Summer holidays have started in the region. A time for relaxation and doing inspiring activities. I am hoping to do that, as well as making art.
The last Saturday of August I will be present at a Maker's market. I am hoping for good weather and nice encounters :). I have got lots of things to sell: bags, animal art for the children's room, cards, notebooks and so on.
This is the creative flyer they made for the market:
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Have a nice week!
It is July and it is the time when nature and garden are in full bloom. I am enjoying it, but the garden often is a great distraction (as well as joy...). Lots of work to just keep up, I am trying to reduce it to the small hours at the end of the afternoon when my creativity is up and used for the day.
It is so easy to forget and enjoy, so I remind myself to take out my camera and make pictures. Which often end up in my series of photo-cards.
So this is from my backyard:
Enjoy the outdoors!
Some people like to be creative but do not see the possibility to start. So I made small packages of creativity: a notebook, a marker, some pictures from magazines for inspiration and a leaflet with tips to just start that sketchbook!
I like making gift packages, and I sell them in my studio and on fairs. To start drawing or writing notes in your sketchbook is such a good way of starting that spark. It is a place of imperfection, of trial and error but I find it often brings something new. You put your thoughts into a drawing, or you start looking at possible drawable items.
I often draw while watching TV: I see a composition or a particular face, set the TV on pause and make a quick drawing. And I also like to take some paint and just colour some pages with patterns or with colour combinations. Or collaging in your sketchbook the things that inspire you: maybe it is horses, or chairs or trees or whatever :). Just do it.
The Dutch performer and artist Toon Hermans has also written many books. And in some of these books he added drawings and paintings which he made in his spare time. This book below is not very known and I was lucky to find it second-hand. It is filled with creativity, poems and thoughts.
I chose this page because I find it fitting to our times.
Translation in short: the big silence should now come, instead of all the chatter in the world, the big silence with breathless dreams, which makes our rush suddenly seem ridiculous.
After the Art market I took some time to clean up and to take care of some chores. I then decided to just play a bit in my sketchbook with some paint. I used the left-overs to have some fun with making patterns. Artist Alisa Burke taught me this in one of her classes, and I really enjoyed doing that. So here you see it: paint is the base and then afterwards I used permanent pen to make patterns. I glued these in my sketchbook as a happy reminder, and you never know what they may lead to....
At the moment I am reading this book by Gretchen Rubin: "Life in five senses: how exploring the senses got me out of my head and into the world". It tells how being aware of your senses (smell, touch, sight, taste and hearing) gives depth and focus to your life. She investigates each sense separately and gives herself assignments to see what it does to her and her senses. So the first thing she decided to do was to step into that nearby Museum every day. In the beginning the Museum has so many things to offer but after a while you start to notice other things: that one painting which draws your attention every time, or the beautiful displays or the sound of the visitors or that specific smell... etcetera. You notice things.
And for me, this is so closely related to creativity and to making art. To paint, you look. To paint, you imagine. To paint, you feel (structures, softness) and you translate it to your work. And it works the other way around: when you create, you start noticing your senses, and you train your senses.
My interest into Senses has started through creating, but organizing an exhibition on Plants in the Bible and their significance drew my attention even more. So I am just deepening my knowledge and this book has been interesting and fun to read.
This Saturday, June 8th, I will be at an ARTmarket in Harderwijk. They are setting up a market in the style of Montmartre in Paris. So all artists will present their work and will be active making work on the spot. I am looking forward to show my work and to meet art-loving people. And I hope to be drawing small portraits if I have the time.
Find more info on Aaltjesdagen, the market is open 10-17.30 hours and weather predictions are good :).
