Favorite Plaster Project: Journal

Some who keep art journals enjoy doing the covers FIRST.

They plan, dream and do.

Me, well, I PROCRASTINATE.

How do you bind 40 or so individual

pages with no apparent theme, 

together?

Part of the plaster course I participated in with Judy Wise and Stephanie Lee, was finding the many ways to apply plaster. The one I favored was working plaster into  rough burlap.

1. plaster on burlap, paint applied when dry. 2. burlap with sufficient plaster to make stiff, then deliberately cracked the surface by bending.

3. piece of painted burlap cut and being adjusted for book cover.

  

Burlap is adhered with yellow Elmer's Glue. Book weighted to

  avoid warping and thoroughly adhere/dry. 

(If you enlarge the photo you can see the cracked texture of the burlap, which is desirable.) I worked over this layer with multiple colors, sanding away color...and applying a wash of BU acrylic.

A piece of prepared burlap painted blue and cut into heart shape, plus odd Chinese coins were glued to the journal surface. Again weighted down with books and dried.

 

Finishing touches: acrylic and gouache painted face, small pieces of collage, and old brush were added to complete the cover. Acrylic finish over the top. 

This journal is nearly full. Yay! And for once there is a lovely cover to wrap it all up!

A few pages from the interior.

  This was a great experience and totally creative. I plan on covering other journals.....just don't hold your breath!!!

Have a great Friday...and for those in the path of the impending hurricane, I wish 

ALL  SAFETY and SECURITY. 

My BIGGEST WISH is for this hand of devastation to stay away from the coastline, and where it belongs in the OCEAN.