Monday, February 14, 2022

No Blank Page Left

 

Oh the feel of an almost full art journal! I love when the pages bend and bulge because there are so many layers on them. It is very satisfying.

I bought this Strathmore art journal a few years ago and it was sitting empty on a shelf for a long time. I started working in it almost three years ago, but only for a short period of time. Finally this summer I pulled it out again. After having quit my job I thought it was a good time to start filling its pages again.

While it is still not complete, I can now say that not a single blank page is left. At least some kind of background is on each page and I know that eventually they will be turned into something that is not just a background.

Some pages I started out purposefully with journaling that I then covered up.


The first sentence often was a question or quote I heard or read somewhere. I journal in both German and English, depending how I feel at the moment, and often it's a mix of both languages. The page with the birds was written in German whereas the text on the page in the picture above is written in English. What I specifically love about art journals is that they are not accomplished art but opprotunities to try things out. The flowers above were painted with Derwent Inktense ink pencils that I had never worked with before and that I came to love for their brilliant colors. 

For the page above I used watercolors. I had never really dared to work with watercolors and was never "serious" about it. However, I found out that they make wonderful backgrounds and I enjoy mixing colors to create diffferent shades. In this page I also tore up papers that I had made with the Gelli plate, got the inspiration for the frame from some online workshop (I forgot which one) and used one of my all-time favorite stamps, "Silhouette Script" by Dina Wakley.

As you can tell, I really like this stamp.

Oh, and I love to work with stencils. They can add such fun elements to a page.

Sometimes I just create a page about something I love ("Sunsource" by Stampington & Company is another favorite stamp).

One Sunday morning not even two months after I had quit my high school job I felt so thankful that I didn't have to go to work the following day that I spontaneously created a page about the carefree Sunday mornings that I finally had back. I love our Sunday mornings - they are slow with a late breakfast and usually I spend them in my studio either writing or playing with mixed media. It has a very different quality from all the other days.

The last page I want to show you is my currently favorite page because it is the most meaningful to me.

I do my best work in the morning. Is it because of the coffee?

This elephant mug is my ticket for T Tuesday hosted by Elizabeth at Altered Book Lover. We also used to have a red one, but it broke several years ago.

The little "Trust" bird was made by Kelly Thiel, the little owl was a gift from my friend Jo when she moved to Portland, OR, and the dromedary I bought in Egypt many many years ago. These three things are very special to me.


26 comments:

Mae Travels said...

I love your watercolor effects. The stencils remind me of a mural artist in our town who designed stencils for decorating walls and bridge abutments, which were very pretty.

best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Red Rose Alley said...

Your art journal is so creative and wonderful. It is filled with things that are special to you with many different colors, words, notes, and painting. I love the bird page, it's spoke to me. And Sunday is starting to be my favorite day of the week, so that spoke to me as well. What a creative art project you work on every time you fill your journal pages.

Happy Valentine's Day Carola.

~Sheri

My name is Erika. said...

I know what you mean about an almost filled journal Carola. It is a great feeling, isn't it? And you have some wonderful pages to share too. And I recognize some of those stamps. They are good ones. I hope you finish up your pages and have lots of fun starting a new journal, which is just as exciting as finishing one. Great mug too. Happy T day and week ahead. Hugs-Erika

Sharon Madson said...

My favorite page is the first one with the birds and rainbow colors, although all of them are wonderful. Nice you have an almost full journal. Thanks for sharing.

kathyinozarks said...

Good evening, thank you so much for sharing a look into your journal pages-I love them all.
I find the journal pages to be very freeing, just play in the moment and try new things. I love that about them.
Love your coffee cup and special pieces.
Happy T Hugs Kathy

Lorrie said...

Wonderful art pages, Carola. They are full of joy and colour. And they remind me that I have a mostly blank art journal, too.

Elephant's Child said...

What a wonderful and beautiful achievement.
I love the bird and the dromedary too.

Iris Flavia said...

I sure am done with my morning training now ;-)
Great journal! Love the flowers the most.
Happy Elephant... um.... T-Day :-)

Linda said...

I love what you've done. I thought at first it was a normal pour out your heart and then I realized that is exactly what it is. Beautiful.

nwilliams6 said...

All fab pages - so fun to see so many of them together. I have never finished or almost finished an art journal book, but I know it is a good feeling. I love how you journal under your pages. Definitely coffee and the freshness of the morning impact your work - at least they do for me. Happy T-day and hugz Carola

Divers and Sundry said...

The elephant mug would be welcome in my cupboard :) What a great mug!

Happy T Tuesday

Linda Kunsman said...

Beautiful pages! I really like the effect of watercolor backgrounds and must remember to do some pages like this:) Happy T day!

Jeanie said...

I just love seeing your journal, Carola. Your use of color impresses me along with all the various mixed media techniques you use. You're right about that feeling of finishing a book. And looking back on it later is an even better feeling! It truly is beautiful and a wonderful accomplishment.

Let's Art Journal said...

Wow, such stunning art journal pages! All your designs are so beautiful and that elephant mug is gorgeous - love it 😁. Happy T Day! Hugs Jo x

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

What an absolutely impressive series of art you have created for us today. Each spread is incredible and perfect. Your Dina Wakely pages are fabulous, and your Sunday entry is unbelievable.

What a beautiful elephant mug. I also like that you have surrounded yourself with beautiful things that mean so much to you. I am glad you shared where you got your Trust piece because I was going to ask you about it. Thank you so much for sharing these amazing journal pages and your elephant mug and things on your desk you love with us for T this Tuesday.

BTW, I was by last night and got an error twice, so gave up and came back today.

Valerie-Jael said...

Love all of the beautiful and creative pages in your journal, fabulous! And the mug is great. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I just read your comment about coffee pages. I share how to make them in my Second Thursday tutorial (https://alteredbooklover.blogspot.com/2022/02/second-thursday-tutorial-altered.html), but the short version is, add a mixture of instant coffee crystals to boiling water. When cool to the touch, place them in a pan that is larger than the papers you want to dye. Allow to sit a few minutes (I left mine too long) and remove. Allow to dry overnight. I DO NOT recommend drying them in your oven. I did that once with lemon juice and it made them crisp and difficult to keep from breaking apart.

CJ Kennedy said...

Your journal is wonderful to flip through. I can feel the joy of your Sunday morning page. Your elephant mug is very cute. At first I thought the elephant was holding onto to a paint brush, but now I see he's holding on to the tail of the elephant in front of him. I think I need a cup of tea. Happy T Day

DVArtist said...

Carol I love all of your art but that first one really touches me. Ohhh and please if you ever get rid of that mug send it to me. Ha ha ha. Yes, Martha has a 29 faces in the fall too. Have a great day today.

Lisca said...

Oh, well done. It must be very satisfying. I love all your backgrounds. I have an art journal too which is sitting on a shelf, unused. One day I will have a go. Problem is I don't like messy.
Thank you for introducing us to your favorite objects. The owl is beautiful. Is it a little whistle? (I have seen whistles like that). And I love the colorful mug.
Belated happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

pam nash said...

I love your art journal. Perhaps I'll try something similar. Though I'm not an artist, I do have a big imagination.

pearshapedcrafting said...

Your journal contains some fabulous pages - a nearly full journal does have a great feel to it. Glad you have more creative time now. I love your mug - not a morning crafter often but I do enjoy coffee. Belated Happy T Day, Chrisx

Barb said...

So satisfying to see this journal. I know you look back on its pages and recall the way you were feeling when you created it. I'm also surrounded by items that give me pleasure and have fond memories attached. I would never acquire something just to "decorate".

Spyder said...

I love that mug, I think I have a 'thing' for them. Your Journnal look fantastic! Happy Very late T for Tuedsay! But I was last!((Lyn)) on crafting! Happy Very late T for Tuedsay! But I was last!((Lyn))

Lowcarb team member said...

Lovely art pages.
That elephant mug is great.

Hope the week ahead is a good one for you.

All the best Jan

Empire of the Cat said...

Congrats on filling your journal, it's such a great feeling of achievement when you do that isn't it. Sorry for my lateness, it's been quite the week Happy belated T Day Elle/EOTC xx