But of course there’s not a day that goes by without creating something –
anything!

(Remember you can click on the images to enlarge, for a better view)

You already expected to see my ‘week-page’, didn’t ya?

The Chronicles of Marit 2011 – Week 16

On Monday, my beloved and I drove home from Zeeland (where we visited my
friend Lena) The sun was shining and my ‘hometown’ landscape was beautiful!
Green fields, flowering orchards and lambs in the meadows… I started my
weekly page with painting the background in that fresh ‘Spring-green’ colour
and added images from Zeeland (cut a map in circles, and used an image from
a brochure)

There are plans cooking in my head… my mind ran over last week and I
jotted it all down. The ideas are still in an early stage (but steadily growing!)
so I blurred the texts. Sorry, but it’s too early to tell you anything!

While working on my journal page, I used the left over paint and
scraps of paper to make two ATC’s for Songs in my heART

The song: I am a Rock by Paul Simon

The circle/stone – idea was inspired by my journal page I was working on
ánd by Teesha Moore, who makes ‘stacks of rocks’ (cairns) in real life as well
as on her journal pages. Read her post about it here.

A few weeks ago, I was flipping through a magazine looking for a certain image,
when I came across a beautiful photo – if I remember correctly it was taken at
some sort of Hindu-festival in India, where the people throw coloured powder
at each other. I couldn’t use the image at that moment, but tore it out and glued
it onto a new page. I recommend this way of working! Just glue down images
that speak to you, and work on the page later. If it so happens, that you don’t
like it anymore when you look back at it, add gesso to the page and start over.
You can’t go wrong here!

You can see I am ‘into greens’ lately 😀
Blame it on the weather!

“The highest prize we receive for creative work
is the joy of being creative”

~Marianne Williamson~

I love that quote!
It is also an important one that some people tend to forget sometime…
if you’re a blogger, you might recognize the idea of: ‘I have to make something
to show on my blog’. Don’t fall for it!!! Keep on enjoying and loving the process
instead of becoming a ‘creating machine’. I, myself, try to keep that in mind
and I used this quote in combination with the smiling, coloured ladies to
emphasize it as a reminder to myself.

I’m looking forward to a busy week.

Since I opened registration
for Creative Summer Camp,
participants keep on coming
in to register.

I don’t want to let them all down,
so I work hard to get everything
done in time. It’s going to be a fun,
fun, FUN and creative Summer!!!

..

Although I was very busy the last months of 2010, I managed to answer
his ‘questions list’ for the book and submit a piece. Last week, I received
an e-mail that one-or-more (?) of my answers from the list will end up
in the book, but my art piece didn’t make it.

I’m kinda relieved about that too… I almost emailed him last month to ask him
NOT to choose my piece. When I look back at it now, I don’t find it very good.
It’s OK, but not GOOD. Somehow, my soul isn’t in it.
I’m glad Seth noticed that himself (although he’s too kind to say that!)
Besides being a great artist, I think he’s a good viewer/critic!

But the page isn’t bad either, so today I want to show it here on my blog.
I’d like to hear what you think of it.

Innermost

Used materials:
Paper (170 gram), Gesso (to prepare the paper), Acrylic paints, Sewing machine/red thread, Black markers (‘Stabilo” small and fine)

And this is the text, that’s written on the page:

The famous Dutch writer Harry Mulisch once stated that all people have
an ‘absolute age’. According to him, that is the age you’ve always been
and always shall be no matter how old you are. My inner age is nineteen.

The way I look at the world, deal with emotions and feel about myself
never really changed since then. I have a habit to put everything literally
into words. I am sort of an outsider, viewing my own life from a distance
and writing my own, private book about it. That doesn’t necessarily mean
I write it down on paper – sometimes the story stays in my head.
My head is full of words. I became aware of this when I was nineteen
and I discovered that only a few people have this literary inner life.
(Those people mostly become writers, by the way).

Why do I put everything into words, what’s the purpose of it all?
I thought a lot about it and came to this conclusion: it enables me
to analyze and understand myself in an almost scientific way.
It allows me to ‘re-read’ my own life. I look at my actions and emotions
from different angles and by doing that, I can learn from myself.
By turning my words into art journals, I also leave a legacy for the ones
that come after me. The Marit chronicles: written by a woman who stayed
nineteen all her life.

And here’s a detail photo of the stitching

It really is a coincidence that last weeks page in my Chronicles shows
a face and is made in exactly the same colours as the former page.
I do like my ‘week 14 page’ a lot better than the above page though.

The Chronicles of Marit – week 14

What do you think?
Which page do you prefer?

I have a few days work left to finish this week, but by Friday I will have more
breathing space. I’m looking forward to it already! I also can’t wait to visit my
friend Lena and see her face when she sees what kind of surprise I have for her
50th birthday. It’s got to stay a secret for now (after all – she reads this, aren’t
you dear? 😉 ) but I can tell you already – Lena is going to love what I have in
store for her and it’s hard to keep my mouth shut!
I will tell you all about it after her birthday, I promise!

OH, and a NOTE:
Next week, the registration for ‘Summer Camp’ opens!
If you subscribe to the newsletter on the website here, you’ll get notified.
Choose either English or Dutch by changing the language button on the site.

Enjoy your week my lovelies!
See you on Friday!

This was such a fun week, and here’s my third blogpost to ‘close it’.
I saved the best for last… so let’s see what makes me so exuberant.

For one:

The best Summer Camp you’ve ever seen will open its doors this Summer!

You can read all the info on Marit’s Paper World
(For the Dutchies – click the language button in the top menu
on the website to read the Dutch version)

For two:

I have two posts online today!

Yep, that’s right – TWO blogposts!
You can read my guest blogpost
From Scrapbooking to Art Journaling
on the site of Art Journal Every Day.

For three:

I made PennyLane from songs in my heART very happy with this page.

Songs of the heART is a place for artists to display their artwork
inspired by music. ATC’s, paintings, photography  – all are welcome.
New art and inspirations will be posted as received. There are no
deadlines and perhaps, an occasional prompt, but other than that
you are free to be inspired by the songs in your heART!

My art journal page was inspired by a song from the Eels: “I’m a hummingbird”

If you have an art piece that is inspired by music: send it to PennyLane!
She wants the site to be versatile – not only post her own art – and she will
be thrilled to get more submissions, so help her out a bit please!

And last but not least: another ‘big journal page’.

I got inspired by iHanna, who had a blogpost about ‘collecting colours’
on the Art Journal Every Day blog last week. I gave it my own twist though.

RED

I find myself journaling in Dutch lately… it keeps me much more
concentrated on the text and I can use ‘my own words’ more.
But I translate it for you:

India, land of color and noise. I had to think back on India when I
flipped through old National Geographic magazines and came across
some pictures. India – the mixture of heat and smell. Especially that.
But let’s not forget the people. Dirty and happy. Always inspiring.
They laugh at everything. At me, as a Western tourist, and with me.
I felt like an alien when I arrived in that country, but soon I found myself
embraced by a group of children, laughing and joking. India to me
is red. The red of passion. Fire and life. And ofcourse the red of Paan*.

* Most of us don’t know “Paan”.
I didn’t know either – until it scared the hell out of me in India!

First – the explanation from Wikipedia:

Paan, from the word pān is an Indian/Pakistani and South East Asian
tradition of chewing betel leaf (Piper betle) with areca nut and slaked lime
paste. There are many regional and local variations. It is a Piper betle leave
chew, chewed as a palate cleanser, a breath freshener, and for digestive
purposes as well. It is offered to guests and visitors as a sign of hospitality
(after meals at both personal and social occasions) and at the beginning of
social events. It has a symbolic value at ceremonies and cultural events
in India and southeast Asia.

Yeh, right. But I didn’t know that.
So what I saw was people looking like this

Photo made by Steve Saba

Looks like he’s bleeding, isn’t it?

And then they spit it out…

So I found myself surrounded by “blood spitting people”
I really thought they all suffered from a fatal disease or something…
but how could that be? There were so much!

I learned that this was ‘Paan’ pretty soon 😀
(And no, I didn’t try it myself)

Aaahhh, that was ‘long ago and far away’ (1989 and 1991) but working
on this journal page brought it all back!

The sun is shining today.
The city where I live will soon burst out into one big, noisy feast –
it’s “Carnaval”. I’m originally from another region, and I don’t
celebrate carnaval. In fact: I hate it!
But never mind – I will stay inside the house and celebrate
my own, private party. Paper – paint and lots of colours! Yeay!

Whatever YOU will be doing: enjoy the weekend!