This evening’s Bible Journaling Session used verses loosely based on the theme of ‘renewed connection’. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions, but even so, this is a great aim to consider for the year. Alongside coming to the monthly sessions as well, of course…
My normal journaling Bible is pretty much full of my illustrations. I tend not to decorate both sides of the page which starts restricting the number that will fit in. I also prefer to have the illustration on the same side or spread as the actual verse, which further reduces the options. Making five illustrations for each monthly Bible journaling session has further strained the spaces left.
So, the time had come to think about a new Bible. I came across the concept of an interleaved journaling Bible – a blank page between each page of text. This was exciting as it opened the possibility of larger illustrations. The only version I could find was ESV, but there is a super leather-bound version that ended up on my wish list. Then I found a new NIV journaling Bible – it has thicker paper, introduces a few blank pages, and is specifically geared toward art journaling.
Black Friday saw the Bible art journaling NIV translation discounted, so that was purchased. And then, handily, Christmas came round and I was given the ESV leather-bound Bible by my mum.
Yesterday, I took the opportunity to do my first illustration in the ESV interleaved Bible, working with a new full set of Polychromos colouring pencils. My normal process worked nicely: design on computer, trace and colour. ChatGPT helped with colour choices once again.
These five illustrations were used in this week’s Bible Journaling Session on Monday evening at The Studio to reflect on a loose theme of ‘secure in God’. At some point, I will need to find the confidence to do the illustrations myself from scratch, but for now, I still have an image in mind and then search for it online. For this month’s templates, I have also used text-to-image AI to generate some of the graphics – this takes just as much time to tweak the prompt and generate tens of possibilities to get the image I have in mind. Overall design, text and colouring are all done by me.
The templates are available as a free PDF download via my online shop here.
I’ve some craft fairs booked in the run-up to Christmas. Two are going to be held at churches and I’ve determined that I could use those opportunities to promote some of my groups as well as sell. It seems only sensible for one of those to be my Bible journaling sessions. Combining the two aims results in the inspiration to create and sell some framed off-the-page illustrations, of which this is the first:
Here are five new illustrations for verses from Revelation. They were the templates/samples for this evening’s Bible Journaling Session at the Studio. You’re welcome to book in for this monthly session, usually held on the second Monday of the month and open to beginners or confident artists. For more details, see my workshops page. As normal, the templates are available as a free download for you to use (but not share!). Scroll down for further information about how I completed each illustration.
Well, this evening’s Bible Journaling Session was due to take its inspiration from some Old Testament verses. Unfortunately, not enough people could attend today and the session has been postponed to Monday, 8th April. For those unfamiliar with Bible Journaling, using the provided templates and examples participants trace and colour into their own wide-margin Bibles, reflecting on the verse as they do so. There’s also a lot of space for chat, catching up and not forgetting a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate. The sessions are monthly, cost £5, and are suitable for artists and non-artists alike. More details are on my workshops page or by getting in touch with me. This month’s choice of illustrations are pictured below, and the templates are available as a free download from my online shop.
You may have heard of a way-side pulpit – the posters with a meaningful, or sometimes witty, quote or remark designed to catch the eye and prompt thought as you walk or drive past. Well, at my church this has been taken to another level… a pee-side pulpit. Taking note of the eye level advertising that seems to be in public conveniences, similar frames are strategically placed in the building’s toilets. I’ve been asked to contribute toward the ‘verse of the month’ designs and for January came up with this:
For the first Bible Journaling Session of 2024, we’re having a colour challenge. All of us have our favourite colours that we reach for… Sometimes we can get stuck choosing new palettes and our work becomes a little samey. During our session, we will use different colour palettes to try and break out of our tonal rut. Here are my samples – carry on reading to see the colour palettes I used.
It’s time for another Bible Journaling session at The Studio. In a change to the published programme, there is no session tonight – it has been moved to next week (16th Oct) so that more can attend. There are still spaces available: just let me know if you’d like to come. We’ll be working on verses from Jeremiah. As always, the session is suitable for complete beginners to accomplished artists, with templates available for those that aren’t brave enough to do their own thing from the start. I’m setting a ‘one colour challenge’ and there’s the opportunity to add some sparkle to your pages. Here are the examples for the evening:
In our Bible journaling session on Monday evening, we’ll be exploring verses from Acts. Free downloadable templates for these illustrations are available from my online shop. As normal, the evening starts at 7:30pm, costs £5 and will feature a new technique of using pastel pencils for colouring. Suitable for beginners, and if you don’t have a Bible to work in you can work on paper and make a bookmark. Book your place now 🙂
