Circle journal

Well, the end of September saw the first posting out of all the journals in the circle journal/round robin. And we've had our first casualty - a journal that lost its way between Canada and Australia :(

Nevertheless, we are soldiering on, having come up with a solution, so here is my take on the doors and windows theme. We each have two goes in each journal and each journal has a different theme.

The door on the left is a postcard of artwork by Kim Nelson. The door on the right may be familiar to some of you from a previous post. It is from Wakehurst Place in West Sussex, UK. This is a transfer of the photo using transfer artist paper. I did some journalling under the postcard.

My second take on the theme I wanted to do something on windows, having done doors. The phrase kept going through my head so I went with it. When I'd painted the face I felt there was something missing - the eyes weren't highlighted enough, so I put a 'window' around them. 

This journal will be travelling to Monique in the Netherlands next. 

I will be linking with Artists in Blogland (button in the sidebar) for their new Scavenger Hunt Challenge which is also doors and windows.

Standing on the threshold

Standing on the threshold to the adventure of a brand new year.

So much promise.

So many possibilities...

home again!

I have just spent the last five days on Kangaroo Island. KI is a smallish island about 16km off the coast of South Australia. It is one of those places that still has a wilderness feel. There are very few tarmac roads and no traffic lights on the entire island.
Lovely as it was - blue skies, sunshine, seeing koalas and goannas in their natural habitat, beautiful beaches, clear sea - I am glad to be home. It is only when we go away that I realise how central to my prayer life my art room is. Of course, I took a journal with me. Well, two actually. But it just isn't the same. My art room is my sanctuary in so many ways. So I'm glad to be back!

This is the double-page spread in my diary-journal that I did while on KI. I prepped the page before we went away, just adding the words and the small daisy stamps to separate the entries.

This is the what I left on my desk to dry before we went:

The image of the door is a postcard of a painting by Kim Nelson. 

I started to think about doors both open and closed. 

If the door is closed, who closed it? Is it a lost opportunity? Or an end to something completed? Is it a challenge, daring you to open it? Should you pass it by or stop and grab hold of the handle?

If the door is open, you can peer through, catching a glimpse of what could be. Will you step through? Will you take the chance and start on a new path? Or is this a temptation you should resist?

What door stands before you at the moment?