Adventures in Visual Art Journaling

I've been admiring art journals for a while now. I love a good art journal flip through video on Youtube. But, as much as I love the images and creativity, there's been something about art journaling that has overwhelmed me. Fear has kept me from even trying. It all seems too difficult and time consuming. 

But I've decided to take the leap and tackle art journaling as a summer project. A big push came when I recently attended a Midori Traveler's Notebook Meetup in Tampa, FL. Several ladies demonstrated how they were using their notebooks for art. Their pages called to me like a siren. I was intrigued and asked a ton of questions. Everyone was so supportive and shared resources, tools, and websites. 

So I'm diving in and starting with some inexpensive art supplies I have around the house. I'll buy more tools as I progress. My teachers are all online at the moment so let me give credit where credit is due. My inspiration and techniques are a mash up of Jennibellie, Teesha Moore, Sandra van der Geest, and Jane Davenport.

My first journal entry is below. I'm spreading my wings this summer. Let's see where this adventure takes me. 

Outgoing: Summer Splash

Summer is officially here and I'm playing around with color and acrylic paints. Since I'll be part of the upcoming Miami Pen Show, I feel like I need to incorporate some fun, hot colors into my mail art. So I'm jumping in and making a splash. Literally. 

This week I'm playing around with a technique that produces inkblots with colorful paints. You basically drip paint onto the envelope then squish it to make an image. To make the image pop, I first painted a layer of white gesso onto a kraft envelope. 

I love the results, but the drying time takes a while. Best to make at least a day ahead and allow to dry overnight. Happy Summer!

Make A Creative Mojo Box

Inspiration can be found in so many places if you are willing to open your eyes and see. Much of my inspiration comes from nature. I love the colors, the sounds, the energy. No surprise, I also find inspiration from other artists even if their style is totally different from mine. 

A recent example is the artist, Jenniebellie. I love her energy and passion. Whenever I need a creative jolt, I watch her videos. They are exploding with creativity. One of her ideas I fell in love with this week was making a Creative Mojo Box for your art or craft workspace.  

The idea is to use personal items that have a story, speak to you and get your creative juices flowing. I believe these items should be things you already have and gifts from the Universe that give you little clues throughout life. 

I decided to make my own Creative Mojo Box. The exercise was a ton of fun and really made me think about some of the items I had throughout my house. If you are interested in the how it all came together here's a video where I break down the contents. I highly encourage you to give this project a try.