As a recovering perfectionist, I use my art journal to help me move away from the need to create something that looks perfect. Book art does that for me to -- it forces me to give in to the process and let go of what the product will look like. It's been a long road to recovery, but I'm still on the path. LOL :-). So when the amazing Hali Karla gave me the challenge for today, I REALLY had to let go of perfection. I could only use one brush and five colors. OH EM GEE!!! One brush????? But needless to say, I actually love the result. You've got to try this. TODAY'S CHALLENGE -- from Hali KarlaYou are invited to paint a loose, fun portrait as follows... 1. Choose a photo or selfie of yourself or someone else, to use as reference 2. Select one brush that is larger than what you normally tend to use, and 5 colors that feel wild or delicious to you today 3. Set a timer for fifteen minutes and in that time paint a playful portrait using only those 5 colors and one brush. Just have fun & keep moving color - don't worry what or who it looks like! Here's the selfie I used, the colors and brush I used, and my final page: Don't you think it captures my essence? :-)
I especially love how VIBRANT I look. Yay. Thanks for pushing me to play, Hali!!!! Alright lovelies, make sure to check out all the teachers in the blog hop. HERE'S THE LINE UP December 1 -- Mimi Bondi -- MimiBondi.com December 2 -- Cindy Gilstrap -- Junque Art Studios December 4 -- Tiare Smith -- TiareSmith.com December 7 -- Julie Baker -- Creatively Onward December 8 -- Amanda Trought -- Reality Arts December 9 -- Andrea Gomoll -- Cre8tive Cre8tions December 10 -- Nicole Piar -- GhostKitten.com December 11 -- Lisa DeYoung -- Mountain Mermaid Studios December 15 -- Kelly Johnson -- Wings, Worms, and Wonder December 16 -- Tori Weyers -- DrawRiot.com December 17 -- Sadelle Wiltshire -- Tangle Vermont December 18 -- Barb Owen -- HowToGetCreative.com DAY TWENTY-ONE-->December 21 -- Hali Karla -- HaliKarla.com December 22 -- Yuko Miki -- Honeyberry Studios December 23 -- Lisa McLoughlin -- Lisa McLoughlin Art December 28 -- Virginia Simpson-Magruder -- Kentucky Girl Designs December 30 -- iHanna -- iHanna.nu Are you creating with me this month? Tell me so I can check it out. Follow me on Instagram -- @kialagives and use the hashtag #journeywithin2016 -- see you there. Are you joining us for the class? Let's make journals and be in community together. CLICK HERE TO JOIN US. See you there.
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Okay, I have to admit. I'm not that good with a sewing machine, so when I read Barb Owen's challenge I was a little uncomfortable. But that was just my inner critic talking and trying to dissuade me from creating. I rarely give in to my inner critic, so I pulled out my sewing machine (which has been in a box since I moved to Georgia -- so a little more than a year). I had to relearn how to thread it and all the bits and pieces needed to get started. Then, I started adding a little stitching here and there and remembered how much I actually like sewing on paper. So thanks, Barb for reminding me that I actually do like playing with the sewing machine. TODAY'S CHALLENGE -- from Barb OwenBarb's challenge was rather simple, she wrote these five words: Use stitching 3 ways. So here's what I did:
So, can you add some stitching to you art journal page? It adds a level of detail that can't be achieved any other way.
No sewing machine? Grab a needle and some thread and see what happens. Make sure to check out all the teachers in the blog hop. HERE'S THE LINE UP December 1 -- Mimi Bondi -- MimiBondi.com December 2 -- Cindy Gilstrap -- Junque Art Studios December 4 -- Tiare Smith -- TiareSmith.com December 7 -- Julie Baker -- Creatively Onward December 8 -- Amanda Trought -- Reality Arts December 9 -- Andrea Gomoll -- Cre8tive Cre8tions December 10 -- Nicole Piar -- GhostKitten.com December 11 -- Lisa DeYoung -- Mountain Mermaid Studios December 15 -- Kelly Johnson -- Wings, Worms, and Wonder December 16 -- Tori Weyers -- DrawRiot.com December 17 -- Sadelle Wiltshire -- Tangle Vermont DAY EIGHTEEN-->December 18 -- Barb Owen -- HowToGetCreative.com December 21 -- Hali Karla -- HaliKarla.com December 22 -- Yuko Miki -- Honeyberry Studios December 23 -- Lisa McLoughlin -- Lisa McLoughlin Art December 28 -- Virginia Simpson-Magruder -- Kentucky Girl Designs December 30 -- iHanna -- iHanna.nu Are you creating with me this month? Tell me so I can check it out. Follow me on Instagram -- @kialagives and use the hashtag #journeywithin2016 -- see you there. Are you joining us for the class? Let's make journals and be in community together. CLICK HERE TO JOIN US. See you there. Today's challenge is a GOOOOOD one, so let's jump right to it. TODAY'S CHALLENGE -- from Sadelle WiltshireCultural Heritage / Language
So I went to my stamps and started there. Then I added a bit of inked Zentangles inside the open spaces. That was fun. I kept looking at the page wondering what was happening with it and where it was going. I realized that it needed something dimensional, so I grabbed some Kentè cloth that I've been holding on to since my wedding (almost 11 years) and cut two strips from that. It was just what the page needed. Here's my page: The page has a lot of layers (like heritage) and a lot of texture (like culture) and it's just about darn perfect. I think I'll snip that piece at the top and edge the page with some black ink. Here are a few close ups: Make sure to check out all the teachers in the blog hop.
HERE'S THE LINE UP December 1 -- Mimi Bondi -- MimiBondi.com December 2 -- Cindy Gilstrap -- Junque Art Studios December 4 -- Tiare Smith -- TiareSmith.com December 7 -- Julie Baker -- Creatively Onward December 8 -- Amanda Trought -- Reality Arts December 9 -- Andrea Gomoll -- Cre8tive Cre8tions December 10 -- Nicole Piar -- GhostKitten.com December 11 -- Lisa DeYoung -- Mountain Mermaid Studios December 15 -- Kelly Johnson -- Wings, Worms, and Wonder December 16 -- Tori Weyers -- DrawRiot.com DAY SEVENTEEN-->December 17 -- Sadelle Wiltshire -- Tangle Vermont December 18 -- Barb Owen -- HowToGetCreative.com December 21 -- Hali Karla -- HaliKarla.com December 22 -- Yuko Miki -- Honeyberry Studios December 23 -- Lisa McLoughlin -- Lisa McLoughlin Art December 28 -- Virginia Simpson-Magruder -- Kentucky Girl Designs December 30 -- iHanna -- iHanna.nu Are you creating with me this month? Tell me so I can check it out. Follow me on Instagram -- @kialagives and use the hashtag #journeywithin2016 -- see you there. Are you joining us for the class? Let's make journals and be in community together. CLICK HERE TO JOIN US. See you there. How many people are you following on social media that you just ADORE? You don't know them, but you admire how they show up in the world or you love to follow their creative journey and see what they're creating and sharing in the world. If you're like me, you've got at least one person that you follow just because you LOVE their artwork. One of those people for me is Tori Weyers -- also known as Draw Riot!! Tori's art is not only beautiful, it's also layered with messages (maybe not intentionally) that speak to me and get me thinking and ultimately inspire me. So when I Tori agreed to join us for The Journey Within E-Course, I did a little happy dance around my studio. And you better believe that I knew her blog hop challenge would be great. So here it is... TODAY'S CHALLENGE -- from Tori WeyersUse the attached book page to create a found word poem. (See page below.) Feel free to make it as long or as short as you want. Here are some ideas for how to go about this creative exercise. 1. Find all of the words that interest you on this page. Write them on a scrap piece of paper. 2. Start to arrange your chosen words into a story or poem, look for a subject or interesting actions to be the focus of your story. 3. Once you have your final story or poem assembled use it as inspiration for your page. Questions to ask yourself to get you going:
5. Once your page is complete either cut out or hand letter your found word poem/story onto your page. My list of words were pretty awesome. I didn't do a lot of overthinking. I just read through the page one time and picked out words as I read. Any word that gave me pause or made me smile -- those are the ones I went with.
Here's what I created -- and as an added bonus, you can see the page Tori created as well. I wanted to capture the idea of a handwritten poem on a faded piece of paper, so I worked on the page, background then took a sheet of loose leaf paper and "aged" it using Distress Ink Pads. I wrote the words from the book page in all caps so they would stand out. (Not sure I like that, but I'm living with it.) Here's Tori's page spread: Be sure to check out Tori's blog post HERE -- she shows you step-by-step how she created her page. Be sure to leave a comment.
Make sure to check out all the teachers in the blog hop. HERE'S THE LINE UP December 1 -- Mimi Bondi -- MimiBondi.com December 2 -- Cindy Gilstrap -- Junque Art Studios December 4 -- Tiare Smith -- TiareSmith.com December 7 -- Julie Baker -- Creatively Onward December 8 -- Amanda Trought -- Reality Arts December 9 -- Andrea Gomoll -- Cre8tive Cre8tions December 10 -- Nicole Piar -- GhostKitten.com December 11 -- Lisa DeYoung -- Mountain Mermaid Studios December 15 -- Kelly Johnson -- Wings, Worms, and Wonder DAY SIXTEEN-->December 16 -- Tori Weyers -- DrawRiot.com December 17 -- Sadelle Wiltshire -- Tangle Vermont December 18 -- Barb Owen -- HowToGetCreative.com December 21 -- Hali Karla -- HaliKarla.com December 22 -- Yuko Miki -- Honeyberry Studios December 23 -- Lisa McLoughlin -- Lisa McLoughlin Art December 28 -- Virginia Simpson-Magruder -- Kentucky Girl Designs December 30 -- iHanna -- iHanna.nu Are you creating with me this month? Tell me so I can check it out. Follow me on Instagram -- @kialagives and use the hashtag #journeywithin2016 -- see you there. Are you joining us for the class? Let's make journals and be in community together. CLICK HERE TO JOIN US. See you there. If you've been following the Journey Within 2016 blog hop, then you know today is a challenge from one of our Core Instructors -- Kelly Johnson of Wings, Worms, & Wonder. Kelly is a fantastic nature journaler, garden guide, and workshop leader. She lives, eats, breathes and sleeps nature and art. It's a huge part of who she is in the world and I love that her art and her life fit so beautifully together. So when she said YES to joining us for this year long adventure, I was thrilled because she brings a passion for nature that I've not seen before. She reminds me to get out of the office/house/studio and go commune and appreciate nature. I'm grateful to have her in my ear reminding me to spend time outside -- it really does change your perspective. TODAY'S CHALLENGE -- from Kelly JohnsonGo outside and sit in nature for about 5 minutes. During this time, close your eyes and breathe deeply. Once you settle in to the space, spend about 5 breaths focused on the senses of hearing, smell, touch and skin, and sight (do this one last because you'll open your eyes for this one.) While focusing on a sense, observe what you are feeling, smelling, hearing, and seeing around you. Notice and feelings or memories that come to mind as you open up your senses to the natural world. Once you have connected and tuned into each of your senses, talk a slow walk around the space. Collect 3 items that seem to speak to you. If you are in a park or garden that doesn't allow collecting, you can snap a picture. Back in your studio, or out in the field, use these 3 items as textural, form, or color inspiration to create a journal page that expresses the feelings or memories that you had while opening and connecting your senses to nature in that space. What you create could be representational, abstract, or a little of both! Here's my interpretation of this challenge. I made a little photo tutorial for you as I was doing each step. Click the first image in the gallery and walk through my process step-by-step. The page turned out so much better than I thought it would. I loved printing with the leaf using the Distress Ink Pad. The stick didn't do what I thought it was going to do, but I ended up liking the result in the end. That's what I love about art journaling, it's a place to play and explore and try new things.
Make sure to check out all the teachers in the blog hop. HERE'S THE LINE UP December 1 -- Mimi Bondi -- MimiBondi.com December 2 -- Cindy Gilstrap -- Junque Art Studios December 4 -- Tiare Smith -- TiareSmith.com December 7 -- Julie Baker -- Creatively Onward December 8 -- Amanda Trought -- Reality Arts December 9 -- Andrea Gomoll -- Cre8tive Cre8tions December 10 -- Nicole Piar -- GhostKitten.com December 11 -- Lisa DeYoung -- Mountain Mermaid Studios DAY FIFTEEN-->December 15 -- Kelly Johnson -- Wings, Worms, and Wonder December 16 -- Tori Weyers -- DrawRiot.com December 17 -- Sadelle Wiltshire -- Tangle Vermont December 18 -- Barb Owen -- HowToGetCreative.com December 21 -- Hali Karla -- HaliKarla.com December 22 -- Yuko Miki -- Honeyberry Studios December 23 -- Lisa McLoughlin -- Lisa McLoughlin Art December 28 -- Virginia Simpson-Magruder -- Kentucky Girl Designs December 30 -- iHanna -- iHanna.nu Are you creating with me this month? Tell me so I can check it out. Follow me on Instagram -- @kialagives and use the hashtag #journeywithin2016 -- see you there. Are you joining us for the class? Let's make journals and be in community together. CLICK HERE TO JOIN US. See you there. |
hello friend...I'm Kiala, a student of life first and foremost. And I'm also a published poet, book binder, fountain pen collector, Life Alchemist & Intuitive Soul Guide. I make things, paint things, and write things. I love teaching & empowering women to live with intention. Please, grab a cup of your favorite warm drink, a fountain pen, and your favorite journal. Let's connect! My Articles for the StencilGirl® Blog
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