Adventures in Art Journalling

As if I really need another hobby, I have adventured into the amazing world of Art Journalling.  I have been drooling over some of of the journals I've seen over the past year (maybe two).  I even started a board on Pinterest for Art Journalling, which up until recently didn't have many posts.  Now there are many.

To be honest with you, for as much as I admired the work of so many others, I kept thinking I could never be as creative or colorful.  Yet I've continued to be drawn to mixed media artwork.  Recently, however, I joined a mail art swap.  Having no idea what mail art really was, I started doing some homework and found that there is (or can be) a lot of mix media involved.  Here was my chance.  

My husband, who has always been an awesome supporter of my need to create, travelled with me to the craft store to purchase a few starter supplies.  Fortunately, many years ago I had done a (very little) bit of scrap booking, and therefore already had some supplies.  

So I went to work!  I started by spreading some gesso over two pages of my journal, then layering some distress inks on the pages.  Once dry, I sprinkled some water droplets over the pages to give the effect below.

Amazing what you can do with just water and paint!

I knew I wanted to create a woodsy theme, but wasn't quite sure how to get there.  I don't have any fancy stencils or an embossing/die cutting machine with cool tree patterns.  I pulled out my Koi Watercolor set and tried painting a mountain scene, but wasn't feeling it.  

I searched the internet for some free tree artwork that I could print and glue into my journal, and while I saw some neat ideas, nothing really jumped out at me.  Then I remembered that I had a few books of printed craft paper that I use for origami.  And I found this:

Perfect!  I could cut out the trees and glue them into my journal.  Here they are before I cut off the excess pieces hanging over the edges.

And after...

I glued all the trees on using gel medium, a technique I saw on a YouTube video.  I still have a lot to learn, as it further mixed the distress stains and water splotches.  I didn't realize that would happen.  So I just filled in the spaces with some more color from my Fabrer Castell Gelatos, which are really nice to work with....

Then added some more trees, birds, stars, and leaves...

And I'm not sure how I want to finish it off, so I'm just letting it be for now until the remainder of the inspiration comes.  I'll make sure to post a picture of the finished page when it is, indeed, finished!

Back from Haitus

The Singing Tree, as we call him, stands at the entrance to the back pasture.
This time of year I imagine him singing to try to coax in Spring.  

Sometimes the things in life that bring us joy get put on hold, shoved aside, or boxed up and closeted altogether.  We all have times like these, and it's okay.  It happens for this reason or that, an illness, a new baby, a new job, a big move, or we just simply need to retreat from the world for a time.  I think of these as just seasons in life - go with it - don't beat yourself up - just accept it and move on.  It's all part of the discovery.  

So here I am, back from my little retreat and ready to move on.  I needed a little kick in the pants to get back to the more meaningful things in my life.  The things that keep me sane.  The things that let me create.  The things that give me joy.  It's been a journey and will continue to be a journey.  I've been learning to accept myself as I am, beautifully imperfect.  It's a process, and there are good days and bad.  But here goes nothing....