Another art journal

 I've been working on another little journal as a spin-off from one of the lessons from the art journal course.  It's something I work on every now and again.  

The cover is a 'ghost print' from a gel plate printing session.

This page started as a pastel watercolour background which was decorated with drawn flowers.  The rest of the background was painted with dark blue acrylic paint.

On the right hand page I cut some flaps and added a stamped image.

This page started as a gel print, which was stencilled over, adding paint pen marks and gold squiggles. 

On these pages, there is a collage and a page with a pocket.

Here is the pocket page without the folded paper.  I really enjoyed drawing all the different lines within the circles as it is a very meditative activity.

Wanderlust 2025 - part four

The final twelve weeks of the art journaling course have been full of challenges.  The theme was 'Leaps and Bounds' and a lot of the lessons involved working outside a journal, on canvases,  etc.  However, I didn't want to make 3D objects as I really don't have the space for them, so I had to think how to translate them to 2D, to be able to keep them in my journal. (I think I will be doing the same next year when the course is aimed more at intermediate artists and will be focusing a lot more on 3D).  Above was Kate Crane's lesson on inchies, twinchies, ATC (Artists' Trading Cards) and Moos (half a business card size), so working small.  This lesson took me more time to complete but I really enjoyed it.   

Making ATCs from a masterboard was the next lesson and I turned the page over to cut it out, so the images really were a surprise.  Adding gilding flakes to each card made them look even more special.

Making matchboxes and filling them with interesting little bits and pieces, based on a printers tray, was the next week.  My 'printers tray' is flat, but I was happy with how it turned out.  I added a stamped image from one of my hand cut stamps, a piece of paper I made a few years ago with flowers and foil added into it, cut into a heart, some leaves and flower heads from the garden, a key die cut, an old postage stamp, a tile cut from a magazine, a piece of my handmade felt cut into a star and a tiny letter. 

Working with and on teabags was the next week's focus and sewing the teabag and stamping on it was included, so I had a go. It was tricky, but I got there!

This was based on an assemblage in a rusty tin, with another tin containing lots of bits and pieces. I made my own 2D version using die cuts, embossing, texture paste through a stencil and lots of bits of ephemera. 

Making a wrap closure for our journals was the next lesson, so I altered this into making little fabric 'cards' in pockets instead. I kept the same four seasons idea.  I used calico as the base, painted, collaged and sewn on. The backs of the cards have book pages stuck onto them for added strength.  

You can see the 'cards' better here.

A canvas family tree with photos attached inside painted lids was what I transferred into a journal page.  I used an embossing folder to add some texture to the die cut frames.

Finally, something completely different.  There is a load of writing underneath the paint, but no-one can see it now, which was the whole idea. Reflecting on things that have gone well, or challenges overcome was one side and 'what if...?' questions on the other.  I kept this simple and was going to add some words but decided I liked it as it is.

I think next year's course will provide me with more challenges - we'll see how I get on!

Happy New Year 2022

Jasminium Nudiflorum flowering in a photo I took this morning

Happy New Year!  Let us all hope that 2022 is a kinder year than the last two. As I usually do, I have aims during the year which I look back on at New Year. 

Read interesting books:  This has certainly continued and I have read lots of old favourites as well as some new ones.  Some which I particularly enjoyed were: Wintering by Katherine May, One Moment by Linda Green, The Beauty of Broken Things by Victoria Connelly, and The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H G Parry.  I also revisited my favourite Miss Marple stories and Jane Austen novels (of course!)

One of the pages from my Care December journal

Be Creative (using what I have):  this is also a big tick - my  mixed media art journalling course (Wanderlust 2021), the ICAD in June and July, making cards for all occasions, a swatch book, junk journal, Care December journal.  I have used lots of what I have but I have also purchased more things, so this is something I need to keep control of more effectively this year.  (However, if energy prices soar as they are predicted to do, I won't have much money to spend on my hobbies anyway!) I have sewing projects which I would like to complete too, so they are also on the 'to do' list.  My new Wanderlust 2022 course starts next week, so I am looking forward to that.

Get rid of (or donate) things I no longer want or need: I have talked about this for a long time without really addressing it.  Having watched several TV programmes about sorting your life out, I have finally realised that this won't happen magically and that I need to get stuck in and make those decisions myself.  I made a start before Christmas by donating some of my books but this needs to continue.  Once the books are done, there are many, many more possessions which need to be assessed.  However, I feel encouraged that I have finally made a  proper start.

Another Care December journal page

Take more notice of nature: Being at home more has made me appreciate my little garden so much. I am grateful for this space outside and I need to rearrange some pots of hydrangeas which have outgrown their space.  I may have one more rose in mind ('Emily Bronte') but no more large things.  I am planning to grow verbena bonariensis in pots and some cerinthe.  I need to do some re-potting and dividing, so have lots to keep me busy. Oh, and the compost bin wants turning too.  However, amongst all this, I plan to look more, to sit and appreciate more.

I need to remember to be present in the moment and crafting and gardening do help with that.   Also, I need to be grateful for what I have.  Good things to remember in the coming year.  

Wanderlust 2021 - Weeks nine to twelve - Serendipity

Here are the pages I made for weeks nine to twelve of the Wanderlust mixed media art journaling course.  'Serendipity' was the theme - things coming together just at the right time.  It was also about not over-thinking and just going with the flow.  The focus of the page above was a new flower stencil which had just arrived.

Week ten was very enjoyable but went through a few ugly stages before it was finished.  Enjoying the process could be a theme of this whole course and the words were going round in my head as this page came together, so they needed to be my focus. 

The background for week eleven was made using layers of gesso and paint and then swirling them together with the end of a paintbrush. (I may have got a bit carried away with this technique!)

We made pockets and journal cards and were asked to write down things that had come together for us. My journal cards included things I enjoy - birdsong, chocolate, the scent of winter flowering honeysuckle, the feel of silk and velvet etc. and my art and craft journey - things had come together to enable me to undertake a Foundation year course in Art and Design - definitely one of the best things I have ever done.  

Week twelve was about creating pieces which could then be used in art work - collage focal points, bleeding tissue paper sheets etc.  This page has two collage focal points and the colour scheme was dictated by one of the papers I used on the collage piece.  

The theme for the next four weeks is Silhouettes.

Over the weeks, the journal I used (which is in my photos above), although lovely, is breaking at the spine binding because each page has doubled in thickness (at least) with the addition of all the layers.  While it is a great journal, it is not quite up to this job.  So, I have ordered a load of watercolour card and am going to make a simple journal with binder rings. I like the size of the double spread pages above, so will stick with that.  The new journal will also have the benefit of being able to take the pages out as I am working on them. It's a shame that the whole course won't be together in one journal, but I think the new journal will be better for all the mixed media materials which will be thrown at it!

Wanderlust 2021 - weeks five to eight - Ephemera

Week five was the start of the Ephemera topic, which I was really looking forward to.  I used an old photograph of my Granny with her sisters as the focal point and really enjoyed creating the background.  I asked Chris to give me a colour (I would normally go for blues and greens or other cold colours) and he chose red (a bit of pink and orange also made an appearance).  

Week six was split into several different ideas.  One was to use collage as the focus.  I decided to do this in my cardboard art journal.  I love the drippy paint effect and the way you can see the collage pieces.

I then did the 'collage as texture' and stuck my collage elements in place.  I liked this as it was, so took a photo of it as by the time I finished, you wouldn't be able to see it.

Here's the finished page.  You can see some bits of the collage if you look closely, but it is pretty much hidden.

Week seven was focusing on photos and making ephemera your own by adding scribbles and marks to it.  I did this on a piece of music paper and then scanned it in to the computer and printed it out, so that I can keep the original.    I did  this with some garden entry tickets I had kept and one featured on this spread. The colour scheme would be taken from the ephemera used. The photos again feature my granny, but in the right hand photo, she is with her children - my Mum is on the right of the photo.

Week eight was a bit more of a challenge. It was about focusing on your ideas and plans and then making a pile of ephemera including some material that had been stitched into.  Most of the ephemera was stuck down under another piece so that the maker was the only person who knew exactly what was in the pile. With my current 'circles' obsession, they appeared all over these pages.  I used an acrylic paint pen to draw the 'stitched' details, but there is real stitching on the material on the left hand page.

I am still loving the course, enjoying some weeks more than others, but giving everything a go!  It is giving me a lot to think about.

A Creative 2021 - Wanderlust 2021

 I was in need of a creative project for 2021 and I have found one that looks perfect for me.  I am very excited to say that I have signed up to 'Wanderlust 2021'.

"What is this?", I hear you ask.  Well, it is a year long online course about art journaling using mixed media.  It is made up of weekly lessons by art practitioners and each lesson will bring something different.  I already follow several of the teachers on their blogs or on Youtube, so I know a little bit of what to expect. 

As I have signed up early, I also have access to bonus videos and handouts and downloads, which I have been working my way through.  The cost for the year is $99, until 9th September, which worked out to £72.00 and I think this is very good value.  After 9th September, the price goes up to $175.00, but people can still join until 31st December 2020.  I am hoping that the course will help me to develop my own style and 'voice' as well as show me lots of mixed media ideas and techniques.

I will also be given bonus videos on 'Braving the Blank Page' which will appear on 14th September, again, because I signed up in good time.   The other good thing is that I have pretty much all the supplies suggested and I have just bought a new and rather nice art journal to work in.  I also have a journal for notes, sketches and other bits and pieces - more of a working document.

Here is a link to the website, in case you are interested/curious - Wanderlust 2021.  I have enjoyed the videos so far and am working on a mixed media piece with a star theme which I will share when it is finished.

I am hoping that 2021 will be my most creative year yet and I am looking forward to getting started in January.