Cheating the Muse - Letter O

Hey there, creative friends!

Today's post is something I think we all can relate to. You know, when you go, oops!

We all make mistakes: at work, at home, in life, with a creative project, nearly anything we do. It invariably happens when we do something for the first time.

My question is: since no one is perfect, why do we expect our creative projects, the paintings or the sculptures, to be perfect?

Yes, I am an engineer, and my brain has a distinctly logical way of thinking, but I am also an artist and a writer. And my engineering brain tells me to stop overthinking the perfection narrative and to just get on with it. Practice it if it's not something I am skilled in. And try again if the result is not right the first time. But perfection will never come from my drawing or writing pen, so why worry about it?

Oops! Yeah, I say that a lot, and then get on with it anyway. Okay, sometimes the oops sound more like f**k, but you get the point. Making mistakes is what we do, but not learning from it is the real disaster in my opinion.

Do you agree?

Thank you to all the lovely people visiting my blog this month.

A surprise for you (exclusive to my blog visitors) is coming with the Letter S post. If you like reading fantasy for adults, it might be just for you. (Hint: it's my new book, Tiger Gold)

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

PS: On Saturday, we have the Letter Q. I will use it to try and answer any questions you might have. Please leave your questions in the comments below. Thank you! ☺️

Cheating the Muse - Letter N

Hey there, creative friends!

Today's post is about something new. Try out new art material, or dig in your stash and use one you haven't played with in a while. Or you can try a new type of art.

Have you tried collage art yet? And not using magazine papers or other preprinted materials. Instead, make your own papers and cut them or tear them up to create something new.

How about drawing a building if you usually draw people? Or do a landscape in oil pastel instead of oil paint.

The options are endless. Trying something new or different can inspire you to get out of that creative rut. Or inspire you to start a new project.

If you're a writer, how about a short story if you're a novel writer? Novels can be disheartening since they take much more time, but short stories are so satisfying, too. Or, if you write contemporary stories, why not try something in the fantasy genre? Or a historical novel? Just be careful of the rabbit hole called research. Trust me, we've all gotten lost in that one.

What have you always wanted to try? This could be a good time to cheat the muse and recharge your creative juices.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter M

Hey there, creative friend!

Happy halfway, A-to-Z blog challenge day! If you are taking part, well done so far. I have visited a few blogs, but will get to more in an about a week's time. I have a book deadline keeping me busy.

Do you like to make things? I do. Bookbinding is a favourite, but so are the models I have on my bookshelf. I have a lot of books, but we are fortunate to have a room in the house dedicated as a library. Loads of engineering textbooks, photo albums, lever arch files with the materials of courses we did, and then my fiction books. Hundreds of books. So, the bookshelf in my office has space for the models I built over the years.

The next model I plan to build is a Da Vinci clock and an apothecary cabinet. The clock is a model I bought, but I plan to make the cabinet from scratch and will have a blog series about it.

Unfortunately, this can only happen after April since I have a novel coming out on 30 April and lots of stuff to do for that. I don't do much marketing, but if you like fantasy books for adults, click the links on the eBook tab above to have a look.

I hope you're having a lovely, creative week.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter L

Hey there, creative friend!

Yesterday, we arrived at the halfway point for #the100dayproject, and tomorrow, we will reach the same point for this blog challenge.

We challenge ourselves to learn something new or to expand our skillset. The question I am asking myself at this point is: what did I learn so far?

The answer to that question is two-fold:

1. A daily practice of art or creative writing helps to get things done. Projects that take time can be finished earlier than planned.
2. I have also learned to improve how I manage my time because of this commitment.

A surprising, or perhaps not, thing also happened. The Raven project, which took many hours so far, is not as good as I could make it. In one or two sessions, I was rushing and made a mistake. When I realised it, it was too late to fix it. I am experienced, so I could adapt my drawing so that the error is not visible to the viewer.

This doesn't mean that I am happy that I had to change it. Lesson learned. I love large and complex art projects, and I will take this lesson with me when I work on the next one.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

PS: Just scroll back one post, if you are curious about the Raven project I mentioned.

The 100 day project Week 7 (Day 43 to Day 49)

Hey there!

Are you struggling too? This week has been particularly rough with everything that I needed to get done, so finding creative time turned out to be my challenge.

The weekend was great, then Monday arrived and life interfered more than usual. But as the week progressed, I got more of a handle on my todo list and things got better. And my list of creative things, was worth its weight in gold this week.

Do you have weeks like this?

Until next time!

💜 Linzé

Day 43

Progress is slow but it is closer to being finished.

Time: 3 hours

Total time: 16 hours

Day 44

Still transcribing the words from my notebook. Almost caught up.

Time: 3 hours

Day 45

All handwritten words are now caught up. The story is not yet done, but the ending is now in sight.

Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Day 46

Not much time today. Managed a few words though,

Time: 40 minutes

Day 47 and Day 48

Made a few corrections, and then worked some more on the bird and background. Not yet finished, but the end is in sight.

Time: 5 hours

Total time: 21 hours

Day 49

More watercolour numbers in my tiny sketchbook.

Time: 1 hour (excluding drying time)

Cheating the Muse - Letter K

Hey there, creative friend!

It's the weekend, so we can make a bit more time to be creative. Today, I am pulling a linguistic trick (LOL!) and using the letter K in my native Afrikaans. In Afrikaans, creativity is spelled 'kreatiwiteit'.

It even sounds much the same in both languages. 😄

Being creative is often associated with art or writing books, but it is so much more. A friend mentioned that since learning to draw, she has started to view the world through different eyes. She has also come to view problems and potential solutions differently. And that is the creative mindset.

While I believe anyone can learn how to draw, a creative job is not for everyone, but a creative mindset is.

Have a fantastic, creative weekend.

Until Monday!

💜 Linzé

PS: I am still participating in the 100day project challenge. Why not pop around tomorrow to see what I have been up to this past week.

Cheating the Muse - Letter J

Hey there, creative friend!

If you have visited my blog a time or two, you will know how much I am in favour of journaling. The benefits outweigh any negatives, etc. etc. But today, I am not going to talk about journaling, as I usually do.

Nope, today I am enthusiastic about art journaling and junk journaling. These are not about words but paint, paper, glue, metal, wood, fabrics, thread, string, plastic, ribbons, lace, practically everything except words.

I have made a few, making at least one more, and having hours of fun with no pressure. Art journaling has nothing to sell, no intention of showing it to anyone else. It's a safe space to explore any style, medium, and expression.

Because there is no pressure, you can be as messy as you want. Draw or paint or glue whatever you want because no one has to see it. Creative block?

Why worry about it? There is nothing to produce. No one to judge. So, what is holding you back?

Go! Paint something.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé