A Year In The Life of an Art Journal 2/28 + 3/15, creativeTherapy 129

I've been steadily working on my art journaling, using prompts from A Year in the Life of An Art Journal and creative Therapy.  I'm also taking an online class, 21 Secrets, to learn twenty-one new ways to art journal.  My dining room table/art desk is a total mess!  Its awesome. 

A Year In The Life of An Art Journal

February 28th
THE PROMPT: I'm Beautiful
THE SONG: Real Love by Regina Spektor
PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE: Self-portrait

I should say first that I purposely edited out a personal photo.  I'm not quite ready to share images of myself or my husband (although I will share deeply personal art work!).  I took a long time to work on this one - I didn't know what I wanted to say, and I think I kept editing myself instead of just jumping in. 

I started by building up the background with paint, and then stamping the phrase "all i really was doing was waiting for you" from the song.  I was experimenting with using medium on photographs, and slathered two photos with a heavy medium and peeled off the backing.  It took forever, but looks really cool when done.  I used this technique on the two shadow images on the right.  More paint, words, writing. 

Ultimately, this journal page ended up stating that I always felt like I was waiting for my husband.  He makes me feel good, loved, beautiful even.



March 15th
THE PROMPT: Confidence Shot
THE SONG: Strut by Adam Lambert
PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE: eye shadow

Oh I love this one.  My art journal is an altered book:  on this page, there was a scene of a cobbled street that I didn't want to cover up, so when priming the page, I left it uncovered.  I searched for an image that portrayed "strut" and ended up choosing an image from a magazine with a woman running.  I smothered the image in heavy medium, removed its backing and was left with this glowing image.  I placed that over the street.  I played around with more paint, words, writing.  I added one line from "Strut":  let the freedom begin.  And the eye shadow - I actually used some to shade the edges of the pages. I have this great phrase from a magazine:  (IM)PERFECT - I added a quote to change it to (I'M)PERFECT. 

All together, I guess I am saying that running is my confidence shot.  It makes me feel like I'm going somewhere, it makes me feel strong, and it helps me get my thinking together, so I can move forward in my non-running life too.

creative Therapy: 129
What is a family keepsake you have or hope to have?

I had a hard time with this one too, layering on paint and then finally realizing what I wanted to say.  I initially thought I would want to be the keeper of the photographs.  But as I thought of it more, I realized I wanted really to be the carrier of the stories, the elder who passed down the legends of our family. 

I stamped "once upon a time", added transferred images that I applied matte medium to -- I chose an b&w image (it transferred so beautifully), an image of toys in front of books, a photograph book and a person.  I used this image of the person to link the whole page together, drawing these climbing vines all over to indicate the web of family, stories, histories.

creativeTherapy: February / A Year in the Life of An Art Journal: Fight

Along with the photography challenges I'm following along with (Scavenger Hunt & Now to Wow), and the Thing A Day challenge for February (and something else coming up for March...), I've been also working in an altered book and following along with two art journal challenges.  Yikes, this seems like a lot, but its all good stuff. 

Two prompts came up at the same time, and I've been trying to get them done.  They were both really difficult and meaningful, hitting me in a vulnerable spot.  I felt like they go together, and so I worked on them simultaneously.  One was past, one was a wish for the future.

From A Year in the Life of an Art Journal:
THE PROMPT: Fight
THE SONG: Breakin' Dishes by Rihanna
PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE: Bleach

I used a bleach pen that we normally use to spruce up our grout, and experimented on paint, magazine images, and types of paper.  I wasn't really pleased.  The bleach didn't have much of an impact.  Then I used some black card stock and started writing some heavy words using the bleach that I didn't realize were in me.  Those became the basis of my interpretation of the prompt.  To make a long story short, I used to equate fighting with love.  I've since been taught otherwise, and that has been extremely healing.  But I have a lot of residual feelings that are just as conflictual as equating fighting with love. 

From creativeTherapy: 
What are you (or would you be) giving your children that you wish you’d had?

This was a hard one to start.  Seems like some people have babies easy peasy, and others, its an anguishing process.  I guess I fall in the later category.  I've been thinking a lot about "fairness" and the type of mother I would be, and fertility and being "ready."  Frankly, we are so beyond ready, it hurts.  All I can think to do to be more ready is to be as healthy as possible, to keep dealing with my "stuff", and to spend as much time together and with myself as possible.  But that's only so satisfying. 

A lot of my ideas for this one built on the previous prompt.   I couldn't help but feel like I was sending out a plea to our one-day baby, trying to prove that our home would be warm, and full of love, and that they would be given both lots of support and lots of freedom to grow and learn. 

And a shout out to the elephants:  In my magazine cuttings, I ran across this article about elephants in families, and how they fight, protect, and wander alone, all part of the growing process.  I had to include all these amazing images.

A Year In The Life of an Art Journal: Musical Musings (January 30)

The next prompt for the Year in the Life of An Art Journal is regarding time, and recommends incorporating the song Butterflies & Hurricanes by Muse and using Numbers.

























As usual, art making sort of takes over and moves me from fulfilling the cognitive requirements of the prompt to creating whatever needs to come out.  I was very into the lyrics, and so printed them out and applied gel medium (a new technique for me), and used them liberally!  I'm very into red this week, so that became my base.  I stamped repeating numbers (000001, 000002, 000003) in red, and my age in black.  Added found images of change - my favorite is the one of the development of a star, broken into four stages.  I included a part of an Ikea paper ruler, to connect to the statement best, you've got to be the best, a need to "measure up" which feels like a ridiculous, impossible task.  And at the same time, incredibly important to push oneself to their highest potential.  I'm really struggling with both.  Those lyrics really resonated with me, and I journaled all over the page about it.  I just love the duality of this impossible measuring up with others, and the internal search to be our fullest selves.  And not knowing quite how to do it...

A Year In The Life of an Art Journal: Musical Musings (Jan 15)

I am loving this follow along, and actually finished this one last week.  

The first prompt was Starting Now, and asked to incorporate (or think about) John Mayer's Waiting on the World to Change and the technique was to use a foot photo.  The foot photo part cracks me up, but it makes a lot of sense.  There is no better symbol for action or movement.  And, I admit, I'm not a huge fan of Mayer, so I dug the idea but didn't incorporate any of his lyrics. 

I have a stack of images found from magazines, so I borrowed liberally from it.  My intent right now is to be actively creative and make more; my own images will begin to show themselves and take over soon, I hope.  But for now, I lean on that stack of images for inspiration.  I found this incredible image of a woman jumping, and so she became my center.  Around her, I incorporated images of balance and movement, using techniques of image transfer and liberal paint smearing!  I added words and journaling, and soon began to see a theme emerge. 

I am realizing that I know what I want and need.  But trusting myself and then going out and finding it are difficult.  One, I need some of it to come from within, but two, I also need mentorship and guidance.  When I have it, I flourish, and that's what I'm hungry for.  I'm still feeling restricted in some parts of my life.  I wake up ready for what I need and want to do, but then find there is no place for that.  And to carve one out makes me find myself more deeply entrenched in restrictions instead of lifted up, buoyed, doing my best work. 

So each day it is up to me to do my best work, and to lift myself up and to keep myself balanced.  But good mentorship would be fantastic.  How do I find that?

A Year In The Life of an Art Journal

Just when I thought I couldn't over commit myself more...I stumbled on this incredible challenge.  The truth is, I followed it all last year but never did any of the prompts.  For some reason, I got inspired and spent all weekend making my altered book to serve as my journal.  And, extra cool, the book divides up really nicely to fit each of the prompts.  I'm still working on the first one!

The book is a children's non fiction book about Christmas.  I sanded the front and put a layer of gesso on the cover.  Then I covered the front with yellow paint in an attempt to do a transfer technique that didn't work.  What did work is using old gift cards to spread paint - it looks so great.  I added images from my massive magazine image collection, stamped words all over that are important to me.  I finished it with a strip of duct tape on the binding, and a gift card spreading of gold paint.  Its bomb, if I do say so myself. 

I did do two transfer techniques that always work awesome.

1. Packing tape and magazine images.  Put packing tape over image, burnish it, and then toss in a cup of water.  Rub off the back of the image and voila, you have a shiny image that is slightly sticky on the back.  (The image of the person in the tunnel and the girl are both done this way)
2. Gloss medium and magazine images.  Paint over image with medium 3+ times, let dry thoroughly.  Give the back a quick sandpaper, and then wet your fingertips.  Start rubbing off the backing.  This creates a more crinkly skin like image that is fairly transparent.   (There is an image over the middle figure that is done this way, and the ocean image at the bottom). 

Front

Back

And get prepared for this one too!  Sign up starts Jan 21st.  Only must:  make one thing every day in February.  Hmm.