Begin Where You Are

Every day brings the opportunity to try something new. This was the prompt for my journal page yesterday. As usual, a wide variety of materials were used, starting with a gesso ground on the pages. Watercolor, torn paper, acrylic paint, printed images, markers and watercolor oil pastels were all within reach and found their way onto the page.

Begin where you are but don't stay there too long. Move forward on your journey.

You Go Girl !

I like to work intuitively most of the time which means I don't always know where the muse is taking me. It's the most wonderful feeling to just let things happen without over-thinking, trusting your immediate instincts. Remember, you have more paint to cover up anything you really dislike later. (If and when you do cover something up, consider using a semi-transparent wash to allow the layered imagery to show through and create interest).

Here I began by playing with the background with no further expectation. Layers of paint, colored pencils, and stamped textures were all used. Images were added and the theme of the page became obvious.

The linear borders on top and bottom were made with a strip of corrugated cardboard that was placed on acrylic paint and then pressed on the pages like a stamp. What other 'found objects' could you stamp with? When I'm working, anything within arm's reach is fair game. (Try little plastic drinking cups for circles, bubble wrap for pattern, fork tines for lines of dots, etc).

Soft water-based oil pastels were used around the imagery to help them blend into the background, and then the writing was applied with waterproof pens.

I'm not sure it's finished yet but decided to post it here anyway. As Anne Boelyn said, "That's how it's going to be, no matter how much people may grumble."

What's next? Guess I'll get a background started and see where it takes me.

Journal Play

Remember to play often.

A visual journal is the perfect place to play with ideas, color, materials, words, whatever you want. You are not obligated to make a masterpiece. You might even paint over the whole page if you don't like it.

Here are some recent 'play pages' in my journal. None of them are really noteworthy, but they each represent a moment in time and document what I was thinking about.

Compare this to the concept of writing down your thoughts in a diary...... it's very related to that, only more visual.

The prompt for the above pages: A co-worker's birthday celebration and remembering the importance of celebrating life each day.

The prompt: A friend gave me a piece of vintage ephemera and said "here's something for your journal." I had also recently listed all of the daily expectations of teaching in a large public school. The two items merged on these pages very spontaneously.

The prompt: Recalling a time in my childhood when I wanted to become invisible. Not a happy time, but something that later helped me grow. Making these pages allowed me to revisit and remember a significant event in my life.

There is power in putting images and words on paper. If you have not tried visual journalling, it might be a new adventure for the new year! There are so many resources online to inspire and get you started.

What would you like to journal about? Silence your inner critic and have fun.

Invite Peace

I've always avoided making New Year's resolutions. Why risk the guilt? But when one of my friends on Facebook (You know who you are Lauri P.) posted an article entitled "20 Ways to Add More to Your Life" by Dr. Frank Lipman, it inspired me. I like the idea of seeking more of the positive things life has to offer, and less of the negative.

This morning after reading the list again I selected some of the items and used the term 'invite' as in 'opening the door' allowing these things to come and go in my life.

The resulting journal illustration is mixed media including markers, watercolor pencil, oil pastel, decorative papers and ink.

Once again, inspiration is all around us all the time, just waiting to be recognized and asked to play. Thanks for sharing the article Lauri.

Vincent

Images of Vincent and his work were used in this month's journal page and ATC exchange. The theme was 'gifts' and instead of a holiday theme, the muse took me in another direction.

With photoshop I placed his tragic self portrait on the painting of poppies for color effect. The quote is from Emerson.

There is a new theory about how Vincent lost his ear in 1888. For more than a century, Vincent Van Gogh has been known as the tortured genius who sliced off his own ear in a fit of madness. But a new study claims that Paul Gauguin lopped it off with a sword as the two artist's argued. It is contended that Van Gogh let everyone think he had mutilated himself in order to protect Gauguin from prosecution. We may never know the true story but it's an interesting speculation.

Below, I used a rare photograph of Vincent and one of his own quotes.

Time

With the old year drawing to a close and 2010 approaching, I chose the prompt for this visual journal entry: time.

Again, the composition expands from an existing image, in this case the photograph of a colorful bird's head.

Henry David Thoreau's words are at the top: "The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."

A quote from Omar Khayyam seemed to be the appropriate text: "The bird of time has but a little way to fly.... and the bird is on the wing!"

Journal Page / Friends

This page is from one of my 8 x 10 hand made journals. I make these with my students and work along with them each semester.

The prompt was to begin with an existing image, then go beyond its borders and 'tell the rest of the story.' In this case, the image was the small rectangle that includes the faces of these 4 friends. It was applied to a background and their bodies were drawn and painted with acrylics. Text was added with marker and the line of music seemed to complete the story. "A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you forget the words."

Journal Pages

These are a few pages from a visual journal I have been carrying around and playing with recently. Inspired by artist Teesha Moore, I have been exploring her ideas and color use to stretch my own boundaries a bit.

The text is inspired by a book I love, Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland.
On her website and on YouTube, Teesha Moore has generously shared a series of videos about how she creates her journal pages. They are definitely fun and inspiring and worth a look. After watching them, I made this little book so I could play too.
What I love most about visual journaling is the freedom it gives us to play and explore.

You don't have to create a masterpiece, just get out the paint, markers, glue sticks and pens and see where it takes you. Use whatever inspires you and have unstructured fun.

More Centipedes

Now we're having fun! A bit on the dark side this time, which is good if you're playing with centipedes.
A new shipment of waxed linen cord arrived today...... I think I'll be needing it.
There may still be more of these waiting to come out and play. That's what is so fun about art, you just never know what will happen next.

Fun with Centipedes

Here's my latest book-play. I was in the mood for centipedes and lots of them.

So once I got started it was hard to stop. Just one more I kept saying to myself....

The book measures 5 x 7 and has 112 leaves of mixed paper types and weights. There are pages for writing and pages for drawing or mixed media journaling.

Although this particular book is finished, I don't think I'm done playing with this stitch. I may have caught the bug.

Choose Carefully.....

Don't we all have a 'Door Number Two' somewhere in our past?

Perhaps Howard wishes he had taken the free spin........

Free Spin

Sometimes you just get lucky.

This month's theme is "Games" and who can resist a free spin, especially with this character as your host...

Fun With Zentangles

The recent edition of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine had an article on "Zentangles" an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns. I thought it looked like fun and it reminded me of an exercise I have included in my art classes for years. I just called it "Expressive Line." Upon further investigation I found that the creators of Zentangles have a web site, certified teachers, and quite a following. I decided that as an art instructor for 34 years, I did not need the $49 kit, but for someone who wants the instruction and does not have access to materials of their own, it might be very helpful. It comes with heavy paper 'tiles', Micron pens, and instructional materials.

I did read the archive of newsletters on the website and looked at the extensive gallery of examples. With that and the magazine article I mentioned, I learned some of the basic patterns and format used in making these intricate designs. I got out my Micron Pens (had 'em already) and some heavy illustration stock (had that too) and started to play. Within a short time I had created my first Zentangle. Then another, and another, and boy am I hooked! It's like doodling on steroids.

There is indeed a meditative (zen) effect in making these repeated patterns within the form (tangle). It is an exercise in focus and is very calming. So, if you haven't heard of this before, you might want to check it out. I think you'll enjoy it.

Black Cats

I love black cats!

First there was Zorro, a little hitchhiker picked up one cold and rainy September morning long ago. Only about 9 weeks old, he was stranded on the median strip of a 4 lane highway. I stopped traffic to scoop him up and he lived with me for 20 years. I have never been so adored by an animal, whether I deserved it or not.

Now there's Roy, 'King of the Cowboys" Cat. What a pistol! Spirited and full of energy. His middle name is "Get Down." He showed up in the flower bed after the floods of 2008. Another gift from the Universe.

This month's ATC exchange is all about superstition and I just had to feature a black cat and the wonderful quote by Groucho Marx: "A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere."

It's almost Halloween...... do you know where your black cat is?

Superstition

Our theme for the month of October is 'Superstition'. The number 13 which is avoided by many, has always been lucky for me. Go figure.

The original sepia toned photograph for this composition was purchased from The Vintage Workshop. I used Photoshop to alter color, apply the number and add other special effects.

I'm not really sure what these ladies have to do with the number 13, but encourage you to make up your own story. And considering the season, the creepier, the better.