Immersed in art journal "play"

It was sad when Teresa McFayden's Art Journalista e-workshop ended a few days ago.  After four weeks of art play and experimentation... I just couldn't stop when Teresa waved goodbye to us in the last video.  Her guidance was so inspirational, and a great springboard for page ideas.  When the class ended, I took a look at my journal... loving the pages we had created together.  My book had many blank pages left to fill... sooooooooo I decided to "show up" in my little art studio most days just to see what I could create.

As a mixed media artist, one collects a plethora of ephemera... so great to have on hand, but hard to keep organized and "corralled". If I can't find it,  I usually don't remember that I even have it.  With that thought in mind, I decided to have a major clean-out of all my stash...  The purge proved to be the impetus to moving in new paths, using different materials in various ways.

My pal, Kristi, mentioned using molding paste on lutradur.... so I just had to try the process on a pocket in my journal. Just yummy...

 While I was into the molding paste jar, I thought about trying to use it with another stencil on my ever-favorite scrim.   It turned out really great.

 I cut it into shards and used it on different pages as an accent.

Layered backgrounds have always been one of my favorite "looks".  After an image transfer and layers of stains, crayons and a bit of glitter, I loved the mood of this page.

As every artist knows, it's often really scary to look at the blank, white page.  I have found the best cure for this dilemma is to just get my hands moving... and then wonderful things often happen.

Getting the hands moving, while listening to one's longings is really all it takes.  Every page won't be perfection, but true growth will happen... and that is quite an accomplishment for me.

I hope you'll take some time to listen to your heart, and then spend some moments doing something you truly love.