Sunday, January 26, 2014

A New Year, A New Art Journal





Here is the new art journal I made recently. It’s a nice size, 8” x 10”, with only 56 pages (back and front) filled with my favorite hot-press Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper.










The cover is a tyvek painted envelope wrapped around canvas boards, distressed-looking leather tapes, and a cool rusted metal object I found in a Hobby Lobby parking lot. Adding some black brads through the four holes, it takes on the appearance of an old label holder. So, I add “lost & found” and that’s also the theme. Each page or spread will have some kind of found object.





End papers are previously-painted pieces of watercolor paper. I forgot to do two things—glue the first page to the cover, and to sew the tapes to the cover before adding the end papers. Because of that, it’s a bit wobbly when opening the first page but it also lends to the rough-edge “lost & found” feel. All mistakes or imperfections will continually add to this. It’s like a built-in set of excuses! To play without rules!