Journaling Practices

I journal, journal journal! Make the journal booklets, sometimes...buy them ready made...yes ...but the main goal is to enter stuff into the journal.

I am participating in a group  this year, Documented Life Project.  Headed up by a talented group of women, 5 of them, I will list 1...Roben-Marie Smith and you can read about the information on her blog through www.robenmarie.com 

We take a journal, or in my case I took an agenda/journal and I use it to incorporate scheduled practices as well as the prompts offered within the group but, I found I really like to add everyday things to the pages and that tells me and anyone looking through the book, what has been happening.

I found out right away I do a LOT more than I realized and I go places a lot more than I thought.

I used a Moleskine agenda book.  Already it had the calendar.  The pages are bit thinner than I like so I prepared pages before I used them, that helped prevent bleeding through and the like.

Here are a few spreads:

Another journal group I belong to is helping me grow personally.  "One Little Word 2014" by Ali Edwards.

I don't have pictures to offer, but she helps us to learn through one word...more.  I chose "Listen"
I am late to joining this group so I am still working on month 1 while everyone else is in month 2.
If you are interested in learning more about her and the group go to:
www.aliedwards.com

I also practice sketch and painting and techniques in other journals, so I keep a  lot of journals going.  A girl can't have toooo many!

Pick up a journal today and either just write, dump the day, do a little doodle...experience the freeing of the spirit.

Have a terrific Day!

AEDM Challenge day 1

For the challenge AEDM day 1 I finished making up these 2 journals both are from paintings from Julie and Chris's texture town assignment. The books measure 51/2 x 7 1/2

3 signatures. 30 plus pages

I added a few extra pages in case the special someone who takes these books wants to work in paint the day, they will need to glue a couple of sheets together. The paper is 50# drawing weight. Perfect for anything not wet.

I did them up in the Coptic stitch which allows a book to lay flatter than most...here is one book open.

This is the edge of the book to show my binding for the both of them.

I did the fronts and the back of each book at the same time so they would resemble each other.

Did YOU art today???

Join in the Art Every Day Month Challenge.

Thanks for coming by...come back tomorrow to make sure I arted..:)

The Growl...IDK...

Well...I am putting myself out here today...I don't usually paint open mouth expressions...and I have NEVER done teeth...IDK...this might not be a good idea but...I am gonna be brave and post.

The other day i posted camping pictures with Sarah and charlie growling...these represent my painting of that scene.




Here is #1 sketched into place expression and trees for the background














Adding eyes













I use all golden products and this time I gesso'ed the page of this journal
the pages are a cross between a canvas and a watercolor paper..a strong composition and it holds up to most anything i have ever done to it








The final glaze is quinacridone/nickel/azo gold
which went a bit yellow for me...so i blended some titanium white and gloss glaze for a lightening up treatment here and there...

practice journal spread...Charlie and Sarah

Evolution...

This was quite the difficult painting on several levels. First i haven't painted a life painting in a LONG time. Next this child is soooooo pale then this day pinked up by the sun and I wanted the piece to reflect the days events.
Here is the very beginning of the project...I ended up many time with her looking just too old..more like her mother...so a lot of adjusting occurred




the pictures are backwards but I was finally getting her skin tone and then i added her eyes

























Here is the final glaze done i used..quiinacridone/nickel azo gold for the final layer...i think it helped lesson the pink and golden up the hair.












Hannah

Book

This style book is learned from Julie Prichard's class. I liked it so well I made another.






It measures 51/2 x 81/2. With a mixture of collaged pages

and neutral painted pages for background beginnings


I kept the paints soft, but bright.












Here is a photo of the book standing open...(before the cover is added.

Collaged Book Board

Putting those collaged pages to use...the book board is made! Makes an interesting chunky textural journal book!! Ready for covering with journal words or to use in so many other ways...such as background for a picture album!

Shows a page open..

Now...I KNOW better when using acrylic products...just because they are dry doesn't mean they won't stick! Here shows a stuck spot...in collaged work I really don't think it makes that much of a difference...however, in retrospect, I will uses separating pieces before I bind the book together the next time...and alleviate the sticky situation.

Thanks for looking...this is book two of Julie's class, if you didn't take her class you might wish you had...I think you can...I believe her classes are ongoing once they begin.

We are learning the 3rd booklet of the class this week...a fabric book!

Stay tuned, I also need to do another sketch soon or I will be miserably behind.

Sketchbookproject #2

Sketch number 2 "and suddenly..." when you turn the last curve of the driveway the view of the building looms quick...this is the window where the computer sits

a really grand view...it is a pretty boring sketch.

We'll see what the next one produces.

Used Golden acrylics as a watercolor and India ink. Onto these horribly thin journal pages from this journal sent by the project.

Thanks for looking...

Three More...

Made 3 more journals from Julie's class.

Inside cover showing I did well with my corners and have better coverage of front and back covering of the book block.

Shown are the pages loose.

I would say it takes 2 days to make the book...but it can be assembly lined...as I did with these 3.

Super easy to make books...if you feel like you would prefer a little guidance take Julie's class at Lost Luggage.

Or if you are the muddle through kinda artist just get in there and make a book!

Book Binding with Julia

Julia Prichard...http://lostluggage.typepad.com/the_land_of_lost_luggage/ is offering another wonderful series of class.

The first part is book binding. Seeing what another person uses for ingredients is often the most informative...as with Julia you will learn some nifty asides that are most helpful

My cover doesn't exactly fit...not the fault of the instructor, but more ruler error than anything.

the front and back flaps glued in.

Here is book style 1 completed...she offers 2 more styles!

While there are a ton of different ways to make books...and I already know about 6 different ones right off...I think seeing different and alternative materials are never a wrong way to go...

So even an seasoned book maker I think can benefit from Julia.

Thanks for looking and that is about all I got to today.

All The RAGE...

But it is my first...ZEN-doodle!

They take a considerable amount of time to do. Staring at the blank page is tough.

At first I wanted to 'plan' the thing out but quickly learned that is not the way to go about these pieces.

Let it guide you.

The design takes on a 'plan' of its own and once you give yourself up to that..it will flow a lot better.

Here is a cool blog to go look at for just for her creative content alone!, but she also has outstanding zen-doodle examples...http://ingriddijkers.blogspot.com/

This won't be my last one but, I hope i improve with the future ones i do!

This is part of my defining word...'Balance' journal page.

Different Picture

Here is the full size picture of the spread in my journal from the previous post. I learned that I put it up full size and then when a person clicks the thumbnail they will see whatever it is they want from a full size image.

In case someone else is not familiar with the process...now you are.

The full size image is re-sized to fit the thumbnail automatically. So now I know and will from this point have the image so a super large picture might be clicked up.

Thanks for asking to see it larger so I went ahead and learned this!

thanks for looking too.

Personal Lexicon Journal Page

Lexicon is the use of words. In our exercise

"Personal Lexicon" we journal words to describe our likes.

My favorite way to display glass is marrying it to metal. I LOVE metals..in furniture as accents or just laying around rusting...better made useful rusting!

Glass is malleable and watching the different shapes evolve is so much a surprise...how it will turn out and what kind of use will become of the piece. One of my favorite uses for a glass vessel is to use it for candles. The glow of the flame through the glass is so pleasing. BOOKS...I am addicted to collecting them. All kinds: history books, art books, novels...and vintage magazines. The best pictures and ads come from vintage magazines.

My kiln has a special place with me. Without it I couldn't create glass in the warmer forms OR use the powdered glass for staining and enameling that fuse designs into the glass. Crates of glass ...I am fortunate to have these for use in artwork.

Pottery has a special fascination to me. Something as simple as clay, mud really, can become such beautiful works of art that have function!!! I love the colors of pottery the technical application in pottery I love collecting pottery...and one day I will learn to throw pottery too.

That is it for these pages for now...I do tend to go back and add things to my pages...and sometimes I place a new picture within the post...

I am a work in Progress...and apparently I will never be done.

:)

Storms

We have been having terrible storms lately. I haven't neglected my promise to myself for journaling. The last 2 days I have spent decorating pages for journal purposes. I have also made the coffin for the bowl I am working on. When that is completed I will post it. I ordered an Ann Baldwin CD, in hopes she might help me with my problems I am having finishing and correcting my mistakes on the Buffalo project.

Great Inspiration

I finished reading all the cards in Wide Open by Randi Feuerhelm-Watts ***** stars excellent!!!! She is very encouraging and inspirational...GET JOURNALING! I am going to make sure I journal everyday ...even if I just have a brief thought to put down. She is absolutely right ...why wait? WHAT are we waiting for? Is there A perfect moment to begin? How will people remember us if we give them nothing to remember? I do believe it will help to loosen me up so, here is to day 1 journal keeping. I will post pictures periodically...I think right now I need to focus on finishing up my projects but if my time allows for a art journal entry I shall enter that way...otherwise I am going to try and be diligent and enter in my bedside journal. We all need to give concentrated effort to journaling more. Pens and brushes...onward HO.