lara

Not sure where to begin with this journal page because i love it so much. I can't believe it turned out better than i ever could have imagined when i started and i've already started "transferring" it to an 18" x 24" canvas.

OK, so this layout was inspired by the challenge over at Documented Life Project:

Art Challenge: Under Paper (paper on your work table that gets all inky while you work) Journal Prompt: What Lies Beneath?

There's a couple of different under paper type things happening on this one that i think resulted in the amazing layers. First, i used the open spread to roll excess paint off my brayer when i was making some Gelli Prints. Over that, however, is wax paper that i've been using between pages of the journal when i work. As you can see it's collected ALOT of excess paint on the sides, so after i glued it down it really formed a frame. I haven't used wax paper as a layer in a very long time and i'm not sure why. It adds depth as well as texture!

Serendipity played a roll in the direction this page took as i was listening to my Spotify U2 mix and the song Zooropa started. I have a very strong attachment to this song and have actually wanted to do an art homage to it at some point but could never quite figure out how to honor it. I listened to it on repeat riding the El Subway in Chicago for hours on end during a very dark time in my life. The darkness of the layout with the hint of light, and then adding the quote pulls it together perfectly.

     

Why, this is another layout i'm quite happy with!

Art Challenge: Repeating Elements
Journal Prompt: It's Worth Repeating

I started this spread out by using Black Gesso to get rid of the blank page. I then chose three stamps and used three color of paints and just stamped, or repeated, across the entire spread. Then i cut a couple of hearts out of some set aside Gelli Prints and voila.

When i thought about the concept "Its worth repeating" i thought about how i've been able to make it a habit to go to the gym 5 days a week for the last couple of months as well as eat better. It's probably the main focus of my life right now. So the quote came from that concept.

In an effort to art journal even more in a way that is actually journalling - i.e. document my life's ups and downs, i've joined the Documented Life Project which is a weekly prompt blog. At first i was stumbling over what to use - to make my own journal, to use loose papers, or buy a journal, and i decided in the end to buy a journal and so far it's working quite well. It appears to be a Moleskine but it's actually made by a company called Stillman & Birn and after three spreads created with a plethora of multimedia items including sprays and lots of mod podge it apears to be holding up better than Moleskine. This first spread's Art Challenge is: The Color Wheel Journal Prompt: "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way . . . “ - Georgia O’Keeffe I've actually been thinking of doing a page like this for years since i have a small collection of old Pantone books i've collected from various jobs. And since i'm in the graphic industry our language of color revolves around the Pantone Matching System (or PMS) so really it's like my color wheel. Awhile ago i was emailing with a friend, who is also a graphic designer, and i mentioned "today i'm just feeling really PMS 432" which is a dark grey color. We got a good laugh out of what nerds we are and it kind of became a thing to every so often call out what PMS spot color we were feeling that day. The day i made this spread i was feeling OMS 115 - a bright yellow. Good day :) This spreads Art Challenge: Book Paper Journal Prompt: Be Your Own Goal Keeper Wow, this spread really went ALL OVER THE PLACE until i finally called it done. You can't really tell, but it started out with a layer of book paper glued to the blank page. Though you can't see the printing on the paper anymore, you can still see some of the texture it left from where i tore it and glued it. There's a whole crapload of layers on this thing - i kept not liking outcomes and tried to cover it up. There's some light molding paste through a stencil, also some gesso slapped on there, so in real life there's actually a ton of texture. But then i kind of just went ballistic with Dylusion Sprays and stamps and when it looked i couldn't save it no more, i took a brayer with some black acrylic paint on it and rolled it over the top. Because of all the texture from the Gesso and paste it didn't go on evenly letting paint show through the vally's. To pull a little more color out i scraped some of the black off also, then stamped a little on top. To finish it off i took these two quotes i had cut out from magazines to dictate my current goal which is ALWAYS on my mind, and it sounds simple buy holy shit is it not - health. Physical health, mental health. This spreads Art Challenge: Gesso Journal Prompt: “The beginning is always today.” -Mary Shelley Another multi-layered one. And i learned something super duper valuable!!! I started the page out by putting Gesso through stencils. I've done that before, however what i had NOT done before, was then spray over it after it was dry with Dylusions Ink Sprays. it deflected the spray! Needless to say i will be using this technique mucho more times. After the first layer of spray i took another stencil and sprayed over that with some other colors. Then i took some acrylic paints and stamped on it and finally took some Gesso and spread it across the middle so i could write something without it being too obscured. The Gesso picked up some of the spray which is how it turned blue. Obviously the quote is from the prompt but really made it come alive was that morning i had decided to try a yoga class at the gym. It centered me nicely, actually, and just reminded me too live in the present, today.