Art journaling

 

I purchased an inexpensive set of water soluble crayons and made a brightly colored, but ugly page experimenting with them. I decided to stamp the entire page with flower stamps and black ink and then colored around all the flowers with black copic marker. I also glued on some flowers cuts out of painted dryer sheets. Not to happy with those, but hey, it was an experiment!  The border is composed of a variety of collaged papers cut from catalogues and magazines.

collaged papers, sprayed fabric paint, acrylic paint,

pastels, markers, white gel pen

I've been resisting art journaling ever since I was introduced to the concept. LOL.  After reading many magazines and books that kept bringing the subject up, I finally capitulated and decided art journaling might be good for me.  Many years ago I read The Artists Way by Julia Cameron which inspired me to keep a written journal.  About three years ago I started having serious problems with chronic pain.  Writing has become very painful for me so I stopped journaling.  This was actually a good thing in many ways as all that journaling seemed to keep me very self absorbed.  I spent so much time writing about my woes in life!  My art journal is about a very different kind of exploration.  In large part it is a place to experiment.  As a wanna-be mixed media artist I have a kadillion different kinds of art supplies and the journal gives me a place to try things out.  Sometimes I just want to express a mood.  At other times I don't know what I'm trying to express, but each page says something, even when I'm not sure what.  Journals are personal things, meant to be safe places to express yourself.  I'm choosing to share mine because I have enjoyed seeing the journal pages of other artists so much.  There is something about seeing the art that a person made just because they felt like it that really strikes a chord.  Right now I'm in a place where everything I make seems horrible, loud, ugly, and pointless, but I'm determined that all this practice will eventually make perfect!