New Journal Pages

Not feeling my best because of a slip and fall on the ice and the storms we've been having. Been busy working in my art journals though.

Art Journal Round Robin-FULL

I have 12 for the art journal round robin I am doing. Thanks to all who contacted me! I'll be sending you all the link to our journal area ASAP.

Update: 1/30/09--If anyone would like to be included in the next art journal round robin I do (US only please) feel free to leave a comment here, with a way to get in touch with you, and I'll let you know when the next one is organized!

Another Journal Page

This page depicts some of the sadness I feel over the loss of my beloved Nana. She passed away in early Oct. 2008. We always loved sharing a cup of tea together so when I found the picture in a magazine of an elderly woman holding a cup of tea I knew I had to use it.

Many of the hearts seen in my recent work have to do with the pain in my own heart and the healing it is going through. Every time I make a page while thinking about all the emotional turmoil of the past 6 months (not just Nana passing over, but other things as well) my heart heals a bit. Eventually I know my art will help it heal completely.

Art Journal Round Robin

I've decided to host an art journal round robin. I've done them in the past and they are a whole lot of fun. The rules are pretty simple:

1. Limited to US artists only. Sorry all you folks in other countries, but limiting it to the US saves a whole lot of travel time & postage fees.

2. Number of participants is limited to 12.

3. Each artist supplies her own journal. It can either be hand made, store bought or a book you wish to be worked in. the journal should be sturdy and easy to work in. In other words don't choose a vintage book as your journal because the pages will be brittle and hard to work with.

4. Each artist gets to pick her own theme, but it must be clearly defined in the journal what that theme is & you have to be open to each individual artist interpreting the theme in her own way.

5. A sign in page should be in the journal. It can be in the front, back or on a cover but it has to be there. You'll want to know the names and contact info for each artist so having it is a "must".

5. You'll receive a journal in the mail and have 1 month from the date you receive it to mail it off to the next participant. No exceptions on this one!

6. Delivery confirmation must be used when mailing off a journal. Using DC limits a whole lot of problems!!!! Also, you need to let us know when you receive a journal, when it is sent off & the DC#. Again, no exceptions!

Interested? Then leave a comment here with your e-mail address and I'll get in touch with you!!

Journal Pages

I didn't get a lot of art done today because I was cleaning up the mess a leaking dishwasher created, but I did manage to make a journal and finish up some pages I started last night.. I also went and picked out a new dishwasher to replace the ancient, 1971 model that conked out. I'm sure we'll notice a big difference in electric & water usage with the new Amana versus the dinosaur we've been using all these years!

Collate: A Paper Collaboration

After seeing this on Kelly Kilmer's blog I just had to check it out. Sweet Jessie is hosting this totally awesome paper collaboration where each participant sends in 50-70 pieces of paper and for a small fee gets a bound journal of mixed papers in return!!! Being a total paper whore I joined immediately.

My pile of 6" x 9" papers were cut last night, put in an envelope this morning and will be mailed off tomorrow. Now I just need to wait (impatiently) for the day I receive a bound journal in return. Can't wait to get it in my hands and make those first entries!

Masonite

A friend of my mother's gave me a bunch of masonite scraps quite a while ago. They've been in bags at the back of the studio closet for ages, gathering dust. While looking for a certain tool the other day I came across them and decided it was high time I did something with them!

After applying a thin coat of gesso to a few pieces I started in with the glazes, paints & collage. A few of them are still in progress, but this one is finished. I think.....

A Few Journal Pages

Last night I managed to do 7 journal pages. I'd planned on doing 2, but once I got going I just kept at it for hours. A very satisfying feeling to get so much done in one evening!

Altered Books

I love altered books. Long before they were the in thing I had been taking old books and transforming them into mini artworks. Granted, I didn't really think I was creating art. It was just a wicked cool thing to do. I know a lot of other people of "my generation" altered books too. Again, with no intent to create art just a cool activity, rather rebellious and annoying to those who believed we were a group of juveniles defiling books!

These days we have so many techniques, resources and supplies available that altering a book can be far more creative than it was back in the dark ages. When the dinosaurs roamed all we had was junk mail, some low quality paints, a handful of rather mundane stickers and a few ink pads stolen from the office supply closet! But we still managed to create some pretty amazing stuff.

The supplies available today are amazing and a bit overwhelming. Most of them I can live without, but there are some I consider must-haves. Like the decorative tapes used in the journal page shown above. There are so many uses for it and it can really pull a layout together. If I had a pile of money I'd stockpile decorative tape. And Sharpie poster paint markers. And gel pens, and.......

A New Beginning

The last 6 months of 2008 were painful ones. Both physically and emotionally. Naturally, the majority of the art I made in that time reflects this. Dark images, vivid splashes of color that signify anger, grief, disbelief, frustration and all the other "dark time of the soul" adjectives you can think of were there in abundance. A group of work that is raw and full of deep emotion ,these pieces helped me to release the darkness so that I could return to the light.

Many people are afraid to let their darkness in for fear that it will take over their lives. I'm not one of them. I know that each one of us is made up of many facets of dark and light. That we all need those times of darkness in order to appreciate the gifts life has to offer. In order to renew our Spirituality and become whole again.

However, the art and journaling I've done for the past few months will remain private for now. Even though I've returned to the light I'm not ready to share the dark parts with the world. With friends and family, yes. With strangers, no. That's just the way I am. I'm definitely not one to expose my wounds to the world at large so they can be examined, poked at or analyzed.

Luckily my brief sojourn through the dark valley of the soul has given me renewed energy. In the past few weeks I've spent many hours working on my art journals, on mixed media paintings and creative pursuits in general. My creativity hasn't been confined to the studio, but has expanded into every room of the house. Sitting on the back porch watching the snow fall while doodling in a journal, curled up on the couch with scissors, glue and an altered book or painting pages in the kitchen while making a pot of soup are some of the creative moments I've enjoyed lately.

My life is FILLED with art. Every aspect of it is being touch by the creative spirit and I feel as if this is a new beginning. A new chapter in my life unfolds as I journey through each day. A desire to blog again, laugh again or share time with friends is what the Yuletide season brought me. I hope the end of the old year and the start of the new was just as good to you.