Art Journaling Demo!

Well gentle viewers..

I am moving and so my studio has moved and I am

packing as I write..

The last couple of months have been quite busy with travels and

and major life decisions..

 

but I still find time each day to do a little 

art journaling, especially in my black paper journal..

enjoy the video and enjoy journaling!

Sending richest blessings 

for a

Happy New Year!!

xox

Part 2 How NOT to Make a Junk Journal

Part 2...

How NOT to Make a Junk Journal

in which I sniffle a lot

and laugh quite loudly..

 

Thanks to my 

Apple Watch.. 

too funny..

I guess swooning and Siri sound alike to her!!

thanks for watching and I hope you

all get your boosters 

and stay healthy..

xox

March Art Journal Pages

My pages, 

for March were inspired by the beach..

it is funny how I can see one thing and then my mind

free associates

with something else..

a line of shells on the edge of the shore, reminding me

of ripped and torn paper..

and suddenly in my mind at the beach I was tearing and weaving..

a collage in my mind...

I am continuously painting, drawing, sketching, sewing and glueing things together

in my mind..

I wrote about a relationship 

issue that I have been chewing on and coming to terms with

the changes ..

obviously still being worked out this month,

although healing happens..

it is still an excavation in process...

I find that when I have something really deep,

that needs chewing... 

and my emotions are so moved..

abstracts are the best way to convey

the issue..

I knew I wanted to use my dendritic prints and mono prints

on the page...

to express the depth of my emotion..

and the lines of attachments...

So after writing directly on the page, I began to gesso and then

to layer the paper..

it was tedious and meditative, all at once..

and dear reader..

 the perfect words literally appeared magically on the page

 circled to remind me 

of my journey .....

Ingredients: gesso, pencil, colored pencil, mono prints, dendritic prints, antique book pages and papers, tissue papers, acrylic ink

If you saw my last video, then you know that

I am busy in the studio..

but also in the garden this time of year..

I am hoping my Easter lilies will be blooming..

So I am sending you all my kindest wishes for a lovely weekend..

may we all spread new seeds of love

wherever we go..

xox

Video Tour of my Art Journal

At the beginning of each new year,

dear hearts..

I look forward to sharing my art journal post..

I love to see all the work together in one post..

It is always so powerful for me to view all the work together ..

12 months is a large 

body of work..

and this year, 

I decided to film it as well..

it was interesting to page through and remember

so many things about the year..

Next week I will shoot all the spreads..

list all the ingredients and list the 

techniques ...

Thanks for viewing 

and thank you for

stopping by..

Ciao, ciao!

My Art Journaling Process

Well dear readers and viewers..

I decided I wanted to 

film about 

art journaling again..

but as you know 

it is a 

HUGE 

topic..

so I thought it would be fun to do

several

quick videos

the first one is about my process

which I will expand upon in

the next few videos..

next week

we will 

start working on the page..

 upcoming topics:

working with images

writing prompts

ideas and inspiration

journaling blocks

abstract pages

the list goes on!

Have a glorious weekend...

xo

May Art Journal Pages and a Vacation

May was an amazing month...

I have to admit it 

rushed by in a bit of a blur..

I was working to finish my collection..

get packed and finish deadlines..

so I was very focused on 

the show..

but looking back on the month,

I see that I grew immensely

spiritually...

as I was putting the finishing touches on 

the show and my work..

going home

was amazing..

it has changed considerably 

in the last four years..

the town itself is quite different..

but the friends that I have made 

that are so close as to be family...

are still the same..

so my pages are layered..

and I have painted them

over and over..

worked almost as laboriously

as I did on my Notebook pieces..

Who says you can't go back home?

my pages reveal the blue sky breaking through..

and the world flowering despite

trauma and tragedy..

both personally and universally..

I believe...

Ingredients: Collage, decollage, paper ephemera, acrylic paint, gesso, pencil,  

so dear readers..

it is summer,

and I will be taking a break

to visit with family..

When I return I will film a new YouTube segment

on My Flower Collages,

and I will hopefully ..

have some amazing

Caribbean Blues

for you to see..

thank you all for your kind support..

your uplifting comments..

and understanding..

I am so very grateful..

xo

Studio Tour

I tidied up a bit for your visit..

but all the projects and wips

are in place...

I hope you enjoyed the little tour..

and I realized later that you might want to know about the art on the walls..

as well..

so one day I will shoot some 

pics and share with you some of the art

that I have..

as well as my studio Goddess

reliquaries and talismans..

oh and by the way.. woohoo..

we made it to 100

subscribers!!

Thank you so much

dear readers and faithful viewers..

xo

January Art Journal Pages

He told me not to talk

about my hair..

and while my pages are not ALL about my hair,

the color of my hair is definitely included in 

my journal writing this month...

there is so much going on..

the country is in turmoil and even the most centered around us

are working at finding center..

every January

I take the time to create a self portrait..

to document my image..

I draw, paint or in this case.. 

I transferred 

a black and white photo onto paper.. drawing in and painting over..

my annual portrait 

 is more than just what I look like..

I am wanting to capture my attitude..

my feelings..

and the things going on around me

that make a difference....

I am a symbolist..
there is a secret language always being spoken
just below the surface..
a rose is not just a rose..

Hair is not just hair..


for me it is significant..
an extension of memory..
and I know I have written about it before..
so I will stop yammering..

Let's just say that I am getting used to it..
I am done with black dye and straightening it..

to capture this month I wrote directly onto the blank page and then gessoed over it

and wrote more..

and then covered it up with white acrylic paint..

I chose a photo of water that I took some time ago and collaged the photo and painted it
and then ripped it into pieces
feeling a bit torn in two..
but there is still flow...

it is just continued on the next page..
things continue, but they are not the same..

I was thinking a lot about myths and stories..

tragedies and happy endings..

I am as always hopeful..

I trust in love

and believe it will prevail.. 

Ingredients: transfers on paper, old book pages, acrylic paint. graphite, walnut ink, pencil, colored pencil, Prismacolor Nupastels 

I have lots going on in the studio 

my new 

series

The Naturalist's Notebook

is humming along..

and I just finished some resists..

Part Two of my Mini Concertina is being filmed this week..

I am going to share

  the technique I used to create texture and the

florals for my little garden books

featured in Sew Somerset..

so I will see you again 

very soon..

xo

September Journal Pages

Each month, dear reader...

I share my art journal pages

with you..

but I don't always like them..

They are often so close to the bone, 

that I find them

quite raw..

unsettling to view...

sometimes they are 

just ugly pages..

to me anyway..

What matters is that I do the work and show up each month

and find out what is really

going on in and around me..

this months started out totally differently

and ended up being more

about my inner child...

layers of paint and paper

and writing..

litter the pages...

like peeling wallpaper..

I carefully ripped back the layers...

to 

find myself again...

Ingredients:Acrylic paint, walnut ink, stencils, chalk pens, pencil, pen and ink, paper ephemera, antique photos, rub- ons. 

and now... to clean up the studio..

organization always leads to discovery..

funny how that works..

who knows what I will come up with..

but I will be sure to share it..

C4N!

April Pages

Dreamy April...

dreams... 

so many dreams..

I found I was journaling about my dreams..

though I journaled about other things too... I

kept going back to my nightly dreams

...

spiders, people..

situations...

and snakes..

while I am not crazy about either of those .. 

spiders or snakes..

they represent 

creativity and death and rebirth 

respectively...

to me anyway...

and those are things that cannot be ignored..

I tried to capture what it feels like to wake upon 

dreaming...

you all know that feeling...

wanting to remember the dream and all the details

before it fades into the mist 

as we move across the bridge of 

the unconscious to the land of waking reality..

For years I kept a dream journal

and interpreted my dreams

the symbols...

and the situations...

and now I have a pretty good idea

about the story they tell...

revealing the direction I am taking and

allowing me to change course 

if I want to...

and forewarning me of things

to come...

relationships that will change...

I started this month by writing directly 

on the unprimed page...

painting over the words..

transferring  images...

the pensive woman is the only transfer remaining..

and then collaging and decollaging the page..

ingredients: Art Graf pencil, acrylic paint, antique paper ephemera, book pages, tissue paper, wrapping papers, transfers with gel medium, walnut ink, 

paint, collage, rip tear..

destruction and creation..

the goddess Chaos 

at work...

I am off for a little holiday to the beaches south of us

and will take my camera with me..

to share the wonders of sand and shells

with you dear reader..

ciao, ciao..

January Journal Pages

New Year,

New journal...

but old traditions,

each January I create a self portrait

for my journal pages..

I have been thinking a lot about

age.. and aging..

and I am working on some paintings..

 portraits, 

I have one particular model right now, but I may include others..

She has beautiful long hair..

women of a certain age...

with long hair...

many Native American tribes thought that hair held memory..

and to cut hair 

was to break with traditions, the past 

and to literally cut away your memories...

I was thinking about this, when I created these pages... 

ingredients: gesso, acrylic paints, paint pens, art graf pencil, pencil, pen and ink, paper ephemera, stencils, china marker...

as for my new journal...

I chose a 

Strathmore Mixed Media

art journal...

the size is smaller than the old record books, but the paper is so
tough, I don't think I need to prime the page..

 I do love it..

and I thank you as always for stopping in
to read about my travels, my thoughts, and see what I am creating..

grazie!

ciao, ciao!

Last Year's Journal Pages

I am woefully behind..

that sometimes happens when an artist

comes face to face with 

holidays 

and deadlines...

something has to give...

and it is often our own personal work...

but I did manage to finish it..

and as you can see this book is groaning under the strain of so many

journal spreads...

November was a busy month..

travel and holidays..

catching up with old friends...

and working on lots of projects..

growing new things and healing wounds was the topic of the month...

ingredients: gesso, acrylic paint, paper ephemera, tissue papers, pencil, original ink drawing, paint pens  

December was hectic... wasn't it?

but I managed to make my deadline and  sent my little botanical concertina's in

to Sew Somerset, so I finally had time to concentrate on my 

journal pages..

December was multilayered..

there was so much going on...

and I just kept papering over the spreads, 

I think there are several layers here..

Family, love and creativity kept coming up for me...

ingredients: antique paper ephemera, The Magazine, acrylic paint, pencil, paint pens, wrapping papers.

I have to finish the inside pages and make a cover for this visual 

journal, and when I do, I will post the entire year's spreads for you to see..

and I have to find a new journal as well..

this time however I think I will use a new mixed media journal...

but as of today, I am still looking..

I am working on several different things in the studio

this year, 

a series of portraits...

and some new collages..

and some stitched cardboard abstracts..

and you, 

gentle reader,

 will see it all..

soon enough..

as always, thank you for stopping by..

I appreciate your readership...

and your kind remarks..

C4N!