Freedom!!!

I can't even explain how liberating Art Journaling can be... Even though the "ick" had me in a headlock I still managed to drag myself to my drafting table and knock out a couple pages... It had been awhile since I made use of my supplies, and I forgot how fun improvising can be...

Letting the creative juices flow...

The head cold that put me out of commission...

I've had a head cold for 3 weeks now and after haggling with my doctor I finally got antibiotics, but they haven't kicked in, yet, and I'm ready to rip my hair out... I feel like I'm plugging my ears... The only thing I can hear is my own voice in stereo... All I want to do is sleep, and I've watched so much Desperate Housewives my brain has officially turned to mush...

My Art Journaling class is over, and I'm so sad... If you ever have the chance to take a class from Dina Wakley DO IT!! She is amazing and her classes have so many techniques to spark your creativity. I started writing in a journal last year and Art Journaling has been such a better outlet for my thoughts. My journal has turned into this beautiful book I can flip through and admire, instead of just words... How perfect!!!

Art Journal Inspiration

I know I have mentioned art journaling before, but I received a new book from Amazon.com today and Sharon Soneff, author of Art Journals & Creative Healing: Restoring the Spirit through Self-Expression, made everything so clear... she described this process so perfectly and I wanted to share it with all of you...

"This is not the time for making masterpieces. All creative expression is safe and beautiful in the space of a healing journal, in which imperfection is desirable. Imperfections add character and tend to be more hones in their impulsivity. Quick work is telling work. Dare to be urgent in your execution, so that you can be revealing and compelling in the process.

Your journaling need not be coherent or complete; it need only be honest. These pieces are not created for an audience, your journal is a haven for partial thoughts, and even single words that resound with you.

For this to be effective you must make yourself vulnerable. Remove all judgement-making when expression and articulating on paper. Ungard your heart. "

My Process... Practice makes perfect

Ok, so after my few days of overtime mayhem, I felt like I needed a release and when I got home last night I had a sudden urge to play... so I painted... Like I have said before my art journal is a place I allow myself to make ugly bad art (well I guess not-so-perfect-art is more like it)... My process has become a way to have fun, but also document tips and tricks I learn along the way... Here we go...

I usually start with a need to try something out... for this journal entry I wanted to try upgrading a rubber stamp by painting it with acrylic paint... a very simple idea, something I could expand on in never ending ways... This is the stamp I chose... I loved the simple and whimsical lines...

Next I mixed some paints until I got a background color I liked... I let it dry and then I mixed a darker color to glaze on the edges of the page... I will usually thin a glaze color with a little water to make it more transparent, but since I'm doing this on a journal page, and I didn't want the pages to wrinkle, I just wrapped a baby wipe around my finger and dipped it in a the glaze color and ran it along the edges of the page... (I later went back and did the same with the "pearlescent" color... a little bling)... And because I can't stand to have empty spots on my page I did a little laying down of color with my oil pastels... it looks messy, but I love it...

I don't buy a ton of different acrylic paint colors (The Golden brand is a little pricey but glides like butter), and since I tend to mix my own custom colors I like to keep a journal of the colors I've mixed and what I used to get them... This is the page I did for this journal entry...

On the opposite page I write little notes on tips and tricks I've discovered... for example, I discovered that my #2 Round brush worked well for precision coverage, but not detailing around the edges of the stamp... my small angled brush was better for the outlining and echoed that same delicate whimsical looked I loved from the beginning.. also, I found it was easier to blend when I applied my acrylic glaze directly to the area I was working on...

I encourage all of you to PLAY!!!... by the way... I have my color theory class with my Mati tomorrow, so stay tuned for another little lesson...