Art Journal Every Day
May 1 - click for detail
I started following Balzer Designs recently and found this site full of interesting things . . . with lots to discover. I kept returning! Today, Julie's post was titled Art Journal Every Day: Sign up for May!
I read this with great interest -click on the title to read more yourself! I especially liked the part where Julie said, "Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day! No need to finish anything or even like it. Just play!" Just playing with papers, paint, stamps, fabric and ink = art journaling!
This was just what I needed right now. Not being required to spend a ton of time with the journal if I was busy (10 minutes). But doing just a little bit everyday, even just for the month of May. This was very appealing to me. So I committed and began.
I started with journaling about what I was doing using a permanent micron pen . . . and then adding photos. The photos I used were already printed out and hanging out on my work table, leftover from another project. The scraps of turquoise blue fabric were left over bits trimmed from a quilt block my friend Helen was sewing together. She was going to toss them out, but I nabbed them for future use! They were also lying on my table. I like them because they remind me of the afternoon I spent with Helen and her quilt guild friends a few weeks ago. They were very kind, showing me how they learned to make a paper pieced pineapple block!!
I added color with watercolor crayons, one of my favorite tools. Click on any photo for details.
I used my water brush to activate the crayons and make the colors pop!
As I said in my journaling, I have been doing a lot of photography lately and in fact, have been doing a daily photo journal for 141 days!! I've learned a lot and been creative in a different way. I've met new people, conversed with old friends, learned about other countries, about composing photos. I’ve seen lots of really gorgeous photos from all over the world by both newbies and professionals alike. Blipfoto is where you can have your own photo journal or just take a peek at what's there.
Since I was busy doing this new activity and taking tons of photos, plus teaching an online class - running art swaps and coaching a few students privately, my mixed media art slipped a notch. Even though I am part of a few monthly art exchanges, I felt like I was not doing enough mixed media art. Art Journal Every Day looks like the "ticket" for me. No expectations, what I do does not have to be finished, just try being creative in a journal for 10 minutes a day for the month of May.