Hobonichi Techo ~ Travel and Celebrations

The Hobonichi Techo is the name brand of the Japanese journal in which I write and draw for my 'illustrated diary.'

The Hobonichi brand sells an extensive line of

planners and accessories, and enjoys an almost

cult following of lovers of their products 

The Hobonichi Techo Challenge is a creative challenge

by Penguinscreative originally posted on Instagram,

 in which she comes up with a theme and daily prompts 

for Hobonichi users to draw or write about.

A busy week has passed, as I rescheduled appointments

and prepared to travel out of state to visit family, attend

a play co-directed by my music-teacher-daughter and

attend a high school graduation ceremony.

I usually squeeze in the time to write notes in my 

journal, adding drawings and doodles later.

The fruit challenge this month has really made

my pages colorful and fun.

It was a long drive to Tennessee to attend my

grandson's Fifth Grade graduation ceremony. Hubby

had to work, so I was on my own. I was

surprised at the formal ceremony, because it isn't

something done in the area where I live.  However, I think

it encourages the students to look forward to graduating

from high school. So that's certainly a good thing.

No caps and gowns, but everyone was dressed up

and there were helium balloons, flowers, and a 

very nice awards ceremony. I'm so glad I got to attend!

This is one of those pages where I wish there had been

more room to write and draw! Very proud of 

my grandson, who is 11. (but looks so much older!) 

I discovered on the drive back to Ohio that listening

to an audio book makes the time pass much more

quickly and enjoyably! It was actually a title that my

grandson had read, and features a 'steampunk' kind

of alternate universe. Fun stuff.

On Friday, I drove to Northwest, Ohio where my

daughter teaches music. Some of her students were

performing two different one-act plays.  Since I hadn't

been to any of her programs this year, I wanted to 

attend.  The plays were funny and well done, and the

venue was quite interesting.The Fayette Opera House, which my daughter explained had been built for the 

old Vaudeville days. Still needs some restoration, but

so inspiring that the community is working to 

keep it going and make improvements.

I discovered that some of her students have

been looking at my blog. As my daughter was doing

theater make-up for her students, I thought it would

be a good time to do a little work in my journal.

"Oh, is this the famous journal?!" asked one of the students.

"Famous journal?" ah, um, yes. I didn't know it was famous

in Fayette, Ohio... Lots of interesting questions followed.

So surprising to find that they were even interested...

I guess it's a good reminder to keep in mind the impact

of the images and words that you put out there on 

the internet! You never know who is seeing it, and it's 

one very good reason to keep things positive.

Then there was High School Graduation on Sunday and a 

very nice family gathering afterwards for my nephew.

The school happens to be my Alma Mater too. I 

remember being so glad to move on to college! And

did I mention making 'Buckeye Candy' for the party?

They are truly decadent. But sooo yummy!

Linking up for T Tuesday over at Bleubeard and

Elizabeth's blog, where we share a beverage and

a chat about whatever is on our minds. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Sketchbook Revisited

While searching for something from

my daughter's old 4-H days, I came

across some old sketchbooks.

The tree, above, is a favorite.

Other sketches in this book were 

dated 1989.

I used to do black and white pen drawings

for our church bulletin cover. Probably

drawn from photos in magazines, but 

I am not sure. It's been quite a few years.

 

ICAD and Doodles

Index Card a Day (ICAD) Challenge: Mid-week update~

Collage made from assorted painted papers,

scraps from wallpaper and scrapbook paper,

drawings, and Dover clip art.

I doodle a lot on my journal pages...

I have tried to resist the "Zentangle Craze"

for a long time, and just couldn't any longer.

You may see some patterns that

resemble quilts. (I did!) Anything is

fodder for these little doodles, from

plants and fabric designs, to 

ancient decorative borders found in

Egyptian tombs...
(click on any image to enlarge)

I really didn't need another obsession...

it certainly can be addicting.

These were pasted into my 

visual art journal, and will be a 

reference for designs to add to

my journal pages.

Stop by on Friday when I'll

be posting the rest of my 

Index Card a Day drawings...

it will be a Medieval experience!

Seek Something Delightful

Art journaling in my visual art journal

makes a cold gray day more bearable...

watercolor, drawing, and collage

give me an outlet to express

frustrations, sadness or joy...

quotes can often be a starting point.

(click on any image for a larger view.)

Seek something delightful

each day.

Fill your day with color!

Medieval Fragments--Revised

Black and white line drawings are a favorite 

technique of mine, but these just didn't seem finished

without color.  Watercolor added in

my purchased Mixed Media Art Journal.

(Canson multi-media paper)

It seems odd to know that sculptures of the

Early Middle Ages were probably brightly

painted. We are used to seeing the

worn sculpture surfaces without color, 

the texture of the stone and the shadows

created by the shapes creating subdued

but striking compositions.

I am thankful that in our time, art can be

created and enjoyed by all, and is not

 found only in churches and museums.

The packaging of your morning cereal

is art, and even the billboard down the road.

(though some more so than others!)

Where did you see art today?

Asian Art Swap Pages

My friend Elizabeth, of Altered Book Lover fame,

organized a swap with a few folks to trade pages

with the theme to be chosen by each artist

for the pages they will receive. Rikae

has received her pages in the mail,

so I can show them to you without

spoiling any surprises...

Rikae chose Asian art as her theme,

using the color Jade, with touches of 

red and blue.  Since there are many 

shades of Jade, I just kind of winged it!

The image above was inspired by

art work that I saw at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

It is supposed to be a bird with its head

tucked beneath its wing.  The silhouette of

bamboo is a classic oriental theme, as is

the image of plum blossoms.

This quote seemed appropriate, 

and the decorations are from a wonderful

book called "The Grammar of Ornament"

by Owen Jones.  I frequently use it for

design inspiration!

The pocket, above, was made from some fabric

with an oriental-style design. The leaves are

detailed in gold thread.

The tag shows a design from a 

Columbus Museum of Art porcelain

piece, that is featured in a booklet I 

brought home from one of my visits.
The quote is from the Cleveland exhibit.

My bookcase is fairly overflowing with booklets,

free postcards, and books from my visits to 

exhibits!  But they are a great resource...

The back of the tag explains the inspiration

sources for each of the pages

What themes are favorites 

for your art inspiration?

Graffiti Art

Graffiti artists create a 'Tag Name'
for themselves,
a sort of self-invention. Like other artists,
they want their name to be 'out there'~~
to make their name and their art
widely known and recognizable.

'Tag' to fit in a business-sized envelope. (above)

Used graffiti style lettering and images.

Craft acrylic paint, Zig pen,

and white gel pen. Inspired by
a graffiti wall with many layers of paint...

Back of tag.

Origami paper, scrapbook paper,

crayon resist & acrylic,

Zig pen & white gel pen.

The tag is to be removed

from the painted/stenciled

envelope below.

Letters stenciled directly onto

envelope painted with acrylics,

and also onto other pieces of

cardstock, then glued on.

Crayon and pen markings

added to background.

These are all part of the Scrappy Green Journal.

Elizabeth had included the yellow

Police Line tape, and I thought 

"Why not Graffiti?"

I drew the little 'cartoon kid', 

applied watercolor, then inked in.

Copyright Dianne Bishop Carey 2011

Black and White Art

Collage created from magazine and clip-art images, a scrap of the inside of a security envelope, and fabric.

White gel pen and Pigma Micron pen.

Surrounding doodles inspired by Dover clip-art, and handwritten script is a portion of an Edgar Allen Poe poem.

Art Journal Page

Art journal page
magazine images, acrylic,
watercolor, pen, Sharpie marker,
on recycled cardboard

Sketch

Art journal page, drawn in gel pen
while riding in the car...I was looking in the mirror on the
passenger side visor (no, I wasn't driving!)
which may account for some distortion.
Features seem elongated but a quick sketch is
always a good drawing exercise.
I like gel pens for drawing, but
have to be careful because they do tend to
take time to dry and can smear easily.
For drawings which color will be added to,
I usually use a Pigma Micron or Sharpie permanent
marker. Sometimes I paint first and then add any
pen work that is needed.

Feed My Soul

Green Collage, 5" x 5"
Mixed media on cardboard:
Watercolor on cardstock, gel pen, marker,
pastels, painted tissue paper.
Computer generated words.
Some of the Collage Fodder from
the previous post made it into
this collage...
Do what feeds your soul!

Collage Fodder

Painted cardstock to be used as collage fodder-
watercolor and gel pen.
These will probably be torn or cut
and applied to collages...
maybe art journal pages, atc's, moo cards,
or in whatever project they can add
some color and texture.
copyright Dianne Bishop Carey 2009

Fifties Fashion

circa 1950, copyright A. Janet Burggraf Bishop
Pen and India ink, colored pencil on typing paper
Fashion drawings done by my mother.
She is not sure how old she was when she did these,
probably a freshman or sophomore in high school.
Apparently I inherited some artistic genes
from her. I remember that she often
doodled eyes and lips when she talked on the phone...
not faces, just the face parts!

My mother's drawing is above, my art journal drawing at the bottom. Mom's is in India ink and colored pencil, mine is in ballpoint pen. She drew these models from magazines and clothing patterns.







I attempted to draw the girl in the sweater on my art journal page...the profile is not quite right in my opinion.




A. Janet Burggraf Bishop, 1950

Dianne Bishop Carey, 2009

Quick Sketch

Quick sketch while sitting
in a fast food restaurant...
not a fan of drooping britches.

Mini Collage

Mini-Collage on spiral index card:
watercolor & acrylic paints,
hand-carved stamp
and paint splatters.

Art Journal Page-Tribal

"We evolve at the rate
of the tribe
we are plugged into."
-Carolyn Myers

This quote caught my eye and inspired
the use of tribal African art designs.
The drawing of the sculpture is from an image
in the book "Black Africa" by
Laure Meyer. It is
the crowned head of an Oni from the
12-15th century in brass & zinc alloy.
It is striking because the sculpture has
contour lines carved into the face.
The geometric forms are from
Plank Masks, used for family
rituals or funerals.
It is interesting that these
geometric forms also resemble
the forms of other tribal art, such as
Native American. Seems
that the triangle
is universal.

Fortune for 2009

This art journal page is the first I've completed in 2009...
it was inspired by the fortune cookie wrapper from a local Asian
restaurant.(I suppose this is a stereotypical image...no offense is
intended to anyone of Asian descent)
I loved the limited color palette, which I'm sure was used
partially due to the manufacturer's desire to limit printing costs.
I sewed the cellophane wrapper to the page by hand using yellow/orange
variegated thread. I continued adding stitches around the watercolor
and ink images because I liked the texture it created. It reminded me
of the old "sewing cards" I had as a kid, that were prepunched
cardboard that you threaded yarn through. The fortune
in the lower right corner reads: "You will have
many friends when you need them."
That is my wish for all of you
in 2009!

Art Journal Pages

Art journal pages in mixed media collage: scrap paper with columns of numbers, watercolor, images clipped from magazines, and drawings in gel pen. Inspired by Go Make Something challenge to create something using a face. Since I love to just make up these women, this was a natural process for me...I've been doing it since high school. One of my friends called them "princesses." Maybe they are Barbies...I am not sure where they come from...maybe they are the girls I always wished to look like...

Orange Journal Page

Here is a recently completed art journal page, resulting from the Make It Monday challenge on Go Make Something. Orange was the challenge...anything orange...the color of autumn, sunshine, goldfish, calendulas... The background is craft acrylic paint with ink drawing and hand-carved stamping added. The drawing is actually black ball-point pen.

Lisa Vollrath offered to feature an artist who participated in the GMS challenges in August, and I won! Thanks Lisa. I often need some help with inspiration to get some art started and GMS helps with that. My winning Gypsy ATC can be seen here ( in an older post).