Tagged!

Mz Katie tagged me to tell six things about myself.

I realise that I only tell five on the video, so I owe you one.

6. I have two angels with me.

Dreams are Vessels Journal Page

I am quite excited with how these pages turned out. Sometimes pages just don't seem to be all that great, and then something comes together. But I am always the sucker for violet, purple and the surrealistic feel.

I started out with black gesso. Then I decided to try a thin coat of purple acrylic paint over the top and ended up with this incredibly rich deep purple.
I felt more comfortable with these pages after I added the border. I guess it wasn't so scarily dark then. The border was cut from magazine photos. 

The mouse is a photocopy of my drawing from the Mice Pages. It is really fun to reuse bits of your journal pages this way. See here to learn more about using photocopies.

The woman on her mechanical horse is from an art opening invite. The fun bit was that I cut her head off and added my own drawing in its place. The girl on the left is another photocopy, this time from my help from the fairies page. She is wearing a new gown (cut from a pattern in a magazine.)
Finally I added a fantastic quote from Carolyn Myss about dreams in silver pen. I added my own dream related ramblings upsidedown and some other did-dad-doodles here and there in my lovely violet and pink gel pens. Click on the picture to see it bigger to check out the details.

I am finding my completely black gessoed pages rather challenging. This was the first one that 'worked'. I am more comfortable with just using spots of the black gesso. The plain gesso is much easier to write on, the acrylic paint was kind of slippery in parts.

Hello Video

I lost a bit of quality in exporting the video, but it's a start. It is so fun to do new stuff!

You couldn't see my rock goddess very well on the video, so here is a better look.

I wanted to make a link here to Renee's blog Painted Sky Woman as she inspired me to share some beaded stuff. 

Help Needed with Video Posting

I made a short "hello" video for you guys in iMovie. I uploaded it to Youtube (it took hours to upload!). But apparently youtube couldn't convert the video. Does anyone have any experience with this?

My Creativity Class starts tomorrow. I am very excited.

Bloodlines Journal Page

Here is my newest art journal page, and new favourite, Bloodlines. I am loving the way connections can happen without any previous intention. I will tell you what I mean.

I gessoed, then painted the pages with acrylic paint. I had no idea what was going on here, just a feeling that I wanted an olivey green.
Later I began drawing this woman. I just had the thought of a woman in 17th century dress. I looked up the clothing on the internet. I drew her on some paper that is heavy enough to carry light washes of colour. I planned on cutting her out. I painted her with watercolours and watersoluble colour pencils.

I used some decorative paper for her overdress. You just trace the shape with tracing paper, then use it as a pattern to cut out the dress. You can see the 'pattern' on the right bottom of the drawing.

Here she is, cut out and ready to be glued down. I think I need to get some mod podge because I am using acrylic matt medium to glue her down and it doesn't work as well as I would like. Or maybe I should have used my PVA glue. I don't know which is best for card.
I first thought the frog would be in her hands, but then I came across this cutie frog on the internet. I printed him and cut him out. Then I drew in the well and the trees. It is all looking very fairy tale, which I like.
I drew in another tree, and then I had the impulse to add the photo of my sister. I photocopy the photos first before I use them in my art journal, for two reasons. One is that I get to keep the original photo, and second is that the photocopy paper is thinner and easier to work with.

The leaves are shapes cut out from a magazine outdoor scene. I coloured the trees and well in with some water soluble pencils. I just wanted a hint of colour with the line drawing. I also brought a little coloured pencil over the photo to bring it into the rest of the page. Click on the picture if you want a closer look.

Now,  what I find rather strange is... the writing was something I just had lying on the desk. I liked it and just added it not thinking about whether it went with the picture. 

I love the way the subconscious works. Sometimes I think the art journaling impulse is to get me to trust my instincts more so I will work this way with my "real" paintings. Exciting thought. 

Finally I added a bit of a border.

Creativity will Change Your Life

I have a class coming up in Byron Bay, Australia called "Creativity will Change  your Life".

It is a bit of a corny name, but it is true. And while it sounds like an american hyperbole, the truth is that it is closer to an english understatement. 

So I thought I would write a little list of the ways that creativity will change your life.

Creativity develops intuition. 

Creativity strengthens self trust.

Creativity develops courage.

Creativity brings play and expands wonder.

Creativity teaches you how to communicate with your soul.

Creativity puts you in touch with the Realm that creates and contains meaning.

Creativity heals.

Creativity encourages self love.

My Name is Zom

When I began this blog, I thought it was going to be an experimental, temporary thing. I also had recently gone to a wonderful healer who suggested it would be healing if I went back to my childhood name. That didn't feel right. Instead I used my childhood name, DeeDee, to write my blog. It was also a way to hide a bit until I felt 'safe'.

I don't want to hide anymore. I like this blog and the people I have met. So, while it won't be new to many of you, I am making it official.  My name is Zom. 

I am also teaching, and I want this blog to be available to my students who know me as Zom. So from now on, I will be writing under Zom.

Any of my 'old' blogging friends who want to continue to call me DeeDee are most welcome. Actually anyone who wants to, I will come to either name, lol. But to avoid more confusion my comments will be under Zom and that is what I will write under.

Animals of the Land Journal Page

As always, I had no idea of what the pages would be when I started. My paintings are very planned, so my art journal is where I like to allow the unexpected. I have noticed that a lot of people have pages that look very coherent, like they all go together. I think mine are all over the place. Maybe  you wouldn't know they are done by the same person?
I started out drawing the woman from a photo I had on the computer. I drew her in pencil straight onto the page. I darkened her up with black coloured pencil. I want that black that I can't get with a lead pencil.

Early the next morning on my walk, I saw a koala in a tree by the road. Usually they are high up in a tree, but this one was at eye level. We looked at each other for a while.

I glued on some bible pages. I hope that doesn't offend anyone. I like the feel of them underneath stuff.
Then I put some gesso down.
Then some watercolour washes, just to tone the paper. The pages stayed like that for a while, until I came  across D'Blogala's Art Journal Fridays. 
I was attracted to a prompt about writing a list. I am sorry but I can't seem to link to it. I will quote D'Blogala "Now, I want you to make a list on your page, but try to make your lettering reflect the list. Try to differentiate the lettering...use doodling, and even use words you find in magazines or other ephemera. You can divide up the page any way you want, use any color pallette..."

I  made a list of animals that live on our land. I tried to use lettering that had the feel of each animal.

The picture in the bottom corner isn't of our land, I just thought it looked good.
I finished up doing some journaling about the animals. Whatever came to mind.

a Sacred Act

I read a blogger this morning who is trying to get her courage up to put her art up for sale. She wrote  "because if I can't sell my art, then what am I doing?"

???????????

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What has happened to us that we imagine something only has worth if we can make money from it!

Do you realise that creating is a sacred act?

Even if what you create

isn't very good.

Even if it is crap.

And if you realise that you are in an act that is sacred, I dare you to try and make crap.

It may be unskilled; you may have a lot to learn; you may even be untalented - but it won't be crap.

Because even without skill or talent, if you create in the awareness that what you are doing is sacred, what you create will carry that.

No one may buy it.

No one may recognise what is carries.

But the act will change YOU.

And the fact that there is another sacred object, will change the WORLD.

This is why we would rather have an awkward card scrawled by a 2 year old than a 'perfect' card from Hallmark.

Art can be awkward and sacred.

Paintings can be perfect and dead.

Don't reduce the act of creation to selling.

Don't reduce the value of anything in your life that way.

Please.

Journal Pages in black and white

The starting point for these pages came from A Print a Day. Lovely Yasmine creates her wonderful prints and generously gives away a weekend download.

This is Yasmine's lace print. I hand copied it so I could experience how she drew it - I was hopeful that I would imbibe some of her inspiration (don't know if it worked.)

Next I added a packing tape transfer. You start with a photocopy and cover it with packing tape. Obviously you are limited to the width of the tape. Once the tape is burnished, put it in some water to soak for 10 minutes or so. After the paper is thoroughly wet, it is easy enough to rub it off with your finger. If you don't have lack of water issues (we are on tank water) you can do it under a running faucet. It works either way. Sometimes there is enough stickiness left on the tape to just stick it on your page. Most of the time I need to use some matt medium as glue.

Here is a youtube video on the technique.

The young girl on the right (me at four) is another packing tape transfer. The larger picture and the cat are black and white photocopies. Oh, confession. These pages aren't just black and white. The 'doilies' on the right I drew with a brown staedtler fineliner pen.

Then I ended with some writing from "the Tao of Physics". Click on the image if you want to see it bigger.

I like the old fashioned look of these pages, especially with my childhood photos. 

My 6 Secrets, and You are Tagged!

Okay, Connie of Dirty Footprints has tagged me. She says I have to tell 6 secrets. Funnily enough when I went to the blog who tagged her, it was tell 6 things about yourself. So how did it become secrets Connie?

It's like playing telephone.

Still, I will play - and what the heck, I will play BIG. ...and then I will pick six victims, oops I mean friends, to play as well.

#1. I was born in the U.S.A. and grew up there. I moved to Australia at the age of 26, knowing nothing of the country except that I liked their movies. I came because I fell in love with an aussie bloke. 

No, I am no longer with him. But you couldn't pry me away from Australia. I am now a citizen.

#2. I am a full time artist and here is my website: Zom Osborne.

#3. In my early 20's I lived with brothers and was lovers with both of them. (Not at the same time, although I confess to a bit of overlap. It was the 80's).

#4. In my mid 20's I worked as a full time artist's model posing nude (as they do).

#5. I once cut the head off a poisonous snake that was in my bedroom. I was naked, coming out of the bath at the time. 

#6. I went on stage as a standup comic. Here is the link if you want to see it. In defence of my vanity, this is not how I usually sound. I took on a bit of a stage personality.

So there you go. I am relieved I can stop at six. 

 

And I will tag:

Cookie Sunshine

Carlikup of What's Good for the Soul

Ginger of Ponderings of Two Guinea Pigs

Walk in the Woods of What I Made Today

Lisa of Conviction of the Heart

Really Fun Journal Pages

Here are some pages that ended up a lot of fun. I have to give credit to d'blogala as her journal pages encouraged me to push these much further than I normally would have. That is part of what an art journal is about - a safe place to go past  your comfort zones. I began these pages in one of my favourite ways, just drawing on the pages. I use a mechanical pen and walk around on our land and look for animals and birds to draw. I know that the drawings will be nothing special as the wallabies are moving around and won't stay still for me. But it connects me with them and makes me happy. It isn't about a wonderful drawing, it is about drawing and what the act gives me. Like when you go for a beautiful walk. You don't come home  disappointed if you don't have anything to show for your walk.

The writing was one of my 'messages' that I write down. I don't know who sends the messages but they are always loving and usually much wiser than I am.
Then I gessoed the page and brushed on some watercolour. The watercolours that I use are cheap pan ones that don't give me a proper wash. I don't mind this as I am not going for perfection. The brush marks could be interesting later on. We will see.

Another technique that I find a lot of fun is using photocopies of my previous journal pages. The flower is from the mice page, and the fairies are from "Help from the Fairies" page. With the fairies, I photocopied them twice their original size, cut them out and glued them on in different places. Then I added more designs and stuff to their clothes. Compare them and see if you can spot the changes.

Then I wrote the original writing back in. I used permanent pens and some sticker letters. I drew some more flowers on to echo the ones on the left and coloured them with water soluable oil pastels. I also added a cut out photocopy of me jumping. I would have left it there except for seeing d'blogala's journal pages. 
With her inspiration I decided to keep going. I added more little designs and writing, but it didn't have the punch I wanted. I decided to take out the big guns: black gesso.
I painted in some carefully placed shapes of black gesso, and there was the pizzazz! Now I could come in with the gel pens over the top. Now these are happening pages!

If you click on the last photo, you can see the pages larger and in more detail.

Now you go. Try colour photocopying some of your favourite pages -maybe change the size by bigger or smaller, then cut and paste over a bright background. Try some black gesso shapes and then come in with some gel pens. 

Don't forget to let me see!

a Journal Page Using Photocopies

I thought I had better finish up this page. Do you remember? The directions for the beginning are here. We started with crayon and an acrylic wash.
First I made a border around the two pages with water soluable oil pastels.

Then I cut up some colour photocopies. Inkjet prints can run if they get wet, so I prefer to use photocopies because you have more flexibility. 

I photocopied this page out of my journal and reused the hare. I had photocopied Vicki's picture before I sent it to her. So I cut out the one boobed fairy. (They are small relatives of the famous Amazons). I glued the cutouts on their new background, and presto! a new page!

I wrote the quote in my wonderful Hybrid Gel white pen. I love being able to write in white. Others say you can use white out pens, but I find them clumsy and blobby.

A few rub ons and some black pen to emphasize the border. 

I wonder if these pages could use more?

What have you guys done with your journal pages? Did anyone try either of the journal page beginnings?

Don't forget, you can link to this page. You can do this by clicking on "links to this post" and then click on 'create a link' and a new post will come up for your blog.