Journal Craft Inspirations

Well, you know how it is the little everyday things that bring back the memories?  Try journaling what you find in your pocket… 

It’s a topic you can re-visit from time to time, as Jerrie has indicated on her page.

From the journal of Jerrie Hall

I love John’s take on this, as he has included himself in the page…

From the Journal of John Payne
(Click on the image to view John’s blog)

“Sleep. Sleep. I woke up this morning having slept for almost 24 hours straight (with a couple breaks here and there). I’m sick with a stomach virus this weekend and the medicine that the doctor gave me knocks me out completely (obviously).

Necessities for when I’m sick:
–Ginger Ale: Ginger is good for an upset tummy. It tastes good too!
–Soup and toast: yummy…
–Medication: The doctor gave me this medicine to help my virus go away.
–Pillow: I love my pink comfy pillow
–Blanket: When I’m sick, I need a soft blanket to keep me warm.
–Tender Love and Care (TLC)”

From the Journal of Tiffany Zajas
(Click on the image to view original)

Cheryl created this page inspired by NEC’s Ecotonoha project - https://www.ecotonoha.com/index_en.html

Ecotonoha is a project - to nurture a virtual tree collaboratively, and at the same time contribute to the actual environment to cope with global warming.  As you make ecotonoha’s leaves, the virtual tree with grow, and as ecotonoha grows, real trees will be planted by NEC.

Watercolour pencils in Moleskine sketchbook

From the journal of Cheryl Mitchell

A great way to capture little things as you are travelling, is the 3 minute sketch technique featured in Dory Kanter’s book ‘Art Escapes’. By drawing a small box on the page beforehand you avoid the ‘blank page syndrome’ and can record small things that catch your eye.

“Long wait at Lille station for our TGV. My eye was caught by two musicians travelling with their cello’s when they were standing at the ticket machine.

I loved Dory Kanter’s suggestion in her wonderful book “Art Escapes” that you draw little boxes on the page and sketch inside them - far less intimidating than having to fill a whole page, it also meant I could get away with drawing only the bottom half of the ‘french chic’ girl - the top half was too difficult!”

From the Journal of Gill McCowen
(Click on the image to view original)

You don’t have to restrict yourself to drawing plants in your garden journal - Jeanette has created some beautiful pages from her garden inventory.

“Discouraged by the destructive freezes and constant rain, I was inspired by the written inventory of “Garden Gear at Holkham, 1761″ in Laura Stoddart’s book, “The Sweet Life”. I decided to make a visual inventory of the garden gear at Longears. Here is installement number 1. Let’s hope that the Head Gardener at Longears doesn’t get so busy inventorying that she neglects to actually garden!”

“It was alarmingly hard to choose my favorite trowel; the Trake has long held that distinction, but the trowel I bought at my favorite nursery this spring is really a big improvement on trowels!”

From the journal of - Jeanette Yee Sclar, Mistress of Longears
(click on the image to view original)
Image copyright of the artist

“Architecture has always fascinated me. Since I was a child I have always been looking up rather than where I should be going – often with some quite disastrous consequences. I have the scars to prove it!When I was at college I had a tutor, who is probably long dead, who used to fume about how people never really took in their surroundings. “Consume, consume consume that’s all we do”Anyway, this teacher – quite a short and portly guy with something of the Army about him – used to love going into churches with his camera. The best way to enjoy a church, he told us, was on your back. And that is what he used to do. Shuffle on to his knees, flip himself over, in his Saville Row suit and all, and lay flat on his back.

The first time I saw him do it I very nearly died. And he would lie there for ages with people stepping over his prostate body.  I think he taught me something. “From the Journal of Nick Clapson (Click on the image to view original)

Jeanette has created a wonderful “Easy Meals” recipe journal

“I find the hardest thing about making dinner is DECIDING what to make. After a long day at work, I’m not up for a leisurely meal that includes trips to 3 stores for exotic ingredients. I often make something very easy that turns out to be great; then I promptly forget all about that dish! No more! I have started to collect those easy weeknight recipes in a book block, illustrated as the whim strikes, to be bound into a cover later. This is watercolor pencil with some “sanded” pigment dropped onto the wetted pencil.”

From the Journal of Jeanette Yee Sclar, Mistress of Longears (Click on the image to view original) All images copyright of the artist

Using triads and grids - both exercises featured in Dory Kanter’s book Art Escapes

From the journal of Vicky Williamson (Click on the image to view original)

A beautiful page using collage and acrylics, in Moleskine Sketchbook

“I really really enjoyed making this spread.  Lots of layering and ripping and painting.  It reads “one of my favourite places is the land of dreams”.   The sketch I did of the sleeping girl (possibly me?) was one I drew years ago, so I just copied it.”

From the Journal of Pippa Joyce (Click on the image to view original)  Or view Pippa’s blog

A great way to add colour to your pages is to use soft pastels. Because they are applied dry they don’t buckle the paper and you can easly write over the top.

Standard stick pastels can be used by directly applying to the page, or alternatively scrubbing the stick on a spare piece of paper to create pastel ‘dust’ and applying the colour with a cotton wool ball.
The new PanPastel that come in a plastic container are ideal, as they produce very little dust and give a smooth even coverage.

After you have applied the chalk, you need to rub the surface thoroughly with clean cotton wool or a tissue, to ensure that no residue rubs off onto the opposite page. Alternatively you can use a spray fixative.

Tip - when applying pastels it is a good idea to slip in a sheet of scrap paper below the page you are working on to prevent the dust from spreading to other pages in your journal.

This page is from the journal of Gill McCowen - Moleskine Sketchbook and Soft Pastels
(Click on the image to view original)