Rejuvenated!

I've been working to finish up my Moleskin Journal that from the first entry looks like I first started in 2006--almost 6 years ago.  It has a lot of memories in it of all types.  I will start a new one when this one is finally retired.  I have other journals of all types of paper and purposes but I always seem to come back to this one.  I am a writer at heart and my Moleskin is the perfect surface for this.  I don't always add any art or backgrounds or anything else.  I often use it for notetakeing at church and art conferences I attend.  I love the feel of it and have made it mine.  What do you do most of your journaling in if you keep a journal?

I am also trying to use some of my Japanese Washi tapes that I love so much.  They are colorful and fairly thin so they don't add too much thickness to the pages.  They are paper tapes that are very versitile and often transparent.  Here are some of mine:

Here's a little tip.  You can store your Washi tape in those 12x12 scrapbook paper keepers that often go on sale at Micheal's and other places.  They are the perfect depth and I am able to store all but one column of those shown above in one container.  But, since they will continue to make Washi tape, looks like I should go ahead and start another one.  I already have one row to put in it!  If you get the clear storage box you can see all the pretty colors and patterns through the lid.

Valentine's Day

I know it is a bit late for posting but as often as I post on this blog I guess I get them up when I can.  Sorry for the blurred words but somethings just aren't meant for the whole world to read!

Closure!

I finally finished my first Zentangle that I started with my friend Taylor last summer!  I know she is probably wondering if I ever would.  I finally finished it over New Years but just now got around to photographing it.  Here it is Taylor!  I hope to finish some in the future a little faster!  :-)

I almost forgot.  I DID finish another one.  It is monochrome (seemes I haven't gotten out of the Valentine's Day mood yet) but the patterns are pretty cool.

 Hope you are having a fine, arty day today!  Go do some Zentanlges and relax.



Aaahhhhh.....

I think spring has sprung as it has been wonderful here this week.  While I sit on the porch preparing this blog post this is what I see:

Oh how I LOVE my back yard and the peace and relaxation that it always offers.  Of course, no project worth doing should be done without some special helpers.  And as per their usual, Frodo and Sasha were on the scene to assist.  (And yes, I do so dearly love my Australian Cattle Dog fur babies!)

Here are some drawings of some faces I did during a recent work meeting.  They aren't exactly great but I am improving--really!  Ha!  Hey, it provided some much needed entertainment during prortions of the meeting that didn't really apply to me.  And some entertainment for those sitting around me as well!  The second photo is of people sitting around a table listening.  Not to great at drawing real, live subjects and the proportions are a bit off for some but it was fun and I will keep trying.  One day I'll look back and see how far I've come and I will be so happy....oh that that day would be sooner rather than later!  :-p

play! 2012

I attended play at the end of January this year again.  It was a great, creative, arty time with friends old and new.  I wish I could go every weekend...just disappear and make art in such a great, safe and supportive environment.  No politics.  No emergencies.  No one to take care of.  No grand responsibilities or work.  Just relaxation and creativity.  This is a good thing on occasion...


My Workspace

Our play Room!

It was a wonderful weekend and a good time was had by all.  I will miss everyone terribly until we get a chance to meet again.  In addition to my journaling and personal art creation I learned a lot from Tracy Moore about Lomo cameras and their vast array of qualities.  He knows so much and he seemed to love sharing it all with the group.  We went on a walk around Fort Worden and took photos.  I had a super-wide lens Lomo camera.  He is going to take the film and scan them for me as the photo developer had no clue as to how to print the double-wide exposures.  As soon as he sends them to me I will post some of them here.

Teesha Moore had us to do a collage exercize the first morning to warm us up.  I normally hate collage but the exercize we completed allowed a lot of freedom and no time for judgement.  Here are the QUICK ones that I made during the frenzie.  I plan to finish them out a little more and then take them and bind them together some how (maybe using a Japanese accordian fold spine book format, as suggested by my friend Steve from Arizona who also attended?) as a little memorial from the weekend.

Teesha also encourged us to do a study in values.  A value is a color that has had either black or white added to it.  The strip below is a total of 9 colors that have had either back or white added to them and then painted back into a little square of the same color with yet a different value.  It was a lot of fun and it taught me a lot about color.

It was a great experience.  And until I get a chance to visit Fort Worden and Port Townsend again, I will have a vast pool of wonderful memories upon which to draw and remember...



Some JournalFest 2011

Just wanted to drop by again and leave a couple of photos of somethings I did at JournalFest this year.  In Karen O'Brien's class "Pencil Dreams" on Day 3, I took a back and white copy of a head/neck clip art piece and finished out the rest of the portrait.  We were attempting to learn shading with pencils, watercolor and gauche on clear gesso ground.  It turned out pretty good I think:

We also did some fun faces in attempts to make imaginary faces.  Funny how just altering facial shapes and feature placement and sizes will cause a "face" to look comical.  Mine were a little extreme but they made me smile and even laugh at some of them: 

I loved JournalFest and I learned so much this year with Orly Avineri, Roxanne Padgett and Karen O'Brien.  All three are GREAT instructors and masters at what they do.  I can hardly wait for sign-ups for next year!  However, 2011 will be difficult to exceed....

Quick Sketch

I don't have time to say much about this but I wanted to post it.  I need to post more often and perhaps if I didn't try to make it a thesis each time I would be more likely to do just that.  SO.....here is a little sketch I did while at lunch yesterday.  I was eating at an outdoor table at Arte's Pizza.  Great food.  Quaint atmosphere there on the sidewalk.  Nobody is treated as a stranger in my town....

There you go.  Yay!  A post for today any way.  If you are out there actually looking at this blog please leave a comment.  Thanks~!

Finished Journal Pages

OK. I'm actually posting 3 times in one month! Watch out--the sky may fall! Ha!

I finished the journal pages that I prepped and showed you in the last post. Here they are in their finished form.

Yes, I like to write. Love to write. Write a lot.....all the time.... I also played with different things on the pages. You probably can't tell from the photos, but I used different techniques to color the background. I used Panpastels, watercolor, acrylic wash, Prismacolor Art Stix, Prismacolor Nupastels and some air brushing. I also added some of my newly purchased Japanese tape to the edges of some of the pages. LOVE LOVE LOVE that stuff!

Well, gotta run. Gotta get some more clothes in the wash and finish getting some supper ready for the DH. Can't play all the time, huh? :-)