Thursday 22 January 2015

Visual Journal #4

Do you ever go onto Pinterest and suddenly realise you are looking at similar things that aren't necessarily what you would normally look at? Whilst looking at journal pages earlier this week I realised I was looking at quite a number that had circles in them. I know they are popular, but it's not a shape I have used much, and if I have it's just to print circles from little plastic pots over a journaling page. As they had caught my attention I wanted to have a play.




I started by gessoing the next two pages in my altered book, adhered some music score paper on the two pages and gessoed over the top of those. Love the textures it created as well as the interest for creating on.



I got out my box of journalling bits, found the plastic lids I have collected etc and using black gesso printed some circles in two sizes.
I decided to use distress paints to colour them in as I wanted to see how they looked layered up with colour knowing that dried distress paint is permanent on the page.


The colours I used are salty ocean, evergreen bough, mustard seed and festive berries. Wow is summer here with these colours?


The next step was to repeat the process using smaller circles and adding more colours to all of them. Did I tell you I was finger painting rather than using a brush. I was having such a great time - it took me back to being a teacher, when I was in the classroom.


For this part of the process I added some vintage photo distress paint and some white gesso. (Really I suppose I should have got the picket fence distress paint out, but the gesso was already sitting on my desk. I was also texturising the circles at this point dabbing my finger instead of rubbing and adding water to get more translucent colours.


Next I added the background using victorian velvet and tea dye distress stains. With a brush and using a baby wipe I blended them around the circles.


At this point looking at the pages I realised the circle forms were all too neat and perfectly formed, how to change them?  Get out your black pen and draw parts of circles round the lids you used. Works for me.


Then some very small text either in or across the circles, some tiny little black circles and some fine ink splatters. Some of the tiny circles that were not connected to the larger ones looked odd to me so I gently dabbed them with the gesso, dried and dabbed some of the distress inks over them, now they appear to be more in the background
At this point although the pages were almost dry they were beginning to warp quite a bit so I put them under a heavy box for a while.


Some walnut stained edges and chit chat stickers saying 
'Laugh forever and share a smile with friends' on the first page ....


... and some 'real' jouraling using a pen and handwriting -
'Using my journal is about developing my ideas - showing my thought processes and providing insights into my thinking without feeling constrained by others' expectations'.


To get a more aged look to the pages I added a coat of glue and seal with some vintage photo distress ink mixed in (see Tim's tag for January). One thing I learned is that if I am going to seal the pages I need to make sure my writing pen ink is WATERPROOF - but as Tim says 'embrace your imperfections', after all not only is this a visual journey it is a learning journey as well. 

If you would like to join the party please take a look at my original post HERE and then follow the link below to get the script to add to your blog post. Maybe you might like to make some circles.


This is not a challenge it is just for fun but it's a great way to see what others are making in their journals around the world whether it be an art journal, visual diary or sketchbook and whatever medium or style you choose.
An art diary, art journal or visual journal is a daily journal kept by artists, often containing both words and sketches, and occasionally including mixed media elements such as collages. (Wikipedia) Dina Wakely says 'Simply put, an art journal is a journal in which you combine art and words to express yourself. That’s it. It’s not complex, and there really aren't any rules for art journaling. It’s all about self-expression. Art journaling has a long-standing artistic tradition. Artists through the centuries have kept notebooks in which they sketched, practiced, experimented, and recorded themselves. Picasso and DaVinci were two other prolific sketchbook keepers. You are in good company!

Enjoy.

hugs Brenda xxx