Get Messy :: Art Journal

I finally managed to sit down and do a little bit of art journalling with the Get Messy prompts for February. Love is the theme this month, which seems appropriate giving our wedding anniversary was last week! There is still time to join up if you haven't already...

(You need to ignore the spelling mistake there, that's what I'm choosing to do!)

Sketchbook Explorations

I didn't start the year with many creative goals but as soon as I saw that Lisa Congdon was running a sketchbook class on Creativebug, I signed up. Literally.

I'm going to fill this sketchbook by the end of the year, hopefully much sooner. Here are a few of the pages I've done so far using the prompts and examples from the class...

Each page only takes a short amount of time but I am excited to choose to spend my time creating rather than wasting.

Flow magazine

A couple of months ago I did an interview with Flow magazine about art journalling. I had completely forgotten about it until yesterday when I got home to find a copy in the mailbox.

It was pretty neat to see my pages and photos in an actual magazine, which by the way is super cool. They have lots of little extras like stickers and wee foldout books.

Now I only wish that I could read Dutch! Oh well, I'll have to make do with looking at the pictures.

Remembering me

 The past couple of weeks I have been working on this art journal, as part of the Soul Book class.

I've been collaging and painting and drawing and gluing non-stop and I'm so happy with the results.

If you need a bit of self reflection and some time to get messy, I highly recommend this class!

Art Journal :: Rest

Here's a quick little video of an art journal page I created after the long weekend.

Prompt: What does rest mean to you? What do you need to feel most relaxed, balanced and peaceful?

Technique: I glued down a paper doily and then used a stencil to paint on a title. You could also hand letter it. Then I added some simple journalling and a few pretty sequins for sparkle. Quick and simple.

Art Journal :: Decisions

Sometimes I find it really hard to make decisions. Here is a page I created to help me decide about something I've struggled with.

Prompt: Decisions

What are you trying to decide? It doesn't matter if the decision is huge or something very minor. Why are you hesitating? Do you secretly deep-down know what you want? Write down both sides of the argument. It will probably become clear what you really want.

Technique:

Layer your page with scrap papers, I used an old book page and the inside of an envelope. Find a magazine or catalog picture that best suits your mood. Cut (or tear) it up and use 3 or 4 pieces in random places on the page. Stick it all down with plenty of masking tape. Then start journalling. As little or as much as you need. Add some doodles if you feel like it.

Hopefully you will have made the decision, or at least have a clearer picture of what's holding you back.

Art Journal :: Early Observations

I love getting up early and creating in my art journal. Here is a page I created very early one morning.

Prompt: Early Observations ( or Late Observations)

Take some time to really feel the present. What can you hear, see, smell, feel? How does it make you feel. Ignore all the things you need to do or get done, and really be in the moment. Take a breath and write it down.

Technique:

Use water colours ( I used water-soluble crayons) to lay a mix of colours on your page. Then cover roughly with gesso. Repeat these two steps until you have a layered page you are happy with. then add some thicker lines of gesso in a criss-cross pattern. Write down your observations and add any embellishments/doodles to finish.

Mixed Paper Art Journal Tutorial

 

I love making my own art journals. I may even enjoy it as much as doing the actual art journalling!

Here is one way to make an easy mixed paper art journal from an old book.

1. Cut the covers off an old book. I also cut out any pages with great illustrations.

2. Sort through your paper stash (or maybe start one!) and pick out some papers that are roughly the same size as the books you are using.

3. Punch holes through your covers and papers. This time I used my Bind-it-all but other times I have used a hole punch and book rings, or even tied the book together with ribbons. Use whatever you have on hand.

4. Bind your book together and decorate you cover. I kept it simple with a strip of patterned paper and some buttons. I also found a small key with "30" engraved on it, which I thought was appropriate!

5. Have fun when choosing your papers. Some ideas are scrapbooking paper, old shopping bags, transparencies, old book pages, envelopes, cardboard from cereal packets, larger pieces of paper folded to fit, the possibilities are endless. I love gluing sheets of newspaper together, painting them roughly with gesso and stitching the edges together.

My covers had this fantastic illustration inside them, so I very simply embellished it with some typed paper stripes, the same patterned paper and a felt arrow to cover the stitching from the buttons.

Now you can enjoy your new journal. Throughout the month I'll be sharing tips, techniques and prompts as well as peeks inside this journal. Let me know if you make your own handmade journal, I'd love to see them!

Art Journaling and me

I was recently interviewed by Flow magazine about art journalling. And I realised that, although art journalling is a large part of my life, I don't very often share my journals here.

So I thought I'd share a few pages here...

I started art journalling about 6 years ago, when Rachel Denbow offered her first class, Steady Hand Faulty Heart. I was instantly hooked.

Since then I've taken more classes by Rachel and also Kara, Debee and Vivianna.

I use all sorts of materials, paint, pens, paper, photos, magazines, fabric, stitching, embellishments, ribbons, stickers, ink, pencils, crayons, found papers... the list goes on and on.

I don't have a set style. Some of my pages are more graphic, some are messy, some are almost totally covered in words and some have none at all.

I've filled many journals, some bought, some handmade. Some filled with great memories, and some that are only there to remind me how far I've come.

You can see more of my pages here, here and here. And if you've ever wanted to try art journalling, my best advise is to do it! 

Art Journalling Journey

I started art journalling three years ago. I took a class by Rachel Denbow and I was hooked!

 Since then I have taken numerous classes and read many books and admired many artists.

I have also created over 40 journals, large and small. I loved seeing them all spread out like this. Flipping back through the older ones which normally live in a box was so much fun.

But Lily had nowhere to sleep so they all got packed up again. 

I'm pretty sure this is going to be a life-long habit now, I hope I fill a lot more boxes!

New Spring Journal

This week has been a little bit hellish and I have managed to keep my sanity (just) by trying to do something creative for myself every night.

Last year, around about this time, I took Kara's Fall in Love class but did it about spring since I'm way down here at the bottom of the world. And lately I felt the urge to do it again. So this week I filled an unused, handmade journal with pretty pages inspired by her class.

I still have some of the journaling to finish but I am happy that I finished another of my unfinished projects.

Kara is selling the class pdf here if you want to give it a go.

{ inspired }

I have just finished Debees class and I have had a blast! I have learned a lot of new techniques, had fun taken new self-portraits and just been happy playing with paper everyday! Here is what I've created...