Sparklebluefaery

2012-02-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

It's been hard to find time to work in my art journal, let alone blog the past few weeks. I've taken a second part time job that keeps me busy almost every afternoon and evening. I still substitute teach most days and the days that I do not substitute are days spent catching up on personal errands and business.

The art journaling demonstration at Riley Street went very well. There were some people who were interested in learning book binding and possibly taking classes in art journaling. I have to start planning out some courses!
I thought I would share something from one of my new favorite toys! I recently got an android phone with an unlimited data plan! One of my favorite parts of this new phone is the camera apps!

The photo above was taken with "Retro Camera" app, using the pinhole camera. I love it! Just what I need! A way to produce even more collage fodder!

2012-02-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

This weekend I have the Riley Street art journaling demo. I wish I had more time to prepare pages specifically for it, however, I've been busy. That is not a complaint, I love being busy. I've been grabbing ten minutes here and there to run out to the studio and add a dash of paint or color to the pages in my book. I've even managed to work on a few paintings as well.
One part about working in short increments is that the pages end up very richly layered, since the layers have plenty of time to dry. It is also hard to feel satisfied and finish a page in a short period of time, so I find myself coming back to the same ones over and over.

It's Been a While

2012-01-09T10:28:00.001-08:00

The last time I posted was in November. Since then, a whole lot of change has occurred. I had to go back to Louisville to help out my family after my father's heart attack. When I returned, there was so much to do because of the holidays and I also spent several weeks sick with the cold and sinus infection that never end.

I have not been doing a lot of art journaling lately and most of the pages I have done are not ones that I would post on my blog.

However, I thought I would post these two spreads and try to get back into the habit of blogging. I also need to find more time to paint. This last weekend, I spent more time out in my art studio than all of December.
Both of the above journal pages include acrylic paint, wrapping paper, and various christmas detritus collected from the holiday season.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Pause

2011-11-07T06:21:00.001-08:00

I will be taking a break from blogging for the rest of November. I'm flying out to Louisville KY on Wednesday and will probably have no time to create or paint anyway (although I am packing my art journal.)

I really appreciate everyone's comments and I apologize if I do not respond. I will try to when I get time, but at this point I make no promises.

Hopefully in a few weeks, this stress will calm down, but as part of taking care of myself, I am releasing all extraneous and non-binding obligations.
I leave you with cute adorable fall kitties until I have something positive and good to post about again. :)

The Skull Clashes with the Teeth

2011-11-04T16:57:00.001-07:00

I did these paintings last Sunday. On Thursday, two of my teeth were crowned, so teeth and bones have certainly been on my mind. Of course, the skeletal system and anatomy have always been a major motif in my work. These paintings are all 8" by 10" and acrylic and collage.
I titled this series The Skulls Clashes with the Teeth because my skull does not enjoy dental work at all. I have mild TMJ, so every time there is a change in the structure of my teeth, my head takes some time getting used to it. There are always a few days of readjustment, which generally involves headaches.
I have not posted to my blog for over a week due to the fact I've been extremely busy. I enjoy being busy, but I have not had a lot of time to recharge.

And then at 6:29 this morning (the exact time I wake up Monday through Friday to go to work), my mom called me with news that my dad had a heart attack.

I am not sure how to process this, as it is a life event I have had little experience. A year ago last summer, he had a health scare, but it was nothing so shocking and so abruptly dangerous as this. This is a part of life that everyone must deal with: parents growing older and facing dangerous illnesses and possibly death; but I do not feel ready. I am too young and gosh darn it, my parents are too young (56).

Somehow, all the things that I must do this weekend must get done, must visit all the places that must be visited. But I don't want to.

On the bright side, I am finished with my adventures with 8th graders and can go back to the sweet and innocent elementary school subbing. I have 3 jobs lined up for next week and 3 for the next week. I don't know whether I should cancel them, be broke as glass for the Christmas season, and go see my dad or what.

If you are the kind of person who prays for strangers, please send some his way.

Art Journal Pages

2011-10-29T21:04:00.001-07:00

I thought I would take pictures of some of these pages before I begin writing on them.
I used acrylic paint and acrylic ink mixed with water in a spray bottle to make the background. It came out pretty nifty, with the acrylic ink bleeding and spreading like veins into the acrylic paint. You can also see the paint doodles at the bottom of the page.
The bottom layer of this journal spread is spray paint and stencils. I then coated it with collage, and added more paint, doodles, etc. Because the spray paint surface is so shiny, it is almost impossible to write over. To remedy this, I used the acrylic ground for pastels which is similar to clear gesso but not as sandy and rough textured.

This is the only spread that I would consider finished.
The bottom layer of this spread was basically finger painted, but I added collage over it, and then painted on top of the collage. I will definitely add more to these pages, probably layers of writing, doodling and paint. I think there are enough collage elements!
I discovered a beautiful beach today and an absolutely fascinating trail.

Paintings from this Fall

2011-10-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

This is a painting I finished a few days ago, entitled "The music demands pourquoi." It has a gel skin (the soft pumice gel, I believe) that has music printed on it.
I recently ordered some mounting stuff from documounts and it finally came last week. The 7 by 7 inch squares were started in Suzanne's class and finished over the last few weeks and most of the larger 8 by 10 paintings were started in the painting mindscapes class.

I will have to get better photographs of these paintings if I ever want to list them on etsy. Has anyone had any luck selling paintings on etsy at all?

I am linking this to Paint Party Friday. :)

Wishcasting Wednesday-What do you want to let go of?

2011-10-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

What do I not want to let go of might be more like it! Two days left of this middle school job and I am ready for a break. Hopefully I can go to the city this weekend and do something fun! In this journal spread, I used the little post it book markers to write the things I would like to let go of. It's kind of nice and symbolic, since they are easily removed! I think the second one is the main thing I would like to let go of- tension. I have a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders. It has been giving me headaches.

The post it notes are stuck to a gel medium transfer of a painting I made almost a year ago. That painting is still hanging in my room. One of these days I should try listing my paintings on etsy. I hardly sell any books at all and I can't imagine the paintings will be any different.
This is the entire spread. I don't think it is finished and I will probably continue to add writing and doodles to it. I am linking this to wishcasting Wednesday. :) My goal is try to post more this week as I slowly have more time to create made available to me. I have a bunch of paintings I have not posted photos of yet and I would like to post them when I get a chance!

Handmade Book Giveaway #1-Winner

2011-10-21T19:57:00.001-07:00

(altered book layout that I absolutely had to do after work today-I needed art!)

I did not have the energy tonight to make a video filming the drawing of the handmade book winner tonight, so you'll just have to take my word for this! :) I am not sure how where to find the random number generator that some people use, so I did the drawing the old school way, I wrote the names of everyone who commented on a slip of paper, put them into an old purse, and then drew out a name!

The winner is:

Congratulations Ginigin! I have no way to contact you via the blogger profile, (no e-mail or even a blog link to leave a comment on), so you will have to contact me, and then I can send you the little purple book and collage packet! You can email me at sparkle blue faery (all one word) at yahoo.

ginigin said...: I am a follower using Google Reader. I currently have more journals than I can count: one for dreams, writing main journal, visioning, reading notes, quotes, two art journals, journal for my son, gratitude journal, grumpy journal, project journals, and little notebooks I stick in my purse for writing or sketching if I have to wait somewhere. Oh, an a samples sketchbook, not sure if that qualifies as a journal though, it's where I keep a log of different media color swatches, with notes and doodling. There may be more, but not ones I use often.; 5:38 PM

If I don't hear from the winner in the next ten days, I guess I will add it to the next giveaway which will be soon-sometime in the next month, I promise!

Also, to those who have left kind words, THANK YOU! I appreciate it and I will try to return them, as soon as I can. Read on to find out what has been shaking my world up at this current point in time!
The page spread above is what I've been working on all week long in little bits and pieces. It is the same collage spread at the bottom of my previous post. As you can see, I've coated it in paint. I glued in the "dis" page of a small dictionary and on Tuesday, circled all the words that described my experience teaching middle school, 8th grade RSP. Tuesday was a bad day. I wrote my first ever referral.

On Tuesday, I said to a friend "I really hate trying to teach to these kids because they are so rude and disrespectful to me. BUT I recognize that they are a product of a very bad environment and it is not that they are bad kids. I guess what I really hate is that I feel they need a teacher who can make a difference in their lives and it is hard to feel like I can make a difference when I am only there for one week. I really do want to make a positive impact on them."

So, the universe must have been listening. On Wednesday, I was assigned to teach there next week as well. Their former teacher left to teach in a smaller high school class. He had had great difficulty as well, from what I hear.

This is the reason I have not been doing much art at all and then not posting very much. I've had to do all the planning for this class which was unexpected. I came in on Monday and the sub plans said "We were on Unit 14, Lesson 4. Good Luck ~ex middle school teacher's name."

I am trained to teach a regular elementary school classroom, not special education, and not middle school. This has pushed me so far outside of the box and my realm of experience that I can't even see the box anymore. It's really difficult and challenging and I can't pretend it's enjoyable, but I do feel I am growing as a person and as a teacher.

My normal nature is more Kinder than 8th grade. I'd rather be telling the kids "we are kind to all our friends and we use nice words" than "I don't want to hear you referring to that girl as a hippopotamus! That's so horrible!" Yes, they did that. Then after I told them to stop referring to some unknown girl as a hippo, they started drawing pictures of monstrous hippos which were quickly confiscated and turned into the office with the names of the artists.

I wish I could say I had lots of time to relax and paint this weekend, but the truth is that I have taken home the curriculum and will be making detailed plans for the next week. I am also planning to do a literature unit based on an interesting book. The actual curriculum and workbook they use is BORING, and for someone who loves reading and English, that's saying a lot. My plan is to use it part of the time, but also include reading a fun book (I think it's fun anyway!) and incorporating creative literature activities and hopefully art into the lessons. I don't think we'll be able to finish the book in the next 5 days, but I had two choices and I picked the one that I know will be more interesting, and will challenge them.

So now I get to write out a literature activity guide for the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen this weekend. I already finished reading it this afternoon. It's about a boy who is on a plane that crashes in the Canadian wilderness and has to survive.

Anyway, that's what has been consuming my life for the past week. If anyone of my dear blog readers has any recommendations for connecting with troubled 8th grade students, I'd love to hear your ideas!

Wishingcasting Wednesday-What do you wish to make time for?

2011-10-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

At this moment in time, I wish for more time to paint and more time to sleep. I've been working full time (YAY!!!) substituting in middle school (not yay!) so it's been an incredibly busy week. I'll be working every day next week (hooray!) in middle school (ehh...)

I'm tired and I really can't write much more because I am not sure whether I should be posting my thoughts on the internet... It's been that kind of day and week.

I did the painting above last week. I am still wavering as to whether it is complete. I might add some warm colors to the bottom right hand corner to balance out the warm colors near the top.

Two days left to enter to win the little handmade book and collage packet...

Art Journal Pages

2011-10-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty busy the past week. There is always a ton of homework in the French class I am taking, work, and random errands. Yesterday I had to take my grandmother to San Francisco for some research study. They asked her questions about her memory while I visited the utrecht store. I bought some more of the fabulous watercolor paper, but this time with no 10 sheet minimum (meaning I bought 4 sheets) or expensive shipping.
This is the art journal spread with the bricks as the background. I added smoke imagery for the middle layers and then started to paint over it. It is definitely not finished, but I thought I would share.
This is the beginning of a collage background, the very first layer. My intention is to paint over the collage with clear gesso, paint, and add more layers. This is the bottom layer.

It has been a while since I started with a bottom layer of entirely collage items. I thought I would try this technique again.

I am linking this also to Marcia Beckett's "Just Journals" link party. She also has the Artists in Blogland site.

Remember to check out my handmade book giveaway- I don't think a huge amount of people have entered, so you have a really good shot at winning! I hope more people enter by Friday....

Wishcasting Wednesday

2011-10-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've discovered the website of Jamie Ridler Studios, and every Wednesday, she has a prompt to do with Wishcasting. It's a beautiful idea! You make a post with your wish, link it to her site and then visit others and leave positive encouragement for their wishes! What a fantastic idea!

This week's prompt is "What do you wish to do one day?"
I wish to find a job teaching art and/or elementary school, preferably both at the same time! I confess to enjoying substitute teaching most of the time (most of the other subs I come into contact with hate it!) but I do want my own classroom and my own group of awesome kids. I want the structure and organization and creative last minute lessons and random assemblies that pop up with no warning! I want to lead workshops on art, journaling, painting and creativity (and how to get other people to kill spiders for you when you are single!) There are all kinds of things I wish to do one day, including traveling the world and writing a book, but the most important and top of the list would involve teaching.

Remember, if you are a follower or start following my blog, please check out my handmade book giveaway #1 here at this link. There will be more to follow!

Handmade Book Giveaway #1

2011-10-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

Over the next month (or two), I am going to be giving away the extra small handmade books that I made for trades that were not traded.

This is the first book I am giving away. It is a sewn over tapes binding and is approximately 4.25 inches by 5.5 inches. It has 46 sheets or 92 pages of text weight paper. I use a little book like this for my to list/grocery list/reference/always in my purse notebook. Since it is such a small little book, I will be throwing in a small collage packet as well. :)

All you have to do is be a follower of this blog and leave a comment in this thread. If you like, you can answer the question "how many journals do you keep at one time?"

Naturally, if you are already a follower of my blog, then you just need to leave a comment.

If you would like an extra chance to win, post a link to my blog or this giveaway, and leave an extra comment with the link to your blog/post. :) I am going draw a winner on Friday, October 21st. Good luck!

Untamed Abstracts

2011-10-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I took another class with Suzanne Edminster. I was too absorbed into making paintings to take photos of the class, but I am showing some of the paintings I finished.

I discovered a really neat new art toy I want to order: Caran d'Ache is now making something called a NeoArt watersoluble wax pastel. Here is a link to information on them in a Wet Canvas forum. They are kind of challenging to find online and expensive! Utrecht and Dick blick don't seem to have them, but Jerry's Artarama does have them for $4 a piece. Kind of expensive....

I also want to buy some really bright crazy paint colors. One of the exercises we did in Suzanne's class was painting on top of a fluorescent red or orange background. Even though orange is not my favorite color (not surprising-it is the complementary color or exact opposite of my dearest blue), I do so love bright saturated and high chroma colors. No muted vintage tones for me!

The truth is that I have WAY too much stuff already and I really need to just be happy with what I have. Why should I spend $4 each on a water soluble pastel when I have 30-40 colors of... water soluble pastels! They are just the neocolor IIs, and basically a different shape. I have plenty of paint already. It is not a clever idea to spend $40 on new paint (I am lusting after the bright Nova paint colors I got to play with yesterday.) I do not need any more art supplies for the next few years....

I did however order some frame mounting supplies for my paintings on watercolor paper. I might even list them on Etsy.

What I really need to do is take a class on things like marketing, selling paintings, and taking good photos of finished work etc. Those are my weak points. I hate sales and I particularly hate having to "sell myself." It's not that I have a really low self esteem, it's just that I do not consider myself to be better than anyone else or any other particular artist out there. This does not make me an excellent sales person...

Art Journal Pages

2011-10-06T07:10:00.001-07:00

Remember the photo I posted of the beautiful pastel set? I told you I was going to use it in my art journal! This is the spread I used it on. It also also has stickers, hand painted masking tape, etc.

On this spread, I am using some of the first bits and pieces of collage from the paste paper, printed out photos of paintings and such, lots of acrylic paint and handmade stamps!

My neck is still somewhat injured and causing me pain, although it is improving. I can function much better. I am going to start physical therapy next week.

I have some little books I want to giveaway (leftover from the huge pile of trades I made from Art Is You.) I just have to get the energy and time (converging at the same moment) to take photos of them. Then I am going to host a giveaway on the blog. I have 3 of the little books (minimum). Do you think I should give them away all at once (to 3 different people from 1 comment thread) or hold 3 different giveaways over the course of a couple weeks?

GPP Street Team Challenge #55-Disappearing act

2011-10-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

I saw this tutorial and challenge on the GPP Street team blog and decided to try it, using my new brick stencil.

The art journal background above is the result! I used yellow, red, and pink spray paint on top of a yellow acrylic background. These are not colors I generally like when used all together, so I will have to find a way to incorporate some cool blues and greens before this spread is finished!

This is a journal spread I did last week. There are pages from an old book bound into this current journal and that is what part of the left side is. There is a photo of my stacks of handmade books, as well as a photo of when I went to Europe at 21. I would love to go back! You can also see Vincent, the my adorable kitty on the right hand page. This page has prints from the tree stencil.

October 11: Thank you to all who have visited from Michelle Ward's GPP Street Team Challenge blog! I thought I would let you know that I am hosting a handmade book giveaway here for my followers, so please check it out if you like! :)

Art Journal Page from Last Week

2011-10-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

This is a journal spread that I made last weekend. I've been doing more since then of course, but I've been fairly busy and haven't had time to post or even take pictures!

Today, I went to the Sonoma County Book Arts Guild meeting where we made flexagons. It is a fun and tricky little folded book form. I will post pictures as soon as I am done collaging and painting them. The way flexagons work, it might even be easier to make a video!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Supernova Changes Journal

2011-09-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

I thought I would quickly share the catalog webpage for the Abecedarian Gallery Visual Journal Show. Here is the link. My Supernova Changes journal from 2010 is in this show! I must confess, I am looking forward to seeing it again when they return it sometime around October 10th. It never was for sale, and there is a lot of personal stuff in that book. :)

This is the video with images, set to my former power anthem- Circle the Drain by Katy Perry. Yes, I like Katy Perry. It's really hard for me to admit that. It is like admitting I like N'Sync (which I don't!)

Mindscape Painting

2011-09-28T11:35:00.001-07:00

On Monday, I took an excellent class from Stephanie called Creating Mindscapes. It was part of Art is You. I really enjoyed it. I've enjoyed all the art classes I've had this weekend.
This was my table area. I managed to finish four small paintings and start the backgrounds on at least 4 more.
Here is a photo that Shel, the woman sitting across from me took. Everyone in this class was very nice and it was fun to work with them.

I've decided that while online classes are fun and slightly more affordable, there really is no substitution from taking classes from other artists in person. One can read all the art books they want (trust me, I've read a ton of them, and until this weekend, that was pretty much where I'd learned 95% of what I know about painting and art, with the exception of the basics I learned in college); but one can not get the tiny tricks that make different techniques so much easier from books.
This painting is on 8" x 10" artist panel. I discovered I love working on the wood artist panels, which is unfortunate because they are much more expensive than canvas or canvas board. One 8"x10" canvas board costs 50 cents to 1 dollar, an 8" x 10" canvas costs $1-$3. This board was on sale for 50% off and it cost $5! But it was so nice to have the rigid surface with the canvas textured background!

I am currently hanging this work in my dining room! It is coated in beeswax and I love the soft sheen of the surface!
This is an 8" x 10" work on watercolor paper. This is one of my favorites. I am going to frame this.
Above is a detail photo of the work. I LOVE the texture and I learned some very cool techniques for getting awesome paint textures!
Here is another piece I finished, on watercolor paper. This piece measures 8.5" x 10.25." This one, like the first piece, is coated in beeswax. I think I might have to invest in a crockpot for the studio and a pound of beeswax. While I don't see myself becoming an encaustic painter, I do love playing around with new things.
This is the last of the finished pieces. This is on a 9" x 12" sheet of canvas paper (the kind that comes out of the canvas paper sketchbooks- I had a few sheets I found in the studio left over from teaching.) I am not too sure about the composition, but I love the colors and texture. I think I might cut this one into 2 pieces and then frame them.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. Unfortunately, I pulled a muscle in my neck at some point, but it was worth it. I went to the doctor yesterday and they confirmed it is a pulled muscle, not some nasty reaction to the flu shot. I think next time I take classes, I will try not to have it all so condensed into such a short period of time. However, my new goal is Journalfest 2012. I have started a savings jar. That would be absolutely awesome.

I recommend if you get the chance to take an art class, do so. I never realized how worth the money it really is until this weekend. I think that I will stick to the local artist classes for the most part (for example, Suzanne's class is very reasonably priced- $80 for one day, as opposed to the $170 for one day at Art Is You.) I still plan on trying to make it to Journalfest next year!
I am so glad Art Is You came to Petaluma, only a 30 minute drive. I was certainly able to justify spending the money for the classes since they had a payment plan (I started paying for the classes back in February) and I did not have to spend money on a hotel or a plane ticket. Gas money cost me about $8 per day. Definitely worth it. If I had a lot of money, I'd be doing this all the time.

I went back to substitute teaching yesterday and I have jobs lined up for tomorrow and Friday. I am so happy to be getting more jobs this year than last! I really do love my job and as much as I want my own classroom, subbing has major perks. One of the major perks was that I could choose not to work on Monday and take an awesome painting class! It's funny though, because I had five requests to work on Monday. It certainly makes me feel needed, and that is a pleasant feeling. Yesterday was a really nice day, in spite of my pulled neck muscle. I've become an expert at ignoring pain and working through it. Tomorrow and Friday, I am going to be at schools I really like. Yay!

Keep an eye on my blog- I have several handmade books I made to trade at Art is You leftover! I am going to have a giveaway! I made these books to give to people, so it wouldn't seem right to put them on Etsy or something like that. I will be hosting a giveaway sometime in the next week for my followers!

Art All Weekend!!! Part 2

2011-09-25T15:27:00.001-07:00

Last May, Suzanne Edminster of Saltworks Studios asked me to be an "b(art)ender" at the opening of her art show, Terra Incognita and in return, I could take an art class from her.

You can see her paintings in the photo above. Aren't they the most beautiful, luscious colors ever? I LOVE her work. She is without a doubt my favorite Sonoma County Artist, and definitely in the top 5 of my "favorite artists still alive."

She is also a really kind and generous woman for letting me take classes with her in trade for "work!"
Today was her "Fauve Color Value Secrets" class. We used pastels (I used the NuPastels) and sorted them by color value and then did very colorful landscapes based on the values. The goal was to have a crazy colorful beautiful pastel drawing that has values that read well when a black and white picture was taken.

This was a beginning exercise which I did not have time to finish.

This was my finished piece above, the only completed one. Some of the colors got a little muddy. Below you can see a black and white photo of the piece to see how the color values translate.
I have mixed feelings about my drawing. I think the reason is because the tightness and pain in my neck and shoulder translated into the way I drew the shapes. I still enjoyed it immensely though and these are all process art works, meaning I am certainly not going to submit them to a gallery!
Above is a black and white photo of the photograph I was working from.
This is the original photo that I took last month on a trip to Salmon Creek beach. As you can see, we were not going for realistic color at all!

Above is a photograph of the notes I took during the class. Suzanne gave me permission to post them and even took a photo of them herself!

The paper is a page in my mixed media sketchbook that I painted a few weeks ago. I love taking art notes on painted backgrounds!
This is a photo of everyone else in the class holding their beautiful colorful landscapes. Check out this part of Suzanne's website for where she posts her class photos. She took a group photo with her camera and mine and said she would post the photos soon.

Here is a link to Suzanne's Saltworks Studios Facebook page.

Last but not least, I took a beautiful photo of Claudia's brand new-just opened set of Sennelier soft pastels. Are these not the most beautiful vivid pigmented colors you have ever seen? I am so jealous.
I will probably print it out and use it as a collage element in my art journal.

YOU have my permission to download this picture and use it in your art journal. Simply right click on the photo and choose save as...

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! My artful weekend will continue tomorrow! I will be taking Stephanie Lee's "Creating Mindscapes" class at Art Is You tomorrow! I'll be sure to post photos from that as well!

Art All Weekend!!! Part 1

2011-09-25T15:04:00.000-07:00

I had a fantastic time on Saturday at Albie Smith's "Totally Amazing Decorative Papers" class at Art Is You.
Everyone made such beautiful paste papers! While I have made "paint papers" using handcarved stamps and stencils, I had never mixed paint into the acrylic paints. I have to say, the best part was getting to borrow all of Albie's fantastic, beautiful, and incrediblely large collection of stencils and hand carved stamps. It was also a blast creating with so many fun people.

The photo above has my papers (the collection in the middle and on the left side of the table) and other people's from the class. If your papers are in this photo, please comment, so that I can put your name and a link to your blog in this post! I met Chris from Redwood Mountain Musings (I follow her blog). Dena from SOCOBAG was in the class with me as well.
If you were in the class with me, please comment and leave your address and I'll be happy to edit this post with a link to your blog! Just give me at least a few days because of my insane schedule. :) I know I'm not mentioning everyone of course (I want to!) but at the moment my brain is kind of foggy... I'll share why later in this post.
Here is some of my collection from yesterday.
I brought my sketchbook (it's a Canson mixed media journal) which I use for writing down project ideas and art notes. I used it to dab stencils, much as do with my "paint waste paper" in the studio.
I also used it as a palette for dipping the handcarved stamps. The right side of this spread has a stamp I dabbed.

The only problem I am having is that I stood bent over all the papers and books for far too long. I can hardly move my neck and shoulder. It's my own fault, I should have grabbed a chair and sat down at the table to work long before I actually did. I am feeling foggy today because of all of the aleve I've taken. However, when I think about it, it was worth it! I had a great time.
These photos are just from Saturday!

The next post is part II and it is all about what I did today! Suzanne Edminster's pastels class! (Which is separate from the whole Art is You classes.)

Also, one more thing before I forget, check out Artists in Blogland's Show and Tell Saturday here!

Paper Stacks

2011-09-20T18:58:00.001-07:00

I have plenty of stacks- books, papers, etc. Here is a stack of art journals and little books. Seth at the Altered Page asked bloggers to post photos of their paper stacks, so here are mine!
A closer view....
I have a stack of magazines and books next to my bed. This stack should probably be put away at some point.... :)
This is the beginning of an art journal page. I glued a tiny little paper crane a student made for me. One of the most fun things about substituting is the variety of things students give you. I have all kinds of drawings, origami, etc collected from this job.

Sewn Journal Page Spread

2011-09-20T07:39:00.001-07:00

When I made this journal with a coptic stitch, I sewed together paper scraps for the signature covers. I have reached the end of the first signature and this is the spread that is shown. I really like the patchwork look of it all! I think from now on, my art journals will contain at least a few sewn journal page papers!

I can't wait until this weekend! Art is You will be all weekend and I will be volunteering on Friday and taking two workshops Saturday and Monday. On Sunday, I will be taking Suzanne Edminster's drawing class which was supposed to be in August but was rescheduled due to a death in her family.

Today however, I must go substitute teach in a 6th grade classroom for a few hours. Time to put on my "I am a strict substitute" face and go work!

All Kinds of Fun That I've Been Up To...

2011-09-18T14:26:00.000-07:00

Making mini books for Art Is You trades.....
I've been incredibly busy the past two days. Not even sure how I managed to make the four books below in between yesterday morning and today....

Printing on fabric, including painted fabric... I'm using these on a canvas journal cover for my current journal.

Designing my own decorative masking tape....
Working on indexing my entire collection of journals. I realized that there are a ton of journals from my childhood that are missing.
I sewed this book together and have about four hours of video of it. Eventually, I am going to edit it all into a coptic book binding video class. One day when there is time.....
I decorated the front of my Canson mixed media sketchbook. I've also been gessoing pages in it and painting pages, which has increased the likelihood of me doing anything with it. I've only filled about 10 pages in the past year in this book.

I also did this art journal spread this morning. Yesterday was a really busy day. I woke up, worked on making more handmade books to trade for about an hour. Then I went to the gym. Next I went to see a collection of short films that was showing as part of the Santa Rosa International Film Festival*
(* Side note on that: there is apparently a film festival in Santa Rosa. Under normal circumstances, it would have nothing to do with me, but this year, my aunt was asked to paint a picture in response to one of the films -they asked several local artists to do this.- As such, she has passes to see the movies, so I went with her and my grandmother yesterday (and will be going to see some more this afternoon.)
I went to visit a friend and have dinner with him, and then as soon as that was done, I met up with another friend whose boyfriend's band had a show last night. I ended up being out till 2 in the morning. I'm tired just thinking about it.... I did have a lot of fun and when I got home, I wrote about it on what was in reach- a graph paper notebook.
This morning I cut out what I had written, pasted it on this journal spread along with a flyer from the music show and a tag that came off of some new shirt that Sierra had purchased, changed into, and then discarded the nifty star tag. It is attached with a scrapbooking brad so it rotates. The flyer is attached with my new decorative tape!

I am including the link to Artists In Blogland here, since this post is for Show and Tell Saturday #3 and I am linking it there. I didn't have any time at all yesterday to post! I did not even have time to stop by the store and pick up coffee creamer, which made this morning very difficult...

Maybe I will take a nap now that "post to blog" can be checked off my to do list! :)

My "FEARLESS" Paintings

2011-09-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

It is difficult for me to share these paintings. I am not completely pleased with them. Maybe because they were each done in less than an hour. Perhaps it is because I used the cheap Liquitex Basics paint after having become accustomed to the high pigment load of the (expensive) Golden Paints.

I must admit though, that making these paintings was a lot of fun!

These first two were inspired by Connie Hozvicka's 21 Secrets class, Abstract Adventure (21 Secrets registration is still open till October 1st... It's been a lot of fun.) Painting "FEARLESS", Connie's painting method, is not exactly easy. How do you paint completely from the heart, disregarding the mind's chatter that says "no, that composition is not right" or "you need this shape here to balance that" or "these colors are looking horrible!" I think I did a pretty good job for my first few tries at this technique, but that doesn't mean I am completely at peace with the outcome. Of course, the whole process is NOT ABOUT the outcome. That's something hard to pound through my head!
The painting above was done on black gesso. This is the first complete painting I've done where I started with a completely black background. I also added some pastels on top of it after it was dry. I felt it needed the bright colors that were unadulturated by the black background.

I just think of these as painting gestures. When you take a life drawing class, the instructor usually starts out with having you draw 30 second to 1 minute quick sketches of the model. It doesn't look like a finished picture. It's not going to end up in an art gallery. It's just to get your arm flowing and get your mind into a space where you can work. That is how I see my Fearless paintings.
This painting was my response to Connie's first lesson in Total Alignment, which is a free class posted on her blog. I strongly recommend you check it out. Her enthusiasm is absolutely infectious and awesome. It's also free, which is quite generous of her!
Here is my most recent art journal page, before I put the writing on it. It has a newspaper picture of a Frida Kahlo painting that had been sitting in my stash forever, waiting to be used. There is also a quote from her.

My question for my readers (and particularly anyone who has taken any of Connie's FEARLESS painting courses), do you think it is possible to paint completely intuitively AND be conscious of composition, color choice, etc at the same time?

That's what I'm rolling around in my head at the moment.

September Art Journal Pages

2011-09-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

This is what I use as a calender now. For about a year, I've been keeping my calender in my art journal. Since I do not have a job that requires me to keep an agenda, nor do I have a school schedule that requires detailed homework lists, this works for me. I usually don't post them because they are fairly random and not very well laid out. I add bits of collage and dabs of paint here and there while I am painting and need to get extra paint off my brush!

I'm experimenting a little with painting people in my journal. I don't like my paintings of people, faces, portraits and what have you. It is not my strength. However, here is a person, with some song lyrics. Even Blogger does not like my people painting skills- it took four times to upload this image. In my own defense, I did this painting without any kind of reference photo, or mirror or anything. The shadows on her chin and cheek are all wrong...

This is the next page. I keep thinking it needs more. It already has about ten layers of different shades of blue paint, collage, etc. This spread will probably continue to change and evolve more as time passes.

Just for fun, I thought I would include some links to some fun artsy crafty blogs:

The Kathryn Wheel- Kate Crane has apparently been doing these art journal calendar challenges. I've been including an art journal calender in my journal for about a year now. I found this site and decided to upload my current art journal calender.

Sarah Haslam's art journals

Artfull Musings- has some neat little mini shrines

Nathalie Nayer

The Sketchbook Challenge has a post with a link to free instructions on making a dos a dos book.

A Creative Dreamer: this post has photos of how she made a really cute little matchbox house ornament.

Inspirations Scrap- this is a French blog with scrapbook and art journal pages. It has English translations.

Shy Crafty Girl

Marizateria has a lot of art journaling videos on her blog.

Here is something very cool that I discovered: Connie has a free FEARLESS painting class posted on her blog at Dirty Footprints. Here is the badge with the link:

I've been enjoying her videos. It is quite awesome of her to offer the free class with a quick and dirty intro to her painting method, since I could not afford $135 (or around that) for an online workshop. In the next few days, I will post a few of the paintings I've done inspired by her videos, as well as by her class "Abstract Adventure" on 21 Secrets.

One last thing:

This ugly but functional camera stand (for recording art journal videos) was inspired by this how to post at Crafty Moira's blog. I did not have wood, but I had a stash of foam core, glue, and tie dye duct tape. What else do you need? :)

Paint Waste Paper Journal

2011-09-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

This is a journal I made a few days ago. It is 5.5" tall and 4.5 " wide (14cm x 11cm). I covered the covers with paint waste paper. What is paint waste paper?

Paint waste paper is the paper I place underneath my book pages when I am painting in my art journal, so that the paint will not get onto the pages underneath the ones being painted on. I also use it to blot my stencils, handcarved stamps, and smear extra paint from my palette onto. On the covers of this book, you can see where I've stamped extra paint from bubble wrap as well.
This is the inside of the book. I covered the inside cover and flyleaves with pretty purple scrapbook paper. There are 144 pages of white text weight paper inside the book.

You can see instructions on how this journal was bound at this blog entry here.
For now, I am listing it here on etsy. It may end up being my purse notebook for taking notes, writing, and doodling. It is the perfect size to throw into a small purse and bring places.

Above is a photo of paint waste paper which ended up being bound into one of my art journals (I think, anyway. I am pretty sure I put it into the journal "Different Planets" which is my art journal for when I travel to Kentucky to visit family and friends.)

Don't Let People Dampen Your Colors

2011-09-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Transmogrification, acrylic, collage, 11" x 14"

Many of the comments people leave on this blog are about how bright and colorful my work is. I really appreciate that people take the time to comment and let me know! I love vivid, saturated, almost or completely straight from the tube colors. My digital camera is set to "vivid" because it is the only setting that captures colors the way I see them.

I've always been attracted to bright colors. When I was a little kid, my favorite colors were neon pink and electric blue, neither of which would my mother paint my bedroom. :) It was the 80s of course, and neon colors were the style of the day, so I was not out of place in my hot pink t-shirts and lime green shorts. :)

People who do not have formal art training have one major advantage in their artwork: they have never had a professor or a teacher who superimposes their own personal aesthetic onto someone else's art.

Step 3, acrylic, collage- 11" x 14"

When I was in my senior year of college in 2006, I took a 300 level drawing course as my last art class. The teacher made it clear that she did not really like my figure drawings (even though I had received an A and a B in Intro to Drawing I and II.) At the time, I had just discovered the bright pure pigments of Nu-Pastels and had collected quite a large selection of colors. I was sprinkling the colors liberally in my work and beginning my experiments of working on top of college. I showed her my art journals and she decided this was my medium- collage and working in books. She told me to go with that. I could tell she did not like the bright saturated colors that permeated my images, but I decided to follow her advice and my own aesthetic.

However, she never had anything good to say at critiques. Everyone else was doing charcoal, black and white nudes while my work was bright, and particularly political at the time. (This was when I worked at a job where I had to watch news for 9 hours per night- how could my art NOT comment on current events at the time?)

I got a C in the class as my reward for being different from everyone else. Nevermind that a week later, five pieces I had done for the class were accepted at an art gallery. By that time, I'd graduated and the grade was carved into stone. If there was a way to contact her and protest the grade, I did not pursue it.

The worst part of the whole experience is that for four years afterwards, I hardly did any artwork outside of my art journals and handmade books. If you look through my blog entries from August of 2006 through October 2010, there are perhaps 2 paintings posted. I think I may have done up to 4 in those 4 years. Perhaps the professor had an influence over that, perhaps not.

Only Thing That Makes Sense, acrylic, 11" x 14"

My point is that you should not let people who are not into your particular style of art influence you. Do what you love, use colors that make your heart dance, and if anyone at all in your life thinks that you should do something different, well poop for them! The wonderful thing about the internet is that there are so many people. Search a little and you WILL find someone else who agrees with your artistic aesthetic. You don't need to try and be like "insert name of artists whose work is popular and the current style." Do what you love and don't let other people change your color palette.

:) The paintings I've posted are ones that I've finished in the past few months but have not found their way onto my blog yet.

Journal Pages and Books

2011-09-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

I spent almost all day today painting and making books. It was quite enjoyable. I feel better, still not quite well, but definitely functioning. That's always a nice place to be. Tomorrow, I have to work, so I figured I would spend my free day out in the studio.
Above is a journal page I finished yesterday. I always have to remind myself to take care of myself. Almost every journal has at least one spread with reminders of things I need to do everyday. Hopefully, tomorrow I will feel well enough to exercise. That's the number one way I take care of myself and getting sick always makes it hard. Once I go a few days without exercising, it gets more difficult to start up again. I was so busy last weekend that now an entire week has passed by without making it to the gym.
This is a painted and collaged spread I did in my journal today.

Above and below, you will find pictures of two of the three handmade books I made today. These two books are to trade. I will post pictures of the third book later. I am going to put it on Etsy, and I still have to varnish it so that it is completely finished.

The two books shown are softcover, which means they do not get varnished. The hardcover books always get a couple coats of varnish, otherwise the paper around the edges might start to wear after a few months of use. A long time ago, I used to cover the books with contact paper to prevent that, but many coats of varnish looks nicer. The book I posted yesterday on etsy sold which makes me very happy! I love it when my handmade books find a new home and someone to fill them! I keep making books faster than I can fill them myself!
Pretty soon, I might have a book for every person at Art Is You! Maybe not, but I know I will have a ton of ATCs and hopefully at least 10-15 little books to trade.

Taking Care of Myself

2011-09-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

I've been sick with a small cold the past few days. This was a message from my body that I over extended myself through the weekend and it was time to rest. As far as colds go, this one is actually pretty good. You may think I am weird for saying that, but here is why: for one, this is the first time I've been sick over the summer. My immune system has actually been kicking butt for the most part, considering there were several of my friends who fought off colds much worse than this one. Another reason is that this is not a terribly miserable cold. It's just a slight runny nose, incredibly achy muscles, and a bit more exhaustion that normal. It's enough to give me an excuse to take care of myself by laying in bed and reading or surfing the internet all day!

We have to learn to listen to our bodies when they need rest. I had a busy but enjoyable weekend and probably should have taken it easier on Sunday than I did.
Today, I still have to go to my French class that I am taking at the local junior college. I finished my first French paper that I've written since I graduated five years ago. The only writing I've done in between in French is various journal entries. If I have something I don't want everyone and their mother to read, I write it in French! The funny thing is that many of the people around me read French. My aunt is auditing the same French class because she is going to be traveling there in the next year (lucky soul! I want to go!)

I posted this hand made book on Etsy this morning while laying in bed continuing my rest so that my cold does not get worse. (Click on the text to go to the link.) It's really very pretty. I covered it with "paint waste" paper. When I am painting, especially in books, I always have a larger sheet of paper underneath the book pages to catch extra paint. I also rub extra paint off my brush onto this paper and stamp extra ink onto the paper. When it has been used in this way for several weeks, you end up with a beautiful paper like the one covering the front and back of this book.

I also thought I would share some awesome links that I have found while surfing around. Forgive me if I've shared some of these before!

Teesha Moore has art journaling videos on Youtube!!!!!

Free e-book from Cloth Paper Scissors on art journaling.

Making a portfolio from old book covers on Diana Trout's Blog

We all know I love Traci Bunkers' art work! She is doing another 30 days of art month! Yay! I would love to have done it with her, but two months in a row of blog posting everyday is a little much. I will probably do something again for October or November.

Christy Tomlinson has some nice tutorials and excellent artwork.

I've also been watching videos from the 21 Secrets class.

Hopefully tomorrow, I will be feeling well enough to spend time out in the studio. Yesterday, I added a couple layers of paint to my art journal, but nothing really special or that took very long.

On Friday, I have a substitute teaching job again! Hooray for being able to earn a little money!

Soul Bedrock- Painting

2011-09-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

This is the painting I just finished in the past few days, tentatively titled "Soul Bedrock." I am not sure about the title completely, which is why I say tentative. Poisonous Roots is another title that has come to mind. Perhaps I should just include both names with a slash between them! I could also call it "Poisonous Roots in the Bedrock of the Soul." I plan on doing some dialogue with this piece before I settle permanently on the name. It includes a map as a major part of the subterranean layer. Anyone care to take a guess of what?

This 16" x 20" painting includes collage (the map, and hurricanes), lots of texture pastes and acrylic paint. I love texture paste- in this particular painting, there is fiber paste, tar gel, and glass bead gel. There is also possibly some sand texture gel. Texture is a major part of my art. I love things that make one want to reach out and feel it.

Sewn Over Tapes Binding Class

2011-09-03T13:15:00.001-07:00

This morning I taught a 2 hour workshop for the Sonoma County Book Arts Guild. I taught the sewn over tapes binding (you can see some of the books I've made on my blog posts here, here too, and here as well. The photos above are ones that people in the group made today! Aren't they beautiful? It was a lot of fun teaching people how to make this. I have to admit, as a teacher (both of elementary school and of art/books/anything), nothing is more satisfying than when people are really happy with what they have learned to do or their work that they have made! Everyone really liked their books and everyone's book came out really great.

Above is a photo of some of the books opened up so that you can see the front and back side.

Below is the handout I created with how to do this binding. If you can use it to create your own, that's awesome and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Here is the supply list: for the books, you need 20-25 sheets of paper, 8.5" x 5.5", two sheets of heavy weight cardstock that are 4 and 3/8" by 5 and 5/8", two strips of paper, ribbon, or even cloth that are 3/4" by 6", waxed thread, PVA glue. Tools that are needed include: size 12 needle, awl, bone folder, x-acto knife and cutting mat or scissors (whatever it takes for you to get the paper to the needed size) masking tape, brush and container for glue.)

Click on the picture below to view it at a larger size that you can actually read!
This is the hole punch guide that I made when I designed the books. I lost it before the class and then found it as soon as I returned home and was unloading my things in the studio!

When I make hole punch guides (also called a jig), I like to add little notes and details. For example, the thread, whether it is inside or outside the book signature, and the placement of the "tapes" which are the strips of paper that hold the book together.

I have taken the past few days off from posting every day since the August Art Project challenge. By the end of the month, I get burned out from writing blog posts, which you could probably tell because they had less writing, more pictures. It was not really that hard to create something every day, simply because I am pretty much a full time artist at the moment (although unpaid, so it doesn't feel like a job in anyway.) I finished a painting yesterday and I am considering doing what Samantha Kira did in August (check out her blog, her art is awesome)- challenge oneself to finish two paintings, 8"x10" or larger, each week for a month. I will decide by tomorrow, and either way, I will post the painting tomorrow.

August Art Day 30- Collaged Book Covers

2011-08-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today, I decorated some book covers with a penguin collage. I also made videos of this, but I am going to put them into some sort of book binding class. I think I am going to bind these covers with a coptic stitch since the penguin is too close to the left edge of the front cover to make the composition work if I bound it with a spine.

I also made the collage in my altered index below... I need to actually get started on that project. I painted a few more spreads. The idea of making an index of all my past journals is so huge, I am not really sure where to start. What order do I put things in? How many pages do I devote to each topic?

I have a question for those out there with their own blogs. There is a certain comment form that lots of blogger blogs have. It absolutely will not let me comment, no matter which option I choose. Examples of art journal blogs that I really like (you should check them out) that have this comment form include Ananda Ink's blog and Heart Journals (which is having a handmade book giveaway that I would love to enter, but can not because I can't leave a comment!

You should definitely check out the Heart journals giveaway. She is giving away a patchwork journal book. Even if I don't have a chance because google will not let me comment..... The blog is in French though, which is one of the reasons why I love it! I read French quite fluently. If I only I still spoke and wrote it as well as I read it.
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Note: I figured it out. It was a browser setting. I set the firefox browser to accept 3rd party cookies and now I can comment on this particular comment form. Nice!

August Art Day 29- Art Journal Pages

2011-08-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

I finished this art journal page above today. I absolutely love x-ray / MRI / cat scan images. This is the first finished spread in my new journal. Since blue is my favorite color, it did end up kind of blue....

This is a close up of some more paint that I added to a journal spread from a few days ago. (Scroll down and see the 3 page spread in my older journal.)
I added some more paint to this part of the spread as well....
I like photographing pages close up. It creates a different perspective close up and almost makes a new piece of art.

If you don't like how a painting or a journal page is turning out, try looking at a close up detail of it. Maybe you can find something you like such as a color, layer, texture, or pattern in that small area that you can bring out into the rest of the piece.
I started the journal page spread above today. It is nowhere near finished. I thought I would leave a bit of my workspace on the sides instead of cropping it all out. You can see a bunch of Sharpies and pens, as well as my tub of neocolor II crayons (which I did not use on the above pages; that's all acrylic.)

August Art Day 28-Uhhh.. Not Really an art day but I did take pictures!

2011-08-28T21:02:00.000-07:00

So I didn't really do any art today... But I did get this adorable photo of a frog! This means you have to forgive me!
One must feed the muse and fill the well somehow....

I went for a very long hike with a Meetup group called the Big Monthly Hike. We went to Armstrong woods down a trail that I had never really thought of taking before.

It had gorgeous views and a long, steep, and painfully sunny uphill grade for the last hour and a half of the trip. My feet are decorated with all kinds of psychedelic and colorful blister patterns. My knee is quite scraped up because I can not go on a hike over five miles without scraping or bruising something seriously. Now that I am home, I can only find one of my ice packs.

I will post two artistic things tomorrow to make up for this horrible but completely understandable transgression on my part. :)

Now it is time to zone out on netflix with my dear friend, the blue ice pack.

August Art Day 27- Art Journaling with Masking Tape

2011-08-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

I started by covering the entire page with masking tape from spray painting projects. After removing the tape that held down the paper being spray painted, I put it on the journal page! The striped tape around the edge is washi tape. I then added green and yellow paint, a photo of a painting (attached with masking tape of course) and paint writing.
This is the other side of the spread which has a coffee cup from an advertisement for something. I wrote that I actually really like having homework to do again. I know, I'm weird. Actually, I prefer eccentric. I wish I were taking more classes, so I had even more homework to keep me busy. I absolutely must look into getting my master's degree. I just can't decide what major. I want something that will get me a job (unlike my BA and teaching credential) because I already have a retarded amount of outstanding student loans. If I am going to obtain more loans, then it better be a degree for a field that is in demand! Any suggestions?

August Art Day 26- Art Journal Pages

2011-08-26T11:54:00.001-07:00

It's getting to the point in this "30 days of blogging Art Project" where I am feeling fairly done with it and not sure what to say or write. It has been kind of a blah day, so I simply added collage and paint to these journal spreads that were already started. They are some of the last few that I have to finish up so I can move on to my next art journal. :)

The top picture is a spread writing about some of the ideas I have for my next journal. The bottom spread has a 3rd page fold out taped to it and has pictures of things that make me happy.

August Art Day 25- Handcarved Stamps

2011-08-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

Today I made six handcarved stamps from erasers. They are all very small, the largest is about 3/4 inch by 2 inches. My favorite one is my signature (close to it, at least).

To carve a signature stamp, I signed my name using willow charcoal on a piece of paper. Then I pressed the eraser into it, which picked up the charcoal dust. To keep it from smearing while I carved the stamp, I coated the stamp with a spray fixative. Then I proceeded to cut out around the writing with my speedball carver. My plan is to use this stamp to "sign" paintings and artwork with in the future.

August Art Day 24- My Next Art Journal: Balance

2011-08-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

My next art journal is finished. It is a coptic stitch journal. Each signature is covered with sewn together patchwork paper made from scrapbook paper, scraps, painted paper, envelopes, etc. The book is about 9 inches by 9 and 1/4 inches.

The reason the back is orientated sideways is because I realized after finishing the collages that one side was approximately 1/4 of an inch longer than the other and if I had bound it together with the butterflies right side up, the covers would look off. I decided it would be best just to turn the back sideways and bind it that way.
On the front, there is a photocopy of a tarot card collage that I made a few years ago called Balance. I finished all but one of the cards in the major arcana. I really need to finish that last card. That is a project I've had sitting around for almost ten years now.
I've never worked in a square format art journal before. After binding it tiogether, I realized it has the potential to become kind of scrap-book-y due to the size and shape. I certainly hope that does not happen. No offense to the scrapbookers of the world, your stuff is great, but that is not the direction that I want to take my art journaling in. Even though most of my friends think that this is scrapbooking and scrapbooking is what I do! :)
Anyway, here is my latest art journal page as well. I've been taking my time finishing up the last book. Every single page has paint or at least something on it, but there are a few spreads I might keep coming back to until I feel they are done. 3 or 4 pages are not anywhere near what I could consider finished.

I still might start my new art journal pretty soon. I'm excited, since it is all shiny, new, coated in varnish, and has a new element which I have not worked on before: sewn paper.

I have a question for my readers today. Do you title your art journals, and if so, when? Do you title them before you start, during the use of the journal, or after you finish?

I find that I usually title mine before I start based on the cover design and that the contents (and my life at times) tend to fit the title.

August Art Day 23- Collage

2011-08-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

This is a 9" x 12" collage completed this morning. Eventually, it will probably be made into a book cover. I just have to collage a matching back cover for it, find paper, and then bind it together. I also added more coats of varnish to work that I've posted in the past few days. I don't think it counts however if I just repost the same pictures over and over and say "hey, I spent 1 hour putting an extra coat of varnish on all these things today!" :)

Today was busy and productive. I took care of some random errands, finished my French homework (how bizarre to have homework again!), and went to Zumba class. On top of all that, I made an absolutely delicious mushroom salad. Who would have thought five years ago that I would move out to California and end up becoming a decent cook?

August Art Day 22

2011-08-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

I will be the first to confess, I did not do a huge amount of art today. I glued two postcards down to a large piece of watercolor paper with black gesso. This is the first layer in a new piece of art. I have no idea where it will go, but I am starting with the idea of the urban neon city at night. We will see where that takes me emotionally, texturally, and visually.

I also coated several paintings in gloss medium varnish, including the one below. I don't think I have shared it yet on my blog.
This painting is called "When the Storm Ends." It is about the fear and apprehension we all hold for change, even change for the better. What if "the storm ends," some sort of difficult struggle is finished, an uncomfortable era of life over; do we know what is next? Will the same people be there to love and support us? This is what this painting is about for me. Being as it is fairy abstract, you are free to make your own interpretations from the colors, textures, and words. I would love to hear them!

I am taking a French class at the local junior college for fun this semester. I have a BA in French from five years ago and I am no longer comfortable in conversation. This is sad and must be remedied. Je vais suivre ce cours et ameliorer mon niveau de francais. Il faut chercher l'information sur comment on tape des accents sur l'ordinateur.... Today was the first class. It seems like it will have a lot of homework, but that will be fun. I miss having homework. I really really miss having a full time job as a teacher and having teacher "home" work. However, the universe has deemed it fit that I substitute for yet another school year. This French class is in the afternoon, so in theory, this will work out.

Attempting to Create a Blog Badge....

2011-08-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

I did it! I have created a blog badge! Wah ha! I am an internet programmer! No just kidding, and I am kind of tired after staring at the computer and playing with photoshop for the past few hours.

August Art Day 21- Collaging Book Covers

2011-08-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

I spent today collaging the covers for my next art journal. I wanted to go with a blue theme originally, but they spoke for themselves and turned out to have a green color scheme. The Balance card is a photocopy of a collage tarot card I did a few years ago.
This is the back of the book. I plan on coptic stitch binding it together and using sewn in manila envelopes to add some room to it. Either way, no matter what I do, when this journal is finished, it will be splaying open... :)

I am playing around with the idea of making a whole bunch of videos on how to make books like this, writing up some directions and making them into PDFs and then burning them onto a DVD to sell as a "class." I would include directions on how to make the journal and I'm making now and also how I make my regular hardbound and closed spine journals. (Basically, learn 2 different bindings.)

Would anybody be interested in something like that? What would it be worth? Other artists sell classes like that for $50 or $60, but I was thinking somewhere around $20 to start out and then maybe offer a discount to the first five people who order if they give me constructive criticism.

Would you be willing to pay $20 for a class on how to bind the collage journals?

August Art Day 20-Collage Stuff

2011-08-20T10:47:00.001-07:00

The first thing I did when I woke up this morning (after making my coffee, and taking a shower of course) was go out into the studio and collage the random sea detritus onto the front of the Ocean book. This has the potential to be a very nifty artist book, a tribute to the sea and its fairies. :) It is obviously not finished yet. I am not sure why I glued all the stuff to the back cover, but we do strange things when we have not had all of our coffee.)

I would like to say hello and thank you to my new followers who have recently joined my blog! Remember, as I said back in June, when my follower list reaches 100, I will give away another handmade book!
(photos are of the patchwork collage signature covers I have been sewing together for my next art journal.)

My current art journal is almost done! This is the point where I slow down my work in it, like drawing out a long and somewhat aching goodbye. This is when I start thinking about what book I want to use next. There are lots of options for me to choose from (check out my handmade books in my Etsy store!) I could finish the art journal that I took to Louisville, which I named Different Planets, partly due to the design on the cover and partly due to the fact that California and Kentucky might as well be on different planets. I am also leaning towards this book which I made two years ago:

It has a hardcover and spine, which means it does not lay exactly flat. However, it has a lot of room in the spine for page expansion, meaning it won't necessarily splay open from the tons of layering, envelopes, pockets, collage, and paint that my art journals must endure.

No, I think I am going to make a new one for this upcoming fall.

Here is a link to a fun tutorial on making magazine canvases from Alma Stoller. I plan on experimenting with this technique to make art journal pages to bind into my books.

My goal at the moment: figure out how to bind a Coptic Stitched Book with room in the spine for the inevitable splaying out that always happens with my books. I am currently experimenting with sewn 9" x 12" envelopes as a signature itself.

August Art Day 19- Plein Air Painting

2011-08-19T18:29:00.001-07:00

I wanted to visit nature this afternoon, but I did not feel like attempting a long hike, being as I feel very tired and sore due to the busy-ness of past couple days. I did not want to have to worry about making something when I got home, tired and not in the mood, so I brought out the ocean booklet that I made on Day 4 in August (linked here.)
I guess I will have to take this book and my pens, pencils, paints, etc with me each time I go to the beach until this book is finished. Painting is trickier than drawing with watercolor pencils, but oh so much more satisfying. I also had the joy of working with no paper towels- I left them in the car and did not want to trek up the giant hill to get them.
Here is a pile of interesting things that I collected to make a small beach mandala. I also collected some seaweed and random things to take home and make a collage and decorate the Ocean Book. Eventually, it may be a full on work of art itself. Who knows?

I like my colors better than the ones in real life!

August Art Day 18-Canvas Book

2011-08-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

I confess: I've had this painted piece of canvas cloth sitting around for months, waiting for me to sew it into a book. The pages had been trimmed to size weeks ago.
I did not know what kind of binding to use. Finally, I just kind of jury rigged one together. I sewed the text block together first.
After sewing the text block together, I stitched it to the canvas cover. You can see the stitches on the spine.
The nice thing about this book is that it lays fairly flat. It is 10 1/4 inches by 10 inches. The binding was really tricky but I like the way it came out. I have listed it for sale on Etsy at this link here.

August Art Day 17- Art Journal Pages

2011-08-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Today was a very busy day, spent running errands and generally taking care of daily detritus that must be dealt with. I also went to the Wednesday night market with a friend which was quite enjoyable. I did not have a huge amount of time to spend on art. To remedy this, I spent about a half an hour this morning, gluing collage items to an already painted spread. It worked out quite well. I added a tiny bit of paint as well. Tonight I will probably write on this page spread.

August Art Day 16-Paint Paper

2011-08-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today I made a bunch of ATCs (Artist Trading Cards.) There is a video below that shows how I obtained the pattern on the paper. Next, I glued pictures of my paintings to the cards. I use them as business cards, so most of the time, it's not always a trade. I've made a huge pile to take to the upcoming Art Is You retreat.

Hope you enjoy the video!

August Art Day 15-Nebula Painting

2011-08-15T20:11:00.001-07:00

This is a painting I finished today. By finished, I mean: added a coat of varnish. I actually completed the painting itself a few days ago. I call it Darkness Nebula. It has a lot of interference and iridescent colors but you can not see it in the photo, no matter how much I adjust the lighting.

I went down to see friends in Berkeley today and I am exhausted. Here is a picture of Vincent being silly. Good night....

August Art Day 14-How to Make a Postcard Book of Secrets

2011-08-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

This morning I made this video on how to bind together a book using nothing but postcards and tape! It also makes a lovely way to hide writing. You can make this little book and then hide it in an envelope in an art journal or make it as a way to show off postcards from a trip, etc.

I have decided that I am going to turn the altered book (the one with the flowers and light blue painted cover) into an index of ALL my journals. The book is an encyclopedia set index, so it seems appropriate. I have over 28 journals and I have made it a project to go through and read them all. I think it would be fun to have a reference book for this enormous ouvre so that if I wanted to find journal entries on a specific topic, I could look up the volume # and date (I do not number the pages of my journals, but they are always dated.)

Here are some topics I've come up with so far: (I'd love more suggestions)

* Lessons learned
* excellent art pages
* friends
* boyfriends
* dreams
* poetry
* songs
* spiritual revelations
* ranting about politics/ "current" events
* timeline and synopsis of each journal

If you have any more suggestions, please comment because I'd love to have some input!

Here is a finished painting. I have titled it "Waiting on the Pain to Dry." It is 16" x 21" and is mixed media on watercolor paper. I have to figure out how to frame it.

August Art Day 13-Art Journaling and a Secret Postcard Book

2011-08-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

This morning I put together this little postcard book. Yesterday, I wrote a journal entry on the back of 8 spray paint art postcards. I laid them out vertically, one right after the other and put a strip of decorative tape down each side. I folded them accordion style and then put tape on the spine. Now it is very difficult to read what is on the other side of the decorated cards! I've started adding a poem to the pages of this little book along with collage and such.

I need to make a video of how to do this. I have several ideas for art tutorial videos I want to make, but finding the motivation to do so has been lacking.

This is a loose leaf journal page that I wrote an entry on. It's actually the back of the loose leaf page from a few days ago. It goes in the journal envelope as well. This is one of the reasons I love working in a 9" x 12" journal. It may be a pain to port around, but you can fit so much stuff into it and onto the pages!
I added the collage to this page in my journal this morning.
This entry is from Thursday. I thought I would share it today. The bottom layer of the page is payne's gray and brown paint scraped with a credit card. I added bits of masking tape from another project around the border. Next, I painted blue paint around the tape and added the penguins and a box as a collage element. I used light blue violet paint to make a "text area" and spray painted mandalas. I absolutely love my mandala stencils!

August Art Day 12

2011-08-12T18:04:00.001-07:00

This is the cover of one of the gesso filled encyclopedia volumes. I've been meaning to use one of them as a journal at some point. This will be the next one to fill once the current book is finished.
I coated the spine with masking tape first, then glued down some pressed flowers. The pressed flowers were coated with a thick layer of gel medium. The rest of the book cover was coated in clear natural sand texture gel. I embedded the shells and the hand pendant at the top in the sand gel. After that was dry, I painted the cover and the spine. Perhaps tomorrow I will decorate the back cover.
There was no phone call about the job I interviewed for, so I am quite sure I did not get the position. I am really kicking myself for getting my hopes up. I should have known better and stuck to realism, which works for me. That's all I have to say about that disappointment.

August Art Day 11- Loose leaf journal pages and art cards

2011-08-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

This is a journal page that I did on one of my "paint waste" papers. The reason why it is not in the journal is because A. I did not really have a place to fit the typed text aesthetically and B. the journal had fiber paste drying in it, which meant that I could not turn the page for several hours.

The text was typed on the computer, printed in a funky font, cut in strips and then glued to the painted piece of paper. I plan on adding more to the other side of the paper which also has paint waste (albeit, not as much.) Since it was originally a sheet of computer paper, it will fit nicely into one of the 9" x 12" envelopes in the journal.
In case you are curious as to what my work table looks like, here it is. There are some artist trading cards that are in the beginning stages of development. I work in a perpetual state of creative chaos. Sometimes, I clean off and organize my table, but not too often. I did that a few days ago, and look at what the table has become! However, when I am done painting, I always sort the paint and put it back into its appropriate box. Everything else stays for the most part. :)

August Art Day 10-Art Journaling

2011-08-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

I finished up these pages in my art journal today. I also worked on my paintings (I have four currently in various stages of non-completion.) However, they are feeling shy and they refuse to come out for the camera until they are, at the very least, closer to completion.
I am still hoping and praying that I am hired for the position I interviewed for. Everyone I have talked to says that I will get the job because I am perfect for it. Perhaps they are picking up on some sort of vibe from the universe? Logically, I know that is wishful thinking and the people who have told me that are somewhat biased and they know me... However, I am positive, hopeful, and enthusiastic. I should find out tomorrow or Friday.

August Art Day 9

2011-08-09T21:00:00.001-07:00

Alright, here goes.... This is a painting that is nowhere near finished! However, I am posting a picture of it because working on it was the only thing I did (in regards to making stuff/art) today. I glued down some rice paper to the bottom right hand corner and added a bunch of blue and magenta drips. Eeek! I'm embarrassed! It is like sending the painting to the grocery store wearing only its bathrobe and hair curlers! However, if I did not post it, then there would be nothing and my goal for posting an art project every day in August would not be met.
The truth is that I had an interview for a teaching position this afternoon. Before the interview, I was way too nervous to do anything creative at all (save for blasting some music and attempting to dance away the tension :). After the interview, I treated myself to some ice cream and then worked on this painting. Then I went to zumba, worked on the painting, and went for a long walk to burn off the nervous tension that is finally leaving my body.

I think the interview went well. However, if I get the job (please pray to whatever higher power you believe in that I get this job), I will have to call off the August Art Posting. School starts a week from today and they said they will not be able to notify the successful candidate until Friday. You can only imagine the prep work that will have to be done... Oh my goodness, I pray I get this job! I don't care if I have to work 23 hour days for the next two weeks! I'll do it!

August Art Day 8

2011-08-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

I made another class sample book. I want to make enough of them that I know the structure inside and out and how to explain the answers to any questions that come up.
Today has been very busy. I ran errands all morning and then spent the afternoon taking my grandma to see a movie. We went to see Mr. Popper's Penguins which was nothing at all like the book, save for the fact that there was a character named Mr. Popper and that he and his family came into contact with some penguins. It was a fun movie though. I love penguins. They are my third favorite animal (below cats and ferrets.)

It is ironic but it would probably be easier to get a permit to own a penguin than a ferret in the state of California.

August Art Day 7- Book plus Art Journal Stuff

2011-08-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

This is a model for the handmade book I will be teaching the first Saturday in September. The covers are scrapbook paper and the pages are cream colored computer paper.
I sewed the signatures to ribbons and then attached them to the covers. I am going to write up a handout for how to make this book. After I teach the class, I will try to remember to post it to my blog. :)
Above, we have some of the journal pages I've been working on over the past few days. I hardly ever finish pages all in one day. I paint several pages, add collage to several pages the next day, and then eventually come back and write on the pages.
The above page was an experiment on journaling on top of black gesso. There is a self portrait I took in a mirror. Whenever I come across an interesting mirror with graffiti, I like to take a photo of myself in it. I used a lot of washi tape. The writing was done with gelly roll pens and souffle pens. Some of the collage bits were left over pieces of the painted paper from yesterday's book. There is a secret flap as well that covers up part of the writing.

August Art Day 6- Book Art

2011-08-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

This morning was the Sonoma County Book Arts Guild meeting. They meet on the first Saturday of the month. One of the members taught us how to make these two folded cards.

I will be teaching the September workshop for the group. I am going to teach how to do the "sewn over tapes" binding. I made this book this evening. We will be making a smaller book than the this one, with only two tapes instead of three. I believe it is best to keep it simple, however, I will be providing examples and information on how to make more advanced versions.
I covered the book board with paint paper. The paint paper is what is underneath the journal pages and paintings when I paint. I clean my brush on it, I stamp extra ink from the stamps onto it. Quite often, it turns out looking really awesome and visually fascinating.
Here is a view of the top and side of the binding.
This is the front cover. The paper inside is leftover text weight computer paper from another project. I am probably going to list this book on Etsy after the September class. It could also end up as a gift for someone.

August Art Day 5- Painting a Purse

2011-08-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

The art project for day 5 was to decorate the purse I bought yesterday at the new Goodwill thrift store near my house. It almost looks tie dye now, which is not exactly what I was going for. I used Liquitex acrylic inks mixed with water at first. I decided that even if they were not mixed with water, the color was too dull (once it soaked into the fabric and started to dry). So I mixed some of my Golden acrylic paints with the fluid extension medium (I think it's GAC-500.) The colors stayed much brighter as the paint began to dry.
I like the purse much more than before. Before I painted it, it was a dull boring khaki brown. It was the kind of purse that looked like it would show a lot of dirt. However, it is the right size and style, and most importantly, it has zippers. It was also only five dollars.

Even though "fabric" paint was not used on this project, it worked fine. Since it is a purse and will not be laundered often, I am not concerned with the color washing out. Acrylic paint is so hard to remove from clothing once it is dry, I would not have a problem painting a t-shirt or jeans with acrylic paint. The most important thing I would consider is how the paint would change the texture of the fabric (would it make it stiffer or not?).

I went on a hike with a friend today and discovered something interesting: there are rocks you can draw with. I did not have a sketchbook per se, but I did have this small notebook and I did a very rough sketch of the top of the waterfall with the rock you see on the left page. It made me think about how I need to make a nature journal/artist book and use a bunch of natural materials in it.

I also worked on some paintings today, but I am not sharing those on my blog right now. I do not like to share unfinished paintings with anyone at all. It would be like showing a picture of a friend who is only half dressed. Do you share paintings in progress on your blog or to your friends and family? Or do you keep them a secret until they feel, at the very least, "mostly finished?"

August Art Day 4- Color Book

2011-08-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

Today's project was a very long stab bound book. This book is 2.5 inches by 12 inches. I had a bunch of strips of gessoed paper that I did not want to waste. I cut two covers to match the paper, coated the covers in old paint chips that have been peeled off of art palettes and then bound the book together.
My plan is to use this book to record color mixes. I might start by painting each page with different tints of my favorite colors. You simply divide the strip (or in this case, the page) into about 9 to 10 sections. Start at one end with the pure color, straight from the tube. Add a tiny amount of white, just enough to shift the color. Paint the next section. Then add a tiny bit more white, and paint the next section and so on. I did this exercise a long time ago when I took art in college, but the strips I made have long since disappeared. I also used an extremely different color palette.
Photographing this book was quite tricky! I might make more. I have some other strips of gessoed paper that I want to turn into small books! I can not stand to waste things, especially paper. This is why I have so much of it.

This is the pamphlet stitch book I made yesterday and took with me to the beach.
This is a quick sketch that I drew of a driftwood structure that someone had built on the beach. As you can see, the cover of the book is a manila envelope that I coated in gesso, and then folded in half. The papers are all samples from various watercolor paper companies, including Canson and arches.

How do you use up leftover paper from other projects?

August Art Day 3

2011-08-03T20:35:00.001-07:00

I finished this page in my art journal today. I took the photo before I added more writing. The drawing of the girl is actually a photograph of a drawing I did in a figure drawing class in college. The lyrics are from my favorite Arcade Fire song. The awesome root pattern is from a stencil.

I also sewed together a pamphlet stitched book from a manila envelope and drawing paper samples. It is definitely not finished and I don't have time to take a photo and upload it. I will include it in another post, plus I'd like to add more to it. I went to the beach today and did a drawing in it, so I am thinking of making it into an ocean/ beach themed artist's book.

August Art Day 2- Patchwork Envelope Book and Journal Pages

2011-08-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

I whipped up this little patchwork paper envelope book in about an hour and a half this morning. I used 3 pieces of cardstock weight scrap book paper, five envelopes and my sewing machine.
First I folded the accordion from two long pieces of scrapbook paper and sewed the five envelopes to each of the inside pleats. Then I started designing the covers and sewing them together. I cut them to the correct size after I sewed the paper together.
I sewed the covers to the accordion with the envelopes. Since I used two pieces for the accordions (so that both the inside and outside would have a design. This was not double sided scrapbook paper,) I slipped the cover inside the end of the accordion and stitched.

To finish the book, I glued a piece of scrapbook paper to the insides of the covers so that the back would not show. It will also help hold the stitched paper together well.

This is a journal page from earlier in the week, before I added writing to it. The trust sticker was from my grandmother's stash of National Organization for Women stuff. The French paper came from an ephemera swap (I think; I own a bunch of French books, but I can't make myself cut them up because I can read them...) The tree was a photo I took at Otter Creek.

August Art Projects....Day 1

2011-08-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

I have decided that for August, I am going to post something I made everyday. This will be kind of like the "Art Journal June" only I am not going to limit myself to what I am creating.

Today, I am going to show off the patchwork paper journal I made over the past two days. I finished it this morning.

I thought about several themes- perhaps an 8" x 10" painting everyday (can't afford 31 pieces of canvas board), or mail art (don't have 31 people to mail it to.) I've decided to leave it open to anything.

I do want to focus on making things to trade at the Art Is You retreat coming up... That's right! I am able to go to an art retreat this year! The sole reason I am able to afford it is that it happening in Petaluma, only a half hour drive from home (meaning I don't have to afford accommodation on top of the outrageous class prices!!!)

I am only taking two days worth of classes and they are over $300!!! The only reason I can pay is that I started a payment plan back in February. I made my last payment last week and I am officially down to NOTHING. No unemployment money is coming in anymore (because we substitute teachers make such a huge amount of money during the school year, they decided we do not deserve unemployment money over the summer anymore.) Whatever things I make will be made with the supplies I have on hand, which I am not really lacking.
I made this journal from the covers of an old book that I bought at a thrift store and sewn scrapbook and scrap paper. I'm pretty sure some people call the "Remains of Day" Journals. I think there is a class out there with that title from Mary Ann Moss (awesome blog by the way, check it out here.) I also saw a really neat one by Caatje on this blog, linked here. Those pages are what inspired this project.

I call mine a patchwork paper journal because that is what it is. It doesn't really have anything to do with "remains of the day" and I also did not take a class with that name. I figure since I made it and figured out how to make it myself, I can call it what I like. However, I did list who inspired me to do it, which is the right thing to do.

I used a lot of scrap paper, painted paper, stuff I've received in ephemera swaps, scrapbook paper, etc. The book has 40 pages, 23 of which are the "colorful" side of the patchwork paper.
This is the "non colorful" page example.

I am not sure what I will do with this book. I think that once I get some better photos taken of the cover, I will list it on Etsy. Whenever it does not sell, and whenever I am ready to work in an art journal unlike anything I've ever tried before, I will use it for myself.

It was a lot of fun to make but I think my cheap sewing machine was very unhappy. After sewing together ten sheets of paper, it started to create a burning rubber sort of smell....

Does anyone know how long my sewing machine has left to live? I have a strong and disturbing feeling that the smell is the motor burning out (I've heard that is a risk of cheap machines, and considering my sewing machine was only $60, and from Big Lots at that....)

No More Free Artfire.....

2011-08-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

Artfire is doing away with the basic account, meaning I will not be able to list handmade books etc. for free. I've only sold three or four things on artfire anyway. There is no way on earth I am going to pay $10 a month to continue the shop and only sell $10 worth of stuff per year. After August 15th, I assume my shop will just disappear. I am currently copying and pasting the listings to my etsy shop. However, since Etsy charges for each listing and takes a little bit off each sale, I usually posted things for a few dollars cheaper on Artfire... I still have all my handmade books, blank gesso books, handmade boxes, etc. posted on artfire at this link. I am not sure what will happen after the 15th, but I am going to assume the shop will be deleted since I have no plans of upgrading to a pro account.

The photos are of the tons of handmade books I've been making. Seriously, buy some! I'm running out of room on my shelves!!! :)

C'est la vie....

2011-07-31T09:46:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting week. When I say interesting, I do not necessarily mean in the positive sense of the word but in the "I will say this is interesting because that is kinder than saying it is awful in a bizarre sort of way."

I've basically spent the week making art in my studio, reading, and watching Harry Potter movies. I'm bored and starved for company. I may as well be honest here: my closest friend in Sonoma County has been escorted back to rehab for another 90 day getaway. He lasted less than two weeks traversing the outside world before breaking down and returning to the fog of intoxication. For so long, I had a front row seat to his alcoholic self destruction. It's a positive thing that he is getting help.

I don't feel guilty writing about this on my blog for several reasons. The first is that he never reads my blog, doesn't care about it or my art, art journals, etc (that bothers me intensely, but I won't go into that now.) I am not going to post this person's name, although if you know me well, it's probably a reasonable assumption on my part to believe your first guess will be correct. Also, if you know me well, I've probably already told you. The second reason is that this is a major issue in my life. I tend to be pretty candid and honest (as long as it won't hurt someone.) For almost four years, I tried to hide the fact that he was an alcoholic and an addict. Perhaps I felt guilty for associating with someone like that, as if I were those things by association. I prefer to be honest and not have to pretend that it's not going on .

I just finished reading The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood. It is about 3 friends (one of them named Charis!) who were all hurt by one woman, named Zenia. This woman somehow managed to steal money and a man from each of the three friends. The book begins with the 3 friends attending her funeral, and then soon discovering she is actually alive. The past and present are woven together, explaining the frayed threads and burnt ends that Zenia left in her wake. I think every woman has known someone like Zenia- the kind of woman that men simply fall head over heels for, although she only uses them for whatever she feels she needs at the moment. This was a very well written book, and I don't just feel that way because the characters are well named!
This is what the top journal page and the page from yesterday looked like before I started piling on layers. The very basic bottom layers of a journal spread... I usually paint the page and then glue down a bottom layer of collage. Next comes more paint, collage, stamps, etc.

What do you do the bottom layers of your pages or paintings?

Another Page...

2011-07-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

Removing Acrylic Paint from Clothing

2011-07-27T11:46:00.001-07:00

is absolutely next to impossible...

However, if you catch it immediately (for example, you are in your studio, wearing one of your favorite skirts, and the inspiration to spatter paint strikes you... and immediately after, you look down and say CRAP!) you have a chance.

Within minutes (seconds preferably) of the paint being splattered on your clothing, RUN to the bathroom, take it off and start soaking it in the sink. Grab whatever stain remover you have on hand (I used Shout Laundry treatment.) Spray the stain remover generously on the paint spot. Take a washcloth and rub it in. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes and then scrub. It takes A LOT of hard and painful scrubbing to remove the tiniest dot of phthalo green paint. Repeat this process over and over until the hard and painful scrubbing removes the spot.

My arms still ache from removing the spatters of phthalo green all over my skirt. This experience has inspired me to finally start working on an art apron. I started painting the fabric after about an hour of scrubbing out tiny spatters of paint from my skirt. I removed almost all of them, but there are a few tiny spots that one might see if they look hard enough. Luckily, it is a batik dyed skirt, so I don't think anyone will notice the spots that are left.

Later note: After washing it, absolutely none of the acrylic spatters are left! Woo hoo!

Painted Pages and Canvas Experiments

2011-07-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

It is wonderful to be back amongst the paints, stamps, tapes, papers, glues, and mediums in my studio. These two art journal pages were finished over the past week. The one above has photos from my trip, paint, handcarved stamps, Japanese tapes, stencils, and doodles.
This page was painted about a month ago during the frenzy to prepare and paint as many backgrounds as possible. The stencils used are from Crafter's Workshop. The mandala stencils are pretty awesome. The light blue on the left is part of an envelope from China that was glued between two pages.

Did you know that you can use fiber paste on journal pages? It adds a lovely piece of texture to the pages. This spread has some on the top right border and the far right border. It is difficult to see in the picture, but still nifty. There is a spread I am currently working on where fiber paste plays a more prominent role.

Normally, I do not paint landscapes, but this painting sort of happened accidentally. I was throwing around mediums on a blank canvas board, basically using a little bit of every kind that I have (glass bead gel, tar gel, fiber paste, molding paste, course molding paste, natural sand gel, and probably a few others.) Once I started adding color, this is what came out. Most of the time, there are little to no preconceived ideas about what a painting will look like when finished. This painting took me by surprise though, as I was not expecting a landscape. I suppose I should have, considering the long 10" x 20" size of the canvas.
This was an abstract painting that began as an experiment into how alcohol inks would react to canvas. There is also some colored tar gel thrown around in Jackson Pollack type drips just for good measure.

This is one of the most wonderful things about painting. The visual surprises sometimes jump out from around the corner and present you with a visual box of chocolate. If you work intuitively, you never know what might come out. Not all unexpected paintings will be successful. However, they have their place too, as it is important to get the bad paintings out of the way so that the good ones have room to grow, expand, and be born.

So there you have my airy fairy art thoughts for the day! :) In other news, I've decided to expand my job search to positions other than teacher. The universe has smiled upon this idea, because I have an interview for a secretary position tomorrow.

My question/prompt for you to think about is: when was the last time a piece of art that you were working on took by surprise and turned into something completely unexpected?

Time to Make Time For Myself

2011-07-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

I'm back home and happy to be able to relax at long last! Yes, I have a lot of things to do and errands to run but I can do them on my own time table. I've been waking up at 7, spending time painting out in the studio (oh, joy, to be home among my paints...) going to the gym, and leisurely running errands. The weather is hot but perfectly hot, in that dry way that does not sap every last bit of coherent thought and ounce of will from your pores.

Above is a photo of the art journal spread I finished this morning. I had painted most of it before I left for Louisville. The book is almost finished, being as every single spread is painted. I will just be adding collage, writing, and more layers of paint until each page is "finished."

This is my last journal spread in the journal I took to Kentucky. The stencil background was painted before I left. I added the collage and the writing while on the plane and the stamping at the top this morning.

I received an e-mail yesterday with information on shipping the Supernova Changes art journal to Denver for a display on visual journals at the Abecedarian Gallery. I found a link to the application back in June through an e-mail sent to one of my yahoo groups. I'm pretty stoked since I have not had any work displayed in a gallery for five years now (granted, I only started trying again in the past 3 months.)

Here is a slide show video I posted on you tube a long time ago....

Last Day in Town

2011-07-16T08:03:00.002-07:00

Today is my last day in Louisville. I leave tomorrow to go back to California. I always have incredibly mixed feelings when I am getting ready to leave and today is no exception.

This journal page is from last week. I have not had very much time to write, draw, or paint at all. Whenever I am here, I feel ripped in four different directions. My family pulls one leg, and each of my three best friends has a hold of my other appendages. I can't please everyone. While here, I have to fit an entire year's worth of socializing, family time, going out, and having fun with friends into three weeks. I enjoy seeing them and absolutely love spending time with them but this leaves me no time to recharge. I am most certainly an introvert by nature. That does not mean I don't enjoy being with people, but it means that I absolutely require time by myself to settle my mind and regain my energy. I don't get that while here and it drives me a little crazy. I am so tired and I know that the most amount of sleep I can look forward to tonight is four hours. Then I catch a plane at six am.

Louisville KY is a black hole that pulls you back, sucks you in, and everyone who lives here knows it. You can escape for a certain amount of time, even five years, but the dark gravity always draws you back...

How to Feel Like You're in a 3rd World Country

2011-07-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

Apparently for me, all it takes is a water main break and a boil water advisory that might last for several weeks (i.e. the rest of my stay in Louisville.)

I drink a TON of water, so it is really difficult not being able to drink tap water. Last night I panicked and went out at midnight to the gas station to buy 2 one liter bottles. I only have half of one left (granted some of it went to brushing teeth and preparing coffee this morning.)

This brings me back to my trip to Shanghai where the water is smelly poison. On the bright side, even though where I am staying is about 3 blocks from a 4 foot water main break, we have not seen any brown water coming through the faucet like some of our friends have.

At least the water is not smelly like the water in Shanghai. It made you and your clothes smell like a dead dog. They also did not sell large water bottles in the convenience stores, so every evening I would go out and by 6 or 7 twenty ounce bottles of water.

I haven't had much time to work in my art journal. The page above is from July 7th and 8th. It was painted purple before I left. I added collage, doodling, and writing. I also added some watercolor crayons around the self portrait. Whenever I see an interesting mirror with graffiti, I have a strong urge to take my picture in it. This particular photo was taken in the bathroom at the Nachbar.

21 Secrets-Spill The Beans

2011-07-08T14:11:00.001-07:00

Connie of 21 Secrets sent out an e-mail challenge to the people taking the 21 Secrets class to "Spill the Beans" and write about what we love about art journaling, our favorite art journalers and techniques.

The main thing I love about art journaling is that it is a creative way to record my life and spill out my emotions onto paper. It offers so many more options than plain regular writing does. I've always written in depth journals for as long as I can remember. Art journaling adds the visual interest and it also offers a way to hide private things from prying eyes (hi mom!). It also functions as a sketchbook and place to experiment and practice new techniques.

My favorite art journalers include Traci Bunkers, Juliana Coles, and Daisy Yellow. They all use bright colors and lots of layers and imagery that I am drawn to.
My favorite technique is making "Personal Nebulas" using the alcohol resist at the moment. It would be awesome to teach a 21 secrets class on how to do this. At home in my studio I have 3 nebula paintings waiting to be finished when I get back.

I also love binding my own books. I'm really enjoying working in the 8" x 10" size of my current journal. I will probably bind more books in that size to work in. Using canvas board for the covers also gave me so many options for decorating the covers! I can use texture mediums, paint, collage, etc. It's really fun to make journals, especially since you can bind all kinds of paper into one book.

Ananda Ink took my to-do list prompt from yesterday and made a page with it. I thought I would post the link here. I love seeing what other people do!

What is your personal favorite technique?

Art Journal Page-July 2nd

2011-07-07T08:29:00.001-07:00

This journal spread has a napkin drawing done at a greasy spoon diner, a to-do list from before I left, and writing about the experience of bottling home brewed beer with some friends. I hate beer. My friends were all into it, like the people of Sonoma County are about wine tasting (I think this wine has an undertone of monkey feet with a hint of pomegranate.) I absolutely hate beer. I tried little tastes of it, but the only thing I could say was "it's definitely beer. Congratulations, your mission is accomplished!" It all tastes the same to me-disgusting!

Here is a journal prompt: write your to-do list on something unique (I used a small "coloring book" page with a bird on it and colored the bird with gel and pitt pens.) Glue it into your journal.

Time Won't Let Me Go Journal Page

2011-07-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

This is my latest journal page from the last few days. The map with part of Northern California was bound into the book. Before I left for KY, I painted the left page yellow and added some red paint to the borders. I then used a notched credit card to make the marks. That was how I prepared the page before leaving.
I added collage from my giant envelope of papers that I brought with me. I also added a stamp. I was shopping for laundry detergent at Big Lots and then was sucked in by the scrapbooking department and forced to buy the nifty mandala stamp for $2! Since I left my ink pad at home, I just used the cheap acrylic paint and it worked wonderfully. The writing was done with Pitt pens and Gelly Rolls.

Day 30-Technically I'm Done Now.. :)

2011-07-01T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the art journal page I finished today. This morning I did the collage and added a bit of paint and then I did the writing this evening. My mom sleeps in pretty late, so I had time to break out the really cheap paints I bought and add a little. I only used the blue and purple. Naturally, the blue paint and stamps were added before I left back in my studio where I had many more options of paint, stamps etc.

I am going to leave the cheap paint at my friend Emily's house, where I am staying so that it will be here the next time I come to town.

I talked to the TSA agents at San Francisco about bringing acrylic paint on carry on luggage. They told me that as long as it is in the small containers (I think it's 2 oz) and fits in the ziploc bag with your toiletries, it is fine. That means that technically you can bring the Golden fluid acrylics on board a plane (without it exploding.) However, if you try that and the expensive paint gets confiscated, please don't blame me. Blame the San Francisco Airport TSA for telling me paint is cool.

Speaking of planes, here is a photo I took from the window:

And here is my surprisingly cheap "economy" rental car. I can't believe they gave me a Dodge Charger! I am so paranoid about driving it.... I'm not looking up the value of this thing until it is safely returned and I am back in California!

Technically, the 30 days of posting art journal pages is up. I will still continue to update my blog, just not every single day and not every single finished page. Now I can keep some things to myself! I still have almost 3 weeks left of my visit here and I want to focus on spending time with family and friends!

Day 29- I am tired..

2011-06-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

These two pages are from today and yesterday. All the painting was done before I left, although I did use some watercolor crayons over the receipts on the right side.

I am exhausted and still jet lagged. I took an hour and a half nap earlier this evening. I'm going to sleep again now....

On my way/ How to Get a Free Journal

2011-06-29T08:01:00.001-07:00

I am sitting on the airporter bus using the internet. It is really slow and will not let me upload pictures at all. I will have to edit this post at a later date, because an art blog post without pictures is REALLY boring.

I am writing this to let people know that while I am away, if you place an order on my etsy or artfire, you will get something really, really awesome for free. Basically, if you order anything that is $20 or more, you will get a free handmade 4.5" x 6" book (examples here and here and here.)

If you order a smaller book (like the ones you can see in the link examples above), you will get a free handmade mini-book (little hand sewn books with 1-5 signatures, and usually hand painted pages. From the size of a post it note to a postcard- really great little note journals!)

If you order zines, you will get a bunch of free zines with your order.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. Naturally the reason I am giving people free stuff with an order is because they have to wait several weeks for me to ship it. I am also REALLY broke and might not get unemployment any longer because I worked so much part time substitute teaching. Unfortunately, the substitute teaching won't start up again till October at best.

Anyway, see you tomorrow with my continuation of 30 days of art journaling! You will get to see what I do on the plane today. That airline magazine in my front pocket does not have a chance! It will be torn up and glued in my journal!

Peace and Love,

Karis

Day 28- Insanely Busy Getting Ready to Go

2011-06-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

I am posting this earlier in the day. I added paint, collage, doodles, etc. to this journal spread which was previously gessoed. This is the other side of yesterday's spread, so you can see the calender page bound into the journal. The calender page is painted with a very cool Micaceous Iron Oxide paint from Golden. It is really sparkly and cool. The interference violet paint on the right side looks really cool over the black gesso.

I will probably add some sort of writing to this page later tonight but by then my computer will be packed and ready to go to Louisville.

I will probably not be posting anything tomorrow because I will be on a bus or a plane from 7:15 in the morning until midnight. Yuck.

If I do post anything (they might have wi-fi in the airport and I know the bus will have wi-fi on the way to SFO), it will be some of the ten tons of backgrounds I've painted before leaving. I've decided not to bring any paints since I am carrying my suitcase on. It is too much of a pain to mail them. What I might do is snag my parents' Michael's coupon and use it on a cheap cheap set of basic acrylic colors. We'll see. I am kind of broke.

I don't feel worried about posting that I am going to be leaving. They say you are not supposed to do that because someone might come and rob you. There will be another person at home the entire time. Plus we have a security system and a psychotic attack cat.

Speaking of the psychotic attack cat, I took Vincent and Lil' Kitty Violet (the dangerous one) to the vet this morning. Vincent received an antibiotic shot because my grandma can't force the liquid down his throat. Lil' Kitty got her vaccinations. I had to hold Lil' Kitty because she won't go in the cat carrier with Vincent. She's never stayed in my arms so willingly for so long. Poor Kitty. Hopefully they will not be going to the vet for the next two years.

After posting this, I have to pack up this laptop and somehow stuff it and a whole bunch of other stuff in my backpack.

I wish I could pack up my entire studio into my backpack! I like the pictures of it and it is my favorite place in the world, next to France. I think these photos might be good pictures for an I Spy Book!

Day 27- Happy Birthday Vincent

2011-06-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

The art journal spread above has one of the calender pages that I bound into the book when I made it. The background layer is green paint. I then added three image transfers using both the packing tape method and the gel medium method. After that, I painted over the image transfers and then added more collage, and then more paint.

I discovered a very cool trick. If your page is too glossy to write on (think shiny calender pages, shiny postcards, and shiny glossy paint, all of which this spread has), you can put on a thin coat of Golden's absorbant ground for pastels mixed with water. It dries clear. It only takes away a tiny bit of the shininess. It makes it ten times easier to write on!
Today is Vincent the cat's birthday. Here he is eating his tuna treat. Not very attractive really, but he sure was happy and joyful!

Day 26- I might be addicted to art supplies....

2011-06-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

I added more paint and writing to yesterday's pages and that is what I am showing today. It has been a nice relaxing day with the exception of the trip to the art supply store. The golden paints were supposed to be 43% off list price today only and the dude must have rang them up wrong because they were only 25% off. Needless to say, because of this error, I spent exactly twice as much as I had planned. Oops......

I also bought a few new pens and some various mediums. I think I am an art supply addict. It would be really fun to start an Art Addicts Anonymous meeting. However, instead of trying to defeat our addictions, it would be about revelling in them. At meetings we could have people take turns teaching various skills and lessons, show off work, and maybe even have an art supply swap (hey, that would be helpful.) Or we could come up with 12 steps about avoiding art supply stores.

The main reason I would not actually do this is that I have a very close friend who is an alcoholic and this person might understandably take offense to comparing an addiction to painting and buying art supplies to real addictions which destroy lives. But it's just a thought. I mean, if gambling and shopping addictions are recognized, why not art? Shopping for art supplies is definitely a dangerous venture and I know I am not the first person to spend WAY TOO MUCH at an art store.

Either way, here are some signs you or someone you love may have a problem with art supplies:

* Limited palate is not part of your artistic repertoire.
* You express anger and hostility if someone in your family loses the Michael's ad with the 40% off coupon.
* You go into Michael's with the 40% off coupon intending to have only one thing purchased, but instead end up getting ten.
* Your friends and family take you aside to let you know you have red paint on your cheek.
* Your friends and family might have a problem as well if they take you aside and let you know that you have quinacridone magenta on your cheek.
* Even though you try to keep your clothing nice, most articles of clothing have at least one permanent paint splotch somewhere.
* You eat cheap food or go without so that you have money for paint.
* You find yourself neglecting your favorite TV shows to spend time in your art studio/dining room studio/ etc.
* You can easily justifying buying a bottle of paint because "after all, I don't have this SHADE of blue."
* Your cats are very sad they can not be around you when you're painting because you are afraid their hair will get in your painting (and it will, trust me, it will find a way!)

The only cure that I've found is to avoid any store that sells any kind of art and craft supplies including Michael's, Aaron Brothers, Joann's, Beverly's, Wal-mart, and especially the dick blick and utrecht websites. How to do that, I don't know. Let me know if you do.

Day 25- The Goodness of the Art Supply Fairies

2011-06-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

It was another busy day. I started out early at the crack of 9 AM (might as well be 4 am, being as it is Saturday after all) and went with a group on a "book walk" in Sebastopol. We walked down to Iota Press, to the library, several different book stores and O'Riley Publishing. It was a very nice morning and it was good to get the exercise because I would not have made time for it otherwise.

Afterwards, I went to Riley Street Art Supplies which was the site of a huge convergence of art supply fairies! I got to attend a Golden lecture demo which came with absolutely awesome samples, and they also had tents with many other companies either handing out free samples, letting you try the materials or both. It was so awesome! The art supply fairies were very good to me today! (Now if I could only meet the job fairies, the cute guy fairies, and the computer fairies.... In case you are wondering, a "---" fairy is a term some people I knew used for company product reps who pass out free products. I have come across Coca-Cola fairies and Camel fairies before as well.)
Some of the fun gifts from the art supply fairies include: Golden soft gel gloss, absorbant ground, polymer medium, and cobalt teal paint, some general's drawing pencils, some caran d'ache pencils and one neocolor II crayon stub, a tiny ampersand gesso board and scratchboard, some nifty decorative papers, strathmore paper samples, and some image transfers.

I absolutely especially love the Golden samples. They have this working artist program where the artists go around to art supply stores and other venues and show people how to use their products and then give them absolutely awesome free samples. Tesia Blackburn is the artist who works in the Bay Area. Today was the second demonstration I've gone to. Even just the demos themselves are interesting and informative and the sample pack is the chocolate chips. The best part is that it is FREE! (I swear I learned more from her about acrylic paint in 2 hours than I did from my 300 level painting class professor in college.)
I've been painting backgrounds in my new journal because I am pretty sure that is the one I am dragging to Louisville. There are several reasons. The first is that my current journal is very heavy. The second is that while I still have a fair amount of pages left in my current journal, I could very well finish it. I'm almost completely finished painting the backgrounds of that journal. I would hate to run out of pages before I return!
So the plan is that when I leave for Louisville, I will start the new journal and then finish the current one when I return. After I finish the current one, I will probably just start where I left off in the new journal.
Since I'm going to be gone for 3 weeks, I am seriously considering priority mailing 4 or 5 bottles of paint and some supplies to my parents for me to use. It would be cheaper than checking a bag at the airport. I am pretty sure the security people will not let me bring fluid acrylics on the plane, even if I make sure to bring only the one ounce bottles. I'd hate to lose 40 dollars worth of paint because it was confiscated by the TSA.
Has anyone mailed paint by USPS before? It's kind of liquid but not really because it dries into a solid, right? :) It is allegedly non-toxic... I absolutely HATE Fedex and UPS, so I would rather avoid using them. They charge five times as much and take about three times as long. FedEx also delivered a very expensive and large watercolor paper shipment that I ordered to the wrong address. I was lucky that the people at that address where honest (or had no interest in a bunch of huge watercolor sheets.)

Day 24 (I Think)

2011-06-24T22:42:00.000-07:00

I had a fun and busy day. I woke up early and spent the day babysitting my friend's little boy. We went to a very large park and he played in the fountains. It was so adorable! He's 18 months and he kept screaming "water!!!!! water!!!" with this huge excited grin on his face. After a few hours there, we went back to my house where the only thing on his mind was water. I let him play with my sprinkler and color with my markers. Then it was time to go home.

After that, I was a b(art)ender at Suzanne Edminster's art show at city hall. I absolutely love her work. I get to take a drawing class from her in August in return for my help for the evening. It was fun.

I'm really tired. I did write the above page in my journal. I also did some cut and paste. I went to paint over the collage on the spread below. I squeezed out my favorite manganese blue but instead of adding the glazing medium I attended, I added a huge dollop of PVA glue. Hmmm... not really a happy accident but it is not the end of the world. This spread will probably be sticky forever. I glued on some more stuff and then painted the glue mixture over it. PVA glue really mattes the shiny transluscent colors. Oh well.

I've got that grown up voice in my brain saying "ok, honey... you're tired and it is time to put the paints away and go to bed."

I also found out I am leaving for Louisville on Wednesday. That gives me a few days to relax before I head off to Kentucky for almost 3 weeks.

Vincent is doing better. I can pick him up with only slight meows of annoyance instead of howls of agony. That's a good thing! He also does not mind when I pet his leg. Thank goodness he'll be alright.

Day 23- Life Speeds Up

2011-06-23T11:36:00.001-07:00

I am most likely leaving for Louisville on the 28th of June (Tuesday) and life has thrown me ten tons of things to do. I had to take Vincent to the vet this morning, and I am going to meet someone for lunch, then I have to babysit a friend's child till 6:30, then at 7 there is a book discussion at a gallery I want to go to. That's just today! I will be babysitting full time through Sunday, bartending at an art show opening tomorrow, packing etc. etc.
So I am posting this at a spare moment before I continue my hectic wild day! These are background pages I painted a few days ago. I do plan on art journaling more today (I've already painted 1 background, but have not had the chance to photograph it or upload it.) I will hopefully have the time to write late tonight.

I have 14 journal spreads painted for my trip to Kentucky and I am thinking now that I should leave the 9"x 12" journal at home and take the new one I finished yesterday. So I have to paint at least 12 spreads in that journal! Some of the pages are already painted or have designs so that helps.

If I have the energy tonight and I do more writing and upload the photos etc. I will add them to this post. We'll see. I am not making any promises. I am already exhausted from not sleeping well. I was up late and the early worrying about my kitty.
This is a photograph of my summer solstice fairy painting that I did Tuesday night. I plan on adding more to the background when I have the time. The fairy herself is finished though. I'm scared to touch her with a brush now!
Here is Vincent, all irritated that I have a packed suitcase. He knows exactly what it means. I just got back from the vet with him. The vet said he most likely has an infection from getting his vaccinations on Monday. He said sometimes bacteria will get into the injection site. Poor Vincent has a fever. The vet gave him antibiotics and did not charge me at all for the visit which was nice. He said Vincent should be feeling better by tonight or tomorrow morning and if he is still sick by this weekend to bring him in. I am going to have to bring him in on Monday anyway. My grandmother is incapable of holding him down and squeezing antibiotics into his mouth. He needs the antibiotics and I can take him in on Monday and get an expensive injection that lasts for 7 days. That will give him at least 10 days on the antibiotics and I won't have to worry about grandma attempting to give him medicine. I doubt he would scratch her but he is a large cat. He was 15 pounds on Monday. He lost half a pound in the past 3 days! I hope the vet is right and he will be alright....

Day 22-Art Journal Pages and a New Book

2011-06-22T22:45:00.001-07:00

Here are some pages I did today. I added the collage and the writing. The title of the above page would be more appropriate for the next page, shown below!
The words are from the magnetic poetry stamp kits. I have three sets of them, Dates and Seasons, Love, and Travel. It annoyed me to no end that the word no was not included in any of the 3. Each set has anywhere between 60 and 90 words. I particularly like the dates and seasons kit. I found them for sale on etsy.
This is the cover of the book I finished today. The covers are 8" x 10" canvas board. This is the first time I made a book with canvas board covers. It was really fun to paint and collage.

Please keep Vincent the cat in your thoughts and prayers. He seems to be sick, most likely from getting his shots on Monday. I noticed when I picked him up last night to carry him to bed, he yowled like I've never heard before. He doesn't like it when I touch his left leg. I thought at first it was just soreness from where he had the injections, but he's still acting the same way. :( I have a vet appointment for tomorrow morning. I'm getting ready to leave for Louisville on Tuesday and it is going to kill me inside if I have to leave him while he is sick or injured. I hope he will be okay. I love that cat like a child. Since I don't have a child, all of my mothering nurturing hormones and emotions are directly focused on him. I don't know what I would do if something happened to him.

Day 21- Happy Summer Solstice!

2011-06-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

I did a few backgrounds this morning and added some collage and stamping to it. Not much.. The main focus of my day has been that it was summer solstice.

Being the longest day of the year and a very fairy day, I decided to celebrate by going on a 10 mile hike from Sugarloaf Park to Hood Mountain. Doesn't Sugarloaf just sound like the name of a fairy forest? :)
If you zoom in on the photo above, you can see what look like fairies glowing in the trees! The air was swarming with insects actually. It was somewhere between 90 and a hundred degrees and around noon after I had gone about 3 and a half miles, I decided it was not worth killing myself with heat exhaustion (or falling off the steep rocky path.) The journey is the destination, right? Anyway, I turned around. It was still a long and very meditative hike.
At the end of the hike, on the way back, I played in the creek. My goodness, it felt so good to submerge my feet in the cold water!
Have a wonderful solstice and I will be back tomorrow.

Day 20

2011-06-20T22:51:00.001-07:00

I don't really have much to say today, but here are two finished pages...

Day 19-Journal Fodder Junkies Challenge #14

2011-06-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Last night while staying up WAY too late (I couldn't fall asleep until 3 AM. I haven't stayed up that late for years!) I found the website of the authors of Journal Junkies workshop... They have a journal prompt challenge and I decided to respond to one. The prompts are actually pretty good. They are not silly like many journal challenge prompts can get to be. The "challenge #14" was to respond to the prompt "Wants and Needs." Here is a link to it. The page I did last night is above.

I admit, I'd already painted and collaged the page earlier in the day yesterday. Last night, I did a bunch of writing and doodling, much of it after midnight, making this appropriate to be the page day 19!

The clear envelope at the bottom of the left page, held down with lace packing tape is a plastic stencil package. I taped it in there to hold pictures, notes, etc.

This page was done today. It is the page behind yesterday's drawing. I added the paper bag poem and the packing tape transfer of a photo I took while hiking yesterday. It is hard to see the image transfer clearly because of the stencil spray painted background.

Day 18- Another Day Hiking

2011-06-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today, I dragged my journal to Sugarloaf and did this sketch this afternoon. It is extremely unfinished. The reason for this is that as I was sitting on a picnic table in the middle of the forest drawing, a ginormous tick landed on my arm. Luckily I was able to see it and brushed it off immediately, but after that I could not relax anymore. Blood sucking animals are horrible! I guess next time I am going to have to coat myself in more bug repelling poison. I coated my pants legs and shoes with the stuff and hoped that would be enough.

Above is a photo of what I was attempting to draw.

Since I did not hike all day, I did this journal page this morning and late afternoon. This page has several layers. The page on the left is a part of a calender that I bound into the journal. I painted both sides of the spread with blue paint. I added some collaged painted papers, music paper scraps, and map scraps. I then added the magazine pictures. After that I did the writing. In the leftover blue space, I doodled. Next, I took my Pitt pens and crayola markers and recolored all of the collage elements. The purple stripes are the music sheets. I made the idol statue blue and traced around the gold with a metallic sakura pen. I colored the map green and so on.

The one above was from last night. The sloth in the tree is a calendar sheet. It came on a rainforest calendar. I have no idea what year, I just know it is not 2011 and it was a free calendar my grandmother gave me. I like binding different kinds of papers into journals.

Below is the cute and cuddly kitty Vincent, helping me to color the collage pieces in the art journal. He is so cute!!!! He's laying next to me snoring.
I would like to say hello and thank a few people who have added links to my blog in their sidebar! So hello and thank you! Here is a list of their links, so please check them out!

http://ladycatfern.blogspot.com/

http://www.flywithme-joena.blogspot.com/

http://paper-paisleys.blogspot.com/

http://alteredartstudio9010.blogspot.com/

http://living-a-life-less-ordinary.blogspot.com/

They are all awesome crafty artsy blogs full of eye candy!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Day 17- Collage and Paint

2011-06-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Remember the second page from yesterday? Today I worked on the other half of the spread. I added collage imagery, paint, and writing. I also found the absolute perfect image in my collage stash of the DENIED stamp... Woo! That says it all!

I also went to a thrift store today and found a HUGE trove of National Geographic magazines, some as old as the 1940s! I bought all the magazines from before 1970 and a bunch of more recent ones with colorful pictures and topics I am attracted to (anatomy, space, oceans, etc.).

The collage on the second page is not just me throwing together different elements cut from magazines. Each picture is a personal symbol that has meaning pertaining to what I am writing about on the page. The tree reminds me of a tree at a certain place, the triangle is a picture of the Titanic (which relates to what I was writing about, a personal tragedy of a certain friend, which is related to the flower.) I have been moving away from using lots of magazines for collage in my journals, but if the image holds personal and deep symbolism for me, I will not hesitate to use it. That being said, I wouldn't use magazine images in my paintings. I have plenty of my own photographs for those!

That stamp just says it all....

I also did a scraped paint background here. I have no idea when I will be leaving for Louisville, but I suspect it will be soon. I need to paint a bunch of backgrounds in my journal before I go. Acrylic paint is too much of a pain to travel with. I usually bring my watercolor crayons. I might even bring gouache, but not the acrylics...

Day 16- Colorful Disappointment

2011-06-16T20:14:00.001-07:00

Argh. I confess today has been frustrating.

I had high hopes for getting an interview for two of the many jobs I had applied to. I have a letter of recommendation from the principal of one, and a letter from someone who works at the other. I got my "thank you for applying but even though you (barely) meet the minimum requirements (you are allowed out in public, have the right degrees, and no criminal record), we are not offering you an interview at this time" e-mails for both of them.

My reaction was to apply to the JC and look up dental hygienist programs. I am not joking... I am considering either that or physical therapy assistant. This is ridiculous. I have a bachelor's degree and a teaching credential. I have good letters of recommendation. I have a year and half experience with my own classroom from a private school. In spite of all this, I can't even get an interview with schools that know me? Below is one of my reaction journal pages:

Obviously, the universe does not want me to work in a field I enjoy. I love teaching kids. It is a lot of fun. I even enjoy substitute teaching, but unfortunately it does not provide a living wage. I looked up online what job fields are growing and came to the conclusion that I would be able to go into the dental field or healthcare assistance field.

Does anyone else have any career suggestions? Here are my requirements: no more than 2 more years of school, lots of job availability, and a starting salary of at least $30K. I'm a fast learner and tend to be pretty good at whatever job I do.

Enough of that for now. Obviously I am bitterly disappointed and I can't help but express it. I channeled my negative emotions into art. Here are some spray painted and painted background papers.:

I am going to bind them into the next book I make.

Below is a new journal cover I am working on. This time I am taking my time and will be adding even more fun layers. I printed a journal page (the self portrait one) onto fabric and sewed it onto the front cover. Obviously, it is not finished yet but it is coming along.

I am really digging my mandala stencils at the moment. They are showing up everywhere!

Day 15- Journal Cover

2011-06-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

Last night, I'm writing in my journal, and I think, why in the name of heaven have I wrapped it in wax paper to keep paint off the cover? What is wrong with me? I have a SEWING MACHINE now! I can't believe it took me so long to think of this idea.

Needless to say, I was up quite late, painting blank canvas cloth and stitching this journal cover. I have not sewn a lot in the past few years, so it is not a very good journal cover. The stitches aren't straight and it barely fits. But that is fine, it means I don't have to worry about getting paint on it! I could have spent more time making it, but I wanted to have a journal cover so that I could get rid of the wax paper.

In case you are wondering why I am so paranoid about getting paint on the cover in the first place, it is because I really don't want to mess up the nifty collage on the front of my journal which you can see here.

Most of my art journals in the past have been covered in contact paper. This makes it really easy to wipe spilled paint and glue off of it, even after it has gone unnoticed and slightly dried. This particular journal has about a thousand coats of varnish on the covers (my new method of cover preservation and what I do to my book covers now.) It makes it look a lot shinier and nicer but now if I get paint on the cover of the book, it is there to stay.

And below is the back. I've been having a ton of fun with stencils recently. And today, I finally went out and got a few more colors of spray paint!
I guess you really can not tell how horribly made the cover is once it is on the book. I still wouldn't even give it away as a gift. I'd be embarrassed. I can do better.

Here is the writing I did today. I also did some doodling and basically finished these pages completely.
I am currently working on a second journal cover that has journal pages printed on fabric and sewn to the canvas! I am also taking my time with this cover, adding more layers, pockets, and making it a nicer quality.

I bought some Artists Loft brand paints on sale at Michael's. Each tube was 2.99. Honestly, after having used Golden, it is HORRIBLE paint. But it will be fine for painting journal backgrounds and maybe even underpainting on canvases. The pigment load of the paint is very low, which means it is kind of streaky and the color changes when it is dry. But one can not argue with the price. It will be fun to use for experiments as well. Michael's is a dangerous place for me. They really get you with the 50% coupons. I also bought some black gesso that was on clearance for $5!

Hope you had a great day!

Day 14- More fun with Stencils

2011-06-14T17:26:00.001-07:00

This is a photo of what I did to yesterday's page. I had more time to work on art today. The only place I've gone at all was to Joann's fabrics (where I bought some nifty cheapo stencils and some stuff to sew a messenger bag.)

The stencils I used were very cheaply made thin cardboard stencils. They wrinkled and warped the first time I used them on my page with acrylic ink in a mister bottle. I'm letting them dry and then pressing them under a pile of books. You get what you pay for, and I can't complain. Obviously, they worked! The largest pink stenciled image on the right envelope page was one I made myself. I use transparencies or cardstock.

Journal Artista is doing a Stencil Saturdays series, as well as a stencil giveaway contest. She has some very cool videos on her blog. Check it out.

I added some writing and doodling last night to the page below:
I also started this page today. I used the pieces that I punched out of the cheap stencil set as masks. It worked quite nicely! The sloth or aardvark picture is from a calender. I bound a couple calender sheets into the journal when I made it.
I still haven't bought more spray paint. I'm making do with inks at the moment.

Day 13- Handmade Book Winner

2011-06-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of the drawing of the name of the winner... Congratulations, Jessie! I will be e-mailing you to get your address so I can send you the lovely ocean book.

I am going to do another blog giveaway when I have 100 followers, so if you like my blog, please link to me on yours and perhaps I can do that sooner rather than later! As I said on the video, I have too many handmade books to give away as gifts or sell, so what else am going to do with them? :)

As for art journaling.....

I didn't really do much. I gessoed this collage this morning, with the plan to paint over it. And then I left. Originally, the plan was to go to the river and relax, but somehow we ended up on the coast and did a six mile hike between Shell Beach and Pomo Canyon. It was a lot of fun but I am absolutely worn out now.

It was a gorgeous day outside....
The wildflowers were fantastic....
And there was a really cool tree to climb. It was challenging to try to climb the tree while wearing a skirt (I'm wearing the sweatpants under it because it was freezing right down on the coast line where we started hiking at and I had thought I would need them to change into after swimming....)

Tomorrow, I will have a more interesting journal page to show you!

Day 12- Body Art Journaling

2011-06-12T19:36:00.001-07:00

I did the writing on this page after midnight last night, so technically, it still counts as part of today's art journaling! This journal page has paint and collage. The paper at the bottom and on the left side of the page was hand stamped patterned paper that I made from a hand carved star stamp.

I also worked on this spread as well, adding collage pictures, papers, stamping, and more paint. There is a small paper bound in between the two larger sheets. Below is a photo of what is behind the smaller paper.

Yes, that is a photo of my belly with a tree painted on it.... I was bored, what can I say? No, really, I actually got the idea from one of the 21 Secrets classes (Body Art Journaling, from Heather Plett.) I actually like my stomach, but it does not make a good watercolor canvas. I don't have body paints and there was no way I was going to coat my tummy in acrylics. Random acrylic colors make my hands itch, I can't imagine having an itchy tree shaped rash on my stomach... Okay, maybe I can imagine it, it just would not be worth it. I actually like my stomach. It is pretty flat and definitely not my problem body part. Let's just say you will not see my painting my thighs, bottom, or nose and taking pictures! I might post this page again once I add writing to it. I might also add more collage and paint. We'll see what happens.

Day 11- Art Journal Pages

2011-06-11T18:09:00.001-07:00

These are my art journal pages for today. I started with a wash of yellow acrylic paint and a very wet brush. I spattered drops of blue and pink alcohol ink onto it as soon as I finished the wash, giving it the lovely sunburst resist look. After that was dry, I spray painted the purple heart. I am down to one color of spray paint, now that I have run out of light blue. After that was dry, I did the writing. However, I retain my right to privacy and I "smudged" the writing in Photoshop. If you can figure out how to decipher and read it then, more power to you... You deserve to read it then! :)

This is the "previous" page in the journal, a smaller graph paper page that was bound into the signature (a lot of pages in this book are smaller pages that I sewed into the binding just for kicks!)
Below, you will find a photo of the "finger painting" I did last night. There are few things that are more cathartic than putting a good song on repeat and getting your hands coated in paint, smushing it around and such. I did not even use a palette, I spread the paint out from the tube directly on the canvas and then mixed and moved the paint with my hands. About halfway into it, my hands started itching, so I went inside, washed them off, and found a pair of gloves!
I may or may not add more to this painting. Right now, some of the acrylics are laid on so thickly that it needs to cure for at least a few more days.

Two more days left to enter my handmade book giveaway!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 10- Self Portraits and Image Transfers

2011-06-10T18:58:00.001-07:00

This journal page spread is actually the spray painted background I did on Day 8. I attempted to do two image transfers (using gel medium varnish) on the page, but the background had such dark colors, the images were blurry and unsatisfying. I went ahead and did a bunch of writing on top of the image transfers and spray paint. Then I added more spray paint, using the heart stencil and a mask. On the right hand page, I used gel medium to glue down the self portrait in the corner and a scrap of fabric.

I was disappointed that the image transfers did not work very well. I used the same stuff (to be exact, it was Utrecht gel medium and varnish) to do an image transfer of my cat into my cat art journal (yes, I do have a cat art journal.) The result was excellent. I figure the background was too dark or the photos were too light. I had played with them in Photoshop, using various filters and such. This will not stop me from trying again!

This spread had my "art journal layer cake" (idea from 21 Secrets and Tammy Garcia of Daisy Yellow.) I added an Anais Nin quote and a cut out of a flower. The flower came from a photo of one of my older art journal spreads.

Get photos of your favorite art journal spreads developed and then cut them up! I use snapfish.com and winkflash.com.

On the right hand page, I glued another photo self portrait, added paint and then writing to it. I've found that if I use heavy body paints and I scrape them, the surface is SO glossy that even pitt pens will not write on it without the ink pooling into little spots. I ended up doing the writing with Sakura metallic pens and then spraying it with the stinky varnish to preserve it. We'll see if the writing is there in a couple months.....

If you haven't entered my handmade book giveaway, here is the link! You have until Monday!

Day 9

2011-06-09T14:41:00.001-07:00

I love the painting on the page on the right. I've been playing around with alcohol resists for the past few months and have been using them on my regular paintings, as well as in my journal.
Today I added the Anais Nin quote and the painting, stamping, and writing on the smaller page bound into the journal. There is writing on that page, but it is hard to see because it was written in metallic ink and the lighting is weird. I can't get my camera to take really good photos, so I have to play with the brightness and contrast in photoshop to get the pictures to look right.
I added the poem and the collage to this spread. I will probably write this evening on the page on the left, but I thought I'd share the art part of it before I do. The blue flower in the right bottom corner is a new stencil.

Speaking of stencils, I made some patterned papers from stencils and spray paint. I've really got to get some more colors of spray paint. I was inspired by Debra Cooper's class Playing with Patterns. She has a really excellent tutorial on making your own stencils here. I wish I'd found this before I did my own. However, I figured it out. You can see examples of my self portrait stencils here and here.

The top uppermost paper was made with imprints of the stencils (laying them down on the paper after they are coated with paint.) Technically I used masks on these papers, but it was the same method as stencils.

Day 8- Fun with Stencils

2011-06-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

I got out my x-acto knife and spray paint today! Some of the stencils on this journal page were purchased but the light blue one in the bottom left hand corner, I made myself.
Here is my handmade stencil on a painted envelope. I sprayed it with the Liquitex acrylic ink mixed with water. I think I might have put too much water in it, hence the blurriness.
I also finished cutting out my heart stencil. Here is the stencil taped to the window.
And here is what it looks like, spray painted to a yellow painted paper.
I need to get more colors of spray paint.....

Remember to enter my handmade book giveaway if you have not already done so! Here is a link to the post. It ends on Monday, June 13th.

Day 7 of Art Journaling

2011-06-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

This is what I worked on today. I finally got part of my order from Utrecht. (I placed it a few weeks ago, when I was feeling wealthy after getting my tax return.) I got two colors of Liquitex acrylic ink, some gel medium/varnish and gloss gel. I was incredibly disappointed that the mediums came in tubes and not cute little tubs that I could recycle to hold paint....
Anyway, the inks were really fun to play with.
I did the above spread using a technique from 21 Secrets, taught by Tammy Garcia of Daisy Yellow. Really easy and I LOVE the result. Tomorrow, I think I will add more to this spread. We'll see.

Just finished watching one of the saddest movies I've ever seen (based on the absolute saddest book I've ever read) called The Lovely Bones. I enjoyed it, but then ever since I was a small child, I've enjoyed movies that make me cry. Is that weird?

Time for a Give Away...

2011-06-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

I said I would give away a handmade journal when I reached 50 followers. No one sent me any suggestions, so I decided I'm giving away the Ocean Book. I made this book a few years ago, but it's never been used. The front and back covers have a water themed collage. I covered the covers with clear contact paper, which helps to keep the book in good shape while it is being used/painted in/ carried around town/ etc. The book is coptic stitched, so it lies flat.

I don't really get a huge amount of comments on my blog, so you probably have a pretty good shot at winning this journal. Here is what you do:

Comment on this post. Let's answer the question: what is your favorite book on art (can be any type, how to, artists, technique etc.)? Mine (at the moment) is probably Creative Wildfire by L.K. Ludwig.

I will give this until next Monday at 8 PM. That's one week. Then I will put all the names into a hat, draw one out and announce the winner.

P.S. If you post a link to my blog on your site and include the link to it in your comment, that counts as two entries! Otherwise, if you comment twice, it only counts once.

Good Luck! Bonne Chance!