Enough …

here we have the last spread in a visual journal that I started working in back in 2009…

as finishing this journal this month has been a challenge I set for myself I am entering it in Susi’s Art Journal Journey May challenge…

lots of my painted pages began because of inspiration from a Julie Prichard online class that taught me so much (she is a wonderful teacher!)…

the first spread I completed above in this 1958 Funk & Wagnalls  Encyclopedia was inspired by a Pretty Paper Hearts challenge blog that no longer exists …

 links to several other spreads can be found here… 

below you will find a bit of my creative process for the last pages which got quite thick…

strips of my citra solv paper and torn vintage map (thank you Carmen ♥) blended in with some white gesso…

using some of my unmounted rubber stamps on pattern tissue paper…

and lots and lots of layers of Distress Stains (one of my favorite Ranger products!!!)…

using my hand to blend and smear the stains and YES it DOES stain your hands …

to finish off the gutter of the book I wet my hand a little and used a small paintbrush to gather enough color to finish off the center of the pages…

above you can see my pages before I found my tiny seashells and starfish from a trip to Florida…

I did try and not make the pages too bulky but you know how it is once you get going…

I am a big mermaid fan…

twenty-eight spreads (double pages) in the recycled encyclopedia that originally covered French Literature — Gothic Architecture and now all it needs is a cover…

“Enough is abundance to the wise.” ~Euripides

and a bit of extra fun with my mermaid and free Photofunia…

‘Tea with Marie’…

my talented friend Susan created her first gorgeous altered book for a round robin in our mixed media art group…

you can stop by her blog to see her interesting post on how her book began here…

working on the plain French-English dictionary pages adding lots of layers and embellishments was such a delight…

I highlighted an old French ledger page from The Graphics Fairy with a piece of pretty German napkin that I rubbed with gold gouache…

tiny flowers from a vintage hat I collected decorate a French cocoa label also from The Graphics Fairy…

some French 7Gypsies tissue paper started the background for this page along with a piece of old blue velvet for the edge…

the oval portrait of Marie was from a free digital collage sheet The Graphics Fairy shared back in 2009…

 one of my golden flimmers and some delicate German scrap helped frame Marie…

white gesso, gold gouache, bits of my favorite gold patterned tissue paper, torn napkin, scraps of embroidered netting, pink silk rose petals (on the left page edge and behind Marie’s head) and a K & Company vellum border at the bottom helped put the finishing touches on my pages…

such a fun theme and a very beautiful book to work in…

Welcome March …

February was a month of ups and downs for me both physically and emotionally and from what I can tell there are other people who share my relief that the month has ended…

  one lovely and memorable thing that happened in February was getting to go to the theater with Mr Magpie…

thanks to my sister sharing some gift coupons we decided to take in a show…

 Arena Stage in Washington, DC was founded in 1950 and this is the first time either of us had been there…

we enjoyed all ninety minutes with no intermission watching ten talented actors brilliantly perform Metamorphoses…

I was inspired to create some journal pages beginning with the artwork on the advertising card by graphic artist Patrick Lee…

it was great fun blending colors to try and compliment the card…

it was hard to cover most of my painted page with photos from the internet depicting some of our favorite scenes (photography in the theater was strictly forbidden)…

on the left hand page I attached and painted an envelope to hold our tickets along with the advertisement for the play…

 there are no bad seats in the 680 seat Fichandler Theater at Arena Stage but we were happy that we were not in range of getting splashed from all of the frolicking in the heated 30,000 pound pool…

there were moments when people in the first few rows would raise big black towels provided by the theater for protection…

we laughed and cried and did not want this unforgettable performance to end (it would definitely be worth seeing again!)…

if you are interested there are a couple of short video clips and photos to enjoy here…

“There is a line in the show from Jung (I believe) that says “Dreams are private myths, myths are public dreams” which is an idea I like very much. Whenever and wherever we have done this show, audiences immediately connect to the stories because metamorphoses — change, unlooked for and often unwanted – is an inescapable fact of our lives; it binds us together. These myths give a kind of comfort in that they assert that it was ever thus — that change is the only constant – and yet, out of any destruction, something new is born. And aside from all this, the stories are also gripping because they have a kind of wit, an unexpected humor in their staging that is born from both their strangeness and their familiarity.”  — Mary Zimmerman, playwright/director

Art Journal Journeys has a theme of “Besondere Momente/Special Moments“ for March … be sure and stop by for a visit this month to see all of the wonderful and inspiring creativity AND you are most welcome to join in by creating your own art journal pages!

Love to you and you and …

“Love is the medicine that accelerates healing.

Love yourself,

love your neighbor,

love your enemies,

but begin with self-love.

You cannot love others until you love yourself.

You cannot share what you do not have.

If you do not love yourself, you cannot love anyone else either.”   ~Don Miguel Ruiz

* you are Loved * oxo *

she had come this way…

if you remember my journal pages from last week here…

you will recognize the veiled lady…

I folded her image from one page to another rather than tearing it in half… leftover found poetry that I played with back in July came in handy for these pages too…

soon I will need to make more pressed flower tissue papers …

STRETCH in 2013 …

new year’s resolutions are not something I really get into but I have chosen a word for the last several years…

in 2011 my word was AUTHENTIC and

in 2012 I chose BALANCE…

I could easily have had that as my word again this year but I decided to go with

(most of the heart rocks are from my Mr Magpie who knows I enjoy a pretty rock as much as a bouquet of flowers)

a reminder to stretch my spiritual body…

 my physical body…

and

to continue stretching my wings trying new things…

(thank you Susan for the beautiful wings…they fit perfectly with my new AVAM swan)

here are my latest art journal pages for two different monthly journal challenges Susi’s with the theme of “Crowns” and Dawn’s with the theme of “New” using colors that I don’t often go to…

my encyclopedia pages (each measuring 4×6″/postcard size) began with some found poetry that eerily and unintentionally lined up with words showing thru my painted and collaged backgrounds on page 213 and 214…

did you pick a word to inspire you this year?

A BIG thank you once again to my sweet and talented friend Estivalia in Chile for creating the code for my Word of the Year to appear on my sidebar…she’s the best!!!

You’ll probably never know…

my art journal pages were inspired by a couple of images from a wonderful card and special paper swap from the lovely and talented Madeleine Schineis in The Netherlands

(with special thanks to LaWendula for the many swaps she continues to organize … I believe there is still time to sign up for the December “Yummy Papers” swap here)…

the girl with her long tresses caught in the train door really spoke to me as I have had long hair for much of my life…

the delicate bird image on the right hand page was just perfect too…

(here is some of what went into my pages: a chocolate paper, black and white rub ons, cotton gauze, music fabric tape, metal button, acrylic paint, white Signo gel pen, black marker and black  Stabilo Woody)