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

A Year of Art Journaling

Another year has come and gone..

and like many..

I was not sad to say 

arrivederci 

to 

2016

In January

as always..

I created my self portrait,

I was letting the white hair grow in 

and I was eager 

to start the new year

as always 

a new year stretches out

as endless possibilities 

In February ..

I wrote my annual love letter to myself..

In March I was beginning to deal with some

health issues

and I realized that I was going thru some

intense metamorphosis

due to the death of my mother in February...

the wings below are tissue paper, hand colored with Inktense pencils and gold leaf... 

they are safety pinned to the page 

and when you turn the page, they actually

flutter.. 

There was a lot of chaos..

and dreams going on 

grandmother spider came to me in a dream...

and in May

I kept stepping on 

scorpions

and when I found the old dictionary page

I used it in the spread..

to remind me to listen to my intuition..

June brought a revelation about 

the nature of 

Freedom...

this is a 3D page and it is hard to see, but the wings are made of mixed media paper

and they are glued into the center of the book....

the quote is Rumi

"You have escaped the cage, your wings are stretched out...

now fly!"

I often explore the double tree

image in my work, representing partnership..

In August I was doing spiritual work

and recognizing that I was still

working on

my transformation for the year..

balancing both the feminine and the masculine...

September brought more work

this time with family issues

and my role in my family..

it also brought up inner child work..

the images are not me, but represent me in 

the past..

October brought relief and a visit from my 

sister, it was a joyful visit..

we traveled to Europe 

in November, 

and arrived home the weekend before 

Thanksgiving..

the pages are about my grandmother

and how brave she had to be to come here..

and how dire her situation was to make her 

take on such a perilous journey..

how I admire her courage..

and love her so..

December was sweet..

literally, I made cookies and flourless Chocolate cake, coffee cake

and spiced nuts..

but my spread reflects my feelings for the holidays..

all of them..

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of Love."

Hamilton Wright Mabi

And now I am beginning my January pages

my self portrait as usual..

and I think I can stuff another year into this journal..

and working on my new series..

the Naturalists' Notebook

I want to thank you all for the wonderful

reception

and all the subscriptions to my 

YouTube

channel..

I could not do it without 

Mr. La Dolce Vita..

who is my fearless videographer 

and iMovie genius..

We have some fun planned so thanks for 

stopping by...

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!

Bricolage, Art Journals and Somerset Apprentice

You never know

what will catch someone's fancy

Detail from journal page, May I suggest Bricolage? Caterina Giglio

so it was with 

an email I received from the new 

editor 

of 

Somerset Apprentice

it seems they were interested in 

sharing my journal pages

in

my last art journal

the spread

was done at the 

Holiday season...

and featured 

wrapping papers, 

old ephemera...

and lots of layers...

of course...

so if you get a chance

to pick up a copy

take a peek inside...

and as usual..

I am in great company!

xo

May Art Journal Pages

transformation...

that is a word that keeps

coming up for me...

trusting the feminine 

within...

as I journal..

noting all the changes that 

I am making on the inside of me...

so...

documenting that visually

is sometimes 

challenging..

as you already know,

dear reader...

if you have

followed my blog for any length of time

relationships

are always key to my work...

and my journal 

is a visual account of my relationship

with myself...

my thoughts...

my loves..

my fears..

my desires...

so perhaps it looks a bit chaotic..

lots of things going on internally, 

and such texture..

always

layers...

Ingredients: Ink, walnut ink, acrylic paint, antique encyclopedia pages, antique ephemera, gelli prints on deli paper, pencil.

and I agree with Emily....

 "to live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else... "

ciao, ciao..

September Journal Pages

We had an unexpected event

last summer that surprised me..

and though I managed to make my way through it

the fear and concern caught up with me in September...

so my pages are about peeling back the layers of thoughts

and the fears to resurface

and find myself surrounded once again in peace...

it was just a monster under the bed...

I literally glued layer after layer of papers and then ripped them back

it was all very cathartic..

and then realized what was bugging me...

ingredients: gesso, papers, antique ephemera, cardboard, acrylic paints, colored pencil, pencil

Looking forward to the cooler temperatures in October..

and creating in the studio with the sliding glass door open to the pool

cage..

what bliss...

As always, I am so grateful to you for your kind readership...

and thank you in advance for stopping by the 

"sweet life"..

C4N..