M: ‘Yes, who am I speaking to?’

R: ‘Hi sissy, it’s your brother here’

M: ‘Aaah, hi bro! How are things in Canada?’

R: ‘We’re alright, but what I’m calling for: I want to thank you!’

M: ‘???? Thank me? For what?’

R: ‘For that piece on your blog the other day, the Pink Floyd page.
That song, and especially that line is one of my faves. I was really
moved by your artwork.’

M: ‘That’s the nicest compliment someone ever gave me!
– Thank YOU brother!’

(A few weeks after this conversation it was my brother’s birthday. The piece
he was talking about was a page in my ‘album cover’ journal that I didn’t
want to tear out, but I made him a similar art piece on a cardboard panel.
He received it last week, so I can show it to you now.)

(approximately 20 x 32 cm - 7.9 x 12.6 inch)

..

I put the two pieces next to each other, so you can compare them.

They are very similar, but I like the one on the right (that I send to my
brother) the most! The colours and composition are more balanced, the
letters stand out more and the statue looks better on this piece than the
bigger head sculpture on the left… What do you think?

My thoughts last week were dominated by the imminent move of my son,
so I pictured him with wings on my weekly page…

The Chronicles of Marit – Week 42

(23 x 31 cm - 9.1 x 12.2 inch)

(I transferred a photo of him onto the page, but it came out blur.
I outlined the image with a black marker and coloured his clothes
with Caran D'Ache crayons. It's hard to capture his expression with
just one or two lines, so his face came out a bit 'weird'. To me it
still looks like my son though!)

Now that a lot of work has been done and deadlines been met, I relaxed
yesterday by flipping through my stack of ‘National Geographics’.
Trying to find the creative flow I dearly missed in the last couple of weeks
– but trying not to force things – I decided to start easy. I cut out several
photos that pictured ‘earth’ and made this page in my grid journal.

Grid – Earth

15 x 15 cm - 6 x 6 inch

I have some inspiring ideas to work on this week, but I don’t know if I
get it all done. I plan to just take it easy and see what this week will bring.
I wish you all a nice week too!

NOTE
I get a lot of spam lately, therefor I’ve added an additional operation for
visitors to the comment section… please be sure to cross the box saying
you are NOT a spammer!

I’m full of energy and have a lot of plans – both big and small – which will
unfold this coming season. One of the smaller plans was, to bind a book
with the blackboard covers that Phinner send me some time ago. (Thanks
sweetie!) I stood in doubt about the shape though… the blackboard covers
were square (6 x 6 inch) and I somehow have difficulties working on a square
surface lately. I thought about cutting it to a rectangular shape but then
again: it would be a shame to make it smaller…

…last weekend I found the solution to this ‘pr0blem’.

It shot through my mind that there’s one thing that really NEEDS a square
page to work on: grids! I’ve seen a lot of grids popping up on blogs in the
last weeks (Julie, Annemarie) and while thinking about it, I got more and
more excited. A little book filled with grids would be lovely to work in ‘on
the sideline’. No ‘heavy’ journaling, no deep feelings or raw themes…
just plain, simple grids to fill in, to keep my hands busy on a rainy day!

I started binding the small book right away!
Here’s the cover.

(Note: You can click on any image in this post to enlarge)

("Grids-journal": 15 x 15 cm - 6 x 6 inch)

I used long pieces of ribbon for the binding, so that I could use the extended
parts to turn into a grid on the front cover. The lemon-green chipboard alpha’s
have been in my stash forever… they really shine against the blackboard!

I already knew what I wanted to do on the first page: letters!
I’m a letter-junk. Drawing letters, writing, reading… I can get exited just
from seeing a nice font. I brushed watercolour paint on the page to give it
some colour, sketched my first grid and draw an alphabet.

I didn’t use an existing font, I didn’t think to hard about it…
I just sat at the table and sketched a letter in each square with a soft pencil.
After the sketching, I traced the shapes with my dip pen and Indian ink.
It felt a bit like zentangling: meditative!

So here it is: my self made alphabet!

Grid: Alphabet

Later I thought that these letters should be fun to carve stamps from too.
I might even do that sometime!

I couldn’t get enough of playing with my grids so after I finished the alphabet,
I drew another grid. This time, I choose to fill it with faces. I had a fun time
flipping through my old magazines, cutting out small faces and ‘puzzling’ them
into a nice mosaic.

Grid: Faces

More ideas swirl through my brain now.
I hope I bound enough pages into this book to make all those grids that I
can think of. (Oh what the heck! If there aren’t enough pages in this book,
I can always make a second ‘grid-journal’.)

By the way: I think filling grids this way will also be a fun thing to do for
the ones who lost their mojo. It’s a structured technique, it doesn’t require
much thinking, you keep your hands busy and still you play with colours
and shapes… try it!

You all know this: each weekend I finish my ‘weekly page’.
This weekend was no different, here it is

The Chronicles of Marit 2011 – Week 35

(30 x 21 cm - 11.8 x 8.3 inch)

I somehow got tired of making collages like this one for a while.
It’s been Months I think. But last week, a collage-lady appeared on this page.
Oh, OK. She can stay.
The sewed squares (what IS it with squares and me today?!) are made by Rosie.
Thanks dear, they look wonderful on this page!!!

Last but not least: I have been chosen to be in the Altered Page’s
“Style File” this week.

Some of you might know/visit Seth and his blog The Altered Page already
(if not: pay his blog a visit, it’s worthwhile!) Style File is the 5th edition of
The Pulse — The State of the Art — a survey in words and pictures of the
online artist community.

“The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new
artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you
access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of
individuals. More than 130 artists have answered a series of questions
which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented in a series
of online posts which will run every Sunday.”

When I look outside, more grey clouds seem to appear.
I think I will turn on the lights in the living room and spend the rest
of the day at the big dining table, creating.

Have a wonderful week dear ones, stay warm!