to enlarge) – it fits the haiku!

My ‘Chronicles’ art journal is like a weekly visual diary and here’s some spreads from March

Chronicles – Week 9

Chronicles – Week 10

Chronicles – Week 11

Well… that’s enough art for now – there’s more to show but I don’t want to overfeed you, it’s almost Easter and you may want to save some time to paint eggs *grin*
I took next week off of work, but I won’t be painting eggs. Spend time in my atelier and paint on paper, defenitely! And when the weather is nice I plan to clean the windows and the balcony and maybe even buy some early plants to put there for the summer to come. But first, a dear old friend will come to visit me this afternoon. Long talks and coffee on a terrace will be in order – I’m looking forward to it.

I hope your days will be filled with friends, coffee (or tea), sunshine and laughter. Happy Easter!
Je t’embrasse

Friday haiku

Photo: @LenaSchreijenberg
I submit this haiku to Haiku my Heart

Some of you might know – or remember – that I keep a visual week journal (called “Chronicles”) and these are spreads from this year’s journal. It’s my 12th journal (12 years of Chronicles, wow!)

The Chronicles of Marit – Week 37

The Chronicles of Marit – Week 38 (postcard ‘closed’)

The Chronicles of Marit – Week 38 (postcard ‘open’)

For the Dutchies: I teach an online “Chronicles” workshop again in 2022, registration is open.

Even tussendoor voor mijn Nederlandse lezers: eind van het jaar start er weer een nieuwe online “Kronieken” workshop. Je kunt je NU met korting inschrijven. Vind alle informatie HIER

Last thing I want to show today is a spread in my big “Grandes Chaleurs” art journal:

“how to learn to fly”

Thanks for stopping by,
Je t’embrasse

Due to this stay-at-home policy, my art desk shows a lot of activity during the week. That’s also the case today, but I cannot show you what I am working on because it is something I create for the Dutch Dares challenge in June as a guest designer. I CAN show you the materials that I am working with though…

WOYWW #570

Olive green, ocher, salmon, dark green, light yellow and white paint… and a fine brush. You’ll see what it’s used for in June 🙂

DUTCH DARES

The Dutch Dares May challenge was announced on Facebook today, the theme is “Puberty” and here’s my go

I found three old photo’s of my teenage room at the bottom of my photo-box… one of the photo’s was even cut-out (shame on me!) but I still used it – these are the only photos I got that show how my room looked like back in the days. It may not be a spectacular lay out but I’m happy to have one with photos of my teenage room in my album now.

ART JOURNALING

I have plenty of time to keep up with my Chronicles art journal…

The Chronicles of  Marit 2020 – Week 17

In week 17, my parents, my beloved & I met for ‘coffee at a distance’ in a nearby park. They brought their own cups, I brougt coffee in a thermos bottle and as you can see on the photo, we kept our distance.

Big art journal ‘Grandes Chaleurs”

It’s been a while since I created a spread in this ‘big’ journal (spread: 47,5 x 29,7 cm – 187 x 117 inch)

I hope you are well and healthy, thanks for visiting today. I really am glad to have so many online-friends that stick together in these weird times. Hang in there dear ones, this time will pass eventually…

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

Samo

Next is a spread that I created a while ago. If you know anything about the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat you could’ve known by seeing the title ‘Samo‘ that this spread was inspired by his art. (And if you dabble your hands in art journaling or mixed media and never heard of this artist, look up his art! His work is especially interesting for people like you!)

This week I finished another scrapbook layout – again I used two challenges to create with. It’s relaxing and fun to make a scrapbook layout using the inspiration that challenges provide and above all, it’s a way to use my photos and keep the ‘memory album’ going.

So what was it all about this time?

Dutch Dares challenge: “Scrap a large or THE biggest change in your life!”
Challenge YOUrself: “We would like to see polka dots on your layout somewhere, it doesn’t matter how many or how few you use and as always, don’t forget to include a photo with YOU on your layout.”

What changed my life

Journaling is in Dutch: “Of course: study, falling in love, living together, finding a job, giving birth to my son and many, many house-movings: it’s all live changing. But what really changed my life was that moment in 2009 that I learned about Art Journaling. In the (more than) ten years after, I bound many, many journals in which I create daily. I published an art magazine, my art got published in various books and mags, I exhibited my art journals in an art galery and I teach art journal workshop. I became an artist!”

Thanks for your visit.
I’m glad we can still do that without risk: visit each other online.
I will spend the upcoming days in my atelier and surround myself with paint and brushes.
The creating bug may bite me, and that’s a non-dangerous virus to catch…
Have a lovely weekend y’all, stay safe!

Je t’embrasse

Autumn arrived in the Netherlands: periods of sunshine are interspersed with days of rain and storm and the sky changes by the hour. Right now it’s solid grey and rain comes pouring down but there are days when the sky looks like this…

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.

I don’t mind the rain today though, ’cause it is my free day and I plan to spend the afternoon in my atelier with a collegue (textile) artist who will visit me. Talking instead of creating but there’s a time for everything and I will probably get back to my paints this weekend. However, I do have an art journal page to show that I finished last weekend.

Scherts (Jest)

The text is a quote by Soren Kierkegaard and says something like: “not spare oneself but understand that everything is but a joke, yes, that is serious.”

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

So, what is keeping me so busy then?
Take a look…

WOYWW #472

Yep, that’s my sewing machine. There’s needles and pins, scissors and fabric on my desk. And a paper with a sketch of my son’s sizes. It’s his birthday next month and he asked me to make (or alter) ‘some piece of clothing’ for him. He created a special board on Pinterest, showing pieces of clothing he likes, and I got my inspiration from that. I cannot tell or show you more than I do on this photo because he might take a look on my blog and I don’t want him to see what I’m up to. But there’s obviously patchwork involved. Oh, and “Japanese stitching” (Sashiko) – an old Japanese embroidery technique I discovered online and fell in love with.

Another thing I fell in love with years ago: the art of Robert Stockton

Robert is an amazing artist and such a kind man… I interviewed him years ago for Featuring magazine and we stayed in touch. Last month I commented on a photo he published on Facebook and I received this message from him:

(…) thank you for your kind words on Facebook about my piece “Fall Into Place” which you published in “Featuring”. (…) I have giclee art prints of this piece and I would love to send you one as a small appreciation for the many ways you have enlarged the ways of thinking about art (and music) for myself and so many others. In my opinion, you are Holland’s Shining Star!

And look what came in the mail this week!

The art print came with a beautiful card and nice words from Robert. You should have seen me jumping up and down with joy when it arrived! We are not quite ready with setting up our apartment but the moment we are finished the first thing I will hang on the wall will be this art piece. (I will frame it of course.)

Now that I’m all into ‘fabric’ these days, working on the ‘clothing’ for my son, I didn’t spend much time art journaling. I won’t leave you without showing a piece though, so here’s a spread I created before the move.

Fast-Forward and Replay

Have a lovely week y’all,
keep on rockin’