QUIT SMOKING! DON'T START SMOKING!

I like to explore ideas by using images of unknown people to create scenarios. The unknown images often sparks ideas that I would have never thought to journal otherwise.

I wish that I had photographed the spread before I started painting and drawing over for comparison. In my journaling journey I like to revisit where I came from.

The idea of time "dragging" on and how time could be affected by a "drag" on the cigarette is the scenario I am exploring.

I feel powerless and sad when I see people smoking. Making art gives me some sense of control. 

QUIT SMOKING! DON'T START SMOKING!

PEACE - Art Journal Page

I have been trying to prep assorted pages in my journal to help jump start my creative process. I find that this is a good way to be productive when I'm not feeling particularly creative. 


I chose the main magazine image because I was drawn to the close-up of praying hands. 


Feeling compelled to journal yesterday I flipped through my prepped journal pages and I envisioned an image over the page. 

Do you see it?

I saw a dove.

Praying for -
Peace on Earth
Peace of Mind

The striped images were added later to cover lettering I didn't care for.  I think they add more visual interest and help balance the design.

Collaged Art Journal Page

I was inspired by a torn paper collage journal page spread by Marie Danti.  I started with this quote "When the uncreative tell the creative what to do, it stops being art". Next I ripped out mostly solid sections from a magazine and glued them down without preplanning. Pieces laid prior helped to guide the next paper I glued down. I didn't have a plan for the subject matter except to draw something in marker loosely. Tony Bennett was the source for the quote so I googled an image for him and liked the pose from his All Time Greatest Hits album.

The drawing isn't as loose as I had first intended.  Since it was an actual person I wanted there to be some resemblance. First I sketched the image in pencil. Next I drew over the pencil lines with marker. Then I painted in shadows with watered down acrylic paint.

I think the random collaged paper gives the spread more of a dynamic energy than I could have planned.

The FOX - Journal Page Collage

The Fox - Journal page collage inspired by some Clint Eastwood quotes found in the April 2015 Reader's digest issue. The three quotes I chose to include in my journal resonated the most with my own beliefs. I also included the artist drawing of Clint and for some reason the camera seems to pick up the drawing more than it shows in my journal. I chose to collage a photo of some buildings, in Hong Kong by photographer Romain Jacquet-Lagreze also found in the same Reader's digest issue, for their interesting patterns. The right page is a partial page revealing the start of another collaged page.

The quote that influenced the idea of drawing a fox over the collage:

"I've always felt that if I examine myself too much, I'll find out what I know and don't know, and I'll burst the bubble. I've gotten so lucky relying on my animal instincts, I'd rather keep a little bit of the animal alive". Clint Eastwood - Source: Esquire

Process:
First I glued down the quotes and pictures somewhat randomly. Next I looked for a photo of a fox that I thought would fit well in the layout and spoke to me. Google search and I found it here: http://wallpaperfu.com/cool-animal-background-hd-wallpaper/cool-animal-background-hd-wallpaper-2/  Then I applied several washes of fluid acrylics. Finally I drew in the fox and background with numerous layers of colored pencils. All of the art was collaged and drawn without any photoshop manipulation.

Art Journal – Pushing Back the Darkness

A frustrated person and a ship set to sail is the start of my journal page. I wish that I had remembered to photograph the spread before starting to paint in the background.

I was inspired to use a ship and paint a skeleton over the image because of the art and theme of Juliana Coles book “The Legend of Juana La Loca”. The gray day and my own style took over next. Passion tea bag tag from my cup of tea was the finishing touch.

Fond du Lac Barcamp & Art Journaling

I attended my first barcamp at Sept. 20th, 2014 at Marian University's Stayer Center in Fond du Lac. I facilitated an Art Journaling session. I think next time I will name it Visual Journaling instead. As “art” seems to imply some type of “artistic” talent needed.

It is an experience hard to describe. To start, this is their facebook description “ …a participant-generated idea swap meet for the infocurious. It's an unconference, folks!”
Here is the link to their website - http://www.barcampfdl.org/

This group of people was very diverse and included computer based technology enthusiasts, educators, visual artists, and performing artists.

From Wikipedia “Although the format is loosely structured, there are rules^[19] at BarCamp. All attendees are encouraged to present or facilitate a session or otherwise contribute to the event.^[17]Everyone is also asked to share information and experiences of the event via public web channels, including blogs, photo sharing, social bookmarking, Twitter, wikis, and IRC. This encouragement to share is a deliberate change from the "off-the-record by default" and "no recordings" rules at many invite-only participant driven conferences. It also turns a physical, face-to-face event into a 'hybrid event' which enables remote online engagement with BarCamp participants”.
Thanks to Mel Kolstad for the above picture.


I jotted down some notes while attending the sessions. Unfortunately I didn’t have my current journal and had to resort to working in my “Fragmented” journal instead. It took several tries to print a quality picture on my laser printer. (see first photo). To waste less paper I printed on both sides. To further lessen waste I added bits and pieces to other journal pages.


Three salamanders crossed my path on the way to Barcamp and another one after I arrived home. They, along with a waste copy of the first photo in this post, were the inspiration for this page.


I added some different shades of gray colored pencils to give a little more depth to the salamanders.


A journal page from my Relief Printing session facilitated by my friend Mel Kolstad and Beekeeping session by http://dsbees.com/.

Quick Starts – Art Journaling

I was having a hard time getting inspired to create a journal spread. I had flipped through 7 magazines and nothing was clicking. I was wishing that I could attend a journaling class or get together with another artist and journal. I needed something to get me started! And there it was…

I cut apart the words and rearranged them to fit a parrot that I remembered seeing earlier.
Next came the phrase “A RIDDLE, OUTRAGE OR SUPERB PIECE OF WORK”? A perfect description to my art journaling. I place it where the line on the “A” crossed and above the part of the “S” so that you could still read the word “STARTS”.

Some paint to start the process of making it my own.


A magazine picture that I had clipped out a previous day that was laying in my stack of magazines. The birds would make a nice addition to my parrot.


I cut apart the picture to fit on the word “QUICK’'. Then find places for the parts that I cut off. This helps to tie the whole spread together.


I extend the floral design and add a string for the parrot to pull. Quick journaling of thoughts in my head. Sign and date and it’s done!
A riddle, outrage or superb piece of work?

War - The Denominator

I saw some broken toy soldiers on the internet. An idea for an assemblage on WAR was born. Months later I did a search and chose to buy these 3 figures. I wanted each figure to be as diverse as possible from the others to cover a broader range of topics. The figures are each from different eras in time, but the common denominator is war. What they all have in common is they are broken and represent childhood or innocence.
I chose the rider on his broken horse to reveal that war not only affects mankind, but the animal kingdom and much broader all life.
The Indian’s foot is broken off. He represents a culture I know little about and their repercussions of war.
The soldier kneeling has suffered great consequence but is still in a shooting position. Perhaps beyond all reasons of war he as an individual has a family to protect.


The next piece for consideration was this round rusty cylinder that my son found in the woods and gave to me. It reminds me of the large end of a barrel and emptiness.


I needed a substrate for the assemblage. After trying a couple of newer wooden boxes I settled on one of my wood casting patterns. I turn it in all directions to find the best position.


Each figure has it’s own compartment and own agenda as they are separated by time.


I also strive to arrange the components in a visually pleasing placement.


Below this figure is the ornamental escutcheon around preconceived riches or prize, but it is covering a hole in the substrate.


I like the rays on this washer.  I chose to enhance rather than cover up this hole with a large brass eyelet.


This hole represents the tiny perspective we have of the giant circle of war.


I painted the recess in the wood casting pattern a darker black to better showcase the toy soldiers.
I have found that words have many definitions and sometimes the opposite of their original intent. So I have included these definitions for my work.

Denominator - the part of a fraction that is below the line and that functions as the divisor of the numerator.
Preconceive - to form a conception or opinion of beforehand, as before seeing evidence or as a result of previously held prejudice.
Substrate - the base on which an organism lives.
Escutcheon - a flat piece of metal for protection and often ornamentation, around a keyhole, door handle, or light switch.

The Secret of Time – Assemblage Necklace

I finished this necklace today. It is composed of: clock gears; ammonite fossil set in a bezel; carnelian and black onyx set in tube bezels. The pieces are attached together by micro bolts and nuts. I fabricated the bezels and necklace bail.


I chose a natural leather cord to hang the pendant from.

The inspiration for the design of the clasp was from a necklace made by jewelry artist Ramona Solberg.

The backside of the necklace.

The secret of time for today is evidence of productivity.

Amethyst Crystal Clock Necklace

I bought a strand of Amethyst crystal beads at the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee.  Here is one of them.


My plan is to incorporate some clock gears to make a necklace. I like the contrast between the gears and the crystal.

I made a bezel for the amethyst and cut sections of brass tube to use as a bezels for beads. At this point I have most of the necklace design worked out in my head.

I chose this particular bead for it’s shape. The bead hole is a bonus and gives me an idea.


This clock piece fits like the hole was made for it!

I just need to fabricate the clasp and then it is done.

Art Journal Page – Spiraling From My Center

 

It has been awhile since I have worked in my art journal. Journaling helps me to feel centered.

I had the idea of “spiraling from my center”. I drew a spiral and then proceeded to tear out pictures and some words from a magazine that I was drawn to. Next I tore segments to add to the spiral and glued them down.

After I was satisfied with the collage portion I added washes of acrylic paint following the spiral pattern. Then came my favorite step, mark making. I find this step to be very meditative.

“As the world expands – the further away I feel from my center”. Not sure of the wording so I rephrased underneath. Sometimes I feel that I am “spiraling out of control”.

Ring – Fox “A day’s work”

 

I started taking jewelry classes in Grafton at Terri McCarthy Studios April of this year.  Terri is an excellent teacher and I am enjoying the social atmosphere of the class. After a couple of practice soldering exercises this is my first completed project.

The cabochon was the inspiration for the ring. It reminds me of the red and buff sandstone mountains of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, Nevada

I knew that I wanted to make a ring and I had the idea of cutting out the shape of a plant or animal that could be found inhabiting the Red Rock Canyon. After entertaining the idea of several different plants and animals I settled on a fox trotting across the cabochon placed in a horizontal position.

Using a couple of pictures for reference I drew the fox and then reduced it a couple times on my printer/scanner to use as a pattern for cutting out the fox.

The sterling silver was a gift from my sister and brother-in-law several years prior.

I etched the phrase on copper using a portion of a stamp that I had from Stampington & Co. “a day’s work” fit the space and resonates with my quest for productivity.

The ring is rather large but feels good to wear.