The Red Lovely

The Red Lovely -- a journal I commissioned from Ms. Julie Prichard. My incredible Wandering Senses journal (the lime one) also came from Julie. I had two ideas when I received that journal; the Red Lovely will accommodate the idea that did NOT go into the lime journal. All I told Julie was that I wanted something really RICH and red in color, with a tapestry feeling, kind of ... Prague-esque, maybe? And larger (this one is 6x8). Julie did the rest - remarkable! It's my hope to have enough self-restraint to finish the Wandering Senses journal BEFORE I embark on this one -- ha! We shall see.

Teaser: This Red Lovely's title will be: "LADIES OF THE HOUSE (This is a True Story)."

Julie, you are a journalist's beacon in the frustrating search for the perfect journal, Woman! Thanks SO MUCH!

Wandering Senses - More

Reach For Me. The Fever of My Distance

'09 Calendar - January 16th thru 18th

This turned out well - I scared myself starting out so dark with the background, but it pushed me into a new way of approaching the page, edged me over to different materials. That little boy image -- KILLER CUTE!!! Lots of journaling inside the tea bag shape.

My Weight

My Weight. This page is actually in my Wandering Senses journal, but is a response to the latest Art Journal Gypsies prompt as well. My prompt cues for this were: medieval, purple, metallic, red, color-washed, images/words.

Beginnings; The Nude Palette

The newest Art Journal Gypsy prompt involved choosing from 4 lists and then creating using the things we chose. My selections: heart; the colors brown, aqua and cream; the background technique of painted, color-washed, or misted; and individual or stand-alone words. Vintage canal photo, ripped up paper doily, rubber stamp images, paper scrap, acrylic paint. Thinking of marriage, the blistering, the drowning, the way the unity begins to flow back in if even just a small controlled canal's worth at first. Nude woman with back facing us beneath a transfer of one of my canal photos. More scraps, rubber stamp images, acrylic paint with a wash of glass paint for sheen. This is a meditative page for me, an expression of ongoing vulnerability that still allows the 'slate' to be completely cleansed, and opens to fresh starts (symbolized for me by the butterflies and the shiny blue hearts, the heart growing a plant).

Being a Gypsy

This prompt for the Art Journal Gypsy group is still ongoing, and I got to thinking how much we tend to romanticize the gypsies and their lives, when the truth was, in fact, a pretty sad and shadowy one. The Truth Is. Old woman painted by me, under an arch. All acrylic paint. Being a Gypsy Meant. Acrylic paint, rubber stamped words.

Doodle Map

This was an earlier Art Journal Gypsy assignment -- doodle over a full layout ... I deviated entirely from the prompt after that, because no matter how I looked at my first doodle run, it looked like a map. So last night I got out some India ink and a bamboo skewer and played cartographer. My GOODNESS that was fun ... of course you'll notice there is a BEACH on my map. The rest is just an afterthought (ha!) This isn't the entire layout -- most of the right side that you can't see is beach.

What Is A Gypsy?

Photo of my love, Ciera, by me, probably my favorite photo of 2008. THAT is a gypsy, to me -- free, free, free. The rose photo is by Miss V's hubby and my bud, Rick. The pen (lower left of Ciera) is part of a photo I took. Rubber stamps, acrylic paint, bubble wrap impressions, diamond border diecut. This is the 'before' picture -- the exuberance and unselfconsciousness shown by Ciera in this picture is a message to myself: STAY A FREE SOUL. BE REAL. RISK RISK RISK. And also WRITE. Photo of me by my youngest male child (my fan is from Venice - sigh). Moroccan etched glass photo by me. Rose photo by me, cut in half. Rubber stamped words, bubble wrap impressions, acrylic paint, border strip diecut, script slide background pieces. This is the 'woman' side of the Ciera photo -- myself being the woman -- REACH UP. The glass is a reminder: half full? or half empty. Also, it's become more and more important to me to use personal photos, AND photos of myself, in my journals, to 'bring it home', so that the message is truly PERSONAL and not as easily glanced off. It's very difficult to ignore my own face within the framework of a piece.

Art Journal Gypsy - rolling, rolling, rolling!

Blank written journal pages? Pfffft, I'll live. I was having FAR TOO MUCH FUN with the art journal gypsies prompts, so I kept going. During drying times, I did work on a few written journal backgrounds, but they aren't done, so I'll do some more damage on them after I put up this post. Mandala journaling -- I wrote only what the acorn itself means to me. Even after journaling what the mandala means to me, I couldn't work up much enthusiasm for this drawing. Methinks this acorn can't be saved! Vibrant. This is the finished 'various tapes' layout I posted earlier. Prompt suggested placing images in the open spaces between the tape grid, leaving one 'box' empty for later addition of a word. Color - right side. I tried to mirror, in reverse, the image layout on the left side. I LOVE THIS SPREAD!!!!!! This prompt had us finding an image we really responded to and laying it on one side of the open spread. Gesso, then add color washes, defined by lines, for later journaling. Extended journaling. I struggle with this kind of journaling, the undefined open areas. I'm pretty line-dependent! This layout was to include just a few favorite magazines images, laid out with room for drawing and journaling. The quote was optional, but I liked this one. Right side of the layout -- I still have the drawing-then-journaling steps to go on this layout. I used glass paint - it's kind of translucent when it dries and I love that.

Art Journal Gypsy

I stumbled onto this Art Journal Gypsies blog via several others, and found it captivating, found myself wishing I'd discovered it when it first began. Then I decided pfft! I'm going to just go ahead and follow along, do the prompts from previous weeks, and join the fun! This Journal Belongs to ... inside front cover of new Art Journal Gypsy composition book. Self-portrait ... a mermaid (of course), in a cool hat ... and words chosen for their meaning to and about me. Gesso, then a light color wash, then 'age' the page (walnut ink squirts). This page is to journal about the mandala created on the opposite page. Side 2 - Mandala. I HATE THIS. I know what it symbolizes to me but I HATE THIS. Still, I'm going to leave it alone (blecch) and journal about the meaning.
Gesso first, then all kinds of tapes, then a dark coat of paint. Ready for the next step. Both sides of the spread basically look like this.

I thought, at first, I'd go through and do all the backgrounds, then go back and journal, but I'm thinking now that won't work. I may just have to forego trying to complete all the weeks I missed and just pick up where the group is now. That way I can also finish the journaling as I go. What a heavenly, fun, relaxing day I spent yesterday, though -- working on these pages.