"WHAT ART OFFERS IS SPACE--A CERTAIN BREATHING ROOM FOR THE SPIRIT."

JOHN UPDIKE

It defies description TO EXPLAIN what an ART JOURNAL is all about.

It seems that EVERYONE is working in his/her art journal.

For some it is a keeper of inner secrets and wishes,

others, a "diary of sorts" filled with the minutia of the day or weeks events, 

 a place to explore, confront deeper fears, let loose joy 

and explore.

It is WHATEVER that person wishes it to be.

For me an  "Art Journal" is simply a 

 a  marking down,

sketching, doodling, drawing the silly and the pompous, messing around with various mediums, trying new ways of approaching a subject.

It is a BIG MISH-MASH OF UNTIDY PAPERS!

...Loose sheets, purchased journal, handmade....it matters not...

It is just good to have some decent paper around when inspiration jumps in.

Two weeks ago I joined the Faces: 101 Class given by Carla Sonheim. You patiently viewed  my little, teeny-tiny sketches....it was great fun...but ever so small.

For me I need BIGGER PAPER!

Here are a few things I have done since.

Charcoal on 300 lb. watercolor paper, heavy use of fingers!

Really big piece of paper!

Journal pages/watercolor paper, two page spread. 

Handwriting, ink, pastel, acrylic, pencil

and a HUGE DOSE OF FUN!!!

Heart Thought: did you ever keep a secret diary?  Mine was a sickly lime green with a bent latch that popped opened.  I remember writing in pure shock seeing a cousin smoking behind his home!     What did you write about? Think your diary was really a SECRET??????

Art Journaling 2010

Like many painters, a journal, sketch book or notebook are part of the process of creating. I call mine  Art Journals. They are full of everything possible from fully finished paintings to collage, sketches, writings, vacation doodles, class/seminar notes and sketches, odds and ends, photographs. After each journal is completed and there are no more blank pages left, it is a burgeoning story of exploration.What joy comes from creating them.

This year's journal is no different. Some pages I have shared on my blog, but basically they are just for my pleasure and eventually something to pass down through our family. They show what I am interested in at any given point in time.

It is exciting to start posting more photos of my Art Journals..there is so much to share with you.

Occasionally I will explain how I create a page, give a short tutorial; share what I have learned; supplies and materials. My journal postings is a bit experimental and it will be interesting to see how it evolves.  Would love feed back on what you would like to learn, see or experience.



A small glimpse of some of my supplies. As time goes on I will be more specific.

Before I left Maryland for Charlotte, I had a special table to do some of my journals on, but frankly, art journals can be and is done anywhere, everywhere, anytime...it is ART ON THE GO!!!



My next blog will share with you some before and after shots of pages I am working on now. If you are keeping a journal of some sort let me know. We can post a few photos of what you are doing.  This is exciting!

RECORDING LIFE-The Journal

Journal, Journaling, Recording, Commentary, Diary, Observation 

However we choose to document our lives, our thoughts, our emotions, our elation, our experiences, our UPS and DOWNS....there is nowhere to go but THROUGH until it has been marked somewhere, sometime.  And there it stands, MOMENTS IN OUR LIVES THAT CAN LIVE ON.

What a journey to "mark" down your life when young. But it matters not what age you embark upon the path of journaling, it just takes BEGINNING!

Drawing and writing about Balinese Puppets. Perfect for keeping in a journal or special box.

These cute teenagers are  "mugging" it up for the camera  having created bright wonderful paintings. Each time they look at their piece of art, they will remember this fun painting event. When they see a golden sunflower, hear the name  or see a  painting by Van Gogh, it will bring them back to this time and place.

A journal and sketching class at the famous Ruffles Hotel in Singapore.  We are studying with Lorette Roberts.com

This was a dream come true to join this sketching group with a Master Teacher. 

Recording my own adventures on a sea view patio....everyone swimming while I stay back and just paint and ponder the mysteries I have been absorbing.

Working on the first stage of an Art Journal that will chronicle the last weeks before we left Havre de Grace. Over looking the Chesapeake Bay these pages will take me back to these short sweet hours.

I will leave this little "teaser" journal posting with a few completed Art Journal pages done two years ago. Just looking at them  fills me with memories that would be lost if I hadn't recorded them. And sometime in the future, hopefully my progenitors will love reading them.

I look forward to sharing lots of fun interesting detailed journal ideas in the very near future.

THE BUBBLE FAIRY

It was rather warmish outside. Fading Dusk. Just right for a Bubble Fairy to POP by.

The double tiered fountain was gurgling away while the Funny Bunnies blew bubbles from tiny green bottles. Waving their magic wands, bubbles jumped in and about the fountain, danced across the lawn evaporating into the warm evening air.  One Funny Bunny, lip slightly drooping, lamented, " I wish the bubbles would last longer. I want them to dance on my nose!" 

Now every one knows that Bubble Fairies have very keen hearing. And this particular Bubble Fairy was passing by the garden when she heard the Funny Bunny's sad words. Ever so silently the Bubble Fairy slipped quietly to the gurgling fountain and put Fairy Bubble Syrup into the water.  (Fairies love SWEETS.)

 Humming her best fairy song, the Bubble Fairy, like the best of bubbles, evaporated into the air, leaving a hazy iridescence hovering over the fountain.

Ever so rapidly, faster than a blink of a lady bug's eyelashes, silky foam dusted the top of the fountain. POOF ONCE--POOF TWICE--POOF--THRICE-- it GREW and GREW and GREW until enormous, billowing pillows of BUBBLES danced over and under the fountain.

Well, you should have seen the faces of those two little Funny Bunnies, ASTONISHMENT, they  couldn't believe their eyes. The bubbling fountain looked like a DOUBLE Cupcake slathered in foamy FROSTING!  And then the FUN began,

"Who left all the beautiful bubbles?" asked the Funny Bunny.

Meringue Bubbles everywhere, sticking like stamps on a postcard.

"My WISH came TRUE. Bubbles to tap on my NOSE!"

Nighttime with its velvet blackness arrived too quickly. The stars came out and the bubbles continued to match the radiance of the twinkling stars. The Funny Bunnies went to bed dreaming their bubbly dreams. The Grammy of the house spent the night scooping armfuls of bubbles out into the night air, quietly THANKING the BUBBLE FAIRY for hearing a child's heartfelt WISH!

                            Bubble Fairy Inspiration

Remember to ALWAYS speak the WISHES of YOUR HEART!

Front to Back--what's on TOP of an Art Journal

JOURNALS come in every shape, size, paper, color, texture, store-bought or handmade. Journals are loads of fun! Especially the cover and back. So why not start on top, right at the very beginning and have fun being creative without little "sensors" telling  you what you should or shouldn't do. 

A store bought hardcover journal was covered with various fabrics adhered with gel medium. Fabric photo transfers, buttons, beads and applique fabric heart completed the look.

 For a long time I have wanted to share with you some pages from my many Art Journals. Some pages, are yucky, some are genius, some pure frustration but all were a learning experience and opportunity to be creative without pressure.  And fun! You can sit down to do them, not stand at an easel all day.

This 'in charge' school "marm" has an attitude that was applied with oil paint straight onto the cover of a store bought journal.

Have a favorite artist you love? Why not try their style in a journal...it isn't for sell...just a learning experience!  Great practice!



 Want to try a new medium.....you can always reuse the page or tear it out. Yikes, not that please--recycle. Want to challenge yourself and see if you make progress, journal art is the way to go.

 This large album was a multi-layered experiment. Acrylics, papers, photos, stamps, glazes, scribbles, texture medium...everything but the kitchen sink on this one.

I have filled many a journal all shapes and sizes. But for today I want to share with you the Front and Back of journals that are store purchased.

 

Tantalizing commercial papers glued with gel medium, prints from favorite artists and glazing finish the look. This is the fastest journal cover I have ever done. The back is very similar.

Recycle is the name of the game these days. I had a painting that was done on paper canvas..not the best painting by a landslide, just messing around. I cropped and cut to fit the blue painted cover, then hand decorated with flowers.  Canvas painting oil, flowers acrylic.

We were eating breakfast in New York City in a tiny, little bakery/restaurant. I would have eaten jalapeno peppers I was so excited about the decor....all pink and black. Yes all PINK and BLACK. Charming, oozing charm.  Immediately reminded me of animal crackers with frosting and a big mug of milk....and there you have it, the backside of a journal.

 

This is a regular painting executed in oil applied straight to the cover. The view is a busy street in Aix, Provence...all dining alfresco!

My favorite large journals are made by Canson, at least 190# weight paper. Stronger if possible. Because I paint in my journals it is important to have really good paper. There are many journals available for the art journalist! 

Another time I will share with you handmade/homemade journals. But for now, the store ones are fast and easy. You can decorate the spines when you are all done by hanging ribbons, bells, whistles, horns...well just kidding about the horns.