I am still in a creating flow!
I made some more things this week, so come on in!
Okay, I’m trained as an art teacher – so every now and then this part
of me shimmers through on my blog: I can not help it that I want to
teach you something. And the most important lesson I can give you is:
Pause and look!!!
Don’t go on and on and on working on a layout… pause and look
at what the page has to say… pages talk, you know!
All you have to do is stand still, look and listen.
And then you will see which direction your work is taking.
Just go where the layout leads you.
Don’t try to force it the other way ’cause it won’t work.
I show you.
..
This is what happened while I was working on my page for the “chronicles”
Most of the time, I prepare the pages with a layer of gesso – and that’s what
I did here too. After that, I painted the background in a musterd colour.
I found that too dark, so I took a sponge and wiped some paint off.
The page was still a bit blur, so I took my spray ink and dripped it random
on the page, moving the book to let it flow. This is the result.
(The colours on the photo aren’t very good, it was late in the afternoon
and the light came in low through the window.)
My eye fell on the strange shape that the ink made on the right side.
So I paused and looked.
It’s like looking at the clouds
like you did when you were
a kid, seeing all kinds of shapes
and let your imagination go…
…and I saw a pregnant,
singing lady!
I couldn’t get rid of the image,
so I went with it.
I wasn’t planning to,
but the singing lady just
wanted to be on my page.
I couldn’t ignore her.
Here you see the rough sketch
(click on the photo to enlarge)
Once I got used to the idea that a singing lady had entered my page, I saw
trumpets in the shapes on the left side. So I gave my lady a horn section
as backing band… which satisfied both her and me!
There wasn’t much space left for my daily writing, but I told her “don’t push
your luck little lady”, this is my page too – move over a bit and let me in!
She did, and here’s the result!
(The colours in this photo are more accurate by the way)
Another thing I couldn’t ignore this week… the new challenge over at
These Are a Few of my Favorite Things
“What is your favourite quote”
And my-oh-my… did I face a major dilemma here!
My favourite quote is from a Leonard Cohen song… and you all remember
that I didn’t want to make the last page in my Leonard Cohen art journal
with this song because I was afraid that, after I finish, Leonard would die…
So what to do – find another quote?
Naaahhhh…
Don’t start making this page?
Maybe I should not have done this, but I did.
The page was in my head and had to be made…
I didn’t add it to my “Leonard Cohen art journal” though –
that might help.
(How’s Leonard’s health at the moment? Anyone know? Normally, I’m
not superstitious AT ALL but this time I keep my fingers crossed!)
The background contains the songlyrics over and over again. I sprayed tissue
paper with spay ink and used gel medium to glue it to the page which gives it
a nice texture. The dots are stamped with bubble wrap plastic and white paint.
Here’s a detail, which shows my favourite quote.
I end this post with showing you the ATC’s I made for Phinner a while ago.
“Women always worry about the things men forget”
“Men always worry about the things women remember”
It hardly shows, but the next one is a piece of thick, clear plastic.
The next ATC shows part of the top 2000 list that was in the newspaper –
Phinner played along in my top 2000 blog party, and I had that in mind
when I made the cards for her.
And a wooden fertility goddess – just because I liked
the look of it (and Phin does too, as she wrote me!)
Currently, a thunderstorm hangs over the city and I might be forced
to shut the computer down if it gets heavier. I have more to show you,
but I save that for next time. See you then!
Lena says
Die “singing lady” vind ik helemaal ge-wel-dig!!!
WAUW!!! Leuk ook dat je deze bladzijde vanaf het begin hebt gefotografeerd. Ik heb geprobeerd er wat anders in te zien maar ik kreeg jou zwangere zangeres niet uit mijn hoofd… Ik zit nu op mijn werk maar heb zo vreselijk veel zin om ook zo’n bladzijde met “vlekken” te maken!!!!
Je quote page is ook heel mooi geworden. Ik weet dat je lang gezocht hebt naar een passende foto bij deze quote maar ik vind deze “oplossing” eigenlijk veel mooier!
Je ATC’s zijn ook weer helemaal leuk!!
Julie Tucker-Wolek says
You are soooooooooooooooooo AMAZING!! I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee all of these!! I loveeeeeee how you came up with that first one!!! Thanks sooooooooo much for playing along with FAVE THINGS!! And I will keep my fingers crossed that Leonard is okay!!! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
Jennifer says
How wonderful. I love seeing how the singing lady emerged especially.
Lida says
Your work is so inspiring and incredible, I simply love it!!!
Jennifer says
wow, amazing!
Rosie says
I love that the ink blots directed your pages Marit!! Really cool… and I am also a Leonard Cohen fan!! I think my fave song is probably “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” because there are so many of them at Trafalgar Square, where I worked for a while!!
phinner says
oh how funny! I was going to email you about the “pause and look concept”, but more related to “when is more enough”??? similar, yes?
I like your idea of filling in letters on that one piece you helped me with previously, great suggestion! it did need something else, but I was worried that I would ruin it with more. you suggested the perfect balance!
and of course, I LOVE my ATCs!!!
And I love the singing lady and her accoutrements!!! she’s very song bird-like to me!!!
: x)
Viv says
Ha Marit, wat een geweldige pagina`s heb je weer gemaakt! Ben ook even gaan kijken wat ik zag in je roze verf en kwam tot de conclusie dat ik de -pink panter- erin zag ๐
Gelukkig duurde het onweer vanmiddag maar even!
Groetjes Viv
marsha. says
Ha, ha, ha, net als mijn voorgangster zag ik The Pink Panter! Maar die singing lady is veeeeeel leuker! Dank voor dit kijkje in de werkproces, super!
Theresa says
it amazes me how you create. you are so creative. I love your singing lady.. and I love the colors in your quote page for My fav things. Hope you are having a great week… looking forward to seeing more creations. =)
Juls 200 says
Wow! That is so cool!
Irma says
Tjeemig meid, wat een inspiratie allemaal! Ik ben er weer helemaal weg van!
LG – Irma
yyam says
Love how you “see” things in your mind’s eye Marit! So totally creative! That page turned out brilliant! Still in the pink phase, huh? ๐
faye says
My, oh my! I am so glad you came to my blog and commented or else I would not have found this fantastic blog. Your pregnant singing lady and the steps you took to create her are such an eye-opener to the unique possibilities of blobs and splashes. It’s wonderful. I loved the visit.
~*~Patty says
Love it when you share and teach…you are a very good teacher and wonderful inspiration
I must admit…I thought I saw the Pink Panther at first…but totally see your singing pregnant lady now LOL
YES, Leonnard’s quote speaks to me too…I am a quote hound…can’t get enough!
Your quote about men and women is SO true…great art to go with…of course ๐
Hope the sun came out for you again…something tells me you always have sunshine in your pocket anyway dear Marit
oxo
Chris Aiton says
So glad that you did a page for TAAFOMFT – I love your pregnant singing lady (that is not what I saw in your “cloud” but each of us has our own way of seeing – I saw the Disney character Goofy as a band leader – what does that say about me??? LOL!) and the ATCs are so diverse and unique! Thanks for sharing – it is always a joy to visit your blog!
Jenneke says
Joh, Marit, wat ben jij ge-wel-dig zeg!!! Zoals je dat gedaan hebt met die art journal pagina, beginnen met ‘zomaar wat vlekken’ en dan zo’n schitterende pagina’s afleveren!!! Ik vind ‘t echt onvoorstelbaar creatief!!!!!
Ook je ATC-tjes zijn super en niet te vergeten je pagina voor Fave Things!! Zo leuk dat je hebt meegedaan! Thanks!!
Onweer?? Het moet niet gekker worden!
XXXJenneke
PS. Doos nr. 2 is vandaag uit Raalte vertrokken ๐
Glenda T. says
Wowzers Marit, you have been a busy girl!! Loving all the art but my fave is the red song lyrics page!! Gorgeous!!!
Jeanet says
Wow, Marit, fantastische art pages! Wat mooi om te zien hoe een pagina spreekt hรฉ!Je zwangere dame is prachtig! En wat vind ik die quote toch mooi! Heel erg mooi page, dat rood en de songtekst! Love it!!
Heel erg bedankt voor het meedoen!!
Je ATC’s zijn heel gaaf!
Fijn weekend!
Thinkie says
leuk om je werk te zien, zoals altijd! Vooral de peer-atc spreekt me aan ๐ Mag ik hem plaatsen bij m’n volgende post over peren(met je naam en een link erbij uiteraard)?
Annemarie says
When I saw the pink blob, before you said it looked like a pregnant lady, I thought it looked like a man (like Don Quixote) sitting on a horse that is rearing back on its hind legs. Funny how we see different things. I love your rendering however.
Karis says
Excellent pages! I like how you turned the ink splotch into a singing lady. Aren’t happy accidents just great?