Art journaling is good for the soul. Picasso famously said:
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." When I want to regroup, relax, and re-center, I grab an art journal and start working. Sometimes I start a new page, sometimes I just make a background. Sometimes I paint, sometimes I collage. Sometimes I'm neat, most times I'm messy.
 |
| Some of the July 2018 Stencil Club designs from Gwen Lafluer |
This journal page started when I received my very first shipment of stencils from the
Stencil Club, an offering from StencilGirl. I was fortunate that my very first Stencil Club experience was with stencils designed by Gwen!
I started working on two pages side by side in my journal. The one on the right developed into a beautiful golden
Tuscan Summer page. The left side was covered with old book pages and vintage handwriting printouts, then a repeating mandala stencil was added in white.
 |
| Two unfinished pages side by side in my journal. On the left, vintage papers and on the right, turmeric teabags. |
 |
| The white medallions add a subtle lacy feel over the vintage paper collage. |
I knew I would eventually use the unfinished page, but it sat in my journal unfinished for a few weeks until inspiration struck.
Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
Pablo Picasso
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/pablo_picasso_162882
The spark that got me working on the page again was "happy mail." I had just received two gifts: some beautiful paper hand printed by Gwen Lafluer using gold paint with a
wood block, and some gorgeous papers and vintage images from fellow artist
Darlene Campbell. I decided to try to use both items together.
 |
| The hand printed paper, vintage image and roll of washi tape with vintage images. |
First, I carefully cut a strip of the black and gold paper. I placed it on the background with the vintage image to see how they looked. They seemed to work together: both had a feel of art nouveau and the black, gold and sepia tones were harmonious.
 |
| Step 1 |
Next, I edged the photo with sepia ink and decided on a tilted placement. I used a glue stick to adhere the papers to the background. Next, on the left bottom of the page, overlapping the photo, I added a bit of
thick washi tape with vintage handwriting.
 |
| step 2 |
The page was shaping up, but it needed something horizontal, so I tried a strip of antique looking measuring tape from my washi stash.
 |
| step 3 |
The page still cried "more more more" to me so I added one of Gwen's
art deco/art nouveau corner stencils with
Emerald Creek gold embossing powder. I also used some sepia archival ink and white acrylic with her
ornamental petals stencil/mask design, which added more interest to the page, but still kept the vintage/sepia feel.
I felt it needed words so I used some small Dina Wakley stamps that said brave, strong, and worthy and placed them around the page. The words were strong, but they were small and got lost a bit.
I decided to use the same words, but make them larger.
 |
| step 4 |
To make the big words, I used one of Gwen's stencils called
"not afraid to try" and adapted the letters to spell out the words I wanted. The e and g were a little tricky since they are not part of the stencil, but I fiddled with the o to create an e, and stenciled an a, then flipped the f to get the curve of a g.
For a finishing touch, I poked holes with my awl, then added three black mini brads.
 |
| detail of awl, holes and mini brads |
When I look at the finished page, I feel calm and peaceful. The colors are soft and earthy, and the vintage image is serene. The words remind me of my inner strength, and that I am indeed brave, strong, and worthy.
