Mixed Media Mayhem - Textures of San Miquel

The streets of Mexico's colonial cities present a rich source for art inspiration.  There are the jewellike colors, the rustic textures, the frivolity of flowers and foliage, the pungent odors ranging from sweet to spice.  I made this page to capture my awestruck feeling as I walked the streets of San Miguel.
I used Gelatoes, gell medium, and spackle with wallboard repair tape to lay down the initial texture.  Found materials including lottery cards and old newspapers gave me more source material.  My spread just gives a snapshot of the beautify to be enjoyed in San Miguel

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.