something fishy going on . . .
Yes, something fishy is going on! I went back to working in my larger 9" x 12" Dylusions journal. The other morning I went on an "artist's date" with myself, to a local art store in Bradenton. I found the most interesting handmade paper. I am sure I will use it for other things, but as soon as I saw it, I immediately thought I wanted to use it in my art journal! I cut it to page size with my x-acto knife and then glued this paper into my journal with YES glue.
The first thing I wanted to do was to add color, so I grabbed various spray inks in yellow, orange and red -plus I added a little white color shine spray (heidi swapp) on top of that. After the inks dried, I picked up the new rubber stamps I purchased when I got the paper. One of them is made from a fish rubbing (gyotaku) by Fred Mullet. I have a number of fish stamps that he designed and this one was so playful looking, I had to add it to my collection! Although, it was difficult to stamp, because the journal is so full now that the pages do not lie flat. I did the best I could and then used a fine permanent Micron pen to fill in any blank spots.
Then I reached for my September Stencil Club stencils from StencilGirl. This month's stencils are on the theme of Lost Languages and are designed by Julie Snidle. I loved layering them on my journal page, they were the missing element for me. I used white acrylic paint and a sponge, maybe a little too heavily, so then I went back later and used a gelly roll pen over it, through the stencil. With the large computer punch card stencil I used Crafter's Ink by Color Box and heat set it with my heat gun (making the ink permanent). I dripped more paint on with a brush and added one last final touch! (see below)
I just love the addition of the fishing net, it seemed so perfect! Yes, that fish can Fly right out of the net! I found this net washed up on the beach when we first moved to FL, about 5 years ago. I've used it in several projects now, a set of ATCs when I first found it, a fabric collage recently . . . Well, I have to admit I took more photos than what you see here in this post and created a short step-by-step process video, which you can view here. It's 2 mins long and fun to watch, it shows more of my process. enjoy!
I think I will be going back to the smaller moleskine journal next time, I just wanted the larger space for that handmade paper. Thanks as always, for checking in. Remember, you CAN Fly!