On the move

Living with the uncertainty… again.

Be surprised

You cannot imagine everything that is possible. There is always room for surprise.

Summer of Colo(u)r - week 2

About a month ago I was delighted to find that I had won a random prize on One Little Word. This week the goodies arrived - stencils, papers, washi tape, shiny bits and pieces, and a designer camera strap!

I immediately used some of my haul to enter the second week of the Summer of Colo(u)r challenge, where the colours are teal and coral with a pop, splash, or smudge of white. This page also fits for the One Little Word challenge this month which is light.

When things feel dark, I take comfort in the fact that the smallest bit of light fights back the darkness.

A canvas

A friend mentioned that she needed some artwork for her office, so I actually worked on a canvas rather than in an art journal - a departure for me.

I applied moulding paste, collage, water-soluble graphite, sprayed some ink, and stamped onto greaseproof paper before sticking it down with gel medium - so much easier than trying to stamp direct on to canvas. I also wrote on greaseproof paper so I could move the quote around before sticking it down.

Summer of Colo(u)r - week 1

Summer of Colo(u)r 4 has begun! If you don't know what I'm talking about, check the button in the sidebar and join in the fun.

This week's colour combination is yellow and aqua with a hint of hot pink. These colours remind me so much of summer, which it isn't here at the moment :) We just get a few hints every now and then of the brilliant blue sky that marks the summer months. So I'm happy to revisit these colours and imagine the warmth that will eventually return.

Regarding the ravages of time...

This page started out with a bit of collage. I had no idea where it was going to go, but I wanted to use the gelli-printed paper at the top. A quick wash of purple watercolour with salt sprinkled on came next. Then a bit more collage.

For some reason I felt like drawing some features, so out came the eye stamps. The rest of the face followed and a few square spirals were stamped on.

Then it sat for a while.

My eye kept being drawn to the pocket watch on the face and I got to thinking about time and how it affects how we look. Personally, I am not really that bothered about wrinkles. I don't dye my hair even though there are plenty of white ones sprinkled among the black. Hence the journalling:

"The marks of time were upon her face… and she treasured them as honestly won."

The lines remind me that I've smiled a lot :)

What sort of house will your heart live in?

I was reading through Ann Voskamp's blog the other day and this quote really struck me, especially as the theme at Art Journal Journey is houses and at Mix it Monthly is home.

This quote made me think about what sort of house I want my heart to live in. Will I allow my circling, negative thoughts to become a prison for it? Or will I listen to the truth and make a place of refuge?

House or home?

The new theme for this month over on Art Journal Journey is houses, so here is a simple page done with watercolour inks and pencils used with a brush and spray.

I thought about the difference between a house and a home. The journalling reads: A house is not a home unless it contains the ones you love.

And as the new theme on Mix it Monthly is home I shall be sharing over there, too.

And if you haven't heard yet, Summer of Colo(u)r is on again! Go to Kristin's blog to see what it's all about and check out the first colour combination on Monday.

Perspective

I wasn't sure where this page was going to go, I just had in mind to use the greaseproof paper with the orange circles. It was a piece made when I used a hand-carved stamp to lift paint from the gelli-plate. My first thought was that it would look good on blue so I painted the top half of the page blue and the bottom green. The circles went nicely on the blue. 

Then the page sat for a few days.

The circles were really telling me that they were flowers, but they were so high up in the blue it was as if they were towering in the sky. 

That's when it came to me. 

If you lie down in the grass, the flowers look as if they reach to the sky. Sometimes a problem that seems enormous can be put in perspective if only we look at it from another angle. So face your problems standing up, not lying down in despair. Maybe they'll be brought down to size. 

Be glad!

How easy do you find it to take joy in the achievements of others? When someone else wins that prize that you'd like? When you read of someone else having a new line of stencils/paints/stamps produced? When someone else is asked to teach at that workshop?

Be honest. Is there a little prickle of envy?

It's normal! But don't let it be your ongoing feeling.

Someone else's achievement takes nothing away from you. Think about it. One person getting a book deal doesn't stop the chance of you ever getting one. They haven't 'stolen' your success. How can they steal something that wasn't yours in the first place?

So don't let envy be your last reaction as well as your first. Be glad for that person. Be glad that their talents have been recognised. We have all learned from those who have gone before us and produced books and materials for us to use. We all gain when we are generous and share our gifts.

And if, when your time comes, you want to be surrounded by people who are glad for you, not eaten up with envy, then you need to be that person to others.