Loose Pages

I have a lot of art done on loose pages over the years, mostly on cardstock. I wanted at some point to purchase a binding machine but have not yet made a decision which one. I happened to be at Kinkos one day and was reminded that they bind things into a spiral journal. They charge by the thickness of the paper. So, for under $10.00 I had 18 loose pages counting the front and back cover (which they provided) bound in to an instant journal. Here are few of the pages. The nice man at KInkos was confused as to why some of the page were left blank. I told him those pages would eventually be filled up. I took it home and decorated the front and back covers. I know there are way more "cooler" ways to book bind, it takes time, patience and practice, which I don't always have, this seemed to work for an instant journal for not much money. I can pick it up and work on it as I feel like it. Next time I will take some smaller pages and see how that works with a smaller size journal. Thanks for stopping by.

Grungy, Messy and Mysterious

I don't like to show unfinished pieces but I'm finding I am doing it more often. Because I have ADD where art is concerned, I have a bazillion different things in progress. I mean I have a lot of canvases that I've set aside for years. Do you do that? How do you feel about sharing something that's not finished? I came across Roxanne Coble's work before I knew she was a guest teacher at 21 Secrets. I found I was drawn to her style. She suggested to us to work in areas. I call it little fragments. The pages seem fragmented yet they're not. In the end they all blend into one. It's almost as if each section of the piece tells a story and the story is in your imagination. I dunno. I find her work grungy, messy, and mysterious all at once and I like that. These couple of pieces are based on or inspired by Roxanne Coble's art journaling process. They don't feel or look finished to me. Maybe I'll return to show you what they look like when I feel they are. Roxanne Coble's process is altering a book to use as her art journal. I like that idea. I also like the idea that what's on the pages that are being altered often are the inspiration to what follows. With mine, I left certain images because they took me in another direction. They took me to the next fragment. I also like that there is no use of someone else's stencils or stamps. Mark making was all by the artist's hand. That's refreshing to me. I had an old sort of periodical magazine. Not hard cover but the pages are thicker than a normal magazine. I chose to add some of my vintage family photos. I am reminded by Roxanne saying how long it sometimes takes her to finish a page as there are so many layers, so she has many pages going on at the same time. And I agree, it's kind of cool to have a bunch of backgrounds laid down and then you come back to it for the final doodling phase. So, here are a couple of unfinished pages inspired by her workshop Fragments and Mysteries.

The Smash Book Overhaul- Finished.

I first started telling you about my project of overhauling the Smash Book somewhere in 2012. For those unfamiliar with this it's kind of like a fancy place to put all the things we used to collect in drawers when we were growing up, maybe a memory book of sorts or a pre-scrapbooking book. I purchased it on a whim of sorts because of it's hard cover, pretty sturdy paper, and a few things already written on some of the pages which sparked some ideas for me in terms of exploring art journaling. So, it looks like this basically in the store, give or take size and or color, but the jist of it is this. Here's some pages before I got my hands and teeth in to it. You can see some of the decorative paper here.I've shown you bits and pieces of it over the last 2 years. Yes, it took me two years to complete it. I know this because I marked the beginning by proclaiming I had done my taxes on 2/18/12. It seems fitting on this day that not only is the book finished but that I am showing it to you on this "memorable American day." I will share with you my Smash Book as I have over hauled it. Stay tuned....... Just to start you off here's the cover.

A New Journal

I was cleaning out some closets recently and came across this old photo album. I could've tossed it in the trash or put it in the "garage sale" pile but I saw something else. I took a bunch of the pages out, removed the plastic and started playing. There's a good amount of pages in this photo album so this will become a fat new journal for playing in. I am working on laying down a bunch of backgrounds for now so it's easier to come back to a page that already has something on it. I also like that I can take pages out and work on them without having to lug the entire book around. We are in the midst of a snow/ice storm here. I hope wherever you are that you are safe and warm. Tomorrow I will show you the 52 card project I've been working on but haven't had a chance to show you since I've been involved with Lifebook 2014 (which I am behind in) and then jumped in to the 29 faces challenge at the last minute. Thanks for visiting................ jo

Just Playing Around

There's so many layers on this page- I left the page alone for awhile and came back to it. I don't remember the order of things. I just know I kept adding layer upon layer, until I reached for the butterscotch spray ink. Then I knew it was finished. I love that warm glow of butterscotch spray ink. I'm pretty pleased with how it looks. What do you think? I hope you had a good weekend. Thanks for stopping in. I appreciate your comments...............jo