Improvisational Journal Page

I just completed a journal page in one of the 21 Secrets workshops, "Improvisation Station".

 Natasha Reilly is the teacher and her effervescent personality is infectuous! I watch her videos over and over.  I actually joined her workshop and watched all her videos before we went on vacation, but I didn't actually do any of the journaling.

While we were in Savannah, I let the concept of the class really sink in and all the sights and sounds and emotions that I experienced there reveal to me who I really am.

The class started with us writing a standard introduction of ourselves.  You know like, "Hi, my name is Jenn.  I'm a wife in my 30's.....blah blah blah.  After I was finished with this exercise, I couldn't believe how many labels I put on myself.  Here is my first introduction:

After we wrote our introductions, we tore them up and wrote a new introduction in our journals.  This one was an intro without labels and without limts.  Everything that I had experienced in Savannah flooded back.  Here is my new introduction:

I plan on writing this on a big sheet in my "big girl" journal (a 18 x 23 watercolor pad) and keep adding to it.  Now came the fun improvisational part.  Natasha provided prompts that we were to choose at random.  I ended up with senses and the word "sensational".  I decided that the sense that I wanted to journal about was my sense of sight.  The things that I find sensational are all in nature.  So, I took my torn pieces and created a rose and dragon flies.

I really urge you to try this process.  Get out of the boxes that you put yourself in and discover who you really are.  Then, play a little improv game to get your journaling going.

Promises Journal....Don't leave home without one!

 

My first vlog!!  I'm liking it.  I'm working hard in the studio today and will have new works to show you tomorrow. 

P.S.  Blogger is not letting me upload videos, so I did it through YouTube.  I know the video lags the sound a little, but I'll get the kinks worked out for next time.

Have a great one!!!

Sunday Art Therapy #17

A couple of weeks ago, my best friend from college invited me to a ladies' Christmas brunch. She had planned to play dirty Santa with small gifts. So, I scouted out Etsy and found this coffee coozie from one of my favorite sellers, PoshPaisley:

Isn't it adorable?  I had to make sure that the wrapping for this little gem was just as lovely as the treasure inside.  I thought that I would create a little envelope out of my paper stash, or maybe use one of my recycled boxes and wrap it in paper.  As I looked around my studio, I found the perfect piece.

This little bag once held two chocolate chip cookies from a hotel in Cleveland, OH.  I couldn't just throw it away.  (To be honest, I kept the little cookie wrappers, too!)  But, it didn't scream Christmas, so I dressed it up. 

The little carriage in this scene was part of the print on the paper.  I loved it and incorporated it into my painted scene.  I scrubbed white gesso over part of the paper, and used watercolor crayon to paint in the house and the trees.  I added in some cute little stickers and finished it off with a decorative tape.

Although it was the smallest gift on the table, it was the first present chosen and loved by its final owner.

Don't skimp out on the wrapping.  It's the details that make even the simplest gift very special.

If you haven't already done so, check out last week's Sunday Art Therapy submissions.  Claire from Saraccino has really been busy with some awesome projects!  Love all the pink!

Now, it's your turn.  Link away! 

NOTE:  There will be no Sunday Art Therapy link party for the next two weeks as we celebrate the holidays with family and friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

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1. Star or snowflake? 2. Little felt bird 3. Flowery pincushion. . 4. Small envelope 5. Tentacles T-shirt 6. Joy! 7. Disney princesses

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Sunday Art Therapy #15

UPDATE: Due to some technical problems, this linky party will be open through Wednesday!!! Keep linking!

Everyday is a great day for crafting, but it gets even better at Christmas.  Christmas is all about family and going home around my household.  So, I wanted to share my "Home" collage.

I created the background from leftover paint from other art journal pages, then I raided my Better Homes and Gardens collection for some photos.  A tree cut from an old dictionary page, some oil pastel, and a picture of me (second from the left) and my neighborhood girl friends and we have Home: Where Life Happens.

So this is my first major collage that I've ever constructed.  Please critique!  I'm desparate to get better at this because I think it is an important skill for me to incorporate into my mixed-media art.

Now, it's your turn to show us what you've been up to this week or any other time.  Older projects are welcome as well as your latest endeavors.  Remember, that you can link up below as well as add to our Flickr group by clicking on the link inside the slide show.

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1. Peacock's feathers 2. Pink tentacles! 3. Glass Slides Pendant 4. A fun gift to draw 5. Vintage Yarn Tree

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Enamered with Collage

Lately, I am completely enamered by collage. I have been a scrapbooker for what seems like for-ev-er. But, I just can't seem to get the hang of collage. I mean, I know the basics...gather various "found" objects, cut out pictures, and glue to something, ie., paper, canvas, an altered book, or any other surface for that matter. I get all hung up on what I can and can't use (copyright issues), what's a good composition, what story do I want to tell. UGH!

So, I'm on a journey. I want to be a mixed media artist that is really good at collage. To reach this goal, I've started with a little inspiration. Take a look at this slideshow.



Have you ever tried collage? Got any tips?

Up-cycle Pen Caddy

I get so excited when I have an epiphany! How about you? I have invested in some new pens for my artistic endeavors--brush pens, gel pens, metallic paint pens, markers, glitter pens. They are fabulous! One thing I've learned, though, is that pens like to be stored laying down rather than standing up in a cup. Hmph, who knew?

Since I want my new lovelies to be happy, I made them a new home. I searched my stash and found a shoe box and several cardboard toilet paper and paper towel rolls.

Here's how I did it:

1. Primer. I used white gesso as my primer. I applied a generous coat to all of the outside surfaces, leaving as much brushstroke texture as possible. (If you are going to cover your shoebox in paper this step is not necessary.) Allow to dry overnight.

2. Paint. I used watercolor crayons, cake watercolors, and distress ink.

3. Cover the inside. In my experience, painting the inside of shoebox is not easy. So, I went with paper. I found this cool alphabet paper in my stash. It reminded me of practicing my letters as a kindergartner.

4. Window. Some of my brush pens were too long to fit into the tubes, so I cut a window on either side of the box to let them lay across it. To finish the edges and to make a little shelf for them to sit on, I cut plastic canvas. (I bought this at a yard sale. I'm not sure what it's really used for.) I used E-6000 glue to attach it.

5. Cover the cardboard tubes. I had some black spray paint in the garage, so my hubby strung the tubes on a large dowel and painted them for me. You could also cover them in paper. I cut ruled notebook paper to fit on the inside.

6. Assemble. It's not necessary to glue your tubes into the box. My box was large enough to fit three tubes across, but I liked the pattern of staggering them. Load your pens, and voila.

I'm linking to these parties.  You should join them, too.

 

Sunday Art Therapy #9

Happy Sunday, everyone.  I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend.  We are really enjoying the fall colors here in middle Tennessee.  Truthfully, it's about two weeks early, but I love it!! Today is a special day. It is my parent's 30th wedding anniversary! It reminds me of how lucky my sister and I are that our parents have stayed together when most of our friends' parents have not. We witnessed how much work marriage is and how wonderful it is suppose to be. Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad. I love you very much!!

Thanks to everyone who has been joining the Sunday Art Therapy link party and Flickr group.  Last week, Linky Tools had a little hiccup, so I was not able to comment on everyone who linked up, but I have been assured that all is well now.  If you'd like to link up last week's projects again, feel free. 

I am loving the 21 Secrets online workshop!  I have even met a few artists who live in my area.  There are wonderful people from literally all over the world and at every skill level participating in this workshop.  If you haven't already joined, please do so!  You really don't want to miss out.  Connie from Dirty Footprints Studio, the hostess of 21 Secrets, was suppose to guest post last week's Sunday Art Therapy, but was unable to do so due to all of her other commitments.  Hopefully, we can have her here soon.

Here is one of the journal pages that I did this week for the "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" workshop.  I used a really cool technique where you drip rubbing alcohol on wet watercolor or water-based ink to get the great droplet/spatter texture.




Loving it!! 

I've also been working on a little mixed-media, up-cycle project that I will share with you this week.  It's functional and beautiful (if I do say so myself ;).   You won't want to miss it.

So, let's see what you've been up to this week.  Remember, any visual art is welcome, whether it be art journals, paintings, collage, fabric, jewelry, sculpture or anything else that you've let loose on this week. 

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1. Little skull picture 2. Bronze tantacles 3. Talking skull 4. Mermaid envelope 5. Gift Card Portfolio 6. Household Notebook 7. Grunge Card 8. Vampire Card

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Art Journal as Soul Mirror

Last week, I participated in Effy Wild's 21 Secrets class called "Art Journal as Soul Mirror". She took us through a wonderful meditation process that helped us find our passion. Honestly, that is something that I have been seeking for a very long time. The word that came out of my process was Creativity.  This was what I journaled before I started my page:

My soul's purpose is creativity in all of its wonderful and beautiful forms. Creativity is not creating. Only God can create something from nothing. Creativity is bringing elements together and making them into something they were never meant to be, giving them new life, making them into something larger than the sum of their parts, honoring them by believing in what they could be. Creativity is gathering together the outcast and the popular, marrying them together and letting them create their own harmony. This does not only happen with pen and paper, paint and brush, or other elements of the visual artist's mind, but it also happens with entrepreneurs, teachers, social workers, pastors and community workers--servants of God.


Lord, may I be creative in all that I do. I want to serve You, to be mature in my faith in you, and never be scared to BRING your chosen TOGETHER to BEGIN AGAIN, to create a new life, a new program, a new friend, or a new heart from all that was broken or cast aside. I have not lost my usefulness! Create in me a passion fueled by love and a servant's heart. Show me the path that I am to take, and give me the strength to walk down it.

Amen!

Here is my page.  I really enjoyed the journey of its creation and I was amazed at all of the layers that emerged.



If you haven't already created your own art journal page, I hope that I have inspired you to try it. If you feel like you need some help to get started, be sure to check out 21 Secrets hosted by Dirty Footprints Studio.

Fall Home Decor by Mandy's Yellow Corner

Well hello!


I am so excited to be here at Seeds on a Breeze!
Thanks so much for letting me visit, Jenn!


I'm Mandy, and I live in Colorado Springs with my dear husband and our puppy, Ali.





I write a blog called Mandy's Yellow Corner where I share my crafty endeavors...


Like my recreation of a beat up door that I was infatuated with...





Or my tutorial for making an Anthropologie Knock-off Necklace





Today I want to share something that I recently made for my mantel.
I wanted something that would remind me of fall and of God's goodness...


So I took a couple of pages from my old ruined books stash,
And burnt the edges a little bit
[I'm really into burnt paper at the moment]...





Then I cut some black paper to be the same size,
ripped it at the corner,
and burnt the edges...





Then I printed out 1 Chronicles 29:1
"Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name."


I ripped the page around the text and wrinkled it up to make it look old.
I even took a lit match and barely brushed it against the paper to discolor it slightly...





I glued all the layers together,
and here it is framed on my mantel:





If you enjoyed that tutorial, you may want to come over and check out some of my other tutorials.





Thanks again for having me on your lovely blog, Jenn!


♥