Journal Pages

Hello.....it's been a while. Thought it was about time to show you what I've been up to. Apart from teaching some regular mixed media journal classes, I've been working in my own journals......... collaging and painting. The most recent is a page created as part of the Finnabair Ambassador's Team to promote the month of April.........Stress Awareness Month. More heartfelt projects can be found on the Finnabair blog HERE.

And these are just some random journal pages..........

Sharing.........Two New Classes

I have to admit that teaching how, what and why I create has never been something that I've been completely comfortable with. Not because I'm not willing or happy to share, but more because the way I work is done very intuitively, rather than by a predictable step by step process. I also love detail, lots of detail, and will spend a lot of time just on the detail and this is not always practical for a two or three hour class. Having said that, once I have prepared a lesson and am in the classroom with a group of happy and eager participants just itching to get creative, their excitement is infectious and I can't wait to share my ideas, my processes and my creative philosophies (for what they're worth). These two projects were created especially to be taught as a class, and I can't wait to share them later this month at Paper Flourish in Adelaide.

Collage A, B, C's

Collage Cubed

A multi-media Art Journal page with an emphasis on the process and learning to be intuitive and a 3 dimensional collaged block. Each of these projects are close to my heart. They have collage as their foundation but many ideas, techniques, processes and different mediums are explored. I'm stepping out of the comfort zone of my studio and into the classroom. But it's a good thing.

New Products........Paints and Paste

As a Finnabair Ambassador I get to try out some of Anna's new products as soon as they are released. I love acrylic paint ..........and Finnabair's art alchemy METALLIQUE acrylic paint is beautiful and different.  I love to work in art journals,  and I like to create a lot of different surfaces and many layers but without bulk. So, being able to use different paint "finishes" from very matte and chalky  (PaperArtsy Fresco Finish ) to high gloss super shiny (Finnabair's art alchemy SPARKS) is essential, and the METALLIQUE paints are somewhere in between with a soft, metallic glow. Texture is also important, and again I like it to be subtle without too much bulk and without making the page too heavy. Finnabair's new art basics PLASTER PASTE is perfect. Very white with a soft, smooth, chalky finish and very light weight. It is super thick, so if you wanted to add height and dimension you easily could. It can also be lightly sanded back, and accepts paint beautifully.

I've called this mixed media collage "The Face Lift" my little dig at how superficial "appearances" are.

Beautiful colours in Finnabair Metallique paints.

Great soft, white chalky texture on any surface with Finnabair art basics Plaster Paste. You can see more projects using these new products on the Finnabair blog HERE.

Finnabair Ambassador ...........Choose A Word

CONNECTION If you have ever gathered with a large group of people, even strangers, to seek out moments of collective joy eg.........ninety five thousand Australian fans of the Liverpool Football Club gathered at the MCG singing You'll Never Walk Alone,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iLL57puZPM  or,  show up for experiences of collective pain, eg. a funeral, or a memorial, you can not deny our human connection, even with people we may disagree with. "These examples of collective joy and pain are sacred experiences. They are so deeply human that they cut through our differences and tap into our hard wired nature. These experiences tell us what is possible about the human spirit."   Brene Brown I have chosen the word "connection" because I feel I've lost it. We live such busy lives and the world has become so complicated. We connect, on line, but not so much in person any more. In fact all we want is to be left alone, peace and quiet. Personal, sincere and meaningful connection with friends, communities and strangers is neglected. Shared joy and pain can bring people together and over ride differences. It can manifest instead in acceptance, tolerance and respect.

Wishing you all peace and love.

Finnabair Ambassador, Journal Pages and A Collage For Sale.

My time as a Finnabair Creative Team Member is up. But what an honour to be  asked to stay on as a Finnabair Ambassador. So happy. So grateful. The Ambassadors group is made up of some pretty amazing artists. You can check out the group HERE. As a group we were asked to show "Our Art In 5 Objects". I've chosen 5 things that are a part of every day I spend in the studio. These 5 things, in very different ways, motivate, relax, inspire, excite and sooth me. INCENSE

I always have incense burning or an essential oil diffuser going. My favourites are Sandalwood and Patchouli. Maybe this is a left over thing from my hippie days, but these fragrances always seem to be able to stimulate and calm at the same time.

MUSIC

I will pretty much always have music playing. There is the odd occasion where my head will crave silence, but most of the time there will be an eclectic mix of music coming from my studio. PATTERN

Pattern. I love it. I can't seem to help it; it must be included in some way in everything I make. Often the quickest and easiest way is to apply it with stamps and stencils, but it can come from collaged paper, fabric, hand drawn and printed in many different ways.

SOFT MATTE GEL

Collage and image transfer are my 2 favourite techniques, and art basics Soft Matte Gel is perfect for both. It lives on my desk and I use it every day. Also art alchemy Sparks Acrylic Paint has become a new favourite medium that now seems to find a place in just about everything I make. I love it's thick consistency and richness of shine. ( Oops, I think I just included a sixth object )

JOURNALS

Journals. What can I say? I love them. Each page is a new opportunity for expression, for exploration, for telling a story, for making a point, for visualising a dream, for recording a memory or  just for some arty, playful fun. Big, small, bought, recycled or hand made, for me they are the perfect place in which to create. A journal is a record of your life. To look back through an old journal is a visual record of your thoughts, ideas, events and emotions. If you would like to see what is at the heart of the other Finnabair Ambassadors, you can check it out HERE. Speaking of journals, here's a little peek at 2 that I've been working in lately. One is hand made from a single piece of water colour paper, folded and cut in a certain way that it folds up into a small book. There are heaps of YouTube videos on how to fold and make these concertina style journals. Three pages done so far.

The other journal I have been having a lot of fun working in is the Dina Wakley Media Journal, with its various pages of cotton rag water colour paper, canvas, burlap and craft paper.

Lastly, I would like to mention this print below of  one of my original pieces of work that is for sale. It is a fine art print, reproduced professionally and printed on the highest quality archival paper. I have donated it as part of an online charity auction.  The link for all the details is HERE.

 

This has been a very long post. If you're still here reading, then thank you. Even tho I have my 5, special, material objects that are at the heart of what I create, I can't help but feel a deeper gratitude.  I am very fortunate and grateful for the opportunity, the freedom  and the means by which to be creative, and to immerse myself in an activity that brings me so much pleasure, satisfaction and joy.

Journal Cover

I have a few art journals. This one is relatively new, I've only completed a few pages. As I finished a page, I added a little of what was done on that page, onto the front cover. The journal of course is not complete, but now,  the cover is. I just couldn't stop..........once I got into collaging and moving paint around and adding my drawings  onto the cover, the process took over and, like any thing that's fun, I kept going until the cover was complete.

Finnabair Soft Matte Gel and 3D Matte Gel are the adhesive used for all my collages. It works on the lightest of tissue paper, to heavy card, to metal.

Don't Forget To Fly........And Goodbye

Have faith, let go and fly off into the deep blue yonder. Take a risk, apply for that design team......... Even when you think you don't have a chance in hell. My last post as a Creative Team Member for Finnabair.  What a ride. What an honour. What fun. This experience has been the most positive thing, creatively, that could have ever happened to me.  Thank you Anna.

Full details and a step by step of how this was made is HERE on the Finnabair blog.

Feel Connected

Starting and ending and in between is the best part........... the process. Random bits of pretty paper glued onto a heavy sheet of mixed media paper. Where's this going?

Draw a face.......because I like them Highlight bits you like Block out bits you don't

Draw and paint in some extra detail Add some colour and some stamps

Add some texture and pattern Sometimes it's just the little details that I get lost in.

A more detailed step by step is up on the Finnabair blog HERE with a list of materials used.