Creating an altered Book

24
Sep

When I published this earlier today, I discovered that the gallery of photos I had tried to use didn’t work. I’m revising it so these photos show up. Sorry for my error. Now the photos will show up but they may also be gigantic. I choose gigantic over non-existent. 🙂

Y’all know I’ve been exploring art journaling in a few different forms for quite a while. The process makes me happy, and when I’m focused in the right direction I even use it as a way of connecting with God. It can be a place to express, process, experiment, and all kinds of good stuff like that. I’ve found that when I don’t work in my art journal for a while I start to feel grumpy about it. Art journal = happy. No art journal = grumpy. Clearly I need my art journal in my life.

Just as I use my art journal in different ways, the whole art journal world has lots of different approaches to the process. One approach people use is to take a book and make it into a journal. It’s called an altered book.

It can be used lots of different ways, but before you can just start up and using one, you have to prepare it. If you don’t, many pages will wrinkle, curl up, or even soak up so much liquid (especially if you’re using watercolors) that they disintegrate. Paint on certain kinds of paper just beads up. There’s also the first-world problem of the book getting thicker with your original additions so that it won’t close. Boo hoo. It’s best to get the book ready before you ever put work into creating your own pages. I’ve been working on one, and thought I’d take you through the process.

First, you want to find a book that’s the right size for your purposes. I love the feeling of satisfaction I get when I fill an art journal, so I chose my book accordingly.

You’ll want to look for one that has words and/or pictures that appeal to you. The pages will work better if they’re not slick, but if you put enough gesso on them during the prep process, those might end up being okay. The word on the street is to look for a book where the pages have been sewn in as sections, rather being glued to the spine.

Here we go!

Tearing out pages.

Next comes the glue.

I like this purple glue that dries clear.

Covered the entire page, with extra on the corners.

Smoothing out any bubbles.

I wanted to see how matte medium would compare to the glue stick. I thought it might be too wet and make my pages start to fall apart.

Matte medium: good for so many things.

This was just about the right amount.

There was one thing thing I especially wished I’d been able to listen to, and that was finding a book that had the pages sewn in rather than being glued into the spine. When the pages are sewn in, you can more easily fully remove pages to make room for all the great art you’re going to create. Alas, I couldn’t find a book that was a good size for me as well as having the right paper feel, word feel AND sewn pages. But here’s what happens after you just try to rip out the pages (I’ll have to go back with a straight edge and cut these out):

And this…

Not totally optimum. It’s okay. I use lots of layers and other papers on my pages and generally make a whole bunch of messes, so it will look fine when I’m done with it. Now I know better for next time.

After the page is gessoed and pretty much ready to go, here’s what the pages look like. The first one is the page prepared with glue, the second was prepared with matte medium.

Glue.

Matte medium.

Even up close there’s really not any difference between the two. I thought the matte medium version would have more air pockets, and there are probably a couple but no more than the pages prepared with glue.

The only thing missing now is the cover, but I haven’t got that ready yet, so you’ll have to come back next Thursday and I’ll try to include a photo.

Okay folks, that’s the step by step. I hope it’s helpful to you, especially if you’re trying to start from scratch with this process like I was. And in the next few weeks (on Thursdays) you can expect to see a few more pages from my art journal — I’m trying to be bold and share more of them. For today, I’ll leave you with this: Words have the power to open or close entire rooms…Choose them wisely.

Get Messy Blog Hop Final Round of Bravery

20
May

Lately I’ve been pursuing things that are brave, even if that simply means something as small as believing in a possibility instead of dismissing it, trusting someone with an important decision, or trying something new.

These are challenging things, even if they seem small.

I’m also very aware that the calendar keeps flipping over and my family and I are approaching a painful milestone as we come up to the one year anniversary of losing my dad. I don’t know how to prepare for that. I don’t know what to expect. I’ve found that in other situations if I put too much emphasis on feeling a specific emotion in a particular moment, I usually get it wrong. It’s like my feelings are petulant toddlers who don’t want to be told what to do. I don’t have a lot of words about the anniversary yet, except to say that I think some of the incapacitating intensity of loss has ebbed…today.

That said, I’m trying to focus on what I think I might want to have around me as that day nears: my favorite scarf, fresh air, my family, and some paints.

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This great community of art journalers, Get Messy, has been focused on the word “brave” for a while now, and this is one of our last linkups on that topic. I didn’t include any pictures that had the materials used to create the pages but I’ll try to get some of those again in the future. If you want to see the way other people interpreted some of the challenges, click here.

Are they falling down or floating up?

My biggest news is that I started a part time job. This may not seem like big news, but I’ve been home full time with the kids for many years. MANY YEARS. So any paying employment that takes me away from home and has regular hours and a PAYCHECK is a big deal. It’s going really well, but the next art journal page comes out of A. being brave in re-entering the workforce, and B. being swamped with all the new information I have to learn (relationships, names, positions, responsibilities, programs, etc.).

It’s a waterfall of information.

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When I was in fifth or sixth grade, my family went to a conference out in Colorado. Remember, I’m a child of the 80’s so this was around the time that neon colors and black rubber bracelets were the big thing.

I wanted to join in the fad, so I somehow acquired a new pair of earrings (I don’t remember having money or taking the initiative to go buy them, so my mom must have bought them for me). They were super-cool, dangly and neon. I wanted to wear them with an air of nonchalant confidence but in fact, I was terribly self-conscious about them. I was sure everyone was staring at me.

My family went to a party — with dancing — at the end of this conference, which had people of many ages attending. A much older boy came up to me during this party and very sweetly asked if I’d like to dance.

PANIC!!!!!

No way was I going to dance with this super cute older boy. Was he insane?!

“No, thank you,” I mumbled, totally embarrassed.

He left and I spent the rest of the evening silently wishing I had said yes.

This journal, made on a flat canvas board, is a shout out to those earrings, which were an act of bravery even if I was self-conscious about them the entire time I wore them.

An ode to neon earrings.

This one is an attempt at a new technique.

Trying new things is fun…and unpredictable. The words read: What’s happening on the outside and on the inside are very different.

I submitted some artwork and an essay to an online publication. I don’t know if anything will come of it, but it was definitely an act of bravery to push “send” on that email.

Feathers are inspiring.

Okay, this final page is scary for me to share but that’s part of what this is all about. I’m trying to learn a new thing and simultaneously take steps to share, even if in the process things are imperfect.

More feathers, in lots of ways.

There we are, friends. I’ve shared some of my brave moments with you. Do you care to share any brave moments of your own? Can’t wait to hear from you in the comments!

What makes you Brave?

26
Apr

I’ve been thinking about the different aspects of being brave, and I wanted to consider how there are many ways of being brave. We’re quick to forget some of the things that scared us so bad once we’ve overcome those things. It’s easy to forget how hard it was to do something once we’ve conquered it — think of your first time jumping off a diving board, for example. On an emotional level, there are certain events that were turning points in our developments, and with the benefit of hindsight (since we now know how the event turned out) we often diminish how much bravery it took to have that conversation, write that letter, decline that invitation.

It’s in that spirit that I offer these art journal pages on the topic of “brave” and through the Get Messy website I’ve pulled some of them together in a “zine” which is a small booklet usually on one specific subject. If you want to see a bunch of different interpretations of this, you can check them out here. I’ve included a couple other thematically appropriate paint expressions as well. I hope you enjoy, and I’d love to hear your stories of “brave” in the comments. Thanks for reading!

The cover of my first zine

Walking in the dark

Scared and feminine are not mutually exclusive.

Sacred and feminine are not mutually exclusive.

Trying again can be an extreme version of bravery.

Why is saying no so hard for us?

It takes bravery to be patient and believe there are opportunities for us all.

Show up and be you.

You are a lionheart.

Putting these things out there is an act of bravery for me, especially since I don’t LOVE them all. But I think showing them to you is important; it takes the power out of perfectionism, especially when it comes to arty things.

In what ways have you been brave this week? I’d love to hear about it!

Being brave might look different for you than for Me

10
Apr

I hate to say that some things are relative. It sounds so milquetoast, so ambivalent. And yet, there are things that are relative. Not everything is concrete or one-size-fits-all. Have you tried on a glove that’s one-size-fits-all? It just doesn’t, that’s all I can say.

In the same way, being brave looks different for different people. Going without hand sanitizer for a whole day may be brave for some people to the point of nervous twitches and increased blood pressures. Daring to speak in public can really challenge some people, while others thrive in that setting.

This month I’m working through a theme of “Brave” with the Get Messy peeps, and the timing is eerie. This word keeps popping up for me, which makes me feel like somebody’s walking around two steps in front of me, leaving me little notes. Maybe that’s the idea of secret messages – that when we’re paying attention we receive many more of them than we previously realized. This is definitely one of those alignments.

In that vein, I’d like to share some more art journal images I’ve come up with. If you’re interested in finding out more about the Get Messy prompts and crew, you can click here.

I Use My Voice

Look at all the jumble-y yumminess!

Disappointment versus Hope

I am Brave

Dripping with Bravery

Okay, now it’s your turn. Would you call yourself brave? Have you tried anything lately that’s made you feel brave? And how about those secret message — do you ever notice any of those sent to you? I’d love to hear your story!

Pretty Pictures (Get Messy Art Journal Blog Hop)

26
Mar

Despite seeming like one more dabble in a long list of dabbling, art journaling has been a really helpful tool for me for over a year now. Sometimes I use it as a “prayer language” if you will — a way to commune with God and work through things for which I’ve yet to find language. Other times, it’s a valuable creative expression for me. Because writing has been challenging (writing here refers to making forward progress on the novel I’m working on…along with forming consistent cohesive thoughts to submit to other online venues), I’ve been using a different form of that drive to create and have been putting things in my Etsy store, as well as guiding some art journaling workshops.

I’d like to share some more images with you. Many of these, but not all, are in response to prompts given by the Get Messy Art Journal group. A little background on them: for a small fee you get a lifetime membership. They offer tutorials, inspiration, and examples, and even just the tips on how to photograph your pages has been helpful. I’m going to leave a bunch of links at the bottom of this post, and these are other people who have also joined the Get Messy group. If you’ve got a minute, it’d be interesting (and I know they’d appreciate it) if you popped over to see their pages.

I’m grateful to have this space to share this journey with you. Thanks for being such a supportive group.

If you want to see the other takes on these prompts and just other styles people have, here are seven other people who are taking part in this blog hop and the Get Messy bunchafun.

Karyn http://karynscraftingobsession.blogspot.com.au/
Lauren www.lauren-likes.com
Rebecca http://daintydora.co.uk/
Keshena http://prettypaperandcoffee.com
Kimberlee http://scrapsandsass.blogspot.com
France http://bananafishstudio.com
Nina www.meinlebeninscraps.blogspot.de

What do you think? Do you ever get a craving to mess around with paints? Could you even see these images? — I was worried they might not load for some people. Thanks so much for reading!

Creative pursuits are healthy Pursuits

16
Mar

Today you’ll see a short list of different articles and websites that document the benefits of pursuing creative outlets. This is by no means exhaustive, but meant to whet our appetites for incorporating small acts of creativity into our lives, or helping us see where we’ve already have worked these into our regular routine, maybe even unknowingly.

We’re all familiar with the stereotype of the eccentric creative person, plagued by substance abuse and unmet deadlines, stumbling around the city while mumbling to herself about changing the wording on page 78 or some encoded rant about a Muse. These ideas don’t reflect the best parts a life spent in pursuit of creative expression. These are the shadow side, the side when a person (who may’ve been somewhat fragile to begin with) allows their drive to become obsession and their discipline to become enslavement. That’s not what we’re talking about.

While creativity is a mysterious thing, that doesn’t have to mean it’s somehow malevolent. Tapping into our creativity doesn’t mean we unleash some pent up darkness (although, let’s be honest, a little aggression thrown down on a canvas does release some inner negativity in a constructive way). It means we bring out to play a child-like part of ourselves we’ve ignored — we’re big grown-ups now, after all — , a part that is willing to try new things without the expectation of instant mastery, a teachable part that is curious and adventurous. It is this part we engage when we allow ourselves to express our creativity, in whatever form that may take.

We’re talking about the freedom that comes with play, the ingenuity that develops when you allow your mind to wander and make connections between seemingly unrelated things, and the exploration of purpose and wellbeing that comes as you discover the intrinsic fullness of exercising your brain and your heart through creative outlets. Sound good?

http://mrg.bz/tO0tgY

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Here’s the brief roundup of just a few websites with information about the healthiness of creative endeavors.

An article researched by people at the website Art and Healing.org lists the health benefits from different creative activities, as well as different movements (yoga, tai chi, etc.). Another article, this one from News in Health, cites the benefits of listening to music, doodling, writing, and other creative activities. It stresses that you don’t have to be a professional artist in order to reap the positives of artistic activities.

This article by Be Brain Fit includes a video that discusses the benefits of art therapy.

This article offers an interview with an art therapist, and in my own experience with art journaling, I echo her statement that “the point” isn’t about the end product but about the process. And I love this piece from Psychology Today about the merits of meaningful activities done with our hands, not just mindless key-tapping or scrolling, but the act of transforming something, be it veggies for supper, yarn and textiles, or paper and paint.

Are you a little more visual? Need to see something in action? Here’s a short experiment in art therapy which measured its influence on happiness: In this video they even say you don’t have to be an artist in order to see the positives that can come out of artistic expression (and it’s from Soul Pancake, which is just a super fun, sweet phenomenon).

And finally, here you can watch a program about people who’ve been diagnosed with cancer and how exploring the arts adds to their wellness and sense of fullness.

Creativity is a wide open field, with room to spread out and inclusive of many different forms. Don’t be too quick to discount yourself from the party.

I’d love to hear your responses, and whether you feel you take time to invest in this important part of yourself. Please chime in in the comments, and be sure to share what form your creativity takes.

Double takes and obnoxious Color

6
Mar

It’s the end of the week; time to blast you with a vision impairing burst of color. Or at least that’s what seems to have happened this week. It looks like I forgot to allow for much white space, and that goes for the art journaling as well as in my life. It’s been a busy week — have you found that happening for you as well?

Here’s a little something to push you over the edge into the weekend.

Done on a sheet of watercolor paper — not my usual approach

The next one came out of a challenge from Get Messy Art Journal, a fun site with prompt, tutorials and challenges. I’d been saving the front page of a newspaper magazine, and the challenge was to use ripped pieces of paper in some way. Can you see the lady on the bottom right corner?

She’s an Inspiration

The next two are two takes on the same thing. I facilitated a workshop, once through The Urban Retreat and once for a young adults group at a church. I like to practice and prepare ahead of time, making sure I keep lists of everything I’d like to have available for the experience. These are two passes at the same material. I like how they turn out differently, even though it’s the same me doing them.

Spray ink, alcohol ink, medicine cup, and -- wait for it -- the needlepoint door-hanger.

Made with (amongst other things) spray ink, alcohol ink, medicine cup, and — wait for it — a needlepoint door-hanger. (Note: I didn’t really use a Sharpie in this one, but I needed to block out something for the photo. You didn’t even notice it until now, did you? Rats.)

I love the colors in this so much I want to nibble the edge of the paper.

Moment of bragging: I found the needlepoint form of a door-hanger for $0.49 at a craft store. It works really well with spray inks and not so well as a stencil. But with a little finessing I think there’s a way to make it work.

That’s all for now. What are you doing to feed your soul this weekend? Be good to yourselves! And be sure to check back on Monday for a Medical Mondays guest post. As always, thanks for reading!

Color and Love

26
Feb

Life-giving

Bolstering

Discovery

Unearthing

Open

True

Unhindered

Bold

When I allow myself to silence my inner critic, allow myself to play with abandon and freedom, I feel all the descriptors above. Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes it comes more freely. Time always passes quickly, and when I’m messing around with paint, I’ve had to start setting an alarm so I won’t be late for other commitments. To lose yourself in something you love is a sure sign of an activity that replenishes your heart.

Here are a few samples…

Pages from Paint and Pencils with The Urban Retreat

This next one is a love note to myself, courtesy of the Get Messy challenges. We were challenged to use our favorite materials, colors, arty goodies and write ourselves a love note using this approach. It scares me a little to let y’all see the big ‘ol face I put on there, but part of sharing these is to let you in on my process and lack of artistic training AND IT STILL ENDS UP COOL and means something just to me. Sorry, didn’t mean to yell at you; I just get excited. I happen to be a big fan of modeling paste, so if you could touch this spread, you’d get to feel all the bumps and texture, which just makes it more sensory fun. Maybe I should start using those scented markers to further the sensory experience? Hmmm…food for thought. (My favorite was always the yellow marker — what was yours?)

Big Hair Don’t Care – Self Love Note, Get Messy Art Journal Challenge

Another challenge was to write a love note to a stranger, AND THEN TO LEAVE IT SOMEWHERE for someone to find. ::Gulp:: I did this, but it was not without some fear. My daughter was with me when I dropped one off, and she was pretty convinced we were doing something illegal. It did have an air of conspiracy to it, which just made it more exciting! The first picture tries to show some of the materials I used to create the love notes (complete with a $0.79 paint grid found at the hardware store — gotta love a good deal). The other two are the love-drops around our town.

A paint strainer as a stencil? Yes, please.

Even sideways (because I can’t get it to cooperate) you are loved. Just as you are.

Showin’ some love at our local library.

That’s about it for today. If you’re interested in seeing some other art journal pages and responses to art challenges, click here to go to the Get Messy linkup.

Do you need a love letter today? Is there someone you could send a love letter to, to take some time to put into words your care for him or her? Think about it — it’s hard to say it too much and it’s hard to be over-loved! When’s the last time you got something special in the mail?

Color in Winter

12
Feb

There’s something that has become a bigger part of my life in the past year and I realize that I have shared about it occasionally here on the blog but I’ve been holding back. I think some of that is because it is scary you to share things that are personally meaningful. Some of that is because there is the danger of being critiqued about the quality of the artwork that has become a part of my days. It’s scary to think about something that’s been become meaningful to you being diminished or seen as small.

This hasn’t been small. This has been and continues to be important to me, and has become an important part of my journey. I don’t know all of the ripple effects that it will have for the future but I know that for now this has become a life-giving tool for me. Since I try to write about things that are meaningful to me and I try to write truthfully about things that are going on around here, it makes sense for me to write more about this and share it with you because it meets that criteria. I hope I can step into the bravery and authenticity that I value and share more about this with you on a more regular basis. If you want to check back in the future, I plan to put it in the “Mischief” category, so you’ll know where to look for art journal posts.

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Sometimes the landscape reflects a person’s emotional state, but sometimes that landscape causes it! In an attempt to crack some of the ice that’s been forming a thin layer on my brain and heart lately, I carved out some time to art journal. When it went a direction that was different from my initial intention, I allowed it to develop as it wanted. I’ve been preparing for some retreat sessions lately, and haven’t had as much time to just let it develop organically. Granted, some of those other projects infused themselves into these (and one of them actually IS one of those projects but I just HAD to include it) but that’s a lot like finding yourself humming a song you’ve heard on the radio – it just gets in your head and rattles around for a while until it eventually works its way out. Man, now I’m making it sound like I’ve got 45 things to share, but there’s only three. So with no further ado…

So there’re some colors going on there! Maybe that’s just what I needed to try to liven up my own landscape today. And maybe it can liven up yours a little bit too.

On winter days do you tend to gravitate towards more color or less color, and how does that play out in your day?

P.S. This was done via “Dictaphone” on my silly phone so please excuse any kooky typos!

Adornment and Partytime

24
Oct

At a thrift store I found fascinator hats. At least I’m pretty sure that’s what they’re called, or they’re in the style of a fascinator. Hang on, I’ll show you:

Not quite a hat, this one clips into your hair.

The thought of wearing one of these in public makes me happy. I don’t know if I’d actually have the guts to do it and just head over to the grocery store. You need a destination. Maybe the thing I’m drawn to is the joy of wearing something you like and not caring if other people like it. Maybe it’s the feathers, or the fact there might be an occasion associated with it, a happy reason to wear it.

For most people upon seeing someone wearing this, they might ask if it was a dare or if the person lost a bet. That’s totally understandable.

More than being caught in public with a crazy hair adornment, there’s something else that feels like a dare to me.

The idea makes my heart pound. I’m usually an extrovert, someone who enjoys meeting new people, making conversation, noise, crowds.

This idea overwhelms me and I try to make a plan for how I can get out of it.

The idea of going to a party is suddenly a terrible notion, something that’s to be avoided. Me, the extrovert, looks for excuses or overlapping commitments so I don’t have to stay too long. I imagine being in a room with people who I’ve had interactions with in the past, before my dad got sick. How can I possibly act as if nothing has shifted in the world since then? How can I fill the conversation on light, fluffy things when the hole of his absence looms large in every room I enter?

A hat. That’s the answer. An unusual hat. I need a hat as a distraction, as a conversation piece. That will let me steer any questioning up to my head.

Now you’ll know if you see me, that you should ask about the hat and then let me control the conversation. Deal?

Here are two more, just so you’ll be able to recognize me:

A fetching number in navy.

This one strikes me as the most wild.

For our communal entertainment and because it’s Friday, let’s change things up. In the comments section tell me which headband/fascinator hat you’d wear and what it would take to get you to wear it in public. Can’t wait to see what you say!

Today was a linkup with Kate Motaung who is now the lovely host of Five Minute Friday. The word prompt was “dare” and if you want to read other posts, click here .