I’m delighted to share another free treat with you today. L.K. Ludwig is offering an online workshop in creating and binding a journal from free materials. See what she says about the class -
This project combines several techniques from my fourth book, Creative Wildfire. Examples of the book and the flaps can be see on pages 6, 30, 46, and 47. The page painting technique can be found beginning on page 32, and the binding technique can be found beginning on page 20.
I want to stress that YOU ABSOLUTELY DO NOT NEED THE BOOK to take class, get the most out of the class, understand the class, or enjoy the class. I have all the techniques videotaped for you. If you do have the book, you may find making notes in the book margins helpful for future reference.
I had a wonderful weekend at the Patchings Art Festival near Nottingham, despite the wind and rain on Sunday. I helped out at the PanPastel demonstration area and had the pleasure of meeting Berni Ward (on the left of the picture) the co-creator of these wonderful products, just look at all those luscious colours.
If you have not tried using PanPastels in your journals you are missing a treat. They are artists quality soft pastel packaged in a pan – it is just like painting with a dry media. So the advantages for use in your journal are many – no waiting for paint to dry, no warping of pages and no problems with pages sticking together. Here are some examples of effects you can achieve -
If you pop on over to Green Isles Crafts, Tee is offering one lucky reader a chance to win a copy of Cathy Johnson’s new book Artists Journal Workshop.
Well, I can’t believe it is nearly the end of May and I have only just discovered the wonderful daily (well 6 days per week) art journal prompts being posted by Tee over at Green Isles Crafts.
Some of the prompts have video tutorials such as this one on a Monochrome page. I love the way Tee shows her thought process behind producing the page in this video.
WOW! Shelley has produced a really impactful page here. Your art journal can be a great tool to work out the frustrations of the day…
“There are layers of journaling around the outside edge of these pages. I didn’t want anybody to be able to read it – I just wanted to unload into my journal and get this stuff out of my head. I always find it helps to do a brain dump now and then!! Anyway, I was feeling as intense as this eagle looks when I did the writing. Afterward I was able to relax a little. More like a … flamingo? Are flamingos more relaxed than eagles? They look more cheery and pink at least.”
From the journal of Shelley Malone, visit her blog here
(Click on the image to view original) Image copyright of the artist
If you have enjoyed this post please leave a comment for the artist
Well, yes I know it has been very quite around here for some time now. That is because I have been working hard behind the scenes on an exciting new project. If you have ever thought about keeping a Travel Journal watch this space for an announcement coming in June…
Well, the time has come to take that well earned summer break - long lazy days on the beach; the buzz and excitement of street markets; the unusual sights, smells and sounds of foreign lands. Wherever you are going make sure you take your journal with you. Take the time to slow down, really look around you and capture the magic, it will make your trip extra special.
Diana created a wonderful journal for her trip to Maine, she has taken the time to capture all the little items that caught her eye
“I made a 5-1/2 x 7 ring-bound journal with scrapbook and watercolor paper pages and used a Maine map for the covers. Took this on our trip to the Maine coast and journaled and sketched and now I have a wonderful little book of memories of our trip.
I draw with Faber Castel Pitt Artist Pens and paint from a travel watercolor kit. The ring-bound set up worked well to add things on the trip and so the pages laid flat to draw and paint”
From the journal of Diane (Click on images to view original on Diane’s Flickr stream)
Image copyright of the artist.
I LOVE using PanPastels for my journal backgrounds – sometimes it is great not to have to wait for paint to dry… I especially love the soft subtle blending that can be achieved, and the wonderful tactile feel of the pages. I have been using them in my gratitude journal, and thought I would share some pre-prepared background pages -
The page bottom left (above) was created by applying Phthalo Blue and Hansa Yellow Shade and blending them where they meet. The flowers were created by stamping with Versamark, and then dusting very lightly over the stamping with Chromium Oxide Green for the stems/leaves and Red Iron Oxide shade for the flowers.
The page top right was created by blending Yellow Ochre and Permanent Red and then erasing the swirls with a pencil eraser (Pan Pastels erase very easily). The page bottom right was created by laying down a base coat of Yellow Ochre, and then dusting Red Iron Oxide shade over a Tim Holtz mask.
For most pages, simply rubbing well with a paper towel after applying the Pastel is enough to ‘fix’ the pages, however when applying over a mask or through a stencil, it may be necessary to use a fixative spray, although I haven’t done that yet with this page and it is holding up pretty well.
I also find that PanPastel can be easily used on smooth paper – usually soft pastel requires a paper with some ‘tooth’, but it is easy to get smooth ‘washes’ of colour on very smooth paper with this product as it is so low in dust and has an almost creamy consistency.
Well, there are many well documented benefits to Journaling, but losing weight is a new one on me… maybe I should try it Sandy always produces stunning visual journal pages, click on the image to see more on her Flickr photostream.
Inspired by Liz Steele (borromini bear)
and her quest to lose a few pounds – I tried the same approach yesterday – It does slow me down!
From the journal of Sandy
(Click on the image to view original)
Image copyright of the artist
If you have enjoyed this post please leave a comment for the artist
Sandy always produces stunning visual journal pages, click on the image to see more on her Flickr photostream.
