DLP Week 11

March Theme
Making Your Mark (Doodles & Mark Making)
March 14
Art Challenge:  Borders
Journal Prompt:  "Borderline feels like I'm going to lose my mind."

I'd seen this journal page on Pinterest and loved how she did the frame,  so decided to try something like that for this challenge.  Started off with a watercolor wash background.  I was hoping it would look similar to the backgrounds used in class photos.  Painted black gesso around the edges in an oval at first, then I tried to make it look like an old fashioned frame.  Still not happy with that, I played until it was an odd shape.  Stamped the handcarved saying and image in the middle.  This is a self-portrait in a way-- I did this carving based on an MRI image of my brain. This is also the carving that I've been using as a head template for previous pages.  Finally used a silver Pitt pen to do some doodles on the gesso.

DLP Week 10

March Theme
Making Your Mark (Doodles & Mark Making)
March 7
Art Challenge:  As A Layer Element
Journal Prompt:  Surviving the Elements

Started this page off with a layer of white gesso in which I scratched the words "I will survive."  Let that dry, and then painted red and yellow acrylic paint over it and wiped off the excess.

Found an electron microscope photo of the MERS virus and a cell from an old Science News magazine.  The colors and theme fit, so decided to add that in the corner.   Also clipped a piece of netting from a bag of oranges and glued that on.  I had done some funky circles in black by the virus photo, but didn't like it, so dry brushed some black gesso over top.

Looked through my stash of stuff and found a stamped image of a sun (borrowed stamp, so I don't know the company) and a stamped image of one of my first carvings.  Added those to the mix.

DLP #9

February Theme: Layers you will love
February 28 Art Challenge: At least five layers
Prompt: Give me a high five

For this challenge, I was inspired by this page from Lynn Whipple that I found in Lynne Perella's book Artists' Journals & Sketchbooks.

Started with a watercolor wash background and then added an old film strip and a background sticker of  bugs from an old sheet of Rocky Mountain postage stamps.  Did some paint splatters with black, brown, and white acrylic paint.

The red blotches came off of my fingers when I colored this sticky-back canvas tracing of my hand.

I tried spritzing paint on this too and doing some designs with a sharpie, but the marks all bled. Used some white paint later which worked better.   Also glued on a small strip of wire mesh to the hand.

Traced around the hand with white paint and black marker. Added some other white dots converging on a point off-page.  Decided to add a stenciled tag scrap.  On the back of the tag, I wrote five things I thought I was good at.  I also wrote in five things other people think I'm good at (that I have a hard time admitting).  Added a slip of paper behind the film strip that on which I stamped the words "I can." and added a wine foil with a hand.

DLP week 8

February Theme: Layers you will love
Art Challenge: Repeating Elements
Prompt: It's Worth Repeating

Wow, this was a multi-layer, multi-day page for me!  Started off covering the page with a paper that had hands stamped all over it.  Thought that was where I might go with repeated elements, but really I didn't have an idea in place.

Left this to dry and a day later came back with the idea to make the repeated element be my to-do list which always seems to have the same things on it-- laundry, cleaning, etc.  Found a couple of old lists and pasted them on.  Added a layer of brown paint mixed with matte medium to the top.

Found a home-made shimmer spray someone had given me and spritzed the page, then used a straw to blow the paint around.

Then I added some repeated numbers in Tim Holtz distress ink--dark blue (too lazy to go look up the name of the color).

Decided to really go with the checklist idea and carved a stamp with 3 checked boxes.  Stamped these in white pigment ink randomly around page.

Finally decided to paint a huge checkbox in black gesso as the main focal point and to journal with white jelly pen on it.  This is the first page that I've done some personal journaling.  Also added the quote from Socrates: "Beware the barrenness of a busy life."  Added a few more checkboxes in blue ink around the page-- although they didn't stamp well, but I like the bit of color.

DLP Week 7

February Challenge: Layers You Love
Art Challenge: Cover up the Good Stuff
Prompt: Going Undercover

Started by enlarging this page to layout form by attaching another page with masking tape and gesso-ing over it.  Added some Tim Holtz distress paints to background.  Wrote some thoughts on "being" on left side then gesso'd over again.  Drew the heads (confession time: this is actually tracing around a carving I had done many years ago--so "drawing" is overstated).  Decided to make them different sizes.  Originally I'd thought of doing tea cups, but liked the idea of the heads instead, but still wanted the vessel idea, so chopped off the heads to make them open.  I'd already altered the Bigelow tea tags to show only the BE part and had colored those in different water color paints.

Thought about adding something below "Be" but wiped it out. You might be able to make out the "you" on the tag above.

The main practice for me on this page was playing with shading and color. Definitely a process and needing more practice but had fun.  Used the tags to cover up the ear, eye, and mouth of the different heads.  Covering up the middle eye was hard for me as it was my best one-- so feel like I worked on this challenge.  ;-)

Added paint spatters and the quote from Daniell Koepke.  Not sure if it's readable so here's the quote:

"Let whatever you do today be enough.  Let go of the judgment you have about what you should be or could be doing, and today, allow yourself to simply be.  Comparing yourself and your journey may be habitual, but it gets you nowhere.  It makes you feel worse and it keeps you stuck.  So stop fixating on where everyone else is, and start giving yourself permission to be exactly where you are.  Quiet the voice telling you to do more and be more, and trust that in this moment, who you are, where you are at, and what you are doing is enough.  You will get to where you need to be in your own time.  Until then, breathe.  Breathe and be patient with yourself and your process.  You are doing the best you can to cope and survive amid your struggles, and that's all you can ask of yourself. It's enough. You are enough. -Daniell Koepke.

DLP #6

The February challenges are all based on "layers you will love."   For Febrary 7th, the challenge was "when not to stop." and the prompt was "don't stop 'til you get enough."

I know this prompt was based on a song, but it just made me think of consumerism and greed, so that's where I went with this page.  Started off having some fun stamping a piece of celery root with ColorBox Amber Clay at the top of the page. Stenciled a distressed harlequin stencil (Americana Decor) with Tim Holtz' fired brick distress paint.  Used pieces of washi tape with mail theme and more washi tape on the side. Stamped arrow (Tim Holtz) and hand (handcarved) around page.  Wrote the prompt along the left side and added money signs. Stamped 'Enough!" on deli paper and overlaid on top.  Finally used matte medium to adhere a piece of aluminum screen in the bottom right corner.

DLP #5

The January 31st challenge was underpaper (the paper you put underneath your project when you're working) and the prompt was "what lies beneath."

I had blotted the stencil I used on the color wheel challenge on this page so it was already on its way.  Used some deli paper that had paint splotches from another project (and one on which my kids had drawn a jellyfish). Put some washi tape down.  Scrounged in my scraps and found two pieces of metallic paper with embossed images-- a face and an eye.  Realized this would fit perfectly with a quote I'd written down: "What a liberation to realize that 'the voice in my head' is not who I am.  Who am I then? The one who sees that."- Eckhart Tolle.  Had some trouble getting the face/eye pieces the way I wanted them.  First I tried overlaying them with a brad.  Meh.

Decided to do a small version of a waterfall card instead.