Monday Musings

Hello everyone!  

 After almost a month of being laid up with health crappola (that's a technical term, don't ya know), I'm full of new found determination and ready to push forward with life, art and daily adventures in finding my bliss.  First and foremost, I'm ready to launch my first set of online classes, Personal & Potent-Art Journaling From the Heart, To Feed the Soul. 

This week I'll be choosing my hosting site. I want the virtual classroom to be easily accessible, password protected so students feel comfortable sharing their work, have some type of forum for community chit chat and easy to upload content to.  A tall request I know, but it is a must! As soon as my choice is made, I'll post all the sign up deets here!

Those of you who receive the newsletter know I included a journal prompt in it. The prompt was: Describe one time when you were brave.

If you used the prompt in any way, feel free to post a link to it in the comments section!  I'd love to see what your Muse inspired you to do! 

Almost finished painting of one of my 'Glam Girls' 

I started with a quick pencil sketch, then added color with Copic Marker.

 The face was painted with acrylics mixed with a little medium.

The background is Tombow marker spread with water to create a wash.

Journal page from May 13. 

The tape along the left side is handmade Washi. 

I used wide masking tape, acrylic paints and a stencil to make a bunch. 

Why buy tape when it's so easy to create your own?

I've been practicing my lettering skills, 

learned in Letter Love 101 with Joanne Sharpe. 

This banner, on heavy watercolor paper, hangs in my studio window now.

A wonderful reminder for me!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful, creative week!
Until next time, May The Muse Be With You!
-Kristin

Journal Pages

  As usual it's been too long since I blogged. Not going into the boring, medical details of what's been keeping me from doing so. Who wants to hear that? Certainly not me!

  I'd uploaded these journal page photos back in August, with every intention of posting them right away. But, it didn't work out the way I'd planned!  

  All these pages are from the journal made out of old file folders, scrap paper and heavyweight paper. The pages are staggered, with varying sizes,  lots of folds, creases and pockets. It makes for a much more interesting journal, both to work in and visually!

  Most of the border images on these pages are created from copies of previous pages I've done. I print them on the laser printer and cut into strips. I think it makes my pages unique and clearly reflects my style!

 The spread above contains transfers. On the left I did a gesso transfer. On the right a gel medium transfer. Both backgrounds are painted using gouache and watercolor. I typically use acrylic paint on my pages, but decided to try something different this time. 

The page below was painted with gouache also.I love the vibrant colors with a hint of softness.

Here you can see how the various page sizes offer a peek into what came before and after. I think it makes the journal more interesting and visually striking. It also makes you want to peek just around the corner to find what comes next!

A close up of one small page, which is actually a flap. 

This one has a fold in it and has been stapled into the journal with decorative metal staples. When folded you can only see the imagery, not the writing.

Another section where you can see how the different size pages reveal bits and pieces of what's contained within. Again, I love the vibrant colors of the gouache, especially the greens! The file folder edge is covered in decorative tape. It looks great and adds stability.

A combo of watercolor and gouache was used for this page. I like the goofy image at the top coupled with the vintage advertising image. The right hand side border is a portion of an older page I photocopied.