Aug
20
Michelle posted a comment and asked me for more information about my journals…how many I have going at a time, and how I decide which one to work in and when.
The main reason I work in more than one journal is that I hate to wait for paint to dry. I know, that's not a deep or very artistic reason, but it's the practical truth. I'm impulsive and can be a tad impatient when it comes to art. If I have to wait for paint to dry, it stunts the flow of my ideas and creativity. So, while one thing dries, I grab another journal and continue working.
This workstyle works for me because I never, ever start a page with a finished result in mind. Never. I start with color. Any color that's on my table, or a color that's near the top of my paint drawer. I don't really think about it. I just start. Sometimes I start with ink. Sometimes I start with writing.Sometimes I blot a stencil and start with that. Sometimes I glue down paper and start with that.
While my "start" dries, I grab another journal. It may already have color on a page or two. I look at the color and listen. I let it tell me what to do next. I add more layers. I experiment, I see what happens. If I over-do it (and I often do), I just paint over it. While that dries, I grab another journal (or the first one I worked on).
I look at the page. I listen to it. I let it tell me what to do next. At some point I write (because to me, an art journal is still a journal. I write sometimes a lot sometimes a little, but I write. And I disguise it on purpose so you can't read it well…heh heh). At some point I add focal imagery…drawing, stamping, collage.
This is why I can have 3 or 4 pages going on at once. I often work on 2 pages (the pages in a spread) at the same time in a journal, then will work on 2 pages in a second (or third) journal. Sometimes I treat the 2-page spread as one page.
I know that the process sounds new-agey and weird, but it's what I do. If the page isn't speaking to me, I don't worry about. I turn the page and add color to a new page.
Right now I have two main journals going…my ledger and my Dylusions. In the past I've had as many as 4 or 5 going at one time. For awhile I kept a little journal that I wiped all my extra paint into…that was a fun one. I need to do that again!
This moody gal is in the Dylusions journal…still need to write.
I'm actually planning on writing a new art journaling online class, which will replace and update my old classes (Art Journaling 101 and 102). I'll talk about my process and walk you through it step by step.I'm excited about revising the old material! Especially since my personal journaling process has changed quite a bit since I wrote those classes several years ago.
If you have art/journaling questions, let me know. I'll do my best to answer them!
