Back of my Journal Cover

Hello there! Previously, I had decorated the front of my Moleskin journal and loved it- I loved having a colorful collage to inspire me every time I picked it up. But the back was still plain. I attempted to decorate it, and it was ok, but I love to re-do old pages- they often provide inspiration for a new piece. So here is the result.

 

 

 

   The quote is by James D. Finley and it says "Nothing encourages creativity like the chance to fall flat on ones face" - Love that! I am always learning new things and I have to frequently remind myself that its ok to experiment, and yes, fall flat on my face at times- as a matter of fact that is part of the process!

Hope everyone out there is doing well. I am going to attempt to blog more, but right now my main focus is going to be getting ready for Art-is-You in October. I often find myself in pre-retreat chaos gathering materials and stressing myself out. So, I figure if I make myself a checklist and start NOW, I might just be prepared in time this year!

 



July Calendar Page

Well, its been a while since I posted, but I managed to make a calendar journal page for this month, so I am just going to jump in where I left off. My scanner's on the blink (still! urgh) so here's a photo from my 'el cheapo' camera.

Here's a link to the calendar challenge on Kate Crane's blog.  Thanks for looking!

April Calendar Page

So....here's my calendar page for April. I am so happy that I've been able to keep up with this challenge so far and am loving seeing everybody's pages every month. So much inspiration. I thought I was going to keep it simple this month, but I think I got even more carried away than usual. I have resolved to not buy any more paper, or art supplies (well, not too much at least- I always pick up a few new markers or paint colors here or there- that doesn't count, right?) and I love using things I had forgotten I even had, like the Grungeboard letters and swirls. And some ancient rub-ons from 7 Gypsies. Thanks for looking! Check out everybody's work over at The Kathryn Wheel. And thanks again Kate for this awesome challenge- enjoying it so much!

Crazed Rabbit Page

I just finished making this as part of my Life Book 2013 class. This was my favorite lesson so far. I've never done anything quite like this and am so pleased by how it came out.

Here are a couple of progress shots I took. This was SO freeing. I can see making more journal pages in this style. Thank you so much Mitsi B. ! for an excellent lesson. And this is only the cover! Whee!

Journal Page - Life Book 2013- True Intentions

Here's a page I made for Life Book. I have gotten very far behind, but I enjoyed finishing this up last night. I have a few more details to add, (like my intentions for the year, which I believe is the most important part, heehee) but I'm not up to it. So I'm just posting it as is. Down with perfectionism! (I'm yelling this at myself as I constantly sweat the small stuff) (Like my laptop and scanner still being on the blink :P)

Calendar Journal Page - March

Hello there! I haven't been making much art (well, except for a ceramics class, but more on that later) but I am absolutely determined to keep up with this challenge. This page was inspired by the style of Constance Taylor- I first saw her work on the Flickr Calendar Journal page set up by Kate of the Kathryn Wheel. 

Unfortunately my laptop went kaput yesterday- the battery refuses to charge. (could it be because I set it down on some yogurt that had spilled on the table that I didn't notice until it was too late- argh!) So, anyway, without my computer and scanner (I promptly lost the scanner software after installing it into my laptop last year) I am doing the best with my little junkie point and shoot. I hope everyone who is participating in this challenge is enjoying it as much as I am. For some more inspiration, check out Kate's blog and the incredible work of Constance- trust me- if you like beautiful collage work- you will be truly inspired. 

Calendar Journal- February

Here's my February calendar page. A bit late, but there's been a bit of a crisis over here, so I am actually thrilled to have gotten this done. I photocopied a piece I had been working on for the main image in different sizes and used the rest of the photocopy for the border. The 'February' kind of faded into the background, but I remembered reading what Marjie Kemper did here and cut out a second set with plain black cardstock to back them up and create a shadow effect. Take a look at everyone's pages over at the Kathryn Wheel   for some awesome inspiration!

Quote and Journal Page- Three Muses

Hello! Here's my newest journal page- I love quotes and its been far too long since I participated in a challenge. As you can see, I have a checkerboard thing going on again!. Don't know why but I'm loving it. Check out everyone's work over at The Three Muses.

Pushing an Image- or Collaging a Painting

Hi there. I am posting today something I finished last week. I have been going back and forth about posting because it is, for me, one of my favorite pieces I have ever made. Not that I have a huge body of work, but it is a special piece to me.  sooooooo...... the insecurity started to set in, 'what if nobody likes it?' It's hard to put yourself out there. (I got some perspective when I realized that I don't exactly have thousands of people looking at my blog, and those that do are unwaveringly supportive in their comments)
Anyway- here's my piece. I photocopied my portrait painting that I posted earlier (that was in response to a challenge issued by Art Journal Cafe), and I also photocopied a portion of my November calendar page. I remembered watching Teesha Moore's video, which is what really got me interested in art journaling, and started with cutting up the photocopy to make the border, just as she does in her video with magazine papers. The rest just developed from there.

Here are the original pieces...

Re-using Journal Pages

Here's something that I've been playing with lately. I got the idea from Traci Bautista, when I took her class (wow, over 2 1/2 years ago now!). She said to make photocopies of original pieces, and then cut them up to make new collages. I remember when I pulled out an original, detailed drawing to use (the class called for bringing various collage papers, images, etc....so I thought to myself  'oh, goody- I have a drawing I can use'.) The look on her face when I pulled it out was priceless. She looked at me like I was bonkers (they do say artists tend to be intuitive) and told me to make a copy before using it. Anyway, here's my original page.

 

And here's the page I made from the copied and cut up original. I made a double page spread, held vertically.

I even got all fancy and stitched on the pages. I think I will add some black around the white lettering, but if I wait to do all that, I may never post.

January Calendar Page

Hello there- I am absolutely determined to complete this years Calendar Journal challenge over at the Kathryn Wheel. So here's my page for January.

I went a little nutso on this page- the background has layers of  decorative papers, Neocolor 11's, acrylic paint, gesso, stamps, tissue paper (for extra texture)  and finally some spray ink. I knew I wouldn't be able to write on all that texture with a small pen, so for the journaling spots, I broke out some background papers I had made a couple of months ago and then promptly forgot all about. Here's how I made the squares.

First, using a dropper and a willing helper (frog pajamas are a plus), I dripped random drips of ink right out of the bottle onto the paper. (I used Higgins drawing ink onto Bristol paper)

Then, using the same kind of ink, only watered down in a bottle, we sprayed over the first color. We did this a couple of times, spreading it with a foam brush when the mood struck. I think at this point we ran out of time and I put them away, forgotten, until I needed them the other day.

At this point, I cut out the most interesting portions, cut them up into little squares, and edged them with ink. I added random stamping to some of them- here's a close up....

Tada!
 If you have read this far- thank you! I'm looking forward to visiting and seeing what everybody else has been up to. If you have a chance, stop by Kate's blog- her year in review post is wonderful!