I was cleaning out the tumble dryer filter this morning, and aside from popping some of the fluff outside for the birds feverishly making nests, I noticed a whole pile of tumble dryer sheets in the fluff collection above the washing machine. I’d heard that they make great inclusions in mixed media work (as do baby wipes btw), so I decided (as I do) to make an art journal from them. And a few hours later, a full mixed media journal is complete.
What to do with a dark background in an art journal? Find a quote to match! Flicking through one of my art journals, I found this background that was made up of a combination of distress inks and acrylics wiped on from other projects. There was the option of lightening it with gesso or similar, but then I decided to pretty up the edges with a Dylusions stencil and blend-able paints, and then add text and outlines with Posca pens. I think it turned out quite well, underlining the quote.
As to the veracity of the statement – I think there are more things in a job that can drain the colour from the sense of vocation than it being unfulfilled. Each time I read about the health service and social care cuts, the colour certainly drains from my face. And following my current vocation certainly adds colour – to my t-shirts, jeans, table surface and in one memorable case, the windows!
I’m prepping for a presentation on Tuesday (hopefully more news on this later) and have been working on a couple of art journal layouts. I thought I’d play a little more with polystyrene printing and zentangling/Florabunda (above) and elements of stencil and pen work stippling (below). Pretty pleased with the colour choices and how each page turned out.
As well as the journal pages, I’ve also spent some time doing some tangles to fit my lokta paper wallet. I remember how therapeutic tangling can be! Each tile can be done in around 20 minutes (they’re 2 inches square), and quicker if I use a thicker pen 😉
Ever had the problem of Stickles glitter glue, or Liquid Pearls, getting to the last dregs? You know there is more in the bottle, but even the hardest wrist flick doesn’t get it down to the nozzle. I have – and being a crafter and ridiculously frugal, I thought of a solution. And as a crafter, I’ve spent out more money than I save on getting the right tool for the job! Introducing the Stickles Spinner Mk I:
There’s various things keeping me from my ‘me time’ in the studio, and consequently, I’m playing catch up with the Wanderlust 2016 course. The fourth prompt for our dedicated art journal is ‘the bravest moment of my life…’. The theme for the layout came fairly quickly, and the page came together just as I’d hoped – it’s the first time I have done word decoupage in a layout. In fact it took longer to retrieve accidentally deleted movie files from my iPad than it did to create the layout! Happily, with those undeleted, I’ve been able to piece together another of my time lapse videos:
Ever since Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons introduced me to ambigrams, I’ve been fascinated by the typography involved. An ambigram for the uninitiated is a typographical design or art form that may be read as words as presented, or from another orientation (in this case, upside down). Combining that fascination with a desire to make a more personal and distinctive logo, I started sketching last night. This afternoon, I have honed my first ever ambigram in Illustrator, and I think it’s turned out alright. I’ll not be rushing to do another in a hurry as it made my brain ache, but that might just be the full sinuses and leaning forward. And though personal, I’m not sure that the word is so distinctive unless you knew what was there to see… what do you think?
Next month’s Art Journal Session is going to look at printing on a budget. With nothing more than a biro, some stick glue and a polystyrene plate to make printing plates we’ll then use acrylic paints to decorate our page. I’ve embellished this spread with Posca paint pens. I used Dylusions paints for the printing.
I’m catching up on my Wanderlust course, and in week 6, we were introduced to origami wallets to hold small journal cards/zentangle cards in. To be honest, I didn’t like the style taught as it was open on all sides. So I dug around in Pinterest, and Google and developed this version. On the product list for the lesson was ‘lokta paper’ – which is quite fibrous, hardwearing and handmade in Nepal. So I searched for that too! I eventually found this wonderful vintage style paper that, to me, seems to be a cross between old leather and hand rolled tobacco leaves. The shop that sells it (PaperPod) was one flooded in York this winter, but still managed to get my order out to me in good time – fantastic since the shop is still drying out and all the (dry!) stock must be somewhere else.
I got a bit carried away and worked out all the sizes for my various journaling cards. All I need now is to monogram the fronts, label the bands, and get journaling! Note that the brown colour is a dye and moves about when wetted… I may seal it with a suitable varnish, or just let it do it’s thing as it is handled.
I’ve been working hard on other projects and it’s been a while since I’ve had time to journal. Consequently, I’m two weeks behind on my Wanderlust course and also finishing this layout some two weeks after the challenge was set. For the uninitiated, the Pick-A-Stick Challenge group posts a monthly challenge with ten journaling prompts, which are drawn at random and have to be completed in order. It’s a great way to stretch your creativity.
Whilst doing the ground work for yesterday’s sculpture, I made a second tea cup and saucer base. Today I made sugar lumps from polystyrene and Distress Rock Candy glitter and added them to a selection of tagged herbal tea bags for my cascade). Rather delighted with the outcome of this one too 🙂