More Quietly and More Deeply

When I got up this morning I discovered my 4 legged canine had peed on the kitchen floor. I must have turned over when my first alarm went off. We headed to the door into about 5 inches of snow. By the time it stopped today there was about 9-10 inches. I was going to take a picture but my camera was not charged. I am taking a break from showing you more Lifebook pictures today simply because........... I found a photo in my files from two years ago on this date that pretty much sums up how I am feeling these days. I'm not sure if it ever made it in to my many posts about my Smash Book Overhaul project, which was basically one of those once popular kind of scrapbooking/memory style books that I completely overhauled and made it my own. It only took me two years to complete. Anyway, I like this page and it felt good seeing it again this evening as I sat down to write a post. I am living more quietly and more deeply. I hope you had a peaceful day and are safe and warm. Thanks for stopping in. P.S. I found another snowfall photo I took in 2009 though we had more today.

The Time for Singing ...................

The Time for Singing of Birds is come.............. ~Song of Solomon I received some lovely flowers from my daughter on Mother's Day. She knows my favorite color palette so well. Are those not gorgeous? I went to work on Monday morning and left three hours later with a fever and generally feeling like you know what. Paid my doctor a visit, came home with a Z pack, and crashed. That I didn't do any art for 2 days told me I really wasn't feeling well. Today is the first day I feel I am on the mend. I'm showing you the last two pages of my Smash Book Overhaul. It's time to lay it down and close the cover..... for now. I pasted down an index card on top of a pretty "grunged up" painted page. A catch- all piece of waxed paper was pasted down on the index card with home made stenciling. The bird on top of that. I think I was really in to red the night I did that page. I found some torn red paper from a home decor magazine and managed to catch the light on the glossy while photographing this page. (Not my intention.) Speaking of index card. It's nearly time for The ICAD challenge again. For those who have been following my blog for a while you may remember my participation in creating art on an index card for 60 days. This will be the third year for me, and while I am usually pretty enthusiastic in the beginning, I often go through a whiny stage of "Why did I commit to doing this?," because I know I will not be ok if I start it and do not finish it. I remember that I can cut myself some slack. It's ok. I can catch up. It's just a simple index card. Create something on an index card for 2 months. Sometimes you want to follow the prompts. Sometimes you don't. For me, this is an exercise for seeing something through. Of committing, of showing up. I cannot tell you how many of my ICADS I really liked and were the inspiration for something larger. There were also plenty I didn't like at all. Here is what one month of last year's ICADS looked like. In the end I am glad I have participated in this challenge. It gets my juices flowing and if I have created no other art every day but this, it's good. Check it out. The last page of my overhauled Smash Book is yet another grunged- up -paint- on- top -of- paint-page with my own art photocopied and cut up. Lot's of black paint speckles and some miscellaneous doodling. Thanks for coming on this ride with me. It feels good to have finished it. So, here's the front cover again. And the back. Talk abut a very old attempt at a face... more like an alien. But it's mine. And look how far I've come. Isn't it funny to look back at the early stuff you did? I've come to the end but I will not stop. Thank you also for so many supportive comments. I am joining the party here and here

Breathe and Plant A Garden

Ok. So, I am nearing the end of this Smash Book Overhaul. I don't often show myself in my art. I notice a lot of artists do and they take a lot of selfies. I'm not there yet. The "breathe" page I actually was petting my dog Buddy but somehow he got cut out of the picture when photocopied so I had to replace him with something. lol. a flower. Some washi tape, a partial picture of my cat Lucy, some torn paper of my art, and some art journaling. I kind of like this page because I look relaxed, like I AM breathing, which I probably need to remind myself to do more. Plant a Garden has pieces of paper distressed with citrasolv and more pieces of my torn art, some international newspaper, doodling with paint markers, and some journaling. I have a couple of pages left I feel that are worth sharing, but I'll save them for next week. I hope you've enjoyed my ride in this making this smash book my own art journal. IN case you don't know the story behind this, I found this Smash Book in my local arts/crafts store two years ago. It kind of reminds me of the pre scrap book era (although I've never been a scrap booker). I bought it for it's durable paper and a few interesting prompts. Mostly, I just had a lot of fun with it, making it my go to book while watching Netflix. I am sharing this hereand here If you haven't checked these places out, come and join the fun and or just have fun looking around. There's so much "good stuff." Thanks for visiting.

Coming Down the Home Stretch............ The Smash Book Overhaul

I'm continuing to show you my "Smash Book" that I bought in my local art store two years ago. I liked the sturdy pages, some already containing some interesting prompts.I began to "overhaul" it, mostly while watching Netflix. I was also just beginning to draw faces so this was a place to play and experiment. The woman with the egg shaped face and the skinny neck was drawn on top of an already used piece of waxed paper. This was before I knew about using deli paper. Waxed paper seem to offer some interesting texture and marks especially when full of old paint and anything else. In the next one I was playing. Playing with crayon and then painting on top, and just plain doodling, scribbling, stamping, making fun messes, and playing with faces. And the last duo are drawn on top of layers of paint and here you can see the beginnings of the stamps I carved along the upper and side borders. So, that's it for now. There's a few more pages yet to show you for another day. Thanks for visiting. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. It means a lot.

If Necessary, Show Your Incisors. ~Clarissa Pinkola Estes............... The Smash Book Overhaul

Sometimes this is the way I feel. I should show them my incisors. Too bad the supervisor on the other end of Dell this evening, didn't see my incisors as I tried to get them to take back my new laptop. They would not because I am 4 days past the 30 days invoice date. "I will not do business with you again!" I said. As if my business makes any difference. The woman in my drawing could bare her teeth at any moment. I mean a snarl is right there. I like the see through, grungy layering, I like the red (how appropriate.) and I like the fact that she looks like she pretty much can stand her ground. ......... I'm nearing the end of this Smash Book overhaul. Not too much left. I want to show you some new things soon. Thanks for visiting.

Esprit- The Smash Book Overhaul Cont'd.

The word esprit, a french word comes from the Latin word spiritus, which means a breathing, a spirit. I used pieces of an international newspaper in the background of this journal page. I thought after it was done it was kind of cool that the images underneath the face came through as if a breathing spirit. It was not intentional. It just seem to come together. Does that happen to you? Thanks for visiting here. I am joining the party (late as usual) over here and here

Deep in the City......... In Tiny Microscopic Rooms - The Smash Book Overhaul

Making my way through this overhauled Smash Book. I love any art having to do with buildings, city scapes etc. I was playing with alcohol based markers here with torn pieces of paper altered with Citrasolv. I think my friend Robin lives in one of those buildings but I cannot remember which house is hers. Thanks for visiting.

IF ......... The Smash Book Overhaul - Cont'd

If you had to pack up your life and leave in a hurry what belongings would you take? Remember I started this overhaul 2 years ago so I was just beginning to draw faces. Her hair was black at first but she looked to me like one of Cinderella's evil step sisters, so I tried to soften it with silver since "that is now where my head is at." :) The stamping around the edges with the teeny dots are if memory serves me correctly, very early Julie Fei-Fan Balzer Designs stamps. I've used them off and on through this book. If I had to pack up my life in a hurry I would bring family photos, my journals and art journals, my animals, and as many art supplies as I could. How about you? If you had to pack up your life and leave in a hurry what would you take?

De La Fleur- The Smash Book Overhaul -continued

It's sort of a scuffed up grungy look with pieces of torn and altered citrasolv papers, paint splattered waxed paper and baby wipes, some faint punchinella stencilling, and acrylic inks. I then had great fun dribbling the black ink from the top and tearing the edge of the page. I added those tiny stick on letters I found in the .25 bin at the art store eons ago. I think this is one of my favorite pages in the book. I hope you've had a good week. As tired as I am I'm venturing over here tonight. Do come. The folks are nice and there's lots of good stuff to see. Thanks for visiting. I am linking as well to Balzer Designs Art Journal Every Day.

I Can Hear Myself Think and Lonely is a Freedom - The Smash Book Overhaul Cont'd

Words as we all know can be very powerful. Sometimes it only takes a few words to make the page complete. I haven't ventured into art journaling yet where I document my daily thoughts. But I can look at these pages and know exactly where I was and what was going on at that time in my life. What about you? Do you work in your journal daily or sporadically?

More Quietly and More Deeply and Patty's Garden

I am continuing on with sharing my Smash Book Overhaul. This book took me two years to finish. Two years! Good grief! But look at all the other art I made in the interim. If my memory serves me correctly (and it doesn't always) I think I discovered spray inks and gel pens here and I rediscovered how much I really like teal/ turquoise with this shade of green. Although the next pages pretty much speak for themselves, I have to share with you that Patty is my oldest and dearest friend. Spanning thirty some years we have shared much laughter and tears. Patty is an all around creative person, a wonderful watercolorist, and her canvas for a good many years has been her garden. Seriously, when I have visited her I feel as if I have been to the botanical gardens. Thanks for taking the time to comment. It means a lot. Thanks for visiting. Stay tuned for more.

If You're Happy in Your Head........ The Smash Book Overhaul- part 4

I'm sharing with you my Smash Book Overhaul. Only one page today. "If you're happy in your head, then solitude is blessed and alone is ok." ~ Tanya Davis, spoken word artist. Happy Spring!! Wishing you a peaceful weekend. I'm joining the fun over here and here.

Furiously Strong Winds Tonight........The Smash Book Overhaul- part 3

Continuing on. .. On the other side of that small flap page was my home made tree stencil. and a page where I documented that I had done my taxes. Probably was happy knowing I was getting a few dollars back. And why I got so excited about the invisible write on tape from The Dollar Store, I'll never know. And one more. Braving drawing a face.with bits of Citrasolv altered paper, scraps of doodling and lettering in the background. Stay tuned for more. Thanks for visiting...................

The Smash Book Overhaul -Part 2

I'm going to show you these pages a bit at a time because I wanted to explain in some cases what was done. Here's the inside front cover. ....... some doodling, playing with an assortment of markers and gel pens. Notice the mandala on the index card which is glued down. Remember ICAD, index card a day? It's coming up in June again. The next page is sort of a flap page. I took bits of paper I altered using Citrasolv , which is a natural cleaner. Pages with photos from a National Geographic magazine were soaked and or sprayed in/with Citrasolv for various amounts of time and voila! YOu get many different new images. It is a messy process but if you have some time and patience you've gotta try it at least once. I have often left disposable aluminum pans soaking for days with a dozen strips and forgotten about them only to return and have the liquid dried up and the paper stuck together. But peeling them apart promises great surprises. I also have left them hanging outside letting the ink drip off onto the ground or paper and then letting them dry from there. I've also manipulated the ink around with various tools to get patterns, create designs, writing and drawing in to the ink.Pockets and puddles of ink blend and bleed. It's best done in a ventilated area or outside. While the citrus orange leaves the room smelling very nice, it can be overwhelming for some people. Throughout the book you will find bits and pieces of paper made with this technique. I have tried this with other magazines but it doesn't work. The secret is in the ink that Nat'l Geographic uses in printing. I think I discovered washi tape around that same time, so I bordered the page with some washi tape strips. Oh, yes, and there's a bit of a piece of map showing through. Stay tuned for more.

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.

Simply Put

This is another page in the Smash Book Overhaul. The words kind of express where I am today. I hope you've had a good day. Thanks for stopping in..................................................................jo

If

If you express what is inside you, what is inside you will save you. If you don't express what is inside you, what is inside you can kill you. ~Gospel of Saint Thomas ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm sharing with you something I did several years ago, when my life seemed in a state of upheaval, of changes. Some unpleasant, some very painful. I didn't know it then, but I was doodling my state of feeling broken and fragmented. It was the beginning of mending, healing, and working through a lot of pain. Art is healing.

That page is now part of" The Smash Book overhaul." And this

........... is what I was on my art table a year ago today.

I'm glad you came by.............................................jo