Mixed Media Mayhem - She Walks in Beauty

I was so excited to see the sparkly iridescent effects from Pebeo acrylics...had to order them right away on Amazon Prime for instant gratification.  Used them to print a background then the decision- what next?  I had been cutting out profiles and making foam stamps from images in People Magazine.  I embellished the stamps with marks to give texture and delineation and used a stencil and Gelli plate to add the features and scrolls.  When I was finished I saw night and beauty and recalled the poem I had recited in 10th grade poetry reading-- by Lord Byron

"SHE walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies,
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meets in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellow'd to that tender light Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.

   I don't really love this journal spread, but I wanted to share these paints.  They are delightful on the Gelli plate.

Mixed Media Mayhem - Don't Worry, Be Happy

A journal entry to remind myself of an important message.  I started with gesso and gelatos and added images with stencil from Crafters' Workshop.  I used Faber Castell markers to add and enhance color.

Mixed Media Mayhem - Burn Bright

Gelli printing artists know that one could pull prints all day trying masks and stencils to get unique images.  For this journal page I was inspired by a post by Julie Fei Fan Balzer (http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/) post.  I tore several random masks from deli paper leaving a stencil in the negative shape.  I used these to print orange and yellows on the page spread then I over printed with blue using a small circle stencil.  The shapes produced suggested necks, shoulders, and hair.  I copied two of my faces from my sketch book then lightly painted the faces in, drew and colored the eyes.  The orange and the bright eyes implied the text - Burn Bright

In the close-up pics you can see the background layering process.

Mixed Media Mayhem - Deep in the Forest

I submitted this journal page to Art Journal Journey for the October theme, Deep in the Forest. Printing of the Gelli plate with stencils from Crafters Workshop Aspen Trees and deli paper I ended up with several "rejects" to paste in my journal.

Mixed Media Mayhem - Because I Want To...

The joy of art journaling is in the freedom from pre-conceived results...from even having a result...sometimes I just want to gesso over everything and close the page.  This journal page began as a love affair with gelatoes and modeling paste.  Once I had a highly textured surface of green and purple paisley shapes, I just didn't want to cover it up.  Weeks later an dried hibiscus flower fell out of a book where I had stashed it to dry.  The tissue thin, translucent petals needed a permanent home encased in gel medium...so I impulsively glued them to my pages.  The color of the bloom faded so I amped it up with a sheen of Lumiere halo pink paint and added the contrast of the dried painted fern... so by now I was down the rabbit hole, adding shading with pencil and light with gilding paste. Enough.  The perfect text for this overly embellished journal entry sprung to mind so I found some Gelli printed deli paper and wrote the quotation with gold pen.  Thus the gold is gilded and the lily (hibiscus) is painted.

Mixed Media Mayhem - Pain Management

While staying with my daughter this summer, I did not have my vast stash available.  Although there was a Michael's a mile away, I tried not to buy new materials unless it was really vital. Thus constrained, I used a lot of materials found around the house including magazine clippings and old
scrapbook paper.  One morning, members of a church rang the doorbell and left me some material.  I was struck by the notion of pain people feel and how they deal with it so this journal spread developed.  I loved the bold black and white of the scrapbook paper, but after I glued it down I had to make it recede.  I saw a sombre face emerge on the right side and I used words from the church pamphlet and a Philosophy skin care ad (a serendipitous pairing) to provide meaning.  Ideally the words would be on the right side so she would gaze at them, but since my journaling is unplanned...oh well. The close-up is to show the layers.This journal entry is supposed to show how one can emerge with mindfulness.

Mixed Media Mayhem - Opie Meets a Cat

This journal entry ended up being a tribute to my wacky Chorky, Opie…but it didn't start out that way.

 Faced with a blank white page, I approached the background with a random, "Let's try this".  I had some foam pieces from a Michaels sale that I used as stamps with Pitt Big Pens.  To block in some color I rubbed on Gelatoes.  "Ho Hum!"

I read on a blog that a good application of black could unify the composition…so I pulled out a graphic stencil and used a black Gelato and a baby wipe to rub on the black.  I started out small and then just went crazy and filled in both pages.  Gelatoes are water soluble..read smeary…so I put down a slapped on coat of clear gesso…a favorite product to avoid spray fixing. Wanting more layers I turned to some textured wallpaper to stamp on some contrasting color.  The background felt finished but I had no idea what to do with it so it stayed that way for days.

I had a discarded book on my bedside stand that I decided to use as the visual element.  I cut and pasted parts of the text to make a collaged girl and I gessoed and drew in her face…I hated it so I had to give her glasses and a focal piece to distract from her.  I drew and cut the dog, then grounded them with text paper, and drew the leash.  I saw the cat ad when having tea, and it just fit the space giving a reason for my dog's attention to that spot on the page.  One accident led to another which led to "Opie Meets a Cat".