Haleighanna's Hands

Art Journal Thursdays: Something Simple

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 22:41:00 +0000

I know that my work of late has been a little on the dark side. I am okay with that. I love cemetery art, Andrew Wyeth and cloudy, rainy days. Maybe it was watching Dark Shadows after school each day that gave me a taste for stark, Gothic and generally creepy stuff.

But it is June and maybe it’s time for something sunny and simple.

Not a very good photo by itself, but it served as great inspiration.

Digging through my stash I found a photo of a field of lovely Lazy-Susans. I know that others might think of them as weeds, but I think they're lovely. I first thought I’d try to a more literal recreation of the photo on my page, but I can’t draw. I also wanted to do something fast and simple. So I decided to create a loose representation of the photo, letting the colors and shapes to inspire the page.

If you use a light touch, the alcohol will take off the paint from the ridges and leave the color in the valleys.

I first glued down some brown paper sack scraps and then applied some gesso. I let it dry and then grabbed the three most prominent colors in the photo. I applied paint in three large chunks with my fingers. Once dry, I removed the colored paint with rubbing alcohol and a paper towel. If I took off too much, I applied the paint again and then removed it. I kept doing that until I was happy with the result. The brown flower centers were made by taking a little raw umber and brushing it on to a small piece of bubble wrap.

There were too many dots so I used rubbing alcohol and paper towels to remove and lighten others.

Flowers turn their faces toward the sun so when I found this Maori proverb, I thought it was perfect for the piece. So freehand, I wrote it on the page. The whole page took about an hour (with the help of a hair dryer).

It may not be my best work or even my favorite page, but I wanted to explore a simple, sunny and flower-filled day. Don't worry, it's only a momentary, small detour from my natural, dark-side bent.

Art Journal Thursday: Textured Background Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 May 2014 23:09:00 +0000

I've been playing with texture. There are lots of ways to do this (gluing tissue paper to the page, modeling past with stencils, etc.) but I found this method accidentally a month ago. I was wiping off my gesso-laden palette knife on to a page and then used the same page to soak up some excess thinned acrylic paint (Art Journal Thursday: Unknown) and Eureka! Color variation that creates visual texture!

Sound simple? It is. Here’s the process.

Gather gesso, a palette knife, acrylic paint, baby wipes, paint brushes, jars and water.

Pour a little gesso directly onto the page. Now grab your palette knife and start swiping. Use broad strokes and move the gesso around. Cover as much or as little of the page as you like. Or your can pour just a bit of gesso onto the palette knife and drag it across the page.

You can create little beads of gesso by applying it with a very light touch.

Let it dry.

Now thin some acrylic paint with water. I make my really thin because I want to build the color over several applications. Brush the color wherever you want it. It will look darker where there’s no gesso and much lighter on the gesso.

My favorite brush for this is a large filbert but a flat brush works too.

Using a baby wipe, remove excess paint in places that you want only a hint of color. You can let it dry a little for a different effect. If you do let it dry, you will have a clear brush line so you may have to scrub a little harder to remove it. Be careful not to rub too hard or you could start removing paper not just paint. Let the page dry. If you want a more intense color, reapply.

Baby wipes are a great tool to move paint around or just plain remove it.

You can also add more gesso with a palette knife. Then reapply paint.

This would also be a great way just to add clouds.

Here’s the finished page!

Let me know how this technique works for you. I’d love to see what you do with this technique. You can send me your photos at haleighannashands@gmail.com.

Exploring My Creepy Side

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 15 May 2014 21:43:00 +0000

Don't judge me but I have a creepy side. When traveling, I visit cemeteries and marvel at how people commemorate those they've lost. Sometimes the markers are very simple as if there is no way to express the enormity of the loss; sometimes there are elaborate sculptures that depict a grief that will last as long as the statues stand. This love of the quiet and expression of graveyards inspired a new art series.

The sentences were pulled directly from a book.

But I wanted to try a different direction with my cemetery photography so it was time for art journal experimentation. I found this woman’s face on her gravestone. It has survived there for more than 120 years. There she was looking out from eternity.

One of the things that makes this a little more creepy is that the woman looks like she could have been related to my grandmother.

But instead of keeping with the monochromatic of the gravestone, I decided to place her in a field of stylized realism such as green grass and blue sky.

The black lines were from a charcoal pencil, smudged. When the lines got too thick, I used a little rubbing alcohol, which also took a little extra paint.

Again, using my own photography, I made a black and white laser copy of the graveyard scene. I transferred the image onto the page using matte medium; I could have just pasted the copy directly onto the page, but I wanted to avoid the obvious edge the paper would have left. I then painted around gravestones using a dark green acrylic paint. Once dry I added a layer of very light green paint, applied haphazardly.

The image transfer had lots of grass and barns in the background. The layers of paint kept the feeling of grass without the noise of the original image.

When I showed the page to my husband, the only thing he said was, “Creepy.” That reaction made me very happy. While the colors I used are usually associated with a light or happy feeling, they did not overwhelm the seriousness or other world quality that I wanted.

Art Journal Thursday: Oceanside

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 01 May 2014 15:30:00 +0000

Art journals are about experimentation. As I look over the last few months of sharing my journal with you, I realize that artistically I am all over the place. Sometimes I think this is a bad thing, a little bit of artistic psychosis. I worry that I am still trying to find my voice. But with each page, I reveal something about myself, something that I didn't know or remember or intend.

This week’s page is really more personal that exploratory. I recently moved back to Kansas City. And while it is grand to be back among familiar streets and people that I know and love, I miss the beach. I miss the sound, the wind, and the incredible peace. I miss the lovely little town of Oceanside, Oregon. So this week, I wanted to memorialize it in my art journal. Besides, there is no voice more personal or real than expressing the things that vibrate in your soul.

This heart is a shape that I drew and I have used it over and over. It has now become a part of my personal iconography.

The background was created using the top and bottom margins of vintage book pages. I glued them to the page, end to end. It gave me nice lines.

I gave the background an acrylic wash in one of my favorite colors. The imperfections of the page allowed the thinned acrylic to pool.

This is a color laser copy of my beautiful beach that I transferred onto the page using matte medium.

Thanks for stopping by. I’d love to hear what you’re working on in your journals. Are you experiencing artistic psychosis or just happy to explore the landscape of you?

Art Journal Thursdays: Unknown

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 16:22:00 +0000

Under the heading of trying new things, this page started as a cast-off. I used this page as a place to wipe off excess gesso or paint. Then I found this photo of an unknown child. The idea that there’s no way of ever finding out what happened to this child, if she lived a happy life or if she ever grew older was captivating. Since the photo was similar to the cast-off page, I wanted to make it the focus of the composition. The rest of the page just came together.

A little diluted gesso around the photo to make it a focal point.

I also used the diluted gesso to write the words.

A wash of raw umber acrylic paint was applied to a coffee sleeve. When it dried, I sprayed it with rubbing alcohol and wiped the paint off to add depth.

A black Faber Castell Gelato was used to frame the page and remove the white edges that were left after my haphazard paint application. I smudged the black with a baby wipe.

Art Journal Thursday: Perseverance

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 18:17:00 +0000

Most people don’t look for struggle; it’s unpleasant, messy and requires a lot of energy. It is hard work to look at our problems and work to resolve them or learn to live with them. But there is a promise of reward. Perseverance, character and hope are the rewards from what sometimes seems like senseless pain and effort. (Romans 5:3-5). I wanted to explore perseverance from a more hopeful perspective.

I printed the word using a computer font and then traced it onto the page with carbon paper. I then painted over it.

I first added layers of torn ephemera to the journal page. Then gesso. Hope is a shiny thing so I decided to add a pearlescent, metallic feeling to the page. I applied that paint using some random strokes. Using Tim Holtz’s Bubble stencil, I added some texture. I also had a left over plastic piece from a sticker that I applied brown paint to and used it as a “printing plate” to add a little more interest. In another place, I used the sticker leftover as a mask.

I wanted the broken heart to stand out so I painted it red using red and black Gelattos. I used a baby wipe to lightly blend.

Perseverance and hope are not just pretty things. They are the result of heartache so I placed the jagged, broken heart (my design) over a Tim Holtz Ornate Frame Sizzix die. It is cut out of card stock and painted with a silver metallic acrylic paint.

I used Martha Stewart’s pearl acrylic paints to add shine to the page.

If the colors got too intense, I would mute them by adding a little ivory/gray pearlescent paint and quickly wiping the majority off with a baby wipe.

I painted a scrap of muslin with acrylic paint and then added various stitches with embroidery thread.

To add a little more depth and because my attention gets drawn back to needlework (one of my other true loves), I added some stitching. A little cross stitch, a running stitch and some French knots and I had a rustic, embroidered side bar to my work.

Perseverance and hope are the rewards for struggling through all that life has to throw at us. I wanted to share a page that I worked on with these themes in mind. I’d love to hear what you’re working through with your art.

Art Journal Thursday: Page Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 15:46:00 +0000

Art journaling is about trying techniques and expressing yourself. This tutorial will explain how I created this page. These are simple techniques that you can use in your own way to create pages that are distinctly you.

Process

Randomly glue old book pages on to your journal page using matte medium. Let dry.

Add a thin layer of gesso with a foam brush and let dry for a few minutes. Take off the gesso with a baby wipe. Let dry.

Apply a layer of matte medium to the page and lay your laser photo copy face down on the medium. Use a credit card or brayer to smooth out any air bubbles. Let fully dry (it should not be cool to the touch). Using a baby wipe wet the back of the paper and rub the paper away with your finger. Be careful to over wet the image. Repeat until all the paper has been removed.

Thin yellow ocher acrylic paint with water and using a round brush paint the page. Let dry so that you don’t make a muddy mix with your next color. Thin midnight blue acrylic paint and brush it onto your image. Let dry.

Take a charcoal pencil and highlight areas and lines of your image. Lightly smudge the lines.

Journaling can be anything you like; the more intimate the journaling the more honest the work will be. Remember no one but you has to see it.

Thin black paint and use a lettering brush to journal. This paint should be only slightly thinned to maintain the color but make it fluid enough to write. I start off with 1 part paint to a half part water. I also lightly drew pencil lines to make my journaling a little more uniform but this is not necessary. Make sure that you let the journaling completely dry before you erase the lines.

Old books are a great source of inspiration, from ephemera and great journal prompts.

Glue down ephemera using matte medium.

To add another layer of color, I swiped a Ranger Distressed Ink pad over the edges of the page. While the ink was still wet, I smudged the color with a paper towel. I repeated the process until I got the depth of color I was looking for.

I’d love to hear how you use these techniques to create your own pages so drop me a line or send your pics!

Art Journal Thursday: Unfinished

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 23:32:00 +0000

The wonderful thing about art journaling is that pages don’t have to be finished in one sitting. There are times that you are inspired to work on something, to realize a certain vision but as you work you find that you have taken it as far as you can at that moment. This page was one of those times.

This image transfer is an image transfer of a photo of an angel statue that from my living room.

I have been in the process of moving again which is why I have been silent for the last few weeks. I had started this page and took it as far as I could. I was sure that I could move it further, but I simply ran out of steam. There were boxes to pack and while I had left my art supplies out as long as possible, eventually they had to be packed away too.

I cut this out of a larger glittered pattern paper.

Now that I have landed and unpacked, I re-examined this page and decided that while it is unfinished I just couldn't move it forward right now. While there is a little part of me that thinks that I should be able to overcome a block, it’s just not so. Sometimes the artistic process works in its own way. Someday I will finish this page or maybe I won’t. Like life, we may have plans but we have to wait and see if they will come to fruition.

The root and small tree were from an old book.

My beloved Starbucks coffee sleeves with part of the paper torn off and gessoed.

Art Journal Thursdays: The Tension of Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 22:53:00 +0000

I am in the minority; I really like winter. It is quiet and peaceful. The trees are bare and the winter sun’s light is diffused (see my earlier "winter art" post here). Winter is books and coffee by the fire, long Sunday afternoons with football games and stew and seeing your breath as you walk through the snow. But this particular winter has seemed long.

So, I am starting to be anxious for spring. I can glimpse that the season of renewal is coming. There is a smattering of days where the fireplace is empty, the sky is blue and the bulbs are pushing through the ground. The transition between the quiet, bleak beauty of winter and the emergence of color is the inspiration for this week’s art journal page.

The ephemera in the background is a torn piece of scrapbooking paper with gesso and think acrylic paint over it.

You can see the words of the ephemera through the image transfer.

For me texture is critical to any piece of art. So I laid down a layer of ephemera in varying shades of off-white. To unify the background I applied a generous layer of gesso. I didn’t want to cover up the ephemera so I took a great deal of it off with a baby wipe. I found the landscape and flower images in my stack of laser copies and glued the landscape to the page while I transferred the flower image onto the page.

I added a wash of ivory to this laser copy to cut down the black and white contrast.

I randomly applied a wash of a grayish-buff color to the page. Then, using a thin wash of a spruce color, I panted the hills in the window image and extended that onto the page to really incorporate it into the overall piece. Green was then applied around the flower to encourage the eye to move down.

I created the lettering using a set of script stickers as a guide.

I used a thinned dark teal paint to write the quote. Thinning the teal a little more, I added it around the page in order to create a balance of color.

This is the time of the year is when the stark, monochromatic nature of winter begins to give way to the lush colors of renewed nature. I hope that this page captured that tension of the season and the tension of anticipation in my heart.

Art Journal Thursday: Uncertainty

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 22:04:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I made the decision to move back home. It was a difficult decision because there are so many unanswered questions.

So there has been a lot of stuff swirling around my head. Is this the right thing to do? Should we stay here and stick it out? Is this the path that God wants us to take? There aren't any quick or bright, shining answers. There is just hope, faith, and inspiration for this week’s journal page.

I found this number and decided to use it since it was my age. I had other numbers in the collage, but they didn't make the cut.

I gessoed the underlying page and then added some dress pattern tissue to add texture. I started an image transfer but too much of the toner came off, so I added a thin layer of gesso. I decided to keep it because it felt like the hidden piece of me that is actively living with the uncertainty. I added another, smaller version of the transfer in the lower corner. This is the “me” that is on the outside.

Using my own portrait feels like a big risk, but makes the page so much more personal.

I thinned midnight blue and black acrylic paint and applied them around the page randomly. When I took a step back, I realized that there were compartments. (Maybe this is the state of my thoughts…Am I compartmentalizing?)

The tissue paper create crooks and crannies for the thinned paint to pool in.

I layered the thin paint over and over; sometimes on top of the same color, sometimes overlapping. I then applied a thin layer of gesso to incorporate the layers. I created writing space by applying full strength gesso on the page.

I used a Pitt brush pen to write; if you make a mistake, just take a little rubbing alcohol to remove it and let it dry.

The writing forced me to stop the swirling and really focus on the questions and fears I have. It yielded no answers, but the swirling has slowed down from gale force to a gentle breeze.

How has art journaling helped you articulate your thoughts and fears?

Art Journal Thursday: Exploring Shame

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 00:33:00 +0000

This week’s art journal page is about shame. A prevalent human experience, shame can seep into every aspect of our lives—thoughts, interactions, behaviors—everything. The pain of feeling “less than,” “unworthy” or “unloveable” detracts from one’s ability to enjoy life and love. It is a deeply felt pain that separates us from others and our true selves.

I used pages and images from an old book that luckily had a section on eyes.

“Shame is an experience of the eyes,” says Dr. Dan Allender, author of the book, “The Wounded Heart.” It is a real or perceived defect that others can see. He goes on to explain, “Shame is an interpersonal affect; it requires the presence of another, in fact or in imagination, for its blow to be felt.” In other words, I am so defective and it is so easily seen by everyone that I cannot be loved by someone else.

I journaled on this a slip of paper and put it in the envelope. It's there but can remain private.

It is painful. It is muddy. It is destructive. We don’t have to stay in the pain of shame, but it takes a lot of work and help to leave it behind. There are a lot of resources out there to navigate away from this damaging emotion and one of them is art journaling. It can be so very relieving to express emotions, fears, and even joys within the covers of one’s art journal.

A quote from Dr. Dan Allender's book, "The Wounded Heart."

My process for this journal page was to take bits of various ephemera, ranging in color from ecru to very tea-stained, and weave them together. I glued them to the page using matte medium. I laid down a coat of gesso and removed it with baby wipes, especially in areas that I wanted to draw the eye to. I then combined a very thin mixture of black acrylic paint and water and applied all over the composition.

An old library catalog card, book pages and a sewing pattern size chart applied to the journal page.

I then dry brushed more gesso over the piece to enhance the contrast. I added the words and drew a box around them to pull the eye to them and give context to the piece.

Several applications of the black paint to give the piece an anchor.

Art journaling can be a very therapeutic and introspective process. If you haven't started an art journal yet, I suggest you do. It doesn't have to be this dark or personal when you first get started. Just start and go where your heart tells you to. You'll be surprised at what comes out.

Art Journal Thursday: A Place to Wait

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 22:05:00 +0000

This week I have been thinking about how life changes; how our stories are told, wiped clean and retold. The distance of time brings with it new perspectives. The things we thought we understood at the time, we now see in a different light. Years from now, we will see them differently still. So this week's mixed media art journal page is about texture and layering.

I cut my first stencil for this page. Using some old epoxy stickers as a template, I drew around the unusual shapes with a sharpie.

Make sure that you have a new blade. A sharp blade and going slowly will help you avoid cutting too much.

Got out my handy X acto knife and cut out the squares. I then used the stencil to apply light modeling paste.

Once the modeling paste was dry, I glued some toile tissue paper onto the squares and a piece of dress pattern to the page. I let that dry and applied white gesso and a light wash of a sunflower acrylic paint over the whole piece. I then took a baby wipe and removed the layers.

Be careful when applying the glue to the squares so that the tissue paper sticks only to that.
If you need a little clean-up, grab your X acto knife and cut the excess.

I added some additional texture by randomly stamping some words around the page. Then added another light coat of gesso. I drew a sparse "curtain" of leaves to add another layer. Then I added the words of the things I was feeling.

I wanted another texture so I stamped these locked hearts on a scrap piece of muslin.

The older I get, the more I see my past differently--the benefit of experience and introspection. I would love to think that I will use that experience to live a better future, but who knows. I am a human living in an imperfect world. I will continue to make mistakes, overcome hardships, and have moments of joy. So we'll have to wait and see how it all works out.

Art Journal Thursday: More Room in a Broken Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 23:33:00 +0000

Most mornings I wake up with a song in my head. A few days ago, I couldn't get Carly Simon’s “Coming Around Again” out of my mind, particularly the lyric, “…there’s more room in a broken heart.” Like an itch that I had to scratch (for this can be quite maddening) I knew I wasn't going to get any peace until I worked on what that lyric meant to me. So off to the art journal.

Using a torn coffee sleeve with gesso and undiluted acrylic paint spread over it adds great texture.

It made me think about loss and how we soldier on afterwards. My grandmother, Jessie (or Nanny as I called her), suffered the loss of a husband and a few miscarriages, but she kept on with a broken but open love. Pragmatic and tough, she was still filled with love that she showered on me and the rest of her family.

Taken before they left for Guam.

She married my biological grandfather, Michael, and moved with him to Guam. A career Navy name, he was stationed there before WWII began so she came with him. There are photos of her in the jungle, the mess hall, and hanging out with friends. My uncle was born there but he and Nanny had to flee as tensions with the Japanese began to intensify. She returned home to North Carolina to find that Guam had been invaded by the Japanese. She waited for 18 months wondering what had happened to her husband, giving birth to my father and caring for my uncle. She learned that Michael had stayed behind to blow up munitions and had been captured and killed.

Applied gesso to the burlap with a dry brush, let dry and used a palette knife for the red.

She could have given up but there were children to raise and a life to live. She met the man I knew as my grandfather and they moved to Kansas. They tried several times to have children of their own, but sadly it was not to be. Again, she had the opportunity to give up and make a stone of her heart. But that just wasn't her. She kept herself open. I am sure that she had her days, dark and full of the weight that these tremendous losses caused. But they did not over take her.

Layers of paper and ephemera with gesso, rubber stamp ink and thinned acrylic paint applied over them.

Her heart may have been broken many times, but there was still room left to fill.

Art Journal Thursday: From the Journal to the Wall

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 22:22:00 +0000

Last week I shared my goals for 2014. And then I filed them away in my art journal file. (I was starting an art journal that would have loose pages that I would bind together later.) A few days after my post, it occurred to me that the goals wouldn't do me any good if I weren't reminded of them all the time. So I decided to make them into framed art.

Now I can see the goals and align my activities to them.

My first step was to find a frame. I went to my stash and found a lovely 10 x 10 frame. But my art journal page was the wrong size. So back to the stash. I found some black art board that I rescued from the trash many years ago and cut it to size. I then mounted the page giving it a quarter of an inch border on three sides. I decided to mount it off center so that I would only have one edge to embellish.

Raided the stash for the embellishments.

The embellishment is from Prima. The flowers are cut from a Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz die. The black swirl is cut from a Quikutz Adornment die. (A little secret--I love this Adornment die a lot. I mean tons. It's a wonder to me that it isn't in more of my projects, but it just doesn't do to repeat one's self too much.)

Seeing the goals all the time will help me align my activities to them. This is an important aspect to achieving these goals. For example, this turning the art journal into wall art included two of my goals: "Spend less" and "do more me"!

If you have a favorite art journal page, try turning it into art that you can see all the time. I'd love to hear about your projects so please drop me a line to tell me about them!

Postcrossing: A New Project

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 21:58:00 +0000

I just joined Postcrossing.com. It’s a site dedicated to exchanging postcards with people from across the world. By signing up, you can send or receive postcards from its almost 500,000 members from more than 200 countries around the world. You can send up to five at a time. The site gives you a code so they can track your postcard. I read about it in this month’s Flow magazine.

Tim Holtz stencil on craft paper that's glued to a piece of card stock.

I decided to use it as a creative challenge and handcraft postcards. It’s exciting to think that I can make contact with people from around the world. I can’t wait to get my postcards!

Old stickers and a book cut out from a book page. Postcard is bound for Bravaria!

Look for upcoming blog posts to see how this new project is going.

Art Journal Thursdays: Goal Art

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 23:38:00 +0000

We are well and truly into the new year. As it happens, I had a significant birthday just a few weeks ago. And I finished an art journal. These things collided into a desire to do a goals page. I know. There are a lot of blog posts about New Year’s resolutions. I inwardly groaned as I thought about sharing this post, but goals that are not shared are too easily forgotten. So, dear friends, here it is.

Goals written on vintage note paper.

Goal: Do more encaustic work.
I have a fascination and abiding love of encaustic artwork. When I was little, I remember my mother taking me to an art class. We played with melted crayons; it was yummy. Plus I have always loved the idea of depth (see my blog post, “The Old Me Meets the Current Me”). So encaustic painting seems like it would be a great fit. Except for one thing; it scares the crap out of me. I took a course from Serena Barton and it took the edge off of the fear so now it’s time to do some work.

Used card stock alphabet stickers from my stash. Gessoed, painted and inked. Then all of it removed with rubbing alcohol.

Goal: Buy less stuff.
I don’t think this one needs an explanation. You know what I am talking about.

Old sticker, mounted on ephemera and a cardboard letter stencil.

Goal: Document my life.
Scrapbooking was my gateway drug into mixed media. I used to scrapbook all the time but when I learned that I could do other things, I stopped scrapbooking. But as I culled through our family photos looking for a particular photo, it occurred to me how important these photos are. I forget things

A Tim Holtz stamp stamped on card stock and cut out.

Goal: Journal again.
But scrapbooking isn't the only way that a life gets documented. I need to keep better records of my days and the things I am doing to achieve my goals. Lastly, I need to do more spiritual journaling. Taking the time to read scripture and working through what it means to me, letting God have the space to talk to me, has had a significant impact in my life. Sadly, I have let this practice lapse. Time to start again.

Goal: Do more me.
This goal is about trust. It’s about trusting my instincts. It’s about being willing to fail and move on quickly so that I can move more toward the artist that I want to be.

So that’s the list. What’s on your list?

Art Journal Thursdays: Monochromatic

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 00:17:00 +0000

When I sat down at my desk, I had no preconceived notions about what this journal page was going to look like. I knew that I wanted to do a page honoring this old picture that I found. There she was, among a number of old family pictures, with no name or notation. Family friend? Long lost cousin? The one that got away? Who knows. But there was something captivating about her, so she became the page’s focal point.

The QuicKutz 'Adornments (Victorian) Die is in the corner and it does a nice job of directing the eye toward her face.

I wondered about this woman. Who was she? I liked the picture because her lips slightly parted as if she had just finished saying something. Maybe it was, “Let’s this done because I need a drink!” or “I have to pick up my kids” or “What a dry summer…you have no idea what it’s doing to my peonies!” She was sitting in her black dress against a gray background, eyes alert contrasting the stiffness of her body. It just seemed to me that using a monochromatic palette was the right thing to do.

Using watercolor paper, I glued down some random pieces of book pages to create a little texture. Then I laid down a thin layer of gesso. Using Anita’s Metallic Black acrylic paint, I brushed a generous layer on to the dry gesso. I removed some of the paint with baby wipes, sometimes scrubbing down to the gesso or paper.

I added a little black burlap under the tags so make them "pop" a little more.

The next step was finding the right pattern to give the journal page some more interest. I chose the K&Co. vellum border since their pattern reminded me of the wall paper this woman might have. I applied the border to plain white tags and then added a little white Faber-Castell gelato to the edges. They ended up looking a little plain so a few mother of pearl buttons were sewn on. I wanted to the tags to be “bound” to the larger piece so I found an old notebook page in my ephemera stash and glue it to the photo and then ran the strings through the holes.

I removed all the paint in some areas so that the gesso would add a little texture.

The side panel was made by gluing three book page scraps together. I punched out some flowers. Again, it seemed too plain on the page so I decided to gesso the panel and then added some more black metallic paint. Again, baby wipes were used to get rid of the excess paint. I added the vellum borer to a scrap piece of cardstock and glued it behind the windows of the panel.

Lastly, I added a little random poetry from two phrases from different books.

What I found challenging about this layout was the play of values. Since I didn't have different colors to add emphasis or texture, it all had to be achieved using color values. It actually required a little discipline to grab a red just to give it punch, but I resisted in the end because that would have stolen my lady’s thunder.

What challenges have you found in your art recently?

Art Journal Thursdays: I Breathed Again and Listened More Deeply

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 23:58:00 +0000

Even though the Winter Solstice is still a few days away, winter is truly here. The sun is less brilliant, usually hiding behind wispy clouds, shedding cold light over brown grass (which inspired this art journal page). While that seems like it might be depressing, and I know it is for some, I find it peaceful. It seems that everything is at rest.

Acrylic paint roughed up by using the paint brush handle.

I won't say that winter is my favorite time of the year, but it has it's advantages. Winter is a time for short days, full of introspection. Nights by the fire, hearty soups or hot chocolate in hand. Knitted scarves, woolen socks and gloves, and bulky sweaters...it's like wearing home when your are out. Everything slows down.

A Tim Holtz "ledger" rubber stamp was used at the top of the page and then gessoed over it with my finger.

I used random cut out words from a large print book. These words jumped out from the pages...they captured exactly how I was feeling about that day.

Paper scraps, other ephemera and rub-ons with gesso over it.

A hand-drawn tree in winter.

The focal point of the art page is a tree that I drew one afternoon. I copied it, using a laser copier, and then transferred it on to the page using matte medium. I applied the matte medium to the image, turned it upside down on the page and then used an old credit card to smooth out the bubbles. I then used a hair dryer to dry it quickly and then wet the paper and rolled it off with my fingers. It is a great way to incorporate my own hand-drawn images without having to carve a stamp.

What season inspires your artwork the most?

Art Journal Thursday: He Himself is Our Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 00:33:00 +0000

Life has a lot of stuff to it--work, family, relationships, experiences and on and on. It's all those things that make us who we are, right? We all have lovely bits--talent, generosity, compassion, intelligence, etc. We also all have our sucky bits--envy, contempt, irritation, and so on. We can't help it because we are imperfect beings in a fallen world. If I am left to my own, there is no peace. I cannot make right the things that are wrong. I can't do things over. I can only move forward trying to minimize the uncaring things I do and find ways to positively impact those around me.

Multiple layers of acrylic paint applied with a palette knife.

So today's journal page is about layers. It began with scraps of book pages randomly glued to the substrate. Then I began with layers of paint. I began layering several colors of paint and then decided that I didn't like them. So I mixed some black with some gesso and started over.

Gesso and thinned acrylic paint applied to the die cut flowers.

I liked the layers because the it had such a messy quality. But I wanted to add something a bit more joyful to offset the overall darkness of the piece. Using a Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz die, I cut out several flowers and then adhered them to the page.

Use a Pitt brush pen, size B, to journal and add lines to my flowers.

Sunflower yellow acrylic paint, applied with a palette knife, was created as a background to journal on. I added one of my favorite scriptures. It is a reminder that I cannot obtain the peace I seek alone.

Art Journal Thursday: The Morning is Wiser

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 23:19:00 +0000

As I was digging through my stash, I came across this image of a little girl. She seems so innocent and sad. The photo was taken for another project, but it I found it so inspiring that I wanted to feature her in an art journal page.

This random quote from a book was the perfect caption.

First, I glued down the photo, an old page with short hand symbols on it, and the decorative paper of the vintage children. I also painted the piece, carefully avoiding the images, in Titan Buff (a beige-ish color). Using raw umber and a light permanent green, created this deep forest/olive drab color. I applied the paint over the first layer, and letting it dry for a minute or two, took off the excess with baby wipes (one of my new favorite tools). It seemed too dark so I added a glaze wash of ivory.

The wings are outlined with a gold metallic paint pen.

I gave her wings in keeping with the “forest” feel, giving her a whimsical air. I cut out a crown from a scrap piece of card stock, painted it a mustard yellow and then an antique, metallic gold. I added some glue and then randomly applied glitter.

I added some flowers in succession, in a deep bronze metallic ink, again giving the impression of a forest.

I added a small bit a metal to the crown to make it a bit more regal.

Art Journal Thursday: Fly

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 00:11:00 +0000

There are some things that I don't want anymore. Similar to my recent need to use what I have on hand and weed out the things that I no longer need (i.e., out of focused photos, clothes, art supplies and the like), I decided to look at some emotions that I could do without. I think sometimes we keep thoughts and feelings that used to serve us or came to us legitimately, but have now outlived their usefulness. This page expresses the desire to live out of something else.

I opened my stash of rub-ons to help create texture.

I used a red paint pen to create the "crown" border.

More rub-ons and my handwriting. The letters were rub-ons that I then went back over with a red paint pen.

The background was created using a palette knife, layering on titian buff, black and turquoise acrylic paint.

What things or emotions are you wanting to get rid of in your life?

Art Journal Thursday: Don't Wait

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 19:38:00 +0000

One of the key themes of my life is the struggle with patiently waiting. Or impatiently waiting for that matter. After I got the composition down, the phrase, "Don't wait until Spring to grow," just keep playing in my head. With the flowers, it seemed appropriate. I didn't question it, I just followed my gut. It wasn't until I started writing this blog that the theme emerged. I guess I am still waiting on something...but I don't know what it is. I guess I'll just have to keep working in my art journal until it becomes clearer or another theme rears its ugly head.

Used a palette knife to spread three different colors over to create the background.

As you know, I keep trying different things. But one thing that I do return to time and again is my palette knife. I like the randomness of spreading the paint; it can be very satisfying to wipe the paint on the page without a clear idea of where it will land. If you don't like it's resting place, you can always add another layer of paint.

The flowers were cut from complementary scrapbooking papers.

I used the top of a pen to dipped in paint to create these circles.

I created stems and twigs and then used the ripped paper as a hill to ground the flowers.

Using Tim Holtz plastic letters as a template, I painted the words and then added depth by using a brush marker.

Art Journal Thursday: For I am Going Away

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 22:30:00 +0000

Books are a great source of inspiration. Whether it is the world the author has created or the words that have been artfully crafted together. Books open our eyes to possibilities.

That's why I like to use them in my art journal. I find phrases and use them out of context to create new meaning. That's how this page came together.

The title phrase, "...for I am going away", reminded me of my own journey. Leaving the comfort of a nest that I had built for more than 40 years.

A fitting phrase from an entirely different book.

I found an image and traced it using tracing paper. Then I hand painted it.

I used a dry brush for the background and a piece of a cardstock border as a stencil.

I drew the cloud freehand from a book page and added a little ivory to integrate it.

The inspiration phrase from a vintage children's book.

I'd love to hear how you have used books in your work.

Art Journal Thursday: Waiting

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 01:01:00 +0000

Waiting is hard.

Waiting is boring.

Waiting can make the heart sick. It wears away...so much.

That was the inspiration for this journal page. A few years ago, I went to Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and marveled at the artistry of the memorials. A number of them had started to decay. To fade away.

I recently found one of my photos and it resonated with me. Waiting. Waiting. More waiting. All the while having pieces of yourself fall away. It was a clear picture of what it is like to feel the pain of abuse. I decided to use it as the cornerstone of the page.

Image transfer using matte medium and a laser printer copy of my photo.

But when I was done, it seemed too dark. There is light. There is help. There is compassion, even if there isn't complete healing. So I incorporated the beginning of Psalm 40 into the page. This will help me to remember that help is not far off.

A little of my own poetry (in white) and Psalm 40 in black.

A white marker over the light permanent green and Payne's Gray glaze.

Art Journal Thursday: Healing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 00:56:00 +0000

My one of my fondest desires.

Healing, no matter how large or small the wound, is something we all desire. We live in a fallen world; a world that delivers pain from glancing blows to fatal trauma. Small lies, the end of a relationship, social injustice--the list goes on and on. It is unavoidable. Once the wound is there, healing is the thing we desire desperately. That's what this page is about.

A random phrase from a book. This is one of my favorite creative prompts.

Don't get me wrong, I know that there is joy in the world. I have seen it. Joy in my husband taking my hand. Joy in laughing with my oldest daughter. Joy in lying in bed reading with my youngest girl. Joy in the soft, brown eyes of my white Schnauzer. And yes, joy in talking about who's going to bite it in the next episode of "The Walking Dead".

I used a stamp with Tsukineko Brilliance Pigment Inkpad in Moonlight White.

But, there is a lot of stuff out in the world that hurts. And hurts for a long time. The fondest wish of my heart is not that the pain didn't come, but that the wound would close and scar over. I am okay with my scars. In fact, I would be happy to show them to you. But an open wound, well, sucks. So I desire healing, even if it means having to do the work of cleaning the wound out in order for it to close.

The background is a printed piece of blank newsprint.

Technique note:

I created the background by using a canvas board as a printing plate. Texture was created by making bumps with acrylic paint and letting it dry. I then added layers of acrylic paint in differing colors to the board. I sprayed the paint with rubbing alcohol and then laid a scrap piece of newsprint (saved from a Hobby Lobby glass purchase) on the plate. I used a brayer to make sure the paper was in contact with the plate. Then I rapidly removed it and laid it aside to dry. One of the nice byproducts of this is that the bumps started to dissolve and created added color in random patterns.