Journal Craft Inspirations

Another simple phrase for inspiration in 2009…

“I have used several journals, and I find I like the bound ones better than spiral. I like to work over a two page spread best as well. Really any journal will do, you just have to be careful when using thinner pages. I love gesso!!!!
Love, fluid acrylics - cheap ones work well in journals, they don’t leave a rubbery feel to them as much as the costly ones do. I love watersoluble crayons, ink, stamps, and pitt artists pens. Oh, also love Sharpie poster-paint pens, as well as masking tape!!! ”

From the journal of Mary Freeman
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What a wonderful page for inspiration in 2009…

No secret resolutions, fancy promises, or wordy goals…
Just one plain and simple idea
“BE”
…my word of “direction” and my personal focus for 2009.
To “BE” in the moment…every moment…
fully..
actively, healthily, creatively, appreciatively, openly,
each and every day.”

 Holbein Drawing book..with Pitt Pens and Watercolor

From the journal of Margaret Storer-Roche
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I am delighted to bring you a treat for the New Year - an Interview with Danny Gregory. Danny is well known to many from his books including - Everyday Matters, and A Creative Licence.

Danny has recently published a new book ‘An Illustrated Life - Drawing inspiration from the private sketchbooks of artists, illustrators and designers’ checkout a video preview of it here

Read Danny Gregory’s interview here

Wishing all our readers a very Happy New Year - and many pages of wonderful journals in 2009!  (Don’t forget to submit them here)

Well you know what they say, if you commit something to paper or announce it to the world, it is more likely to happen.  So, take a deep breath, gather up your favourite art supplies, create a journal page on your resolutions for the coming year and see what transpires …

“All my good intentions for 2009! Will I keep them? Watch this space!I used my Claudine Hellmuth acrylics and LOOK I did it in BLUE although I did sneak a tiny bit of pink in the corners. I got a new Faber Castell Pitt pen which works great for journalling, even on these semi gloss paints. I doodled round the edge in black and white, and added an image of a crow (don’t tell me it’s not a crow, it looks like one) and gave him a black and white hat. A little touch of zetti. A couple of rub-ons and ta-da! Finished.”

From the journal of Kate Crane
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Why not share your resolutions with us - submit your page by clicking here, or click on the Submissions link on the top menu

Why not indulge yourself in the New Year, by signing up for a Journaling workshop.  There are some fantastic workshops starting in January -

• Jessica Wesolek of Cre8it.com is running her wonderful online workshops again in January.  Art School for the Journal and Sketchbook on 10th January 2009 and Love this Journal starts on 21st January.
• Pam Carriker is running a new online workshop - Visual Journalism 101, 5 weeks starting 12th January 2009
• Or if it is inspiration you need why not try Artella’s new AlphaBetter Muse Workshop, a self-paced eCourse - 26 Inspiring Art Journaling Muses for All-Around BETTER Living!

You can find out more about these workshops by clicking here or by visiting the Workshops link at the top of the page.

Try to engage all your senses when completing a journal page - add fragrance to your page.  Scents and fragrances are wonderfully evocative and bring back memories in an instant. Melissa’s page was completed in response to a challenge posted on Michelle Ward’s Street Team Crusades - a fantastic site encouraging artists to try new things (warning - music plays when the site loads).

Snow
“I am working on loose sketching with watercolor in my art journals these days. I used 140 lb cold press paper, permanent Pitt pen to sketch, then colorized with watercolor. I added an oil scent to the page, called “Fir”, which of course, smells like pine.  The scent is a way to take you back, when you view it later, to the time and place which you originally created the piece.”

Lavende
“I bought pure lavender oil in Provence this summer. I wanted to save some forever, so I did this page, and added drops of the oil on each of the colored spots at the bottom.”

From the journal of Melissa Sabin
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Many christmas ornaments have special memories associated with them, make sure you record them in your journal for posterity.

“This one has been passed down in the family for a long time. No one knows it’s origin.”

From the journal of Vicky Williamson
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A beautiful winter page from Jeanette’s Garden Journal

“Sometimes, winter is the best time to study the plants in my garden…because I’m officially not working in the garden till February!”

From the journal of Jeanette Yee Sclar
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A simple page from Dave that still manages to capture a lot of information about his day…

“Just a page-a-day journal entry. I try to do a little sketch and some text around the image I make. I carry the journal everywhere and whenever I have a few moments I sketch what’s in front of me. Later I watercolor the sketch.”

Noodlers ink in fountain pen and watercolor wash

From the journal of Dave Terry (click here to visit Daves blog - 365 Journal Entries)

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