Sometimes a doodle becomes more
This journal page was created very late one night after a difficult day. I was full to the brim from the drama and just needed to vent anonymously. I started with the big swirl that makes the swan’s neck and body. My only intention was to get something down on the page. A swirl. That’s all. All the thoughts moving in my head prompted the idea that the swirl could become a swan simply by adding a head to the neck. The background was added as I continued to process the day. I like to use designs that do not require a lot of focus or attention. That allows my mind to move forward with what I need to process.
*note: My coloring is less than stellar in this piece. It was very late at night. But I still love this one because I remember how much it helped me to draw it.
One of the things I stress in my Pour It on a Page Workshops is to let yourself be free to be imperfect in your journal pages. The creativity comes in the freedom to be imperfect. Then, if you really like a page an you want to, you can take the time later to redo it on fine art paper. Maybe one day I will redo this blue swan that has become my friend.
Art Journals are everywhere
There are many different styles that you can buy or you can even make your own. There are examples of completed pages and even workshops everywhere you turn both on the web and in magazines. I was always intrigued by the altered book concept so the shift in attention to art journals certainly caught my eye.
However the examples and instructions I was finding involved layers of gesso and paint and paste and more paint and then more gesso. In the midst of all that, there were images and printed words and doodads to add to your page.
I loved the look!
And I had the skills and knowledge to accomplish it. But I found myself so caught up in the process and the techniques that any sense of being in “journal” mode was lost.
And so I stopped.
Then I began to play around with my pencils trying unconventional techniques to get looks that didn't resemble pencil art and looked more like the mixed-media pages. I started using these techniques for journal pages and then added pencil art that was somewhere between doodling and sketching. I found this process much more peaceful and contemplative than what I had previously experienced. And so I began to attach it to the end of my study and prayer time using thoughts and new discoveries as the prompts for my pages.
The use of artist's pencils to fill a page was a slower process than the active steps of layering paints, etc. But I found that in that slower process, I had time to contemplate the words I was coloring or the thought behind the image I was drawing. And the really interesting thing for me was the change it made in my prayer life. I've never been very wordy in prayer. But I found that the time coloring kept me present in a thought a little longer allowing for more pondering about that subject. It was an enriching experience for me.
Welcome!
Welcome to my new blog. I plan to use this space to share my latest creative projects, and to encourage you to work in your art journal with inspirations, prompts, tips, techniques, and new information about supplies. Pop in every now and then. We’ll have fun!