A to Z Blog Challenge: K is for...

 Keeping a record

 

Do you have a problem remembering what you achieved during the course of the year? Or do you need to read multiple pages in a journal, search through many folders to remind yourself what you had created? I have had to until I got tired of that effort. My single new year's resolution for 2026? Find a way to make my end-of-year reflection easier.

  I have many blank sketchbooks and dug through my stash to find one which I thought would be suitable. It has 86 pages, is suitable for drawing and a light water application, so I can do whatever I feel would work for this idea. So far I have done just that. The layout is still evolving, but one page per month will make my end-of-year reflection a process of reflection, instead of a process of searching and wondering.

  Want to learn more about how the process is working for me? I explained it in more detail on my Substack, to keep this post short.

Until tomorrow!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé

A to Z Blog Challenge: J is for...

Art Journal

or Lifebook in my case

I have been a fan of Tamara Laporte's lifebook for years. A private space for thoughts, often covered up by a painting. This year our art group is back on doing a monthly lifebook entry as part of our creative practice.

Sharing is optional to the members of the group. I would sometimes share my painting, collage, or drawing but the private stuff would either be covered up at that point, or simply done after.

I choose a theme for us, since it can be difficult to choose a reference (or idea) when one's private thoughts are not always conducive to artistic expression.

This past March, the theme was Growth. Each member of the group could interpret the theme in any way they wanted, but it also gives some guidance for personal reflection. To be honest, I don't write in my Lifebook, because I have a journal and don't need a theme or a reminder to use it. It has been a practice of more than 40 years for me, so the art is just another opportunity for some fun.

>>> My March Lifebook interpretation of the theme, done with acrylic brush markers and metallic gel pens.

Until tomorrow for a CreativeLife update post. The A to Z challenge resumes on Monday.

🇿🇦💜Linzé

CreativeLife update: art, the 100 day project, and finishing the second draft

 Hey there creative friend!

This blog post was supposed to go out last week, but that week went whoosh before I managed to blink. I'm sure it happens to everyone, but it doesn't mean that I like it. When I lose track of the days, it means that I have been working long hours and not doing much on a creative project. Yeah, that is frustrating to say the least.

Small collages I made in January.

I did manage to finish the second draft of the Guardian of Dreams earlier in February. It is now hiding on my computer for another week or two before I tackle the next round of editing. Don't worry, the backups were made, just in case. 😉

I also managed to prep the two panels (I only paint on wood these days) that will be the cover for Grayson's Choice. Instead of using AI to generate the cover image, I thought to do the two paintings that are part of the character development path of the female MC myself.

Of course I can paint, but to make the paintings that reflect the pain and joy of her journey, is a definite challenge. So holding thumbs that I can paint what I am envisioning they should be.

Learning about an amazing artist: Ruth Asawa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Asawa

If you have read my blog before you will know that I did the 100 day project last year, and that it had not been easy. I foresee the same journey ahead of me for the 2026 edition, starting on 22 February. If you want to check it out, the details are on Substack

While I think it is aimed at artists and crafters, I also used the challenge to write. So writers, why not jump in too? Writing for 100 days will definitely get a book a good way towards finishing a first draft without the pressure of a daily word count.

I can write a 1000 words in an hour, but seldom have that amount of time available, but 500 words? Anytime. I suddenly feel the urge to write...

Philosophy - what I am reading next

The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius

And then a moth lands on my desk and makes a mess with its powdery wings, making me drop my mouse on the floor. 🤨 I am not a fan.

Keep an eye out for a post this coming Friday. It's another book feature if you're into horror fiction. I read the synopsis and boy, it will keep you awake for sure. 😳 

Learning about philosophy: Stoicism vs Existentialism

https://stoicismtoday.substack.com/p/stoicism-and-existentialism

Thank you for catching up with me this week. Next time I will share more about the art journal page I mentioned before. I changed it a bit, but that is okay, since it is still new to me and I am figuring it out as I go.

Stay creative until next time!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé

Art Journal 2020: Friendship

It has been a while since I did an art journal post, mostly because I couldn't decide on the topic. But once I did it was only a matter of getting it done.

Figure 1

The background (Figure 1) was done with Faber-Castell gelatos (Figures 2 and 3) then activated with water. The pages were not treated with anything beforehand.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Then I added the gold leaf blocks (Figure 4) by putting glue on the page, and dropping the gold leaf on top. Waiting until the glue dried, then I brushed the excess gold leaf away with a paint brush.

Figure 4

The flower petals were cut from painted cards. I painted them with random brush strokes using blue, red, and purple (which I mixed with the red and blue) gouache. White was dropped on top while the paint was still wet.

I glued the petals and then covered both the flower and the gold leaf with gel medium to preserve the fragile gold leaf.

The pen

The end result - the Stoics on Friendship 💜

The quotes are written by hand, and I hope you can read my handwriting. 😏

Until next time!

💜 Linzé

Art Journal 2020: The Stoic Virtues

I should probably have started my Stoic art journal entries with the four cardinal virtues, but for some reason I couldn't decide how I wanted to do them. But this week I did, and here they are: courage, justice, temperance, and wisdom.

As usual I also added a quote for each virtue from one of the stoic philosophers.

I kept the background plain, and made the decorations with stamps, and permanent markers. The numbers were done with a stencil and coloured with a Caran D'Ache Luminance black colour pencil. The background to the numbers were done with a stencil and ink.

Until the next entry from my stoicism series in my art journal, stay safe!
💜 Linzé

Art Journal 2020: Resilience

I think this art journal entry speaks pretty much for itself. Took me a while to find the right quotes from the Stoics. It is an ink drawing over a gouache painted background.

Until next time!
💜 Linzé

A to Z Challenge: Day 20 - T

TIME by Linzé

My next art journal entry in my Stoicism series this year of #JournalArt2020. It was done with Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils and a Faber-Castell PITT marker for the text. The size of the leaf is 100% since I picked up the leaf and then traced it directly on the journal's pages before colouring it.

The Creative Life during #LockdownSA (with 20 days still to go)

The Challenge: 2020

I am sure you will agree that 2020 has not lived up to the expectations that we have set for ourselves on 1 January. But has it been that bad? Of course, for the people who were infected by the Covid-19 virus, it has not been fun at all.

For those families who have lost someone they loved to the infection, it is heartbreaking.

And for the politicians and world leaders trying to figure out how to keep their countries' economies stable (at least) and fight the impact of the socio-economic issues (still not yet determined) it is a nightmare.

But for those of us everyday citizens trying to make a living to keep ourselves afloat in this time of crises, how bad has it been, really? Did you have to tighten your belt because you are self-employed like I am?

Being basically a level headed and fairly optimistic kind of person, I have not done too badly I think. I did have some work to do, which I will be able to invoice soon, and thanks to two of my writers' group friends, have been kept busy artistically as well. Like me they are artists and I have challenged them to a few creative projects during #LockdownSA. It helps to keep busy, but more than that it helped us all to keep our drawing skills sharp.

The one thing that I often forget - despite putting it on my to-journal list - is a gratitude journal or art journal entry. Last week I made it one of our creative projects and to me, it was something to remind of all the things that I am grateful for. Especially now as we are entering an extended lockdown of an additional 2 weeks (until 30 April).

Do I look forward to going back to work? Of course, I am. Being self-employed as a test and certification engineer does not mean that I work from home 24/7. I need facilities to do my work that I simply cannot accommodate, nor afford, to have at home. I am fortunate though that my work environment away from home is with a small company where any physical interaction with other people can be easily managed - mostly because we do most of our work as individuals, not teams. I am still training a newer member of the team, but he is not that green anymore that close distancing is required all the time.

If you are in isolation, self-imposed or otherwise, I trust that the need to be so will soon be over so that we all can start working together to recover from this situation. Recovery will take time, and teamwork on so many levels that I simply cannot even comprehend the difficulties associated with such a strategy.

Right now all I can hope (and pray) for is that the leaders of my country, and those of your countries, will set aside their political agendas and work together with their people to move forward from this. And perhaps even have a good and hard think on dealing with such a pandemic in future. Because it will come again, the question is: how soon and how bad will it be the next time?

On a more joyful note - here are links to the A-toZ Challenge posts on the Broomstick so far, with a hint of some of the posts to come. Enjoy! 💜

ART by Melissa a guest post about performance art
BFF by Linzé
COVID-19 by Linzé
DINNER by Linzé EDINBURGH station by Linzé FUN art by Linzé
GREEN by Linzé
HOLISTIC health by Vanessa a guest post and art journal
INKTOBER52 by Linzé
JOY by Linzé

Looking forward this week ...
Tomorrow: K by Kayelle a book release
Tuesday: L by Carmen a guest post
Wednesday: M by Andrea a guest post
Thursday: N by Charlene a guest post

Until tomorrow!
💜 Linzé

A to Z Challenge: Day 8 - H

Holistic Health and Covid-19 by Vanessa Wright

Thanks to Linze Brandon, who allows me to place my ramblings on her blog.

The world has changed. We are living in uncertain times while we watch the number of infections rise daily. I look around me and people are afraid of human touch, they jump at the sound of someone sneezing or coughing. It is now, more than ever before, extremely important to be aware of changes in mental health and overall well-being. Our current lockdown and self-isolation prompted me to make an art journal entry.

My anxiety has been through the roof lately as I battle to make sense of a changing environment and the adaptation of a new way of living. Art has been a welcome relief amidst the turmoil.

I wanted to address a holistic way of approaching the subject of mental health. I am bipolar and need to keep an even keel as much as possible. Please look out for the following signs during isolation:

1. Extreme fear and worry about your own health. Fear of leaving the security of your home to do essential shopping.
2. Changes in your sleeping patterns. Sleeping too much or too little. 
3. Changes in your eating habits; again, too much or too little.
4. Difficulty concentrating, feeling as if you are moving through fog.
5. Increased use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs.

If you find that a number of the above things have been going awry, here is what works for me:

1. Get up. Make your bed, brush your hair and teeth, shower, put on clothing which doesnot involve yoga pants, your favourite bath robe or boxers.
2. Create a routine for yourself. This will instil a sense of normalcy and productivity. If needs be, make an A3 chart. Now you have broken up your day. Try to change your environment while doing the tasks you have set out for yourself.
3. Eat healthily; fresh fruit and veggies, hearty soups.
4. Meditate and do some form of exercise.
5. Stay connected with friends and family via cell phone- WhatsApp, Facebook, Zoom, etc.
6. Do not spend too much time on social media, limit your intake of bad news and updates.
7. Help others as much as isolation allows you to. I shop for my elderly neighbours and bake a cake or two.
8. Be grateful for what you have, it is much more than some people who are going through the same isolation as you are. Start each day by thinking of 3 things you are grateful for.
9. Take your medication regularly. Now is not the time to purge yourself of your anti-depressants.
10. Any form of creativity goes a long way in alleviating anxiety.

The Art Journal Piece:

Materials

Art journal or old book.

Gesso, HB pencil, kneaded eraser for those inevitable mistakes. Acrylic paint in the colours of your choice. Words which I cut out of an old magazine. Glue, paint brushes and a Sharpie for the outlining.

I use an old book as an art journal. I glued three pages together and treated it with gesso. Next, I drew my abstract figures with my HB pencil. I used complimentary, bright colours for my artwork.

Vanessa's Holistic health art journal entry

After painting the figures, I outlined them with the Sharpie and stuck the words on with glue. As you can see, they represent gratitude, meditation, activity, reading or studying and contemplation. The two figures at the very edges are black which represent the effect the virus and isolation has on us.

Stay safe and healthy.

Love,

Vanessa

Art Journal 2020: Life

For my entry this time I chose to focus on Seneca's philosophy on life, and being present. The choice of colours was deliberate to bring a more joyful spin to the art and the text.
  

Figure 1: Leaves stencilled and outlined

Materials:
1. Art journal
2. Textured paste
3. Stencil of your choice (I used leaves)
4. Pallet knife
5. Sharpie Ultra Fine marker
6. Gel medium (gloss or matt)
7. Chameleon alcohol based markers (see each step fo the colours)
8. Sanding paper/block medium/fine

Step 1:
* Paint the pages with gel medium to seal them.
* Use the textured paste and pallet knife to stencil the leaves onto the pages. Let dry.
* Gently sand the leaves to remove any sharp points or unevenness.
* Use the Sharpie to outline the leaves to make them stand out.

Figure 2: Coloured leaves and green markers

Step 2:
* Colour each leaf green.
I used GR4 (evergreen) on the left-hand leaf, and GR3 (grass green) on the right-hand leaf.
The small tip works best for the small surfaces of the leaves.
Chameleon alcohol markers dry quickly so there is no need to wait before continuing.

Figure 3: Coloured pages

Step 3:
* Colour the rest of the pages with bright colours. Avoid using dark colours since it will obscure the text.
I used YL2 (summer sun), YO3 (warm sunset), PK5 (fuchsia), BL3 (sky blue), and YG3 (spring meadow).
* You can use the Chameleon Blender to blend the edges where the colours meet, or you can use the lighter toned pen to blend. The gel medium prevents the ink from being absorbed into the paper, making blending possible even after the ink has dried.

Figure 4: The end result

Step 4:
* Use the Sharpie to add the text to the two pages.
* Sign your name and add the date when you are done.

On the left: "Why, indeed, is it necessary to summon trouble - which must be endured soon enough when it has once arrived, or to anticipate trouble and ruin the present through fear of the future? It is indeed foolish to be unhappy now because you may be unhappy at some future time."  ~ Seneca letters XXIV, 1

On the right: "... teach me something with which to face these troubles. Bring it to pass that I shall cease trying to escape from death, and that life may cease to escape from me. Give me courage to meet hardships; make me calm in the face of the unavoidable. Relax the straitened limits of the time which is allotted me. Show me that the good in life does not depend upon life's length, but upon the use we make of it..."  ~ Seneca letters XLIX, 10

~~~~~

In April I will again be taking part in the A to Z blog challenge, so there will be more creative posts coming your way.

Until then, when we will make everyday a creative day.
💜 Linzé

Art Journal 2020: Found Poetry (a guest post)

According to Wikipedia, found poetry is a type of poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them. I spent 2 days exploring this in my art journal, using random pages from a book bound for the recyclers. As a journal, I use a recycled, stitched and bound hardcover fiction book. I glued 3 pages together with acrylic gel medium as I was afraid that the black markers would bleed through. 

I used Dala acrylic gel medium. I usually gesso the pages, but this time, I needed the text. I used Stabilo coloured pencils in the colours pictured above. They are wax based and have excellent blending abilities. Artline 725 and a fine Sharpie were used for the design and the zentangles. Silver washi tape, married the two pages stylistically. Any HB pencil and putty eraser is a must for planning a design. The white pencil depicted is a blender. 

Step 1: Choose the poetry from the text of any book page. You need to know a bit about poetry, especially rhythm. Highlight it by drawing a thick, dark box around it. Next, I drew a leaf design in pencil on the page. I divided the leaf into 7 separate sections, you can choose more or less if you like. Now you are ready to choose zentangle patterns. There are literally millions of patterns with their step outs available on the internet.

Step 2: Draw your zentangles with your Sharpie and fill in the black areas with the Artline pen as they are much cheaper to use in large areas. Make sure that you have no tiny, white areas that are left open, for this you need good lighting.

Step 3: Colour the area around your design with coloured pencils. I used an underlayer of yellow in certain areas and to darken, I used the dark blue tone to depict shadows. The blender was used throughout when I went from darker to lighter areas. Avoid overworking a recycled book art journal. The pages are not high quality, it simply cannot handle too many layers. 

Step 4: Apply Washi tape around the upper and lower edges to marry the two pages. I stencilled the wording on the side of the page. The opposite page was done in exactly the same manner, I merely used coloured pencils within the design itself, as the found poetry got a bit lost. A word of advice- use zentangle patterns with black areas, this will make the found poetry pop. 

The important thing is to have fun with your designs and colours. There are no rules, just your creativity which has no bounds.

Hope you join me next month, when I will be painting a Koi in watered down acrylics, paired with a zentangle whale.

“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul."

Have a super creative month!

💚 Vanessa

To see more of Vanessa's art follow her on Instagram

Until next time!

💜 Linzé

Art Journal 2020: Amor Fati

This week is the second in the series #JournalArt2020 dealing with the theme of stoicism. This week my entry is about Amor Fati - to love your fate.

1.  Start again with a blank spread, but this entry involves a third page (kept single). There two outer pages were glued together again with gel medium, but there is no painting involved in this entry, so you don't have to glue to outer pages.
I used gel medium, because the pages in this particular book bleeds with the markers and I didn't want that to spoil the other pages.

2.  This entry uses two stencils. The primary design use this tree stencil, but you can use any tree stencil that you like. It just needs to be wide enough to cover at least half of the two pages in the spread.

The second stencil is shown further down.

3.  Use a waterproof pen and draw the stencil outline on the spread close to the middle.
Mark the edge of the stencil (shown here with the green and purple arrows) in pencil.

Cut around the tree but leave enough space at the bottom to cover the tree and tree trunk when the single (middle) page is turned over.

Flip the stencil and draw the tree on the other side.

4.  Here you can see the flip side of the page. 

The pencil marks on the page were used to align the stencil to ensure the overlap is as close as possible. It does not have to be perfect though.

The tree on the left-hand side of the spread is not visible.

The stencil outline was flipped with the tree trunk now leaning the other way.

5.  I used ink and a dry art sponge to colour the pages around the tree, also in between the branches. But I made sure not to cover the lines of the tree itself.

You can also use a dauber or your finger to get the same effect with the ink.

6.  I couldn't get enough coverage with the ink and sponge and decided to use a colour pencil as well. It is a soft pencil and I made sure to hold it fairly horizontal so that it didn't make obvious lines when I used it to fill in the background.

The pencil is almost the exact same shade of green as the ink I used. I was lucky because I didn't plan on using coloured pencils for this entry. I was however, very pleased with the final outcome. Will definitely consider using coloured pencils again.

7.  I used Lyra brush markers in light colours to colour in the tree on the green side of the entry.

The tree trunk was done with a brown marker, and I used the same brown marker on the other side of the page.

This side symbolises the lighter (happier) side of life.

8.  I made the right-hand side of the design in purple. Using ink on the edges with the dry sponge, and then used two coloured pencils for the colouring in the rest of the pages around the tree.

Then I coloured the tree with dark colours from the Lyra brush marker set.

This side symbolises the heavier (difficult or challenging) side of life.

9.  The pencils: Koh-I-Noor Hardmuth Progresso Yellowish Green, French Pink, and Bordeaux Red.

The inks: Distress Ink Twisted Citron, and Seedless Preserves.

10.  Add the text "Amor Fati" to the green side with a waterproof pen.
I drew circles in random sizes around the green side and coloured them with the same light coloured Lyra brush markers you saw in (7).

The circles were done with a stencil (11).

11.  Repeat the circles on the purple side of the design and colour with the darker brush pens shown in (8)

I did not colour all the circles in the purple entry, to add to the symbolism of emptiness or difficult times in life.

The stencil is shown here.

The words "love your fate" is added to the purple side and shown in (10)

The final design with two quotes from Epictetus added with the

black UniBall waterproof pen (0.8mm nib)

"Don't seek for everything to happen as you wish it, but rather wish that everything happens as it actually will--then your life will flow well." ~Epictetus

"It is easy to praise providence for anything that may happen if you have two qualities: a complete view of what has actually happened in each instance, and a sense of gratitude. Without gratitude what is the point of seeing, and without seeing what is the object of gratitude?" ~Epictetus

Until the next instalment in this series!
Be creative and love your life, just the way it is.

💜 Linzé

Art Journal 2020: Love (a guest post)

Today I have the pleasure of my friend, Vanessa Wright's #ArtJournal2020 contribution. She loves using zentangles in her art journal, and I thought it a good idea to let her tell you how she approached this art journal about LOVE using zentangles.

Zentangle was invented by a monk, Rick Roberts and an artist by the name of Maria Thomas and meditation met art. This method of drawing promotes concentration, creativity and personal well-being. This art form is traditionally drawn on 9x9 tiles.

2020 saw the beginning of an exciting art journey for me and my friend, Linzé Brandon. We started art journaling. After reading up on a few articles and watching endless YouTube tutorials, I finally knew which direction I wanted to take regarding this art form.

• First and foremost it needed to be a personal journey, not just random art for art's sake.
• Secondly, I wanted to do something that had only rarely, if ever been done. I had been part of the Tangle all around Facebook group, run by Alice Dean Hendon for nearly a year and yet had any artwork to show for it. This was the perfect opportunity.
• Thirdly I wanted to be able to look back at the pieces and see whether I had gown as an artist. 

Here is the process I used for this zentangle art journal entry:

1. I decided to repurpose an old hardback book which was missing a few pages and was doomed to be thrown away. As the pages were stitched and not glued, I was able to rip out nearly half of them.
2. I then glued 3 pages together by applying gel medium and added two layers of gesso to prepare them for anything I wished to throw at them. I was worried that the text, which was still visible, would impact the artwork, but my acrylic background covered it effortlessly.
3. I mixed sap green and lemon yellow and lightened areas with titanium white which I applied directly to the page.

   

   Zentangles around a cut out

4. Sap green and some fingerprint action made the edges slightly darker.
5. I cut out paper hearts, printed the quote and the word, love, and stuck them in with gel medium.
6. I used washi tape to divide both pages. Do not tangle with expensive Pigma Microns on this surface, use a cheaper Artline pen or a Sharpie as it destroys the tips of the Micron pens.
7. Tangle carefully to avoid smudging. There are literally thousands of tangle patterns available on the web; the sky is literally the limit.

I like the simplicity of the finished page as most of the art journaling tutorials I watched were so overdone and involved stencils and stamps and paper and magazine cut outs and and and....

This was why the zentangles appealed to me. I hope you are inspired to try this, so relaxing and super fun.

The final result of the zentangle art journal entry

Thank you, Vanessa! Phew, that must have taken quite a bit of time and I know you enjoyed every moment.

If you like to use zentangles in your art journal, why not share them with me on Twitter with the #JournalArt2020, I would love to see what your creative results look like.

Until next time!

💜 Linzé