Mixed Media Mayhem - DLP - Recording Memories

Documented Life Project

Travel Journaling

June 13

Art Challenge: Recording Memories

Journal Prompt:  Taking the Road Less Traveled

The journal prompts for June were perfect for me.  As a committed traveler, I have an endless stash of goodies to use, and I am in a "Use It Up" mode.  Cleaning out my files, I found my written journal for my trip to Paris in August of 2004.  The prompt, Taking the Road Less Traveled,  was perfect given that I was traveling standby on a Continental pass, always unsure where I would end up.  This trip started off as a jaunt to Rome and changed to a sojourn in Paris when I found the flight to Rome full.  Our trip came to an end when we saw on CNN our home town posted as the target for a giant hurricane.  I tried to simulate the original journal page by pasting old ledger paper in my journal and transcribing the entry.  My handwriting is unfortunate. 

In my stash, I found a lot of old scrapbooking supplies that I planned on discarding...too cute, but I decided just to stick them to this page.  I added a vintage postcard to capture the scene. (I couldn't save it forever)

Mixed Media Mayhem - Take Me Away

Documented Life Project

June Theme   Travel Journaling

June 6 Art Challenge Illustrative Art Journaling

Journal Prompt:  Take Me Away

The challenge posed by this month's theme, Travel Journaling, was perfect for me.  I could do this forever.  Having traveled near and far my whole life, I have many memories to draw on.  These memories are documented in thousands of photos and bins of memorabilia (and a huge collection of folk art).  I have two giant bins of newspapers, magazines, and labels from China alone.  I try to make a book using BookSmart after each journey, but as with everything else, I am behind.

My last big trip was to celebrate my birthday traveling to Turkey and the Greek Islands.  I spent over a week in Istanbul which gave me lots of time to walk the city or take the tram to more distant locations.  Shopping in the Grand Bazaar, the Curcurcuma antique district, or the Ortaköy district, my favorite finds were old postcards and photographs.  For this journal entry, Illustrative Art Journaling, I chose several of my most representative postcard images.  To make these more my own, I photocopied and transfered them to my journal page using gel medium. I sealed my journal pages first with a coat of matte medium.  A green scubby sponge works well to work the paper off of the transfers.

To make a background congruent with the sepia look of the photo, I concocted a mixture of fiber paste and Distress Ink to give me the look of old walls in the city.

I did achieve a gnarly surface, but I am not sure I am happy with it.  Adding my written text and some scraps from receipts, I finished up the page.

Mixed Media Mayhem - Tea for Me

Tea for Me

Isn't tea the antidote for whatever ails you.  My mother made it for me when I was a child and served it with cinnamon toast...but only when I was sick.  

I always have several journals working at once.  This page is from my "Use it Up" book where I clean brushes and stencils and collect ephemera and detritus from other journals.  I wanted to use up the blank left over after I punched out an alphabet, so I stuck them down to a page where I had cleaned up from some Dylusions.  

To try to unify this mess I dry brushed with heavy white gesso, a favorite art supply.

What next?  Looking at my confused color palette led me to my paper stash.  Every time I go to Paper Source, I buy some of their beautiful paper...then just look at it.  I decided in my "use it up" mood to cut up one of the vintage tea wrapping paper and paint over the cups to match my background.   I added the tea pot from the packaging of the Publix tea bags, and the steam from a piece of chipboard.

Mixed Media Mayhem - Documented Life Project - Textured Paper

Documented Life Project

May Theme

Touchy Feely (Texture)

May 30

Art Challenge:  Textured Paper

Journal Prompt:  I'm So Not Feeling It!

This week's challenge was indeed that.  Although I love using textured paper, purchased or hand made, the prompt did not inspire me.  I think of my journal as a place for positive declarations or lessons learned, but I did muddle through.

I started with textured paper gifted to me by friend and fellow hoarder, Lowry Smathers, and supplemented with cheesecloth I still had on my desk from the previous week's challenge.

I dyed the cheesecloth with TintIt spray dye, and I used gel medium to form the strips into stylized flowers.

I love to work in my garden, but the heat this summer has made it impossible after 10:00 a.m. "Not feeling" up to work outside, I brought my flowers inside to my journal page.  I used the "stems" as the journaling guideline.

Although my flowers are not fine art, I had fun manipulating the materials to suggest blossoms. 

Mixed Media Mayhem - The Documented Life Project - Adding texture with cheese cloth

Documented Life Project - May Theme

Touchy Feely (Texture)

May 23

Art Challenge:  Cheesecloth

Journal Prompt:  Say Cheese

The challenge continues the quest for texture by suggesting cheese cloth for the art technique and "say cheese" for the journal.  I wanted to use the cheese cloth to bring some dimension to a portrait of a women from my practice book.  In teaching myself to draw, I have found the hardest part seems creating a natural mouth.  I want this woman to smile.  Everybody looks better smiling.  I used a photocopy of my drawing to create the image and the dyed cheesecake for drama (I used a new product, Tint It Spray Dye Paint, which I love because it does not interact with liquids once it is dry)

Mixed Media Mayhem - Post & Postage - A Note from the Sea

In my "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" phase I sorted out piles of postage ephemera including stamps and photocopies. I tried to use them in a variety of journal entries.  I was happy to see the Post and Postage challenge on the Art Journal Journey blog.

 It was the end of the school year and I wanted to make a thank you note to my students at Indian River Academy where we had worked on a literacy/art project based on the work of James Prosek whose Ocean Fishes are on exhibition at VBMA.  In addition to the postage with fish images, I had several fish prints that I had generated for samples for the Japanese Gyotaku lesson and the brochure for Prosek's show.

After building a base coat of acrylic paints applied with a palette knife I was ready to layer on the imagery.  My fish print was on deli paper.  Adding this print provided a translucent top layer for a watery effect. Using postage stamps and rubber stamps of postal marks, I composed my note.  The bright yellow title from the museum brochure was added for contrast.

Mixed Media Mayhem - Rise Above

Documented Life Project Week of May 16

Art Challenge:  Modeling Paste

Journal Prompt:  Rising to the Occasion

The beauty of art journaling is in the opportunity to work out my ideas and feelings concretely while protecting my vulnerability.  I can vent and celebrate but do not have to explicitly express these intimacies.  My journal entry tells my story, but only to myself.  I have the genuine key to the secret diary, but I can invite others to look for their own meaning.

I was really inspired by this challenge - texture - modeling paste.  I have been in a whirlwind of art making.  Bins of paper everywhere.  I am determined to use what's at hand and make this part of my problem solving.  I had some beautiful deli paper left over from a printing session.  I was excited about the color, the crinkle, and the translucency.

I also have drawers and bins of alphabet stamps, stencils, masks, grungeboard, and lazer cuts.  I used a sheet where after punching out the letters, I could use the leftover as a stencil.

I glued the letters and numbers randomly to the background, then used the stencil first to spray dylusions and then, to apply a layer of modeling/molding paste.

To add variety while sticking to the theme, I used some of my large lettering stencils choosing the "A" for "above."  I was able to use the stencil two ways, first as a stencil, then as an image.  

To extend the graphic and the message, I used punched letters to spell "above," traced them with graphite pencil. 

To set off the square stencil I added tiny copper brads to attach it to the background.

To make the message more explicit I stamped "Seek Clarity" on a piece of Braille paper.

Now I have the composition to tell my story.