The Art Journal - Page 4 (& 5)

Goals.

So this is a double page spread I suppose. (and the blurriest photo yet)

I think its good to regularly write down and reassess my goals - it helps me track how close (or far away) I am to achieving them.
So this page is about that.

I painted the background, cut the letters out of scrap paper - to use as templates for the nice paper and then just stuck some bits and pieces down. You can cut out a printed font if you aren't too keen on what you come up with free hand.
All the paper I've used so far in this book is much like what I put in the kits for sale on etsy.

Sometimes you don't want just anyone reading the things you write so there are lots of ways to hide your writing. I made a flap to hide my more personal goals behind. The hinge stickers are obviously purpose made, but you can make your own, or just glue down part of the page and fold it over.

What are your goals? What do you want to be when you grow up? (I still don't feel like I have) Write them down!

Some tips:

• Add another dimension to your page by adding a flap/pocket/envelope for you to hide a message in. 
• Don't be too precious or perfectionist about your pages (especially when you use paint)

The Art Journal - Page 3

THIS IS WHY... continued.

These pages face each other and so I thought it would be good for them to share a theme.

My husband is not an overly sentimental fellow. (understatement)

One day though, I know that I will be glad that I have bothered to write/create/spew these books, because it will help him, and our children, and their children (if they last that long) to know me, and perhaps even him, better.
It certainly isn't my primary motivation, but with one little kiddie-winkle running wild on this world and another one kicking my internal organs (even as I type this), it seems like a nice thought that one day they'd be able to look at these - my creative spewings - and get to know me at 27.

This page has... a wonderful drawing from Ky and Gabe during church, a photo of the boys in Raro, a rubbing or a lino cut plate, and more paper off cuts. (Art journaling is a great way to get rid of scrap paper!)

I also sewed some things on with wool.

Use photos in your pages!These boys are my favourite people, who are yours? Make a page about them! Art journaling is a lot looser than scrap booking and there really are no rules.

Some tips:

• Try sewing things on. If the paper/card is thick, stab the holes first with an awl. 
• Make your own paper - with stamps, leaf rubbings, drawings, hand prints...
• Alphabet stickers are awesome. I know I was all like 'love your handwriting' and you should, but variety is good too. 

 In other news... my camera is no good at taking photos of flat things - like pages of art journals. The edges are ALWAYS blurry.

A thousand and one leaves.

I am quite sure that I have mentioned this before, but I love trees.
Once upon a time I had hopes of making my career out of them. (I wrote all about that here) Turns out I can't escape them because nearly everything I draw or paint seems to have trees involved.

Fantasy things

Non fantasy things

Mixed media things

My 'portfolio' (such as it is) is utter arbour madness. 

Recently I got to be involved in helping a family of friends create a tree of their own, loaded with meaning and significance.

not a great photo...

So thanks Carli and Winston for letting me be part of creating something for your family.

In related news, I never want to paint another leaf again.

a rant

Time really does go by much faster than I ever remember as a kid. 

Days must seem incredibly long to Gabriel.

Day length seems variable, based on what I have to do/want to do, and whether or not it is raining.
I have been art journaling and putting together what I hope will be a useful little course for people to download (once I get some decent not blurry photos!!) in the coming months.

Restrain your excitement.

After finishing watching all of Stargate SG1 and then Stargate Atlantis, Ky and I turned to The Walking Dead. I LOVE zombie movies, so I figured that it was only a natural progression for me to appreciate this tv series as well. I have to admit though that after passing the midway point of the second series I am disenchanted, and depressed by the characters having their moral strength chipped away by the obviously heinous circumstances.
It's not that I can't appreciate the realism of the psychology of the whole thing, but I like seeing people succeed, rise above circumstance, maintain their courage in the face of adversity, pull together through trials... you know, all those good things.

This is probably why I love B-grade action movies so much... as a general rule they are resolved in an incredibly redemptive way. Perhaps not realistic, but I don't necessarily watch television for reality.

That's why I can't sit through Battlestar, because the characters are so real, their issues so real, and all together its all just very annoying.
I want to escape for goodness sake!

Anyway, after all this blathering about television, here are some of my other thoughts for the week - it is Wednesday after all, and while I am running out of lungs to cough up, sickness can't keep me from updating my blog... or complaining about tv.

 I miss my daily jogging path around Raro.

 Disappointment tastes bad.

Look at how little my baby looks! This was taken a year ago...