2013 Art Journal-along

[tinybits]

So today I got around my huge paper stack and found some papers to use in my book. It will be a mixed media thing i guess with mostly collage.

Front cover:



Back cover:



Inside the cover and the first page:



And the papers and bits I plan to use:

[trinalocakary]

Tinybits .... your pages rock!

[goddessgarb]

Tonight was so hard, I was having serious neuropathy problems in my legs (nerves that shoot random messages causing pain and spasms) on top of being so tired I thought I was going to fall asleep during the game but I didn't want to ruin it for everyone so we played extra long and I tried to distract myself by working on a very simple quote art journal page (working on lettering)
6x6" black card stock mounted in a small scrapbook cover (no sleeves)
Prismacolor pencils and gel pen markers.



I think it came out good for how out of it I was.

It's really pretty!  I like playing with gel pens on black paper, too.  I bought a black piece of posterboard for a buck and was gonna cut it up and sew it into a journal just for that.

I'm so sorry you were suffering so much.  I hope you're feeling better now.

[goddessgarb]

One thing you might try is to simply write down the darkest deepest most depressed stuff on the plain sheet of unadulterated paper as if it was a journal entry or a technical paper, nothing fancy yet. 
Now let it sit over night (or longer) and then without reading it over and over start journaling OVER it, do your designs over the words, choose random or not so random words to leave uncovered but paint, draw, glue, alter the page so the words no longer have power over you. 
Do it over and over with different pages, leave a sentence here or there or do single words picked out of the writing to make a short poem that has nothing to do with the original subject.  Take the words that tear up your mind and hide them, incorporate them, work with them til they have no power.
Lenny Bruce (60's comedian) once said if the president were to go on tv everyday and say racial slurs like "kike kike kike kike kike kike...jew jew jew jew jew jew" all night long everyday for a year those words would have no meaning any more, they would just be WORDS, Sounds. 
I suffer depression and yes I have done this and yes it helps.

Great idea, and I'm glad to hear it helps.  I suffer from depression too, and I usually rip up my darkest stuff because I don't want to preserve it in any way, but what you say about it losing its power is intriguing.

[goddessgarb]

I was going to join this craftalong as I am working on an art journal- But reading the posts my art journal won't fit in it is drawing heavy with occasional accents of ephemera and background techniques-and lots of actual journaling- I will be stalking thou for ideas

Yes, I definitely would love to see any and all types of visual journaling anyone is doing!  I bought several books by different authors with very different styles just so I could see ALL the different ways people journal in a creative way.  Bring it. 

[trinalocakary]

It's really pretty!  I like playing with gel pens on black paper, too.  I bought a black piece of posterboard for a buck and was gonna cut it up and sew it into a journal just for that.

If you can get even a simple pack of Prismacolor pencils they write on dark colored paper so well, they are stupid expensive but my brother found a 72 piece set for $65 on eBay and got me them for a surprise (2month early) birthday gift.

I'm so sorry you were suffering so much.  I hope you're feeling better now.

The worst part is I do it to myself by not resting and pushing too hard, problem is my body can always push back harder. 
The thing is art, and especially art journaling where I can easily do a little bit or a lot, where I can work 1 page when i have a single focus or prep 10 when I am so distracted I can't focus on one thing, gives me a way to stay separate from my pain, to stay out ahead of it a bit.
I don't know how chronic pain sufferers who don't craft, or even read, survive.  I often write about pain but like I suggested I often rework the page it was written on, I will write in pencil on dark paper then draw over it, I will print out blog posts or fb statuses about my pain, run all the word together so that it is line after line of solid text then draw at random over it and then when I have "Broken it's back" (its continuity) I pick words out and make found word poetry that has nothing to do with pain.
Obviously I am not afraid to discuss my illnesses but I do not want it consuming my art work, I will use it as part of it but I won't let it take over again.

[teag]

I was named one of craftsters best of 2012!
And Yesterday I made my own teagskin journal (moleskin knock-off)!






There's more here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=419059.0

[LeapFeetFirst]

I've decided to start art journaling- mostly because I received an awesome handmade book from sheepBlue and I want to fill it with art. I am also excited to see everyone else's pages and talk art all year round!

I am going to be using the website teag mentioned-  A Year in the Life of a Journal  http://oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/ as a basis for my journal. Since I am new to this, I thought it would be good to have a little guidance :-). The first promt comes out today!

LeapFeetFirst's - "A Year of Art" Journal

Here is a picture of the awesome book that sheepBlue made for me!

[teag]

I finished a conversation with my fear monster- I used pen and ink, colored pencils, and watercolor pencils




I replied to the comments below once before a couple of days ago and they somehow disappeared in cyber space, I hate when that happens

I am not at all good at drawing people.  Did you try something specific to learn your technique?

Mostly just practice, whenever I would see a style I'm drawn to I would try to copy the picture - after a while I began to develop my own style.

teag, tell me you're a professional illustrator, because if you're not you totally could be!

Awe, what a great compliment, Thank you

And teag - wow. I may have to try sketching people but it's hard and scary. I mostly make fingerprint critters when I need to insert a body.

up until my early thirties I had myself convinced I could not draw then one day one of my sons found a Mark Kistler video at the library that he just had to have- we checked it out, watched it and started to learn to draw together- the video led to Mark's books.
If you want to learn to draw or draw better I highly recommend all of Mark Kistler's books ( I own Three)

I may have to steal that goals idea, and maybe the dream man one. Well done!

Please do!- I would love to see what you come up with.

[tinybits]

I don't feel ok, things are not running smooth on the work front money wise but I sat down and whipped up some pages while watching vampire diaries..

These are done very fast within 2 hours. I don't feel they are yet finished and journaling is missing but at least the collage part is down. I am glad I watched the video tutorial I posted a few pages earlier. I never thought I had what it takes to make art journals but now I feel like I can do it..

my favorite:



these two are not yet complete:



waiting for journaling:



i made this one while ago while i wasn't sure what to do with this notebook. I really love the letter so I didn't want to cover up. But the gold page hides the journaling as well as completing the look of gold A.



these are not yet complete too.. the map has a small opening that has a small dotted paper inside that i will use to write a note.. the polka dots are sort of complete but i am not sure. big purple one hides journaling, it needs to be lifted up to read it. the others are glued.