Mixed Media Mayhem - Words With Friends - DLP 2015

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.