21 Secrets Online Art Journalling Course

I am so glad I signed up for this course (through Ro Bruhn's blog). I am having a wonderfully creative liberating time - and I've only done one workshop so far.

 

My first workshop was Carissa Paige's "Following the Wild Winds". Part 1 encourages exploring and playing with paints using hands, fingers, stamps, found objects - after allowing an appreciation of where you are.
I went with a serendipity flow and painted.


This Red Tree appeared and reminded me of a beautiful childrens's book The Red Tree by Shaun Tan.

Days later I painted over the red tree and a whole forest appeared!

Next exercise was to put yourself in a painting - again serendipity was at work for me when 2 old photos turned up whilst sorting a drawer.
Significent moments in my life up to now called to be painted. The colours were what came to mind rather than a laboured decision.



No 1 - 1970 - a young couple in love.



No 2 - 1985 - stepping out into a career, study, family, travel



No 3 - 2013 - mellow, wistful, exciting, future awaits an older and wiser me!

This one has song titles that were playing when I was working on it - Brown Eyed Girl, That's the name of the game, Love lifts us up where we belong,I'll be there ... and many more.
I know I have most probably built on other techniques I've learnt and now have freed up a painting method for journalling, which I love.

I've already started another page - my version - where I have written down words of concerns, messages, joys, sorrows, struggles  - then covered them up with text and paper.


No 1 - My hidden secrets.

No 2 - First painting session. with ink drips too.

Next I will stamp, tape, write, maybe paint ...who knows ...but I am dedicating it to calmness in my life, relaxation and enjoyment. Which probably spells ART!

MY JOURNALS

I love making journals from "Junk" mail, catalogues, old envellopes - I gesso or paint pages, stamp and paint the pages with templates, hand sew them together then have great fun, relaxation and "art therapy" using these journals as travel diaries, "Smash Books" or "Glue Books" and yearly diaries.

I first heard the words Smash books and Glue Books from a Lawendula Paper Swap friend Melodie and these links give more information.

About glue books, Smash Journals or Junk Journals....go to

www.bluebirdpaperie.blogspot.com - and search "Glue Books" or Mary Green's blog www.greenpaper.typepad.com

This one started life as a stapled catalogue ( 14cm x 21 cm) from a dress shop and I used all those bits and pieces that are too good to throw out so I keep them until ...

 

This next one started as an empty biscuit box cut to a small size ( 10 x 15 cms) as a little book to use on holiday, with words and images added from places we visited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I make larger journals with strong manila folders ( 24.5 cm x 35 cms) - filling them with "junk" papers from my HUGE collection and adding ephemera and words in a weekly entry.

The next Journal was a collage and word diary type.

I attribute this idea to Nicole Austin at http://kinueko.blogspot.com.au/ (in 2011) so I tried it in 2012 and loved doing it.

I decorate the covers usually with scraps of papers then collage pieces of single ply from serviettes.

Below is my 2013 Journal/Diary - and this time I used mainly plain papers with some junk papers, and painted and stamped and decorated them with washi tape before I sewed it together. I am writing short weekly entries, sometimes in point form, this year.

 

 

 I do have separate "smash" journals happening at the same time - and am making smaller travel journals for our trips this year (17 cm x  24.5cms). These have been featured in an earlier post (2012).

As I love making these types of journals, let me know if you'd like one and we can talk about postage costs etc. depending on where you live.

I was inspired to write this blog by a lovely friend Jacqueline from Stockholm, whom I met on Marney K. Makridakis' Artella's Annual Mystery Muse Project for 2013 - and wanted to know how I make journals. I sent her a small journal from me - her mystery muse.

 

I have now enrolled in my first ever online art course called 21 SECRETS - and know that my year is going to be a very enjoyable one artistically as there are so many wonderful classes, with notes and videos included.

Christmas cards are now done...

I've been making my Christmas cards and today's the day I start to write them and post them too - especially the overseas ones!

 The card above features hand made paper, gold foil paper, a stamped sentiment and is finished with a button glued over ribbon.

These two cards below were made with hand made paper, recycled vintage sheet music and die cut trees. The handmade paper was made in Burnie, Tasmania, where a group of paper makers experiment with different fibres to make paper eg plants, cotton and even animal droppings from plant eating animals! Yes I've got some - and No - it doesn't smell!


Hand made blue paper made from denim fabric.

The handmade red paper made from towel offcuts from a towel factory.



The next cards are made using scrapbook papers, ribbons, embellishments and a stamped sentiment.

Christmas Greetings to my readers.

My Impressions of China

My trip to China in June-July this year - summer there - was - wonderful, adventurous, exciting, eye opening, thought provoking, humid and hot, wet and humid and hot, sun hats, umbrellas, squat toilets, marble hotel bathrooms, large screen TV's, marvellous plants, buildings, tumble down houses, mansions, traffic jams, car horns hooting, rubbish piled up in the streets, plane trees, ...China is surprising.
The ancient culture, the people's pride, magnificent landforms, vast distances, mammoth buildings and bridges, skyscrapers, Western influences, trading routes, inventions we can't do without, famous cuisine, simple lives of farmers ...so much more to say and see that I will probably go again - but in a cooler season.
Here are just a few of my favourite
things.


Looks like a cake - but it's flowers

Peace Hotel, Shanghai

Cake

Bright colours of fruits and vegetables.

Intricate designs on ancient buildings.

A great way to keep your cup of tea hot!

Art, Costumes, Pottery and colour.