Art Journaling- Disorderly

"One of the adventuresof being disorderly isthat one is constantlymaking exciting discoveries!"-- A. A. MilneArt Journal pageon watercolor paper.I spent a lovely afternoon with friends making art. We made "art journal pages" on watercolor paperthat can be added to an art journal or altered book.

The process:

• Quickly brush on a watercolor wash in one or two colors. Keep it quick and simple so you won't feel guilty about covering up some of it with collage! Let dry (you can use a hair dryer to speed up the drying if you want to)
• Collect and sort through magazine clippings, fabric, collage sheet images, painted papers, stickers, rubber stamp images, and any ephemera that you like.
• I try to go with a color theme when choosing which images to use. The images won't necessarily "go together," but the color combination and shapes please me.
• Place images around border of the page. Try several arrangements of images before gluing down. Overlap images, and also leave some spaces.
• After gluing down, add shading, cross-hatching, or additional color with colored pencils and artist's pastels
• Finish by drawing in textures, doodles, swirls etc. with a Sharpie marker
• Last, add the "journaling" part: your thoughts, what happened that day, philosophical ramblings, bits of poetry or an inspirational quote that you like. Write it in marker in your own handwriting. It's ok if it's not perfect like computer-generated lettering! Hand-drawn makes it uniquely you! (Pencil it in first if you must, but it's not necessary)

I like to use the "Rule of Odd Numbers"--repeat an element 3 times or 5 times. I also like to repeat shapes, colors or lines of the collaged elements, in the drawings that I add.The look of the finished page is determined by the colors and images you choose. If you find certain images or themes often creep into your work, embrace and explore them! I am inspired by Teesha Moore's journal pages, and if you want to see her work, click on her link in the blog list on the right.