No fear Doodles

 This last Friday's post for the Fearless Friday group was about being afraid to ruin your art work.  I have to admit I hate to waste glass when I am making beads but if a bead goes south so to speak I rarely put it in the dunk can, because I just turn it into something else (with hot glass you really can't set it aside and come back to it later).  Even if I just add lots of stringer and make it a mix of colors I usually can make a pretty decent bead.  Only if I break the bead release do I have to abandon it.

When it comes to drawing though I am a lot less comfortable.  So this weekend I have been making fearless doodles with a permanent marker on book pages.  I have been wanting to try this ever since I saw this pin on Pinterest.  I have made probably 30 pages in just a couple of hours and then I went ahead and painted them with watercolor.  There wasn't a single one I trashed.  Some of them please me more than others but all of them are fun and bright.  I also played fast and furious with the watercolor to find out things that I liked and didn't and I have found I like it when you use lots of water and it bleeds and puddles.  Might not be what someone else would like but I do. 

There was only one problem with the drawings and that was that I had gotten a book at the library sale to tear apart and paint on and when my hubby came home and saw what it was he was really sad I had torn it up because it was on South Dakota soil conservation and his office only has one copy of the book and they had been looking everywhere for other copies.  I did get to tell him that the library had one more copy and he ran right out and bought that one to take to work. 

Journal

Last week I started a junk journal that I want to use as an inspiration journal and put all those things that inspire me in it.  But I was thinking about all the times I have tried to write a journal and have gotten a couple of months into it and just stopped.  Words aren't really something I am good at.  But I have always wanted to write about my days and thoughts.  I was on line again and ran into some info about Project Life and while I like the idea of recording every day events I don't like the plastic pages and preset size for things.  I decided I would try out an art journal type book.

I also found that using the catalog that was already bound was harder so my plan for this book is to use a standard page size and put it in a 3 ring binder.  I am still working on the Inspiration Journal and may see if I can take it apart to work on the pages and put it back together as I go.  These background pages were lots of fun to make I used whole page photos and  collage, then stitched them round and round with the sewing machine.  I was having a blast and lost two hours because I was so into what I was doing.  I also realized that I do not like the feel of the gesso after it dries so I have got to find some Gel Medium.  Once again something you can't buy in Huron.

I also keep finding little things in the junk mail that are just begging to be turned into an art journal.  This is a little advertising booklet from Hilton and it's envelope that I think will become part of a page where the envelope is there to hold it's own little book.  Just what I am going to put into it I am not sure yet. 

Junk Journal Adventure

Recently I saw something on line about a Smash Book and being the recluse I am here in the wilderness :-) I had no real clue what they were talking about so I started looking around the Internet.  Ha should have known an Art Journal with a fancy name, or a plane ole fashion scrap book.  I also found references to Junk Journals.  Ah Art Journals made from repurposed materials.  Since I have had it on my goals list to work more with the things I have and to be creative in ways other than beads I decided that I would just make myself a Junk Journal as an Inspiration Journal.  A place to put all those little pieces of things I had cut out of magazines and the colors that seem to be drawing me lately.  I started with a 2 year old catalog. (Why did I still have that I do not know)

 Then I got out a package of paper that my sister gave me probably 20 years ago and I just love all the pretty edges and never found just the right use for them. 

 On some of the pages I glued in some of the papers.  Just as backgrounds to start with.

On some of the pages I painted Gesso.  That was honestly really fun  and very relaxing.  I needed to cover the color and the type.  I have to actually add another coat of the Gesso when I want to paint on the page as things still show through.

 Some of the pages I am doing some water color backgrounds to start.  Frankly I have only even worked on the first section of the catalog so there will be lots of room for lots more playing around.

 On some of the pages I have started gluing in things I have clipped out of different books.  Just things I like that I want to work into the background for other ideas.  I did do an entire page of a collage that I used pieces where I had kept them because of the color combinations.  I really don't like it as the colors all blend together so they wont really inspire me for other things.  I will just use the page for a background and I have another idea for a way to put in my color combos where I will be able to use and see them better.

So while I have not finished a single page I have lots started and I have been having lots of fun the last few days.  I also found this really fun blog and she is having a great give a way. So if you are interested in Art Journals check out Gathering Up Bits of the World and sign up for her give a way.