Linzé Brandon's Blog, page 3

Cheating the Muse - Letter R

Hey there, fellow creative!

I was not inspired when the letter R came up on my list. Until a few hours ago, I had no idea what I was going to write about. I even Googled a few ideas, but not the AI version. I am not a fan of AI for writing. Anyway, I spotted a few artists' names next to recycling art, and I went, I do that!

Most people associate recycled art with big and bold sculptures, and those can be awe-inspiring. But that is not what I do.

Nope, I stick to small things. Let me give an example...

The 100 day project Week 8 (Day 50 to Day 56)

Hey there, creative friends!

When I started this challenge, I just hoped that I could keep up with a daily creative practice, but this week started with Day 50. Mind blowing that we are halfway already!

I do have a problem now, with the next novel which is scheduled for release at the end of the month, my time is getting really limited until I finish working through the edits.

Any painting, or writing words for the next book, have to wait until the edits are done.

But I did manage to finish the Rave...

Cheating the Muse - Letter Q

Hey there, creative friends!

Thank you to everyone who has visited my blog. If I missed your question when I wrote this post, I promise to answer it in the comments.

So here is Lissa's question: "Why is your blog named 'Butterfly on a broomstick'? This could have an easy explanation. But I'm curious if there might be something special to it."

My reply: To be honest, Lissa, it took me a while to remember 🤦🏼‍♀️ because once I created the blog in 2011, I didn't think about it again. Until today. 😃

Alth...

Cheating the Muse - Letter P

Hey there, creative friends!

Having a studio inside the house can be a pain, mostly because I don't want to make a mess since some materials will leave a permanent mark. But I have watched a few YouTube videos with junk journalers using a box to spray inks onto their projects because they have to film it for their channels. And I thought: I can use that!

I used the biggest box I could find; I often keep the packaging from things we buy and cut it down to make it shallower. Then, I lined it with la...

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...

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 endle...

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 th...

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:
A daily practice of art or creative writing helps to get things done. Projects that take time can be finished earlier than planned.I have also learned to...

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 close...

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 vi...