My Creative Process

 

Hello Friday, Hello Friends – let me start with a warning.. this blogpost contains
an OVERLOAD on PICTURES and it even starts with a VIDEO.
Are you in for all that? Then welcome, come on in!

To begin with this

 

We did it again! FEATURING #4 is out and I am majorly proud!!!
As you know we ship the magazine all over the world, so no matter where you live:
if you buy it, we send it your way! Purchase your copy HERE

On to another Book title Haiku now.
[Yes, I found yet another haiku combining the titles of my books… ]

Het hart op de tong Uit liefde voor het leven Bekentenissen

One’s Heart on a Sleeve* Out of Love for Life Confessions

*English title: Scarlet Feather 

And of course I submit this haiku to Haiku my Heart Friday –  the weekly event where haiku-lovers gather around our lovely hostess Rebecca to find poetry, inspiration, wise words and a lot of kindness and love.

A week ago, I received this comment from Michelle LaPoint Rydell

I answered the first question ~ HOW MANY JOURNALS DO YOU HAVE GOING? ~ in last Wednesday-post, and today I’ll walk you through my creative process

~ WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS LIKE? ~

I documented the process of making my weekly “Chronicles” spread to show you how I work. I make these weekly spreads for the fourth year now. (I just counted the spreads, and the one created here is #165) During those four years, I build up a certain routine – that starts at the beginning of the week. Tammy asked about it in an interview once and here’s the answer I gave:

“My way of working on the spreads changed over the years. I started with making the spread on Monday (creating the background and add the first images and text) and added some more every day. Eventually, that didn’t work for me. The spreads looked disjointed by the end of the week. Also, unexpected events could happen during the week and when it did, there was no room left on the pages to write about it because of what I added already. Another ‘problem’ I bumped on to was that the ‘feel’ of a week could change when the days went by. For instance, I would start with creating a bright, green or yellow background on a sunny Monday and then it would rain from Tuesday ’til Sunday… things like that changed my mood and by the end of the week the spread had the wrong ‘feel’.”  [Read the complete interview here on the Daisy Yellow blog]

So now I have a sheet of paper laying in the house, where I jot down what I did each day. Just short notes, like ‘I went to the market’. I make my weekly spread in the weekend – I sometimes start on Saturday but usually I make it from scratch on Sundays. Reading the notes at the end of the week automatically bring back the memories. (Sometimes, there’s a longer story to tell and my notes are longer then…)

Also, when I come across an image that I think would fit on the weekly spread, I keep it with the notes.

Last week looked like this:

The ‘card’ is a gelatine monotype that I stitched on. I did not know what to do with it next, so I kept it to use on my Chronicles page.

On to making the spread then… when looking at the mono type, I noticed that little bit of ochre in the image and I decided to paint my pages in that colour… so I got out the paint and smeared ochre on the page using an old credit card.

… and now comes the fun part of my creative process… that’s how the brain works (well, my brain anyway…)

– I have paint and a plastic credit card on the table already.
– The Chronicles pages need to dry.
– I have a stack of index cards for grabs.
– My hands are dirty already…

So ‘in between’ I add paint to three index cards – no idea where that will lead me later – but I don’t have to think about it now.

And did I randomly choose these colours to smear on the index cards? It may seem like that, but if you looked closely to the former photos, you’ll see that the same colours were used on my ‘starting point’ – the monotype… apparantly I am in that particular ‘colour mood’ and therefore it is no wonder I chose these blues.

Back to the Chronicles page then…. let’s take a bigger step:

I added the monotype (using washi tape) and I put a bit of colour around the ochre shape to balance the colours. After that, I cut out paper strips to make a colourful frame. I outlined the paper scraps with a black sharpie to give it more contrast. (You can see the difference, as on the above picture there’s a part of the frame – on the right – outlined, while the left side is still without lines…)

Next, I think the spread needs yet another image – so I grab some old magazines and flip through the pages. The ‘jumping woman with the robe’ maybe???

Naah…. too big a picture…

This one’s better!

Next, I draw lines to put the journaling on.
(using black and white sharpies)

Last, I write the journaling using my notes as a guide/memory support.
I filled in the ‘holes’ of the letters with a red copic marker just for a fun finishing touch.
So here it is:

Chronicles of Marit 2013 – Week 25

Size: 31 x 24,5 cm - 12.2 x 9.6 inch

The index cards with the blue paint – shown above – are not finished yet, but I did make two other cards for the Box of Longing which I – of course – also submit to ICAD

This is another example of how my ‘creative process’ works [don’t worry, there’s not as many pictures as above 😉 ]

Flipping through magazine pages, I bumped onto this advertisement.

I cut out the text.

Seeing that red line, the map of the London underground came to mind

The red line was the inspiration for the stitching – and here’s the index card I ended up with.

Take a Different Road

and another card, collaged with scraps torn out of the book The Brewery Manual 1961 – 1962
that I bought on a flea market years ago.

Dig this… Real Cool Beer

“Real cool beer” would go perfectly with Summer temperatures but we experience cold, grey and rainy days here in the Netherlands. I even had to put on a cardigan to stay warm. Can you believe it? In June??!!

I do hope it will get better soon because tomorrow the Tour de France starts, and it is half the fun to have to close the curtains against the bright sun to be able to watch the race on TV. I really look forward to it!

And you? Is there something you look forward to?
Whatever you are planning, I wish you all a wonderful weekend!.