Journal and writing

Week 15 "stickies"

Heart journal prompt was ‘stickies’, any type including (I think) collage as well as embellishments. My spread used bought papers plus crumpled dress pattern tissue painted with acrylic inks. Then various bought sticky embellishments. Not my best spread but my thoughts have been on writing this last week, not visual imagery!

Why? Because I signed up for NaNoWriMo and have thus been writing since Tuesday! More about that here on my Rohinval blog.

I’ve also made two more zentangled ATCs, although I need to scan them in so will show them later. But if you wonder why this blog is quieter than normal during November, you now know why!!!

Journal and sketchbook

Week 14

This week’s prompt for the Heart Journal was for two main colours or tonal. I sort of ignored the tonal and went for yellow and black, lol. Well, I decided I needed cheering and yellow is a cheery colour, plus I felt like doodling. So black pens on yellow acrylic ink it is!!!

I’ve also been ‘doodling’ in the Art House Co-op Sketchbook. Two of the following pages (the bed + chest; and the mug) are drawings from the original layout. They are the last to be carried forward into the new-look book – everything from here on is completely new. An assorted collection of drawings and another Holga photo. And I’m still having fun!!!

A photo and a drawing.

My 'happy' mug and a drawing inspired by Aubrey Beardsley.

Two urbanscapes - one real, the other complete fantasy.

Journal play

Numbers - week 13 in my HeArt journal

For various reasons I haven’t been doing much visual imagery during the last few days. Have been doing my ‘morning pages’ and a lot of thinking, jotting down some notes and sorting things out to send off for swaps.

Have done the spread for this week’s HeArt journal, though. The prompt was Lucky Number. Now, I don’t have any number that I consider to be lucky. But I do regard 21 as special, probably because it’s my birth date, lol. And the other numbers featured seem fairly significant to me for various reasons. I used acrylic ink for the background and various pens.

Doodling

I also had a play in my ongoing ‘arty journal’ yesterday, whilst thinking and watching tv. I do so love the zentangle style of doodling.

Apart from that, I’ve signed up for the National Novel Writing Month after being prodded by 2 friends (thanks – you know who you are!!!). I’m not sure that I’ll stick to the remit and I definitely won’t write my novel in November but hopefully it will nudge me into writing every day – same challenge as for the art, I believe – 30 minutes a day, but writing instead of just any creative activity. If nothing else I hope it will help me to get my notes into some sort of order. And there is a lot of useful information and helpful forums on the site as well.

Heart journal, week 12

Week 12

Whilst online to publish this week’s Heart Journal spread in time for the deadline, I thought I’d post it here too. The prompt for this week was “watercolour wonder” so I went a little wild and just splashed around with watercolours, brush, spray and some inks. The face was stamped then drawn over and altered, whilst the letters are stuck on. The effect is a bit more playful and haphazard than some of my spreads. Bolder, too, perhaps. But then, I WAS playing, lol!!! Great fun

Another feather and sketchbook pages

Red and blue feather

Yesterday I decided to stitch one more Magic Feather for Jude Hill’s project as I was in the mood for some sewing. Using some tea-dyed muslin backed with a cotton square. I also stamped on the cloth with fabric paints as I felt it needed a little ‘something’ to finish it off.

I’ve also done 2 sketches in my Art House Co-op Sketchbook 2012. There is still plenty of time before I need to mail it back but there is over half the book to fill yet, and I’d like to get it done and sent by Xmas, if not before. I think setting myself a deadline will help urge me on, lol.

Along with the writing (I’ve made a few more notes) and the Heart Journal (ooh, I got a mention in their latest post!!!) I have plenty to keep me busy

Pages 14 & 15: wooden box and dragon with Buddha.

Feathers and growth

"Magic" feathers

Here are  my embroidered feathers for Jude Hill’s ‘Magic Feathers’ project. The material is from an old ethnic skirt that became too worn to wear any longer. I rather like the shabby effect it has, though – hopefully Jude will appreciate that too.

I also finished the latest HeArt journal spread : Bloom and Grow being the prompt for this week, with growth being the key word. The quotes read:

Growth itself has the germ of happiness: Pearl S. Buck

The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice: George Eliot

From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow: Aeschylus.

Week 11 - Growth. Acrylic inks, pen, graphitint pencils, embellishments.

Continuing…

Lace in the making.

… to be creative every day, even if I’ve gone quiet here, lol. Some writing, map-making (see Rohinval), a bit of lace-making now that I have a proper lace-makers pillow (yay!!!) and 2 more zentangled ATCs.

We also visited a relatively new antiques and art centre in Sheffield on Sunday. Had a lovely time browsing and yes, I gave in and bought a few little bits (vintage buttons, postcards, old embroidery and fabric pieces). Great place, and one to which I know I’ll return.

Zentangled J ATC

I have several projects lined up, including the next spread in my HeArt journal, the Arthhouse Co-op sketchbook to continue and the making of at least one magic feather for Jude Hill’s project. I’ve been following her blog for ages, love her work. When Jill announced that she’s stitching a feather or two I decided it was time to do my own – thanks, Jill, for the nudge.

There’s also my writing. I’ve been jotting down a few notes, mainly via my morning pages. Hopefully I’ll start to sort them out into something more comprehensive soon.

Zentangled K ATC

Writing and tearing

Torn papers, week 10, HeArt Journal.

Here is the finished spread for week 10 of the HeArt Journal. Torn dressmaking pattern tissue was layered down first before being painted with acrylic inks. I then added various torn papers plus some net and fabric torn from an old card. After adding more ink using a sponge and graphitint pencils to deepen the hue in places, I added the text, first with a Sharpie pen then a staedtler black pen to make the letters stand out more. Not my favourite spread in the journal but I’m pleased that I’m still doing the project – only 14 more spreads or pages to go!!!

I’ve also been writing. This week is the last for the current Travelling Artists’ Guild project. Our characters had to return to the Guild and I also wanted to bring Zentara’s current tale to an end. There will be one more episode after the one I posted this morning, plus possibly a final note from the ‘author’. But more on that later.

For now, I’m delighted to reach Day 27 of the get-your-art-on challenge having not missed a day. Only three more days to go

And the get-your-art-on challenge continues…

Background in heArt journal

Although I’m not updating my blog every day, I AM still continuing with the challenge to be creative every day in September. When I first started I was unsure as to whether I would be able to. But here I am, 23 days later, and still going strong. Only 7 more days of the challenge left. But hopefully it has got me into good habits, lol. So that once October rolls in I’ll carry on in the same vein.

Since my last posting, I’ve written another episode on Zentara’s Journey. ‘Taking Stock’ is not just about the character; it’s also about how I stand now, seeing the final line of the year’s project approaching. Zentara will continue. Either within the project if it goes into a second year, or as a solo project. I have plans. I want to expand my knowledge of the world I created. To see it through others eyes. To write more. Perhaps to even take it into the realms of a novel.

No promises though – a novel is a very, very different undertaking to the year’s journey. I tried it once before so I’m no stranger to the process. I got as far as probably 6 or 7 chapters from the end when I stopped. I’d suddenly seen a shift. Not just in the way the story was unfolding but in my whole concept of how the story should be told. And having shifted I couldn’t return to continuing the novel as it stood.

I worked on the new ideas, shaped a new novel chapter by chapter so that I wouldn’t have any more surprises when I came to rewrite. But by the time I came to the end of that, the love of the story had ended and the feel of the exploration expired and the spur that drove me had been snuffed out. I never wrote another word on that tale, and know I never will. So, I know exactly how fragile the story-telling can be. If I ever get to rework Zentara’s world, I’m sure I’ll be more amazed than anyone, lol!!!

Torn tissue background.

Back to the art challenge. I also made two backgrounds in my HeArt journal as I felt like doing something with paint, lol. Although one was done with watercolour pencils and pen. The other, though, is torn dressmaking tissue and acrylic inks. Both done before the next prompt became known – which I now learn is for torn papers. So I’ll be using that as my background for my next spread. I also read more about lace-making and had another little practice. I have new bobbins, and they are much more to my liking than the plastic ones. They just ‘feel’ right in my hands. Hopefully I’ll have a longer play with them soon.

More writing + cutting & pasting.

Week 9 of the HeArt Journal challenge

Yesterday saw me writing another episode for Zentara’s Journey. My character has now returned to the Travelling Artist’s Guild, as all of us active within the Guild will by the end of September. However, for Zentara there is more of her story to tell. This will, at least for this month, be told within the Guild Halls, with perhaps a bit of retrospection thrown in as she (hopefully) looks back and produces some visual images. That’s the plan, anyway!!!

I also worked on my HeArt Journal, producing the spread shown to the right. The prompt for this week was ‘Cut&Paste’ using a magazine face as a focus, and the image shown to inspire us was one by Teesha Moore. I’ve been meaning to play with her ‘style’ for a while so enjoyed doing the spread.

So much so, that this morning, virtually shut away in the front room whilst an engineer sorted out our heating system, I produced 3 more pages in her style within my Arty Journal. One has already had text filled in; the other two will be written on in due course.

First 'play' in my Arty Journal...

...and a double spread, ready to write on later.