Mandala

A single picture today - a mandala that I did a few weeks ago but went back over it recently with white ink.  I love how it added to it.  Sometimes your artwork is never finished.

Have a good day.

Create something everyday.

Joan

Spray ink and Journals.

This is one of the spray ink pieces that Allison on her own at home after learning from Emily how to blend the colours together.  She knew what she was wanting to do with this page and masked out the oval with a separate piece of paper before she placed the stencil down and sprayed.

After she outlined all the little lines she blacked out the oval and wrote inside.

I've been busy working on these little journals to sell at the trade fair this coming weekend.    I'm enjoying using up left over ribbon and such and the insides are all brown packing paper, envelopes, or bags; stitched and glued into a cover that closes with ribbon.

Lots of fun.

Create something everyday.

Joan

Circles, Circles, Circles.

Because I had to add an extra page for my washi tape - I have not got an extra page to work on for my circles prompt from Prompt 60.  Above shows the basic background and how things got started.  I used a circle stencil and outlined each circle with a sharpie.  I also used a very circular stencil - doily sort of - and one of my favourite circle stencils.

Here is how the page spread turned out.  I had a lot of fun adding circles punch from gelli print papers and using various things to stamp circles onto the paper - or writing different things that are circular in shape.  Fun, fun, fun!

Washi Tape and Spray Inks

Prompt 22 was to catalogue watercolour paints, acrylics or……washi tapes.  I decided on the washi tapes and end up up having to add an extra page to my book to fit most of them in….some of them still didn't make the cut.

Allison and I spent one night using our new spray inks and my  stencils.

When I doodle - I just doodle shapes or  mandalas - When Allison works - she ends up with songs lyrics.  I know she has done this for many years because I have her old High School Binder Dividers to prove it.  She expresses her song lyrics - and I love that idea.

Here is a marvellous new stencil I found.  It worked well with the spray paints.

This stencil worked out very well….in Allison's book.

Here she is encouraging a page to dry faster so she can move one.  

I had a lot of fun working and creating next to my daughter.  Lots of fun!

Create Something everyday.

Joan

You Can….

Prompt #21 of Prompt60 was "Found Poetry".  I now have a little box where my words are organized alphabetically, and I have a section for phrases and a section for random words that a big a ready for their letters to be cut apart.  So - I went through all my little envelopes and picked out words that caught my eye.  I prepped my page too with spray inks and did the word selection while it was drying.

Next I started forming statements or sentences…..and outlined the words in either black or white.  As you can see, I had an accident with my white paint pen, so I just encouraged the paint to dribble down the page.

Have a great day -

Create something everyday,

Joan

Doodles and Typography

Prompt #19 had us finding a photograph of an interesting series of designs and then creating doodles out of them.  The piece on the left is the cover of a free magazine that caught my eye while leaving the grocery store a number of months ago.  It was fun to "dissect" it and come up with patterns.  My favourite is the third one down.

Prompt #20 was to go to the pantry and find items with interesting typography on their labels.  Well, I sometimes veer off onto other tangents with these prompts….I went around and gathered up some of the bags we have collected.  My daughter and I seem to be bag hoarders - but that's because I turn them into books eventually.  We were to copy the "labels" paying attention to the variety of fonts.  Then we could doodle in the empty spaces.  I decided to use the "new" doodle I had created the day before.

Create a new way of writing!

Create something everyday.

Joan

Maps, Happiness and Gargoyles

Prompt #16 of Prompt60 was altered maps.  I've always loved maps and learned to be the navigator while traveling with my Poppa.  I've added a Stampin'Up! globe stamp and blue ink around the rough edges of each paper.

I was glad to have some black Gesso on hand because that was to be the base of this prompt which was a recipe or list of something.  I decided to follow Tammy's example of a recipe for happiness.  The stamp is one of the ones we have at Stampin'Up! right now - I love it and will be keeping it when it gets  retired.  

I covered the black gesso with a bit of white in the middle, where I would be doing writing and adding colour.  I stamped the image and wrote out my list before added rainbow colours with Neocolor II water soluble crayons.  I doodled some white "things" and the beautiful circle is one from a number that Emily Lagore shared with Allison and I on our visit.  I love how it pops off the page.

This prompt was to concentrate on neutral colours.  When Tammy mentioned greys I immediately thought of the gargoyles on Notre Dame.  So I pulled out a photocopy of one of my gargoyle photos.  I simply played around with black,  Payne's Grey and a bit of brown and let the water and watercolour paper do the rest.  Once it was dried I did a gel transfer of the photocopy so that the watercolour would show through.

That's it for today - sorry I got behind in posting.

Create something everyday,

Joan

Arting with Friends and Family

We had a great time arting at Emily Lagore's house on March 30 - remember I am still catching up from past arting posts……

My daughter came along with me and Emily showed her how to use spray inks to create backgrounds in her altered book.  Needless to say - we picked up some of our own inks on the way home.

Here is one of Allison's creations from that day.

Allison used this stencil of Emily's (which she carved out herself!!!!) - and while the stencil was still on Allison's book, I put my book on top to pick up the excess ink - so we both have the same page but opposite images.  Very cool.

Create Something everyday,

Joan

Butterfly wall decals….

I spent a lot of time going through everything in my craft room when I was cleaning it up before spring break.  I came across some left over Stampin'Up! "Decor Elements" butterflies and decided to have them fluttering across a spread in my paper bag book.

I started doodling on them at Emily's last Monday - but then realized that I would like to spray ink the background.  It worked perfectly because the ink wiped off the butterflies completely.  Now I can set to finishing doodling on the butterflies.

Create something everyday - even with something leftover!

Joan

Adding details…..

I went through my big book this morning, found this mandala and decided that it wasn't quite finished.  I coloured in some yellow and added a bunch of white highlights.  I believe it is finished now and pops off the brown paper much better than it did before.

Some pieces are never finished….just keep arting everyday.

Joan

March Madness…and Mandalas

Here is an outline of the beginning of a mandala in my "Big Book"  I'm not actually sure that I've finished it yet - I'll have to check. What I do know, is that I was working on it inside and outside …..enjoying the sunshine on the deck and getting a few more freckles.  

I have some of it completed here - but I have to look through my book to see if I actually completed it - not that everything I start gets completed…..but still.

Have a great day - Create something in the sun (even if it's inside)

Joan

Alphabets and Blues

For one of the Prompt60 prompts we had to fill a spread with different fonts that we made up.  Not as easy as it seems - what works well for one letter may be difficult for another.  I can't say that mine are very original, but I suppose if I did it more often I would be able to come up with something more original for a particular piece.

Another prompt in March was to pick a colour and to create as many shades  on watercolour as possible and then label what the shades reminded you of.  Creating the shades wasn't so hard - thinking of a connection in my life was a bit harder, but in the end I was able to identify them all. 

That is one thing that I am enjoying about these prompts - they are making my brain work - thinking about my world and how I view it.

Create something everyday.

Joan

I hope you had a Happy Easter!

Fun with Gelli Plates

One day a week or so ago I worked on the covers of the little journals I'm in the process of making.  My plan was to use up the brown paper that comes as packing in boxes. I don't have to cut them much for the size of book I'm working on; and I didn't want the paper to go to waste.  I just had to take a picture of my brayer though - the paint spatters are so pretty!

I've also save the two sheets of brown paper that I used when I was burnishing the print - since the papers were small, there was a fair bit of left over paint to create wonderful fodder for later projects.

Here are the covers I've made - they will be mounted on pieces of cardboard and decorated up a bit.  I like some pieces more than others, but it was a productive day!

Create something everyday,

Joan

Collages

Prompt #13 for Prompt60 was cut and paste - I did have fun with this one! Lots of different things, lots of layering and lots of transparent layers!

For the other series of prompts I've been doing - Tangents & Tactics we were to just "let it linger"  I chose pieces that I liked and painted around them and am in the process of adding doodles in-between.  So I guess this page is still a work in progress. 

Create something everyday -

Joan

Anthems, Found Paper and Zentangles

Prompt #12 for Prompt60 was Stamp and Stencil.  I had wanted to do something with the words to one of the anthems we were practicing for church because the music just made me want to move.  The key word was "word" and I didn't have a stamp for that so I carved one - twice actually because the first time I did it backwards (even though I had reminded myself what I needed to do!  I added some gold paint through stencils and all the other images are Stampin'Up! stamps - some of them may be retired - but I love them and have kept them for just such a purpose.  I did the stamping after I wrote out the words to the anthem.

Here is my backwards and correct stamp carving - but hey - I have a mirror image any time I want one!

One of the things I've been working on is little journals made completely out of scrap paper.  I had initially thought I would sell them as gardening journals, but they could be used for anything.  This is my first one - I have a bunch of others on the go!

And lastly - some entangle examples that I added to the collection I have displayed at school.  I'm having the kids work on them right now, so I want to give them as many examples for them to springboard from.

Thanks for visiting

Create something everyday

Joan

Zentangles, Diamonds and Ogee

Hmmm - now that I look at this photo,  don't think I'm quite finished with this zentangle - but it was one I was working on while watching tv one night.  I like the idea of wonky circles.

This evolved on a night I didn't want to do too much thinking while I doodled.  The bag underneath is from the Stampin'Up! convention in 2012.  I didn't want to cover up the writing on the bag totally, so used the page to pick up some excess paint from another gelli plate print.  All I did was some outlining and added dots.  That way I can still remember this convention and the awesome  "I Am" theme.

One of the assignments for the watercolour "class" I'm taking online from DaisyYellow was to paint an Ogee pattern.  I love to work with this pattern with my zentangles too.  There is a second Ogee assignment that I must get to soon.

Have a great day -

Create something everyday

Joan