July Art Journal Pages

Ciao gentle readers..

I hope this finds you all well..

I know this is a difficult time for many of us...

and certainly last month..

I realized that my journaling practice was undergoing a 

drastic transformation..

My process has always been about a documentation as a written and visual record of each month.

Year by year, I can look through my journals and I remember vividly what had occurred 

by simply looking at the images, the synthesis of my writing and intuitive 

choice of image or visual.

With this new lifestyle..

or the lack of it

 to be blunt..

I find that the monotony of days stretches endlessly..

how do I document a continuation of such malaise?

As you might imagine..

that is what is written on the pages below..

underneath the layers of papers, paint, gesso and fabrics..

and a resignation of this year, this illness, this constant threat

that looms over us all ..

There is also the underlying concern for family and friends..

especially as school begins..

and unknowns are encountered..

It isn't always easy to swallow the pill of change...

Caterina Giglio, July Art Journal pages

so this month 

I revised my outlook on my journaling process..

and perhaps it is a transformation that was due anyway..

perhaps it is a natural manifestation of spiritual growth..

a new way to look, a shift in perception.

Since freedom in my personal life has suffered...

I decided to allow it take root in my journal.

what you see here is 

freedom in free reign....

Ingredients: Gesso, Acrylic paint, antique book pages, waxed paper, antique laces, pencil.

 

Normally..

I would have been putting final touches on notes and getting some supplies

finalized for my class in San Diego next week..

Now I have another whole year to prepare..

another whole year to create anything I want in my 

art Journal pages..

xox

June Art Journal Pages

Ciao,

gentle readers..

my heart is heavy as I write these words,

for my country, for the people and for my friends suffering

through this horrible disease..

Detail from June Art Journal Pages, Caterina Giglio Hollyhocks..

My June pages reveal the inner turmoil

that I have been experiencing..

I know I must create..

and give myself over to the act of creation, 

and

 I find this dark cloud hanging over me.. in so many ways..

Caterina Giglio, June Art Journal Pages, mixed media.

Perhaps you have felt this way too..

at first it was a stifling feeling of being stuck.

a lack of freedom..

of movement..

and experiences...

Though we are safe and leave only

for marketing..

I know many are suffering

and this country is ripped at the seams..

Each day I rise ..

make my way to my studio

and take my materials into my hands, 

it is the best way...

I know 

to release the concerns I have..

the creative energy moves through me, 

 onto the page

the board,

and each fiber of the stitch..

reconnecting

me to the source of all there is..

to 

soothe me.. 

if for only

a few hours..

I will take them.

Caterina Giglio, detail Art Journal pages..

Ingredients: Mono prints with Caran d'Ache with personal photos, acrylic paints, antique papers, paper ephemera.

Be well my dear ones

and keep creating..

no matter how difficult it might be

to 

focus and concentrate..

for art heals 

and aways will..

xox

May Art Journal Pages

People asked..

how many days have you been home?

How long has it been?

The days just pile up..

Caterina Giglio, May Art Journal Pages

the numbers increasing..

in cases, in deaths.. in the amount of time

we spend at home

and isolating..

I spend each morning in the garden..

connecting with the earth,

transplanting flowers,

cutting back the overachievers..

and weeding

which is a gardeners job security ...

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers....

being in the garden affords me

a sense of serenity and enchantment..

a dragonfly buzzes the spray from my hose

and I catch the magical copper shimmer of it's wings..

and suddenly the numbers all disappear ...

Caterina Giglio, detail May Art Journal Pages

The flower images are from

some recent mono prints that I made..

on book pages..

and the tiny stitches are on text from the 

Plague Doctor writings..

Caterina Giglio, detail from Art Journal Pages, May 2020

Ingredients: Mono Prints on book pages, antique ephemera, acrylic paints, colored pencil, red thread, stitches on paper, pencil

Caterina Giglio, Art Journal Page detail, May 2020

I have made a lot of mono prints

in the studio lately

practicing for the next video..

and making tiny stitches for my 

little French Journal 

so perhaps you will see those next time

I post..

Be well my gentle readers..

 

XOX

Ciao dear hearts..

we just returned from our trip

and though I am still dealing with a cold..

I wanted to get my journal finished

and share the spreads with you all..

In many ways, 

it was a very challenging year 

and I would have concentrated on those

challenges

if I had not had the documentation 

in the form of my illustrated life to see that there were many

lovely things to remember about the year as well..

On Tuesday I will post all the spreads 

so that you can look closer

and some you have not seen before ...

my year did get away from me..

but I have finally reconciled that..

I am looking forward to seeing

all the spreads together here, there is something

different about seeing all the work

posted here..

as if I suddenly recognize the

enormity of the  

accomplishment

Thank you for watching!

xox