Nothing profound to say today - just thinkin' of what makes me smile, in between art-makin' and deadlines! This piece will have the half-circle edges on the right hanging out of the journal, and the ones on the left will fold in. :-)
Simple approach, and an example of feeling NO PRESSURE when art journaling! This is FOR YOU. Even if you choose to share it with others!
I did two art journal pieces yesterday - one is based on going to our fav Chinese place here, Peking - and my collection of fortune cookie fortunes, which I like to use in collages (2D + 3D). The other is this one, a purple page with a little gift card set I repurposed - just redesigned the card inside and wrote some private stuff on it! Feeling very introspective last night - and thankful for the outlet of art journaling!! I love paint and paper and pen! I think it's essential for creative people to have these outlets - otherwise you just feel "off" and irritable, and generally blecchy . . . I don't like feeling like crap, so I make a lotta art :-) Today I'm working on finishing an 80's style concert poster for a local concert series - I'm really excited about that one - it's flashing me back to early MTV! Another journal to come later today. To work! I spent the morning with my son buying crickets to feed our newest family member, Petri, an adorable skink we adopted from a college-bound bud of Andrew's. Now back to the paints!
Did you know the ACTUAL "Little Mermaid" which Hans Christian Andersen wrote met quite a tragic (if poetic) end? She DOESN'T get the prince, and she doesn't let the sea witch get her, either. She uses a dagger to "join the Daughters of the Air." I think we all know what that means. (Anyway, one of my fav stories EVER. I still have my book from when I was a kid - it's falling apart at the seams, but hey.)
Today's art journal piece is based on a quote by Anne Morrow Lindbergh - from "Gift from the Sea" (which I recommend, if you haven't read it!)
I loved this quote - so right on with how I feel about the ocean, and loneliness, actually - and how amazed I always am at how comfortable I am on and around water. I was in the Caribbean on a ship in March teaching art journaling and hanging with women on our MUSE CRUISE, and I marveled at how much I love just looking at a horizon of water - all the way 'round.
I live on a peninsula (Atlantic ocean-side) and I love it! I love swamps, and I love kayaking - and well, you get the picture.
I wanted to show a bit of watery depth by layering papers and painting - I love the way the ocean is so mysterious, and holds tons of things you cannot quite see . . . I love this, except maybe when I'm swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, when visiting my folks in the panhandle of Florida (you know, the "all-you-can-eat-shark-buffet"?) Anyway, back to the beauty part of the sea, and I will try and get off my twinkie-on-the-food-chain thought stream here . . . This piece uses a mermaid drawing (who doesn't love mermaids) which I did years ago (7? 9? I don't know how long ago. Pack Rat R Me). I've been keeping in the back of an old sketchbook, waiting to find her a home - this is it, I think! The beads are leftover from some jeans embellishment I did. I tacked them on with black upholstery thread and then embellished/secured them with embroidery thread. The paper I use most of the time is Aquarelle Arches Watercolor Block - Hot Pressed, 100% cotton, 140 lb. weight. I love its smoothness and sturdiness, and I find it takes just about any media I wanna throw at it (or sew to it!)
I would like to apologize for subjecting you to such a crappy photo of my piece - yes, that's Kleenex behind the beads. This is high-tech photography, y'all! Gaaaaaaahhhh!!! Nope, it's a scan - my camera just died, and the pix I got with my iPhone weren't showing the color the way I wanted. Blah blah blah. Hope you don't mind it too much.
Happy Saturday, Y'all :-)
This piece comes from thinking about my dreams, visions (hallucinations?), and nightmares (lots of bizarrrrrrrro nightmares) lately. Though, this piece isn't actually very bizarre, I was focused on the mood . . . And, I plan to visit the Edgar Allan Poe museum soon, so there you have it! I like Victorian and Gothic influences - so I had mucho fun doing this one. This is a multi-media piece on paper, done right into a wirebound journal. I used paper, cocktail napkin, cardstock, stickers, white-out, acrylic paint, markers, pens, clippings, and ribbon. Oh, and black and white duct tape!
Click image to view larger version 
Today I'm a wine-tastin', paella-eatin' redhead. Yay-iss.
What do women want? Some of us know . . . and some of us don't.
Today I wanted PAELLA and WINE - La Tienda brought in chefs from Jaleo who made the most humongous batch of paella I've ever seen in my life (pix to come)! It was delish! La Tienda is an amazing Spanish food import biz, based right here in my little town - check them out online! mmmmmmmmm
The wine-tasting part woulda been more fun, if SOME people understood the concept that, as George Costanza said, "We live in a society!!" Some people apparently think wine-tasting means get-all-you-can-and-camp-out-at-the-wine-table -and-hog-it-so-no-one-else-can-have-any . . . but I digress. The wine was good, the paella was awesomeness.
WDWW? Paella and wine is always a good start . . .
peace, y'all,