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 26 - Z

Zucchini flower by Linzé

Not one of my favourite vegetables, but I have to say that I do like eating the flowers. But here is a gouache painting (using it like watercolour paint) on watercolour paper.
 

And with this painting, I have to say goodbye to the #AtoZChallenge for 2020. I hope you enjoyed all the creative posts and that you will remember to pop around in future for more posts about my creative life and those of other authors and artists.

Until next time!

💜Linzé 
  

A to Z Challenge: Day 29 - Y

Yellow Fungus by Linzé

This yellow fungus appeared after a few days of rain in September 2017. It grew out of the wooden structure supporting one of our rainwater tanks. I have only seen it that once and never again.
Drawing done with Caran D'Ache museum aquarelle pencils on white paper.

A to Z Challenge: Day 24 - X

X-stitch by Linzé

I found this little cross-stitch kit in a magazine. I cannot remember when or which magazine, sorry. I did think that it would be a good project (and appropriate) for this time of isolation and it is small enough that it can be completed in a few hours.

So I stitched it, made the background as per the instructions and now it is hanging on my pin board right next to my table in my workshop where I spend my time drawing or painting.

A to Z Challenge: Day 23 - W

WAIT by Michelle Kemp

Life is busy and stressful. Even during this time of lock down when we are forced to sit at home all day, we remain busy. 

Personally, I find it very hard to do nothing. Often, I will be doing at least two tasks, even when binge watching a series. I think this is true for many of us. Gone are the days of standing in a line, doing nothing except possibly striking up a conversation with a stranger.

Now we are constantly entertained and kept busy; millions of activities at our fingertips. This is not to say that it is a bad thing,  we just do not know how to be still. We are living in a world of instants; we demand gratification at the click of a button; we cannot stand to be bored.

The very act of being so busy and stressed is prized; the black circles under our jumpy eyes are seen as some sort of twisted trophy that says we are successful. In this period of uncertainty and our rush to digitise in order to remain productive, I feel we are missing a vital message. WAIT.

The world is telling us to stop for a moment and breathe. This message is clear that we need to un-busy ourselves and try to capture the time we are losing to our so-called productivity. Wait, while the Earth recovers. Wait, while we look around and appreciate the silence that has descended. Wait and then wait a moment more.

The world is literally forcing us to take a breath, to reset and to reconsider what we are actually achieving. We need to reassess our priorities: is that email really so urgent that you miss the sunset, the work call more important than listening to your child sing, no matter how terrible they are. We are being called to WAIT.

We are too afraid to do nothing, to be alone with ourselves and our own thoughts. How terrible that we have been using the constant stream of busy noise to muffle our quiet inner voices. If we could just take this time, as it is, and wait.

Wait and see if that little voice actually has some vital things to say. Wait and listen to the silence until it feels comfortable. Wait and just be, be with ourselves and learn to the love the people we are, not the polished products we show the world.

Wait, until waiting becomes a state of being, a place where we can thrive instead of fear.

Wait, just wait.