The Journey Continues...

A couple of weeks ago, I started a journal (you can see the first post here), and today I have finally finished the second spread.  The journey is all about thinking positive thoughts and moving forward on a healing journey.  I can't think of a better way to do that than through art!

You can see a couple of the stages the page went through as I worked on it.  I just love seeing the transformation as colour and shading is added to the page.

I use a 0.005 Micron to do the actually journalling on the page once the art is done.

My writing is super tiny, but it allows me to get a lot of thoughts onto the page and work through the many things I've been reading and thinking about.  I also like the added texture that the background text gives the page.  It's a great way to make a pretty looking spread (if I do say so myself) while keeping the 'heavier' underlying text from taking over the page.

Artful Lettering and My January Art Journal Calendar

As some of you have long figured out, I've become a bit of a Joanne Sharpe junkie.  I enjoy her online classes and the inspiration they give me to make sure I'm doing some art every day.  

In addition to all of the machine work and hand stitching and beading I'm doing on my fibre art pieces, I've really come to love doing quick little pieces (as compared to weeks for some of the fibre pieces) of art in my journals.  And so, I am signed up for Letter Love 2...

Here are a couple of shots of the first day's play...sort of a title page for the class 'work' to come.  I had a funny sized journal (6" x 12"...not sure why I bought this size but...) so I decided to use it for this class.

And the page below is from the second lesson.  I love the transformation from the black and white version to the colour.  I used my Tombow markers and my water brush to add the colour. It would appear I like bright Towbows!  (Nothing monochromatic about this Leah! LOL).

This has me well caught up on my "TV listening" of all the shows I had PVR'ed for the last week.  Now I've got to get back to my sewing machine for a bit...

I've also included a shot of my January spread of my Art Journal Calendar.  Some of you questioned how much I'd be able to fit into those little circles.  Well, it turns out that with my tiny printing I was able to cover the highlights of my day without any difficulty. Keep in mind that the journal is a 9" x 12" book, so each 2 page spread is bigger than it might appear.

Until next time, stay inspired and make sure you make some time to play with your creative self!

Acceptance in Seven Words

Bonnie at Pixel Dust Photo Art posed a fun challenge for Photo Art Friday this week:

this week you can use the prompt to compose a seven word sentence that describes your life or experience or process as an artist (be it a photographer, painter, mixed media artist, digital artist, whatever...) and marry your sentence to a piece of photo art that somehow illustrates your sentence.

This photo collage is being linked to Photo Show Off, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, This or That Thursdays, Photo Art Friday, Shoot, Edit, Submit, Fabulous Friday and Photo Friday Link Party.

Preparing a New Journal to Go

 I've been preparing a new journal to take along with me on a bit of an 'escape'.  I started with 9" x 12" sheets of watercolour paper.  I folded them in half (one at a time to get the best crisp fold), nested them into one another and then sewed them together by stitching down the centre fold on my sewing machine (I used the longest stitch possible and a good strong thread).

The next step was to pull out some stencils and my watercolour paints and just start to play.

I love the tone on tone effect of these numbers overlapping one another in various shades of aquas and blues.




This page got a bit dark at one point so I used a dampened paper towel and brought it back to what you see here.  I also like that it resulted in softer lines and shapes.

 I started this page by stamping the stamp using a deep brick coloured stamp pad.  I inked the stamp once and then stamped it five times, letting it gradually fade out as it went up the page.  I then reversed it on the facing page so that the dark image is at the top fading down to light.

 This page was all about creating lines and streaks in those beautiful pink tones.  I can see using some of those lines for some beautiful lettering.

 I see some Van Gogh 'Starry Night' coming out of this page.  I went a little further with this page, already adding some more stamping to get more texture.

 Simple pale blue with a bit of brown stamping.  I love that stamp!

I'm craving a Tequila Sunrise...hmmm, I haven't had one of those since my misspent youth! LOL

 I was playing with colour mixing here, but the green really didn't come through as much as I might have expected.

Not sure what happened here, but this page might end of being a close-up of some weird face or something.  I feel some funky eyes looking at me...

More stamping and a fun bit of striped gaffer tape on the spine of the journal.  

The next step is to add more elements, texture, stamping, etc. to the pages before I actually start to journal.  Of course, it's been made to fit perfectly into my 'Journal on the Go' cover so I can take it with me while I'm travelling, pens, markers, homemade washi tape and all!

10 Truths About Me

In Beyond Layers, Kim has challenged us to share '10 Truths' about ourselves.  What a perfect fit for the Letter Loved journal.  Here are 10 truths about me:

 1.  I am married to the most amazing man! So true.  He is loving, thoughtful, considerate, supportive, understanding...the list goes on.  I am truly blessed!

2. I am committed to doing art every day.  Whether it is a long time in the studio or a few minutes in a journal, this is my personal therapy...my happy place.

3. I am incredibly proud of my son and the man he has become.  Sure, there are still moments when he makes me crazy, but he is truly wonderful. 'sigh'

4. I am passionate about my art.  (see #3) Whether it is fibre art, journalling, beading, photography...my art brings me joy and allows me to focus on all the positive things in my life.

5. I am a bit of a loner... I like quiet... I find it challenging to interact with others.  (see #2, #4, #6, #9, #10) I am comfortable in my own company and sometimes crave 'alone' time to help me heal.

6. I am an avid reader... hooked on my iPhone Kindle app. Who ever thought you could carry an entire  library in your pocket?  Heard about a new book that you want to read?  There's also a huge bookstore in my pocket that delivers in seconds no matter where I am.  And I can read the first chapter for free to make sure I really want to buy the book!  Awesome!!!

7. I love my coffee and my amazing husband's thoughtfulness in bringing it to me every morning. (see # 1) What more can I say?

8. I have just learned how to bake my own gluten free bread. Fresh, hot from the oven breads that don't leave me in excruciating pain.  And the variety is endless:  breads with nuts and seeds; classic French bread; sourdough... (If you're on a gluten free diet, check out Bette Hagman's Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes) [Thanks Sue and Kay for telling me about this great resource!]

9. I love to cycle (30 km/day ideally).  (See #5 and #10) Cycling helps me heal body and mind.  When I can't cycle outside I use my trainer indoors.  Talk about going nowhere fast! LOL)

10. I struggle with depression and work hard to see the JOY in life. (See #2, #5, and #9) And I struggle with the stigma of admitting this fact but know that we all have to see it for what it is - a physical illness (because the brain is part of my physical being!).

Bonus:  To quote Joanne Sharpe, "I am a letter dork".  And I'm proud of it!!!

Recycling An Old Pair of Jeans = Journal To Go!

I've had an old pair of my husband's jeans lying on the studio floor since I used a bit of the denim in a piece of mixed-media art that I'm working on.  Today, as I glance down at them while doing something else I suddenly got a great idea.  This is where my husband would say, "Self praise is no praise." but I really do think it's a great idea :o)

I used the back of the jeans, pockets and all to make a journal cover.  It has a pocket on the front and back to hold a selection of your pens, markers, your aqua brush, etc.  You could even fit a few small rolls of washi tape (see note at end of post and click here for a DIY for making your own washi tape) in the pockets.  I used a bit of left over upholstery weight cotton to add a pop of colour.

Now you've got an easily portable journal so you can do "art every day" no matter where you are.  Wouldn't this be great on a long plane trip?  Australia is on my bucket list and the idea of being able to journal along the way would certainly make the long flight seem to pass faster.

I also found a bit of time to make a birthday card for one of my great nieces, so it's been a good day!

Note:  Someone in my Letter Love 101 class shared a wonderful link on making your own washi tape.  It's absolutely brilliant and so easy!  

Make Art Everyday

Today I've been journalling about my new philosophy of making art everyday, while continuing on in the Letter Love 101 course.  As you can see, I've used some of yesterday's wonderful papers to create this page.  I love how that white correction pen made this page come to life.  I'm sorry to say I forgot to take process pictures today, but when I had finished the journalling I was disappointed by the dull, dark appearance of the page.  Then I started to add some white and it just made things pop.  As an artist, I know the importance of contrast, and I guess this is a great illustration of just how important it can be.

On another note, I now make all of my own greeting cards.  They are generally little pieces fibre art or paint and mixed media, but I needed to make a birthday card for my little great nephew so I thought some bright marker and doodles would be fun.  Here's hoping the little guy doesn't read my blog in the next week or so.  :0)

Fiona

I've been playing with photo setups and using various textures and a gradient that Kim provided for us in Beyond Layers.  I'm continuing to learn so much and it's all in keeping with my 'do art every' commitment to myself.

Mouse over photo to see the 'before' image.

I made Fiona, the fibre art doll, a few years ago.  She's made from up-cycled silk ties and some dupioni silk.  She always makes me feel better when I'm having a bad hair day!

Storyboard : Art Every Day

In Beyond Layers Kim has us working on time capsules and storyboards.  Since I've committed to doing art everyday, and Arbour*, the cat, and Casey are never far away they had to be included.  I've used the storyboard template Kim provided and added her "backin" texture after adding a gradient map at 69% to remove most of the colour and then adding a sepia filter to give it a warmer 'feel'.

*We got Arbour as a free kitten from a gardening centre and we couldn't come up with a good name for her.  The next morning, my husband took the nameless little fur-ball to the vet and when the vet walked in kitty arched her back and hissed at the vet.  The vet decided to name her for us: Arbour (as in the garden arbours that arch up in people's gardens as a passage way).  What can I say, it was already on her file at the vet's office so it stuck!