More of the Celestial Journal

 

Playing with Mixed Media in an Altered Book “Myths and Legends”

In May, I signed up for an online art journal class called “21 Secrets, The Best of 2014 & 2015.” Inspired by Catherine Anderson’s class Media Remix I decided to alter a hardback book for my experiments.

Using craft acrylics, I laid a background base. Then added magazine images, sometimes just the silhouette, and worked the pages with Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water soluble crayons as well as using Sakura Gellyroll Moonlight markers. On some spreads, I also added highly textured objects (my handmade stamp or my hair band clip) and did some rubbings with the crayons; that worked terrifically.

I really like using these different media on the page spreads. In the past, when trying to use a hardback book and artist grade heavy bodied acrylics, I would get frustrated because the paper just couldn’t stand up to that kind of paint. But craft acrylics is perfect since there isn’t a lot of thickness to it and not much pigment. The kind I used--DecoArt Americana--looks very matte on the page when scraped thinly with a plastic card or palette knife. And with the addition of the crayons, there was no chance the pages would stick together.

The original title of the book is “Myths and Legends of Ireland” so I’ve called this art journal “Myths and Legends.” Because I’ve started it with this distinctive style, I’m inclined to continue doing page spreads with these same ideas. Do you ever do that? Does it make it harder to change it up? Why do I feel every spread has to echo the previous ones? If an art journal a place of experimentation why keep everything the same? It does add to continuity to keeping a theme. Another altered book I did—and finished!—used only collage images; my tools were a sharp scissors and a glue stick. Tell me what your art journals are like.

Happy New Year

Open Arms, Open Mind, Open Heart

7.25" x 9"

acrylics, watercolor crayons, markers, photograph

Happy 2016!

Computer-altered photographs with collage.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and creative 2016!

The Mixed-Up Journal

 

What do you do with lots and lots of paintings and experiments? Combine them into a Mixed-Up Journal! Combing through a big box, I chose ones I really liked and ones that needed a make-over.

 

 

For the covers, I used Davey boards in a 10.50" x 7.50" size to use more of the folded watercolor papers, mainly my favorite Fabriano Artistico hot press. Bookcloth in a beautiful turquoise color covered the bare boards and I attached part of one of my paintings for the front. Dark brown leather strips and some teal Irish linen thread starred on the sewn-over-tapes binding style. Endpapers are another painting.

 

 

 

I left a lot of room in the binding to allow for collage and attachments. I love being able to use little bits and pieces as well as the larger sizes of watercolor paper.

 

 

Even though the book has a lot of painting already done, each can be altered. I know there are some not so great pieces will get some gesso and paint, if not a great photograph or photo transfer, fabric, leaves, mementoes, and various embellishments. And, there are all the backsides that are blank and awaiting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is such a fun format and I’ve already begun this journal, feeling so free experimenting and playing.