Using Distress Stains In My Art Journal

I haven't worked in this journal for awhile.  I decided to play with Tim Holts Distress Inks and just get some color on to the page. I don't use them a lot and I wanted to change that.  I created three backgrounds to work with.  This is the first completed page, others will come this week in future posts. I created a image of a woman as I often do. Then came the doodles and a poem. I picked it for just the color and how it looked on the page. It seem like a New year, letting go type of poem. Perhaps there is meaning inside of it if I look deeply. Maybe there are things I need to let go of.  

Later I added journaling to the page.  All those lines flowing out of her head seemed  Here is the poem so you too can enjoy it.

I am running into the new year
and the old years blow back
like a wind
that I catch in my hair
like strong fingers like
all my old promises
it will be hard to let go
of what I said
about myself
at sixteen and twenty six and thirty six
even that thirty six
but I am running into a new year
and I beg what I love and leave
to forgive me

Lucille Clifton

I have insomnia tonight, so I got up and finished this page. This was created with the same distress stains except for the face. I used Golden fluid acrylics for that.

I have a crisis going on with my novel.  I have to change a big portion of it and frankly I am stuck on where to begin.  I need the muse to visit. To inspire me where to go, to lift a depression I feel myself sinking into. Sometime art journaling helps. Just where do ideas come from?  Its a place I need to travel to this week. Yes, even I lose focus and lose my way.  Its all part of the creative process but on days like this is really is not a pleasant place to be. I have techniques, tools I use in times like these and I'll be putting them to the test this week.

Tell me what do you do to call back the muse, to inspire yourself to keep going when the gremlins arrive to pull you down?

A day of butt uglies

Once again I found myself deep into a big depression the last two days, and had quite a time trying to get out of it. It was so cold yesterday I had to drag out a wool sweater to keep warm. The cold dreary weather did not help my mood.  So I turned to art and tried to work my way through it.

I had not painted a face in a long time. Why I thought to do so when I was depressed was beyond me. All I could think is this face is butt ugly. I am amazed that I didn't scratch her out. Maybe she'll be a reminder that its ok to do bad art. That you can use this kind of art to work through things going on in your life. When I look at her I see the horrid nose, the too small chin, the plain background. Maybe though I should see her as a gift since she helped me work through a difficult time. I would like to think that I poured out all my negativity on the page and now I no longer hold it anymore. So perhaps that is a good thing after all.

On this page I had a background already but something I tried went way wrong. So I covered it up with scrapbook paper. I cut the butterfly and dragonfly out of another paper and attached them. Next I highlighted some areas with charcoal. I stenciled the swallow on in the right corner. I hadn't realized I was stenciling over the dragonfly till I was finished. Oops oh well. I added the image and all those greens seemed calming to me. I like the whispering girls, not sure what secret she is sharing, it adds to the mystery some.

After doing these pages, I got out of the house and went to the library.  Change of scenery often helps. With my laptop in tow I worked on my e-book.  The progress I made on it was great.  Perhaps the art really did help.

Winter Blues

Today I was feeling the winter blues so I knew I had to do something before I slip into a full blown depression. So I know that art heals so I headed down to the studio. I had those sheets of paper that I made over the weekend and thought what can I do with them.

First I decided to try a journal page so I took the first page and sewed it right into my paper bag journal. Then I added an image and paint and so forth and journaled all about wanting it to be spring.

So that had been fun, then I decided I would cut the paper up and make postcards. Using a postcard as a template, I traced on the back and cut them out. Then I sewed a piece of cardstock to the back for mailing.










Then I did another one and added this bird by gluing first and then sewing it down, before doing the backing.

 Then I added some collage elements to the next one.










Oh this was starting to get addicting and so much fun.

Now I had only one sheet of paper left. I really find red hard to work with. I should do it more often and maybe I will get over that color hump.














and here is the last one. Gee now I need to make more paper.

after doing all these I thought I may as well sign up for iHanna's postcard swap. I only need to make 4 more and that will be a cinch. You can sign up here.

The next time you are feeling down, try doing some Art, its might be just the thing you need to do to get back to feeling great again.