art journaling in my bible

I have a confession!  I can't remember the last time I did any art journaling in one of my journals!  I adore making tags and they are often my 'go to' when I want to make something small or quick...

...and I've been doing my planner pages some months

but the other place I've been art journaling is in my bible.

I appreciate this isn't for everyone, but I've found it's made me want to read my bible more, and the visual imagery means I remember things better. Sometimes it's like a treasure hunt - I adore the imagery of stars and there's plenty of references to them so lots of opportunities to play!

One of my favourite pages is one of the simplest ...

Journaling bibles like this one, with extra wide margins to write in (or stencil, paint, doodle, stamp...) had sold out worldwide but they are now back in the shops....

...and my latest imagery hunt is for references to autumn and spring rains!  I think I may be affected by the current weather ;)

an art journaling New Year's resolution

I've been very happy for a long time not writing in my art journals.  Splashing paint around, spraying ink and adding stamping and doodling are extremely relaxing and they reflect me through my choice of colour, image...

..but I've recently (well, for a few months really) I've been wanting to add writing.  I have done it before, but usually only something fun resulting from an image I've added, or as an example for a workshop!

I want to add quotes, declarations, good things to hear or bible verses but I'm not finding it easy!  I have three pages ready for writing ...

...now I just need the courage ;)

an ogre, a seashell and the Cleveleys coastline

Stick with me, this fabulous ogre is 'explained' further on in the post

Last weekend saw our first residential Arts and Faith Network event and it was FaBuLouS!  On Saturday morning I got to be my friend Dee Rollinson's glamourous assistant.  This was a real treat as I got to spend time listening to how she ran a workshop.  Dee has a counselling background so it was interesting to hear her include some deep reflections alongside her art project.

Here she is posing for me when she realised I was taking a photograph of her taking photographs of the masks people had made.  Over lunch we transformed the room, partly so those people taking both Dee's and my workshops knew these were different events!!

I know I've said this before, but I love how differently people use colours and images.  I used this little star bird by Stampotique as my Christmas card but he looks fabulous on a journal page..

And how gorgeous are those little hand printed daisies?!

One of the real treats of the weekend was to have Jan Dean as a wandering poet, reflecting on the whole weekend's events and noting them in her 'little green book' (a thing of beauty in itself, hand bound with coptic stitch).  Here is part of her description of my workshop....

... which really touched me as, for me, that's what I want people to get out of my workshop, a real sense of playing.  I don't think we play enough (me included!), and it's so beneficial for our emotional and mental health.

Meals at Foxhill are lovely; even the biscuits are beautifully arranged at each coffee break!  After dinner, another treat; a talk by the extremely talented Stephen Broadbent.  He shared the stories behind some of his community sculptures but the one which touched us all, and is sending us up the coastline as soon as we can get there, was the Mythic Coast  project up at Cleveleys.

Sunday morning saw us spending more time with Stephen but this time we were busy 'doing'.  He generously made us all a wire sculpture each of a person which we all then personalised....

... before spending time in the chapel looking at how different each sculpture was and hearing the stories behind their creation.

The weekend was concluded with a service in the Chapel, where we also celebrated all the differing pieces of art work that had been produced - sculpture, silk painting, masks, art journaling and poetry....

  

Foxhill is a very peaceful place and if you live near Frodsham you can take a walk in its gardens anytime.

It truly is a place ...

the starry influence of Teesha Moore

I really, really, really struggled with this journal page.  I used a paint and ink that didn't like each other and the paint just would not dry.  It has soooooooo many layers.

I love this journal page!  I'm really pleased I persevered:)

It's a double page spread in an A4 landscape journal.  I used a new Sizzix stars die and a Stampotique star stamp from Craft Stamper  by Jo Capper-Sandon.  I've been looking at Teesha Moore's blog this week and been influenced by her writing.  I love the idea of writing in the gaps between the collage images.  I've often looked at her work in the past but as I don't use magazine/photo collage in my work hadn't really taken anything from it.

Sanctuary Arts Art Retreat Part One

A couple of weeks ago I went on an art retreat over in Saltburn-on-sea, organised by the fabulous Beth Sigsworth of Sanctuary Arts.  It was a fabulous weekend, full of workshops, meeting new people, and of course, the sea!

One of the workshops I took was run by Beth, who usually works with the driftwood and sea glass she finds on the beach, but for the Saturday afternoon session had chosen to offer a slightly different take on working with wood.

For aaaaaaaaaages I've had 'do transfers using magazine paper and gel medium' on my 'to do' list.  I have all the materials, and an idea of how to do it but had never got around to having a go!  We started by choosing a word (mine was 'grace') then choosing some imagery to go with it.

A song has been going round and round my head for a few weeks now, one we've been singing in church, which includes the line

"caught up in grace like an avalance"

which was my reason for choosing the word 'grace'.  I can't, however, explain why, when I thought of avalanches I thought of water and picked shades of blue from the magazine lol!!!  I transferred some lettering but mostly used my trusty rub on letters before coating the whole board with wax.

My next workshop was a painting one, all about responding to the paint/supplies/resources rather than worrying about what the final piece looked like.  My favourite activity was painting blindfold!!!

We worked in pairs, one person blindfolded, the other making sure the painter knew where the paint was and the paper!  We were painting the jar of flowers in the centre of the table.  It was amazing how interesting the paintings turned out

One lady didn't have a partner so Keith (the tutor, above) guided her whilst she was blindfolded, then when it would have been his turn to work blindfold, asked her to paint the jar with her eyes open.  I wish I'd taken a photo because the blindfold version was so much more lively and interesting.

I need to take some photos of the other work I produced over the weekend to share the rest of the time with you but hope this gave you a bit of a taster.  I'd forgotten I'd not blogged about it, and remembered when I saw Dyan Reaveley's list of workshops at Art from the Heart where 'faith journaling' was one listed.  This sounds fab, and Bernice and Caroline both went to the first workshop and had a great time!  Click on their names to read their accounts.  I'm gutted I can't make either of the next workshops, ah well!