Friday, May 20, 2011

Art Journal Every Day: Friday Update!

Every field of arts and crafts has their “rock stars”—the folks that newbies look upon with awe as masters of their trade, and that seasoned veterans recognize and admire as ‘one of their own.’ To me, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer is a scrapbooking/art journaling rock star.

I wish I remember how I first came upon her web site; it was only a few months ago, as I was starting my own blog and art journal at the beginning of this year. I now visit Julie’s site daily for a dose of beautiful art and inspiration.

Today, I’m excited to be a part of her amazing web site, as she is presenting weekly profiles of some of the people who are signed on to her Art Journal Every Day challenge. I hope you will hop on over to her blog to read today’s post!

Now for an update of some of my most recent art journaling!

One of my favorite spreads commemorates my recent weekend vacation in Cape May, New Jersey, with my family.  I glued down a map of the town, and gessoed over the top of it.  Then I used a few shades of blue watercolor over that.
Things started out a little rough, as you may notice that I used the wave stencil at the bottom of the page UPSIDE DOWN from the direction it is meant to be used. I actually “owned” that mistake pretty quickly, and liked the effect of the wave stenciling anyway. And, I reasoned, my “error” makes my page enjoyable from multiple directions!
I used pictures from brochures, as well as business cards I picked up in restaurants where we ate.
And, best of all, I used adhesive photos using my new Pogo printer! I love their small 2x3 size—just the right size to make the page really personal, without turning it into a scrapbooking spread, where the photos would dominate.
Another issue arose when I drew lines around my photos in thick marker, and wrote some journaling with the same thick pen. I couldn’t stand how it looked, and the journaling seemed superficial and boring. So, I took the word of all those journaling experts I keep reading, and I painted right over the parts I didn’t like! Then I had a clean slate to re-draw my lines and re-write my journaling with an ultra-thin black pen, which is very much my preference. Catastrophe averted!

Another spread I completed reflects my thoughts on indulging in a little TOO much introspection:
My long-necked girl (learned from Violette’s Journal Bliss) didn’t come out quite as attractively as I might have hoped, but I like the bold lines, dots, and lettering on the rest of the spread. You have to make confident lines if you’re going to use Sharpies on gesso!

My Mother’s Day spread used my stitched butterflies, which I posted about earlier when I used them on a card from my mother.
On the opposite side, I used collage, stamping, and journaling to tell about my special day.

Of course, I had to have at least one page with some tangles.
The difference here is that I used a chisel-tip Sharpie instead of my usual ultra-fine tip…a different experience altogether, and kind of fun!

Thank you for checking out some of my art journaling progress! If you would like to see other journalers who are participating in Julie’s Art Journal Every Day challenge this month, you can find a list on her web site.  There are 101 participants for May!

Have a great weekend.  I’m off to Atlanta to meet my three-month-old twin nephews, while my husband stays home to watch the girls. I expect we’ll all be a little worn out by the time Sunday evening rolls around!

20 comments:

scrapwordsmom said...

Beautiful pages. What a cool spread about your weekend...I haven't incorporated photos in my art journal...yet. I plan on it one day soon.

Julie is amazing isn't she? I am off to check out your work there today. How exciting!!

Have fun with your twin nephews:)

Leslie

aprilmariecole.blogspot.com said...

Wonderful art journal pages!
You have been creatively busy :]
Thank you for the beautiful paper-sewn postcard... what a delight to see in my mail box!
*hug*

Christie describeHappy said...

I enjoyed reading your interview on Balzer Designs and look forward to following along and reading more! Happy creating!

violette said...

wow.....i am so loving your pages and how open you are to exploring so many different ways to journal! I really enjoyed your interview on Julie's blog - congrats! I'm very happy that you have enjoyed my book Journal Bliss too!
Love, violette

Desiree said...

I love the journal page you have done from your pics of your day with the fam!!Also I was so exited to get featured to and there you were too! :) I am loving Julie featuring different artists. Very cool of her. She is super talented! I also just got Violette's Journal Bliss book, great prompts and good reminders to get us started. :D

Andria said...

Thank you, everyone! Leslie, I'm just getting started with using photos, and it's an exciting addition! April, I'm so glad the postcard made it to you intact, and that you like it! Christie, I'm so glad that you will be coming back by! Violette, thanks for visiting; I still go back to your book often for good ideas! Desi, very cool to see you at Julie's place with me! :-)

Jennifer Ward said...

Andria -
I'm in awe! Your journal is amazing! It's official - you are an artist. You are my friend, Artist Andria.

Sande said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sande said...

Love your art journal pages and how you have incorporated photos.

Imagine my surprise to find your latest entry about your visit to Cape May, as it is the place I now call home. I hope you enjoyed your visit to our beautiful Victorian city.

Clare said...

Omgoodness! I just love your journals! I've only just discovered this craft and already it's smiting I would like to add to the long list of things I'd like to do, but where will I find the time? thanks for sharing and I look forward to seeing more! Love, Clare x

Andria said...

Awww, Jen...you made my day! How nice that you live in Cape May, Sande; it's such a beautiful place! My husband's father grew up there. Good luck with your art journaling, Clare; it's lots of fun, and because there are no "rules", it's not possible to do it wrong!

michelle allen said...

love your art journal and the colors!!!

milkcan said...

Beautiful artwork! Thank you so much for being a part of Art Journal Every Day! (And for your kind words!)

Carin Winkelman said...

some wonderful pages Andria, I especially love the spread with the long necked girl and also the butterflies. I so have a thing for butterflies! ;-)

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