Melly and Me

Last week Melly Testa and I challenged each other to art journal in the other's style. As an aside, I love Skype. She had her coffee and I was drinking tea (still half asleep) and got to see her cat, her home and a new piece she is working on. Melly got to see my bedhead. We gave each other instructions on how to work for this challenge. Melly's instructions to me were:

Use frisket to create an object. Use watercolors and work in the negative space. Um ... yeah: think ahead? Plan? In my JOURNAL? Okey Doke.
Frisket is like Art Masking Fluid, which I've used lots with watercolors. You paint the fluid on and allow it to dry and it blocks out all color around it. I've used it in my little paintings, here. Frisket is a paper form of masking fluid, it acts as a stencil to block out or mask. I made a drawing of a teapot and mug, then cut it out of the frisket and stuck it onto the page.*

Using my watercolors, inktense pencils and a pen, I began filling in the negative space. When I  peeled off the frisket, the watercolors had snuck under there (perhaps the frisket wasn't stuck down enough or I used to much wet color?). There is loads more I could do on this page: more pattern, more line, more COLOR! Definitely more fun to be had. This was a excellent challenge for me to be so careful in my journal.

My challenge to Melly was: be messy, use gesso and doodle into it while wet, use smeary gooey portfolios. Don't plan. Here is her response. And, yes, Melly! It is messy enough. (She cracks me up.)

I use my journal in many ways and to try someone else's style is definitely one of them. More often,  my journal is a dumping ground, an idea keeper, a playground; someplace where I can be a two year old with a fistful of crayons, totally unaware that there is even such a thing as "judgement." That's what I strive for in my journal. But, it is also a great place to try out new ideas, materials and techniques. Like Melly, I go to my journals for inspiration and always find it there. I'm much more careful in my sketchbooks and this exercise has me thinking that, really! why are they separate books?

*I'm working in a Rag & Bone Bindery journal. It's a beautiful book with smooth. heavy white paper. Not good for watercolor. I am in the habit of applying a couple of coats of Golden's Absorbent Ground (White) to create a watercolor surface ahead of time on some of the papers. The stuff is awesome; you can make a watercolor ground on a non-watercolor journal. Prepping the pages ahead of time allows me to have these spreads ready to go if I want to use watercolors.

Have a great weekend, everyone. My husband and I are off to Cape May, NJ on Sunday for a couple of days of extreme peace and quiet before Thanksgiving. I love the beach this time of year.

pax diana

JournalFest in Pt Townsend, WA

There is a thriving community in there: bacteria and fungi and seeds and moving living things.
Fascinates the daylights out of me.

 dreamy, mossy Fort Worden. Take a cuppa' outside early in the morning and sip and watch the sun touch the mountain-framed sea. It puts me in mind of the NorthEast Kingdom. There is utter silence outside of the scattering sounds of leaves and grasses all shivery and rustly from small animals and the stiff breeze. Watching, listening, sniffing, sipping and feeling the cool air on my face was the way to start a day that was otherwise anything but quiet.

{NOTE: Of course, to get the tea, you have to pirate a coffee mug from the dining hall along with some tea bags. Some thoughtful elf, thank you, Mardi, put half-and-half into the frig.}

In the Journal Spilling class,  we carved eraser stamps and everyone shared and put a stamping in everyone else's books. Very nice reminder and food for later inspiration ... 

such as this page in my journal where the final student stamped and inspired me. 

Amazing papers were created in ColorWheel Quilting class. Colors were mixed, spilled, patterned,  sprayed, drizzled, splattered, sponged

 All of my students were hand sewing which was very lovely and quieting for the afternoon of their final class at JournalFest.

Delicious-ness

Teens Journal Summer 2010

{Abington Free Library} This summer, we did some drawing and watercoloring. Yes, when given some instruction and confidence, folks can learn to draw. Even you.

What's On My Desk

{Playfull-ness}

Playful Paper Backgrounds Is Available

My DVD is now available. (I know some of you know that already, but here it is, the official announcement!)

There is a ton of great information on this DVD. Here's what is covered:

Watercolor. A good discussion on the basic palette, colors you might choose to extend your palette and mixing colors. Also, of courses, RESISTS (man, I love those resists). 

Ink. My two most favorite Japanese ink techniques, suminagashi and orizomegami. This is a orizomegami technique below. The suminagashi technique is shown in the clip here from the video (scroll down the page). 

Stamp carving. Now, I decided that there is a TON of info out there on actually carving stamps but what do you do once you have your carving tools and Mastercarve? So I spent more time discussing finding and collecting inspiration and drawing and transferring your drawings to the Mastercarve. The ABC's of carving are there as well, of course.

And finally, Paste Paper. My simple technique will allow you to quickly mix up your paste and color it and get you to the making of the paste paper. Kitchen-table paste paper with excellent results and a bevy of ideas for mark making.

I'm pleased with the results of this first DVD. It is available either as a download to your computer or as a DVD. You can click on the links over there ------> to order. 

Woohoo. Do they have an Academy Award for "Best Instructional DVD"? Well, ok, maybe not; but there are some vintage Diana-isms in there which may be good for a few guffaws to lighten things up along the way. And, of course, I was wearing my fav outfit and had my nails done.

Mixed Media Self Portrait Journal Page

Yet another video! This one is on making a self-portrait journal page using collage, crayon, inks and watercolor.

I wanted to do a follow-up video to Susan Cohen's wonderful self portrait journal pages.

A little story: Some time ago, I was teaching a class of teenage girls and announced that we were going to make self-portraits. Oh, the groans! "No!", was the general outcry. "I don't like to look at my face."

So, OK, I could see this was going to be a battle I didn't want to fight. I suggested that we leave the word "self" out of the mix and just do "portraits." That met with approval and enthusiasm.

So I'll suggest the same to you. Relax. Draw an egg shape or a circle and put a couple of eyes in there, follow up with a nose and a mouth. What color is your favorite shirt? Do you have a pair of earrings that you always reach for?

Kindergarteners have no trouble drawing people. They draw everyone without a care in the world. Play with this as if you are 6 years old (why should they have all the fun?).

Gently let go of the judgements.

Have a great weekend, everyone.