Journaling with Photos-New Years Art Ideas-InnerExcavation

I picked up a book the other day with Christmas money called "InnerExcavation-Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry and Mixed Media.

Photographing daily for a diary or journal is a great idea. My photos aren't the best just as Liz Lamoreux states about her photos not being the best-it is the IDEA.

So let me share with you some of my photos starting a couple of days ago.

ART BOOKS AND CRAFT BOOKS

I have decided that weekly I am going to do a review on various books I find at the library and or bookstores.

There are so many, and they almost all intrigue me. I will give a quick over-view, a less of detail example and a +Plus or -Minus on the rating. The various books I review will include crafts of all sorts, collage, painting, drawing, decorating etc.

ENJOY!

FRESH IDEAS IN DECOUPAGE by Colette George +Plus
This is an updated decoupage book written in 2005. Not one of those hokey decoupage books, updated with some new collage ideas making your own plaques, boxes, containers with collage and mixed media techniques. One being that you can stain your wax using a foam brush. Pretty impressed and did learn a couple of ideas like the one I just included 25 projects. Make your art look grungy and shabby chic, using crackle, spray paint, cheap acrylic paints, napkins and papers, wax and stamps.
Perhaps some artists will know these techniques, but like I said, I learned a couple new ones along with product names and great for the beginner who has never decoupaged.

COUNTRY LIVING EASY TRANSFORMATIONS SMALL SPACES AND COZY CORNERS ++PLUS
by Janice Epner

Can you tell I love this book with the ++. So many ideas that I can do in my house. Most decorating books and magazines just don't cut it for my little house.
My house was built in 1900, boxy square shape with a living room added by a previous owner 12 or so years ago. This room has the entrance door where I would not put it. The stairway and hallway to lead upstairs is narrow but this book still gave me ideas for nooks and also it helped me with ideas for my studio space.

Check it out. I am going to buy one. copyright 2005, by Hearsty Books out of New York Also, eye candy!

Grunge

When I think I have learned almost all techniques to mixed media, I learn another one.
The youtube video on the right is a new technique. This artist made a quicker way to make transfers and I also love the idea of using a sanding sponge to make the surface able to write on.
Now I just have to find the sponge.
Thank you to all artists that give one another ideas to then make their own art.
Let's have some peace in the art community. We have all learned from someone. The Lord is the creator of everything and nothing is new under the sun.

Rub the Paper Off of the Packing Tape

Here,you see my rubbing the paper off gently, off of the packing tape. You may need to spray a bit more water, and continue to wipe off till all of the paper is off. Your ink image is actually on the tape and this can be used in all of your art work, art journal pages, collages, mixed media pieces...

Tutorial for all sorts of Transfers-tape-watercolor paper, gel medium

What a fun day doing these transfers to use for collage and mixed media projects. Do them for your artist journal pages too!

Today, me, myself and I made quite a few transfers. I took my vintage postcard and made a bunch of copies on my ink jet printer on plain white paper.

Making transfers is not a science. You do not know how they are going to come out and you almost hold your breath towards the last steps.

I made a transfer with packing tape, a transfer with gel medium on watercolor paper, a gel medium on brown envelopes and a water transfer on watercolor paper.

Let's go step by step for each transfer and you will see posted pictures of the work along with final pieces and also how I used two of them in projects of mine.

Old Hair Brushes for Assemblage and Mixed Media

These wonderful vintage hairbrushes were so small and a bunch came in a bag of different colors and sizes; perhaps used for a baby's hair because the bristles are so soft. I may apply them in the rusty junk drawer as vertical lines for support on the sides of the collage!

You can use anything for your assemblages. Just start collecting and when you do, you'll need a barn like I have.

Booby Trap for a Mixed Media Assemblage

I found this game free on the side of the road one day; remember Booby

Trap? I grabbed it and thought this would be awesome to do a three dimensional collage. I did a really dumb thing though, I through the box away. I could have used the box for a journal page. Ugh.

Does This Seem Boring to You?

Does this seem to be a boring journal spread to you? The look of it kind of thrilled me at first.

Let me tell you my story about yesterday's spread..............I was watching many you tube videos on techniques of journaling. So instead of watching, taking notes, I figured I would take real notes in my journal and put into action what I am learning. I didn't have maskin tape, but I had a water color tape so I used it not knowing if it was going to stick to the pages and I was going to have to leave it on. Sitting on the floor next to me is a bag of acrylic paints. Two years ago, I bought a bunch of paints at a yard sale for $12.00. There were three boxes of them. Lately, I have desired to clean up my art room (again) and get rid of things. Too much I thought. My idea was to cold turkey, close my eyes and grab a bottle of paint out of the bag and use it no matter what color it was.

Citrus and Liberty Blue were the two colors I selected out of the bag with closed eyes. Oooo, ocean colors. I painted between the tape, pulled the tape up (yes it tore the surface of the paper in spots). "Ah", I said. "I have seen other artists rip their paper and they just went on". The perfectionism in me is starting to go. I don't know how on earth I can be a perfectionist and do grungy mixed media collage. It is the other part of my brain working. Imagine that, using both parts of the brain.

Another artist on a video was doing things with circles. I don't usually like circled art. I think it was from college when my professor made us cut out a huge circle and do geometric designs in the circle. Ugh! I saved the cover of a milk container, dipped it in gesso and plopped down circles. What next.....a rubber stamp shaped like a tag with lines, I began stamping all over for the line journal effect.

If any of you have heard of Teavana, go and get a sample. If you havn't, look it up. Expensive but delicious tea. One of their small catalogues is delectable paper and colors. No, I don't eat the paper, but it is so nice to touch and look at. I did more than look at it, I tore it to pieces andapplied that. More gesso circles with a blue calligraphy pen to outline the circle.

Tiny bubbles (have any of you ever heard that song), I love bubbles and their translucentness. So on went medium and sparkles. White pen, black marker, charcoal........

Results-one of my favorite pages so far. Mixed media all of the way!

Elmers Glue and Cloth Paper

Today, I began to make a piece of cloth paper prior to my going out hunting for "yarrow".

A friend of mine was going through a hard time and I know she loves to sew so I had seen "Stitch Alchemy" a wonderful book that I have wanted. I made mention of it to her, she looked at it online and ordered it. It took her mind off of things and onto things she loves. This book has a twist for her though. She has sewed clothing, costumes, stuffed animals and things like that. But this collage stuff is different for her. So, I just picked up the book for myself with birthday money.

I took a piece of canvas 18x12" and layed it on a glass cutting board. The book suggested freezer paper but I didn't want to stop my project because I did not have freezer paper.

I mixed elmers glue two to one ratio with water and applied it with a paint brush that I don't use much except for oil paintings. Apply the glue to the whole piece of fabric (you can use muslin or cotton fabric-preferably cream or white)and begin to add tissue papers and other vintage papers. I had about 6 tissues papers I have saved from packages and old pages from an old bible. Yolana and I are christians so I figured she would love the scriptures from Genesis in the piece and the colors I was using were green, yellow, aqua blue, a bit of pink and just a floral look. The first paper I used was the aqua blue and layed pieces down on the soak covered canvas (glue all over it, don't worry which way your brush strokes go, just cover the fabric good), and then lay a piece of tissue paper down, fill your brush up with glue and apply, dabbing or lightly brushing. Keep adding your papers how ever you want all over the fabric. I tried added layer upon layer of the same colored tissue paper to see how dark I could get the color. I applied another tissue paper over another type to see what I could see underneath. Use the underside of the tissue paper to get a lighter color. I then began to tear pieces of the Genesis pages and put in different areas of the canvas. Then, I thought, this looks like oriental home made paper, so I got my dried herbs, flaked them a bit on the glue cloth, and then filled my brush with glue and patted it on the herbs. So I am getting some nice texture and color. I stopped for awhile to take my walk and to let it dry. If your glue is too sticky add a bit more water. I used a whole small student sized bottle for this days process. I need to buy more perhaps at the Dollar Store.

When I am completed with this cloth paper, I am going to cut it and send Yolana a half. She will do the same project with her supplies and send me 1/2 of her 18x12 sheet. Then more fun will begin. I am going to teach her to collage and mix her medias!

WET GESSO

You may ask what is gesso got to do with herbs?

I'll tell you, it is tough loving so many different things.

I am a mom, a marmee (grandmom) , a pastor's wife, an artist, a writer, a gardener, and a collector of what my friends would call junk. I have nicer names. like "ephemera" or "antiques" or collectibles". More expensive to get rid of it than hoarding it they say. Can I help it? "No"

So, what is gesso. It is like manure or compost to the garden. Gesso is a main substance for painting. I am a mixed media and collage artist. Gesso is used daily to cover a surface. This makes the surface one nice blank space that I can then begin to apply color and papers to. The surface you see in this photo is one of a new journal that I created out of an autograph book. I loved this little book and got it for $1.00 so I picked it up quick. The book's cover was already interested with vintage style photos on it. So, I covered it with a clear paper from a clothing store the Loft; kept the handles from the bag so that the journal could be carried. I added a vintage doily onto the cover. I began to collect vintage manila colored items that I love and painted one spread of page with the gesso. I also paper clipped the pages together so that I will have about 12-13 main pages to work on and that way they will be stable and sturdy.

Bride and Groom

"Bride" and "Groom" are the titles of my two newest collage/mixed media pieces.

My son and his bride got married two months ago and I finished these to get out in the mail for their wedding gift.

Bride and Groom are collaged on wood. I drew these cute little illustrations in a drawing pad, and then colored them with prisma colored pencils, cut them out and gel mediumed them to the wood. There is where I began to paint them with acrylic golden paints and many mixed materials for the backgrounds including inks, papers, stamps...

If you have any questions about methods, please do write!