peeking

I love interactive books...and so I am always looking for ways to make my own (journal) pages interesting and interactive.  I also love the symbolism of windows and doors. So when I saw the Tim Holtz 4-paned window die, I knew that I wanted to use it in my art journal to create a window that peeks through to the page behind.  This is the result...

I shared this at a few of my art journaling classes and everyone had a fun time with it.
I'm thinking of journaling: "perspective...looking out, looking in" What would you "journal" (write) on this page?
Hope you are enjoying the view from where you are.  :)

playing around...

Playing around is all part of the process...and so I experiment with my supplies, and with different color combinations...here I wanted to try a "neutral" background.  I layered gray gesso, black gesso, and white gesso with a variety of circle themed stencils...

Then I smeared bright acrylics onto a dictionary page, and decided this would be a fun pop of color on this background...I wrote "art" and cut it out...

Then I tore strips to create a frame...what to use as a focal image?  I decided to use one of my own sketches (a Juliette Crane inspired owl)--sketched on deli paper with a Stabilo ALL pencil and then "activated" with matte medium...

That was fun!  Engage the process!!!
Have an art.full. day!

documented life...

As I follow Documented Life Project 2016 (DLP 2016), I have tweaked my planner according to my own "system." I thought I would share my "decorated" April and May calendars (the backs of the calendars are what I art journal on.)

Above is my April page...I have been playing around with cutting words from scrapbook paper or paper that I decorated/painted myself...too much fun!

And this is my May page...the center circle contains a blind contour drawing of the perfume that I got for Mother's Day.   I just L-O-V-E doing blind contours...I have absolutely NO expectations with them (after all, how "good"  :) could they turn out when you can't even look at your paper?!?!?)...plus they almost always have a fun, wonky look to them.  I did this with my Stabilo ALL pencil and then activated and sealed it with matte medium.  This is a great warm-up exercise...try it!  :)

Adding art journaling to my planner keeps this art and journaling practice in front of me daily...and it is so much fun to USE my planner when it is decorated and so much a part of me!

Now on to June!!!