More Pages and a Step-by-Step

     Two days in a row!!!  I decided I'd better do this now since tomorrow I'll be heading out to Rhode Island to visit my other daughter (I also have trouble with internet there) for @10 days.  So, I'm showing a few more finished journal pages and a mini-tutorial on how they were created.  (Remember if you want to view any of the pages more closely, simply click on the page and it will enlarge!)

     This one's blurry (sorry!).  I tried several times to take a clear image, but I think the shiny colors interfered with my camera.  I decided to publish it anyway. . .



     As I said in an earlier post, all of these pages were created using a very limited set of materials.  Yesterday, while making my final pages, I decided to record the process step-by-step to help me remember and to share the fun:

This magazine image of an interesting woman was my inspiration--she will appear on the finished page.

     This layout shows the first and seconds steps:   I found some paper scraps that seemed to fit the colors from the magazine image:  blue, violet, and black.  After tearing the papers into pieces and collaging them on the page w/gel medium, I filled in some of the white spaces w/Neocolor II watersoluble crayons.

     I brushed the crayon colors with water and spread them around  (always heat set carefully between each application of color). I then selected three Portfolio water-soluble oil pastels, again dark blue, violet, and black.

     This time I chose to draw square shapes acoss both pages with the three colors.  The next step will be to brush over the pastels w/white gesso and heat set.

     After finishing each gessoed square, I used the pastels again around the inside edges and brushed with water to move color across the center spaces (I find that oil pastels don't spread as easily as water-color crayons).  Again, heat set!

     The final step with pastels was to outline the outside edges of each shape and rub them gently with a damp baby wipe.  This should dissolve most of the pastel while leaving a frame of color.  HS.  (I like how the background shows through on most of the squares,) 

     Now it was time to stamp.  I used black Staz-On ink with  both my hand-carved eraser (small circles within circles) and my favorite script block stamp across both pages.  You don't have to heat set permanent ink, but just make sure it is completely dry before proceeding.

     The finished page:  I cut out the woman (disguising the famous designer by cutting apart his name and attaching some of it upside down) and finally selected three circular images of "cool" fungi.to add balance.  The title was written by hand using first a brush marker and then close dots of Inkessentials Enamel Accents (love them!) in black.  (I didn't heat set the enamel because I wasn't sure how it would react; I did leave the book open overnight to make sure it dried completely.)  I'm happy. 

Still Struggling

     I had good intentions of blogging every 2-3 days, BUT. . .  I have been visiting one of my daughters at her cottage in upper MI and my internet doesn't work there.  I did, however, take a few of my journaling supplies up with me.

     These included:  gel medium,  Portfolio water-soluble oil pastels, water-soluble crayons, Golden transparent yellow oxide, a black ink pad, and my box of stamps (I only used one script stamp and my set of hand-carved erasers).  I also brought a folder of scrap papers and my collection of magazine images.  With these limited materials, I produced five double-paged journal entries and had a lot of fun!!!

     Since I feel that I learned a lot through using only a few supplies, I have decided to continue with these same materials for the next few days.  I really like to work around a theme (my first journal pages all included a small inset of a "carved" woman's face {downloaded from Milliande's Art Journal free pages} and a picture of a bird).  These new pages will all use a magazine photo of a woman to match the colors and other items that seem to fit.  I'm still having FUN.

Long Time; No Blog

     It is very hard to come back after being gone so long--I've forgotten how to do Stuff!!  I'll probably spend most of my time editing after I finally post.

 Anyway:  1)  I'm back in Michigan  2)  I spent the whole month of May birding with my buddies  3)  I worked hard the month of June playing catch-up and working at the shop  4)  I made a life-altering decision to change from being a member/owner of the Imagine That artist's co-op, to simply becoming a consignment artist.  5)  I've been having a whole bunch of fun expanding my art-journaling techniques.

A wonderful art journaler named Paula Phillips, better known as journalartista,  has a set of  beautifully informative live videos on Ustream, and I am totally hooked.   I've started journaling every day and am also in the process of setting up several more journals for different purposes.  I LOVE IT!!!  I am still:  1) doing art projects for the shop  2)  cleaning my basement  3)  organizing my stash, books, drawers, etc., etc., etc.  BUT I now have time to play, and I'm wallowing.

     The above are two examples of pages in my working art journal.  I usually begin a new page spread after dinner one day and finish it the next morning before starting other projects.  Right now I am experimenting with new paint and paper techniques, so every new page is a challenge (sometimes an uphill battle!), but I find you don't give up on a page--you just add another layer.