Take back your heart - Art Journal Page

This is a page in journal made from a mail art catalog I'd started over a year ago but hadn't finished. After seeing some of the lovely work in Suzi's October Art Journal Journey, I was inspired to join in. The theme is 'she art', which I had to research a bit --  'not sure if I got it right or not, but it was fun anyway -- along with the concept of feminine.

There are many directions to go with this theme. This lovely woman was already on the page and is very feminine to me, along with some flowers, because what could be more feminine than flowers? I started looking through a magazine for words and further inspiration, which lead to the discovery of this image of the earth in hand that I decided would look nice with the overall color scheme.

From there, came the challenge of tying everything together with the theme which somehow brought to mind these words from William Wordsworth: 

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away,"

Using poetry in my art always makes me happy. Wordsworth wrote this poem in the 1800's and yet his words are perhaps even more relevant for us today than they were during his lifetime. The idea of reclaiming our hearts through a connection with nature seems very beautiful, peaceful and feminine to me. 

Thanks much to Suzi for hosting this challenge, and thank you for visiting my blog. I always love seeing the other beautiful artwork out there, and for your comments.

Cityscape, Wabi-Sabi Style

Partial Clearing
mixed media on 8" x 8" canvas

In the wabi-sabi style, textures are rough, colors are subdued and mystery is admired. That's what I had in mind while working on this painting. For texture, I pressed wire mesh into modeling paste. I hadn't used modeling paste previously and was surprised at how long it takes to dry! But the texture is great. I also have some wonderful, gauzy paper that looks so beautiful in collage. I'm not sure if I'm finished yet with this one or not -- I'd like to build up the layers of paint toward the top, but I don't want to over do it, or ruin what I already am liking about this piece.  

Thanks so much for stopping by -- I always appreciate your comments!

The Evolution of a Gel Print

This story begins here, with a few solid colors printed on a piece of watercolor paper.

There were so many things I liked about this original print. The colors are soothing and the overall composition is quite nice. I could have stopped here and been happy. In fact, it may be fair to say I should have stopped here, or at least been a bit more cautious as I proceeded. But as you can see, I forged madly ahead with handmade stencils and more passes on the plate until I ended up here:

Yikes! This definitely falls into the it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time category. Even so, I really love how the bottom half came out. As I looked more at this print, I decided it had a split personality and I wasn't sure what to do to make everything work together. So, I cropped my favorite parts, ending up with three smaller pieces.

The beauty of printing on watercolor paper, is that it's sturdy enough for collage. I ended up doing a lot of collage on this part of the print.

 

There was a lot I liked in this section, but I wasn't so happy with the red and gold, so again collage came to the rescue!

And finally, my favorite part of the original print:

For a very process-oriented artist, as I tend to be, this is such a satisfying and enjoyable way to work. 

I'm linking this to Carolyn Dube's Colorful Gelli Print Party and to Paint Party Friday. Check them both out to see all of the wonderfully creative things people are doing with paint! Thank you so much for visiting my blog!  I always appreciate your comments.

Gelli Plate Monoprint

It's hard to imagine anything much more relaxing and fun than playing with the gelli plate. I've had mine over a year and so far I've used it primarily to make collage papers. But after taking Carla Sonheim's Gelli Plate Printmaking Introductory online class, I've learned some new techniques to use with the plate to make monoprints that are beautiful pieces of art in their own right. This print is on watercolor paper, made with simple handmade stencils.