Mice Pages

I was digging out the compost pile to mulch some roses. It was full of cute little mice. I enjoyed playing chasies with them. They weren't very quick so I could catch them in my hands. Then I would let them go and chase them again.

The writing is from a surrealist game that I had my Creativity Class play, where each person writes a word of the sentence, folds over the page to cover it and passes it onto the next person. No one knows what the other person wrote and you end up with some interesting statements.

I am inspired by one of Jessica Gonacha's designs and copied it with pen, water-soluable crayons and watercolour into my journal.
I finish off the other page and add a quote by Scott Alexander King's book "Animal Dreaming".

There is Only Love

First I glued down pages of the Bible (I don't mean to offend anyone, I just like using it) and then I gessoed over the top and did Caspiana's magazine silhouette thingy from her soul journal prompts. I think I wrote the long quote on Quanta and the nature of Reality before the silhouette thingy which I did in purple acrylic paint.  (If you want to read some of the quote, the picture goes a bit larger if you click on it).

Then I did a glaze of red to bring it together and provide more interest.

I was doodling and the two fairies? (not sure what they are) popped up. They seemed to fit with the silhouettes and later I glued on the leaves. 

Today I bought some gel pens and did that bit. (Gee, the gel pens are fun).

Do I have to put some kind of warning on my blog now that I have naked fairies? They don't know they are naked, does that make a difference?

the Pregnant Page

No, I am not pregnant!

Or perhaps I am, but not with a physical baby.

This page started with one of Caspiana's soul journal prompts. We covered a written page with various tapes, sanded them and then painted over the top. I ended up with an interesting surface. (If you want to give it try click here.)

Days later I was doodling and ended up drawing the newly pregnant woman sitting against a tree. I cut her out and put her on this page, just because I thought the combination was interesting. You can see here where I was trying the cut outs on different backgrounds.

I decided that I wanted an animal with her and took looked through my magazine cut outs. The fox with her cubs appealed to me and I stuck her down.

This is where things get a bit woo-woo. Vicki from Nollyposh had made an fascinating comment about the meaning of hare on my girl in green with hare post. So I asked her about the fox. As I wrote it onto the page I got the synchronicity goose bumps. It was so spot on about what is happening at the moment it was as if I had gone to a tarot reader!

How about psychic readings through making art! ha ha

Girl in Green with Hare

I found this little cut out's home.

The background started with one of Caspiana's soul journal prompts. I had already pasted down pages from a dictionary, then gessoed. After that I did some doodling with crayon and an acrylic wash over the top. I really like the way that turned out. It ended up more subtle than I thought it would.

I drew the girl while babysitting the girls next door. I finished her up and cut her out. After gluing her down I added the tissue paper skirt. She just seemed to want a hare friend so I brought him bouncing in. I added some twirly bits with gold pen.

My husband finds the see through skirt disturbing. He thinks it contrasts with her air of innocence. I made it transparent because I wanted you to see her 'thunder thighs'.

Making Cut-outs

I am still having a good time experimenting in my art journal. Why did it take me so many years to allow myself to do this? I have been enjoying drawing girls on card, and the ones I like I cut out. Then I can look through the backgrounds that I have laid down in my journal and see which one I want to glue them to. 
This background is from one of Caspiana's soul journal prompts. We used different tapes, sanded them and painted over the top. It made for interesting textures.

I didn't end up following all of Caspiana's soul journal prompts, but she got me to try new things and that has been fabulous. And it is great to have those experiments in my journal that I can go back to and see what interested me and what didn't.

I like the idea of working around a journal. Starting some pages, drawing a bit here and there and then returning. Or not. I don't feel like I have to finish pages, I can just let them sit - or sometimes add my cutouts to add to a page that had stopped at 'background'. That way I end up with different combinations than what I would usually do.

Inspired by A Fanciful Twist

Here is a girl inspired by the creative Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist and her wonderful dolls. 

There is so much wonderful, magical art on the web and sometimes I just have to imbibe it deeper than a mere look. Drawing from someone's else's creation is a way to enter more deeply inside it, and meant only as an exploration not a theft. The drawing will stay in my art journal.

How would you feel about someone drawing from your creation? (Vanessa was okay with me creating this drawing). 

Pirate Girl

Here are another few pages from my art journal. These were inspired by a friend's baby, who she likes to call a 'pirate girl'.

I tried out my new alphabet stamp. It is fun but a little disappointing impact-wise. 

These pages seem a little unfinished, like not enough's happening. But I couldn't think of anything else. Any one have any ideas?

I am Having so Much Fun!!!

I  have been having so much fun in my inspiration journal, my visual journal, my ideas journal - I don't know what to call it. My art journal. Yeah, my art journal.

I have been doing Caspiana's soul journal prompts. They're great for trying out new stuff. I find I get a bit antsy with too much direction, so I am going off on other tangents on other pages. Sometimes it is ideas from Suzi blu's journaling videos, sometimes ideas I have that I want to play with. 

I have quite a few pages started and am starting more new ones. It will be interesting to see if I go back and finish them off. I think I will.

I find that I want to draw. I get bored with too much collaging. 

Here is a page from Caspiana's prompts that is really fun (her prompt, not my page so much). You make a picture that represents your home and give it a pocket cut from a paper bag. The pocket the house really. Then you put something in the pocket... I haven't done that bit yet.

It's a great idea. I just lost interest a bit. I would like to do something similar with a made up building. I get more excited about fantasy than reality.