Having prompts for journaling provides inspiration, but I often steer off course into my own interpretation. Each week I look at several web sites and google groups for a word, a concept, a medium, a technique, or a tool that will give me some parameters for journal pages.
In this journal page to respond to THE DOCUMENTED LIFE PROJECT/ FRIENDS WITH WORDS prompt I thought about words gathered with friends instead of words between friends. To face the blank page with words I dug through my boxes of Chinese newspapers gathered during my teaching stint in Xian. As I traveled around China with my cohort in adventure, I saved paper of all sorts including some I scraped from walls. My friend became especially adept at spotting a scrap of treasure from street litter to tissue thin receipts. I used some of these papers to lay down beginning layers. To add some color to the page I used my red good luck paper from Spring Holiday/Chinese New Year which I spent in Yunnan province. This paper is infused with dye which has to be tamed with matte medium to keep it from running all over the place, but it is a deep transparent layer when dry.
To add more words I turned to my collection of silkscreens. These too were gathered with the help of friends, especially the teacher, Gwen Gibson. I attended her workshop in the South of France where I learned to make and use EZ Screens. At the end of the week each student picked screens to keep. I chose several with Chinese calligraphy which I used on this paper. Hence, words with friends.
I had another silkscreen that I made from a old Japanese book given to me by yet another friend. I love this image and I use it over and over again. Each time I am reminded of my artist friend who has slowed down her creative process as she has become older.
I added more Chinese papers and silkscreened calligraphy to give her a costume.
The image had become a little muddled from the overlayering of Chinese tissue papers and appeared too flat. I wanted to add more depth and bring out more focus. I went to my aging collection of polymer clay to create stamped plaques. I used my rubber stamps and authentic chops I had carved to order to add more words. I fiddled with the placement of the tiles then adhered them to the page with extra strong gel medium.
