New Pages

A new page in the Green Journal.

The original page is shown below.

I painted the envelope with watercolor,

painted the margin nearest the spine

with acrylic, and added scraps of

painted papers, collage images,

fabric, scrapbook papers, and 

handwritten text.
(click on the image to enlarge)

 

The tag inside the envelope

shows a poem through the window,

also handwritten text:

November Night

by Adelaide Crapsey

Listen...

with faint dry sound,

like steps of passing ghosts,

the leaves, frost crisp'd,

break from the trees

and fall.

Art Community

Mixed media Art Journal,(which I have dubbed 'The Green Journal') created by Elizabeth of the Altered Book Lover blog.  I continue to be inspired  by her quirky and creative combinations of paper, fabric and images.  This is another set of pages from that journal.  (Click on any image for a closer look.)

After a wonderful day spent with Art friends in Ohio,  I felt the need to count my blessings: for the people who 'get' my art, who encourage me, who help me grow, and provide much needed support.  Thank you to all, both 'face to face' friends, and the on-line community! 

The Green Journal continues:  the tan page (above) with border added and hand-written text, top.  Bottom, the page as it was before altering. E had applied subtle color, and there is a wonderful sparkle to the page that doesn't come through on the scan.

E created the lovely red flowered page (above) with a white envelope protruding from the back side...and the little red bird cut-out.  I added some old wallpaper images before I realized I needed a 'before' picture.  After scanning, I then added fabric and hand-written text. I decided to stop here, as I feel the richly patterned surface is complete.

As I enjoyed laughter, artwork, and techniques with my art friends, we discussed something that you may have discovered yourself, or may be surprised to know.
"What do you do with it?"  people may ask--referring to your art.  It is my belief that the finished product is not necessarily the most important thing.  The process of learning, creating, and enjoying that process can be very therapeutic. Recent research shows that people need to play, even when they are adults. It is a way to relieve stress, have fun, and actually helps us focus and problem solve in other areas of life as a result.  Artists probably didn't need research to tell us this. I think we have always known.  Have some fun with art today!

Various Inspirations

Here is a partial view of a 

mixed media & watercolor

that I've done for a private swap...

some of the cottonwoods 

in our yard.

Mixed media art journal page

in my watercolor journal. 

Scraps of leftover paper & fabric,

craft acrylic paint, and marker.

5 3/4 inches wide by 9 inches high.

Problem Corrected, Hopefully

YAY!!!

After much fiddling, downloading of programs,

and generally trying everything he could think of,

my dear husband thinks he has 

corrected my Blogger problem.

At least. We think so. Only time will tell.

He's not even sure which thing he tried

was the actual fix...

Very glad to be back--

I really missed being able to stay

in touch with the blogging community!

Technical Problems

My computer has been infected with spyware

 and is not letting me log into Blogger.

 I keep getting a "connection interrupted" message... 

I am posting this from another machine to let you know

 I may be away from "blogland" for a bit...

DH has purchased some software to 

take care of the problem, but it may

take a bit of time and effort to 

get back to normal.

Still making art and looking forward

to sharing it with you.

Thanks for your comments

and encouragement. 

later...

Warhol Soup

The Green Journal had a great line drawing

of a Campbell's soup can, just begging

to be colored in...a la Warhol style...

quotes from Andy Warhol surround 

the completed image...

Here is the page before I 

attacked it with fluorescent 

highlighters and my trusty

Extra Fine Point Sharpie marker.

The stitching makes 

great additional texture.

More pages of the Green Journal

to come in the future...

"I am a deeply superficial person."  - Andy Warhol
 

Journal Pages

I am trying the new Design version of Blogger, but it doesn't seem to be letting me insert text between the images...(gnashing of teeth & sounds of frustration here)

Any suggestions would be appreciated...I am not so great at the technology part of blogging...guess I need to break down and look for instructions...

These are pages in the Green Journal that Elizabeth made for me.  It is delightful that she included so many different types of paper, sizes of pages, and clear acetate pockets to put stuff in.  I forgot to take "before" pictures...sorry!

Elizabeth had sewn on the pieces of photo film, so that's what prompted me to put in the movie ticket stubs and an image for the movie 'Prince of Persia.'  The letters spelling out "create" were also included by E.  I'm not sure what prompted me to do the paper cut out face graphic, but I am pleased with the way it turned out. I didn't sketch it first, just grabbed the scissors and started cutting...and

I like how the face peeks out from behind the pages preceding it.

Art Journal Self-Portrait

Another background painted while
using up the colors on my palette.
Later, I sketched myself in pencil
and went over it in Sharpie marker.
The serious expression is just
because I didn't want to attempt
to hold a smile during the time it
took to draw myself in front of the
bathroom mirror! Seeing my face
in yellow is interesting. I find it a
happy color, but don't wear it because
I don't think it goes well with my
complexion coloring. Odd.
My husband said this was
"pretty good," so I guess it does
resemble me...but our impression
of our appearance in our own mind
may not match up with what is
physically there. I think I still see
myself as I was in my twenties. Is that
when our sense of 'self' matures?
So perhaps I need to do another
that is 'more honest,' reflecting
a few more wrinkles and graying hair.
Or, better yet, an abstraction!

Art Journal Cover

Pieced cotton fabrics embellished with
felt, painted fabric, painted paper, buttons,
beads, found objects and assorted charms.
This is one of my submissions for the
Cloth Paper Scissors Artisan competition.
You can see all the entries here.
Had a fun time creating this cover and
really went all out with the embellishing.
Felt is used inside the quilted "sandwich"
and the inside covers have painted muslin
as the foundation. I made pages from
watercolor paper, and look forward to
working in this journal. Problem is, I
have about five journals going at once.
Stop by the Cloth Paper Scissors
website and view all the fantastic entries...
and cross your fingers for me...

Religious Icon

My version of
Our Lady of Guadalupe, in my
hardback journal. Background is craft acrylic
paint -- "use up the paint left on the palette."
The image is done in watercolor, which
made for an interesting texture. The background
shows through the transparent watercolors.
I was doing some research on-line recently,
looking for ideas for Mexican Folk Art.
There is an extremely wide variety of
things available. I like the bright colors
and primitive quality of the works,
though of course there are master artists
who do much more realistic paintings as well.
Pottery, woodcarving, textiles,
religious icons, Day of the Dead...
very inspiring stuff!
Here are some links to a few sites I found:
Hearst Museum
Day of the Dead Art
Bel's Nook - Belinda Schneider's blog