Saturday, October 31, 2015

Art Journal Every Day - Pages from Radiant II

Hey there friends!  One reason I'm excited to get back to blogging, is so I can join in on Julie Balzer's "Art Journal Every Day" project again.  This week, I have two pages to share with you - both inspired by lessons in Effy Wild's "Radiant II-Art Journaling" workshop. 

Each lesson in the Radiant II workshop is actually two lessons.  First there's the lesson provided by the guest instructor.  And then there is another lesson where Effy does her own take on the guest teacher's lesson.  I hope I explained that okay.  Anyhoo, for me that is so valuable, because it demonstrates how you can learn from another artist, and still come up with something that is entirely different and uniquely you.

Anyhoo, this first page is inspired by Effy's take on Dyan Reavelry's lesson on hidden journaling.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I used hidden journaling in two ways on this page.  One is the journaling on top in silver...


and the other one is hidden behind the silhouette...


This page is inspired by Felicia Borges' lesson.  It involves a background resist technique with acrylic paint and distress stain (you can see it in the background - it's the hot pink and dark blue.).  The lesson goes on to explore a unique take on portrait-making; but I got so enthralled with the resist idea, that I went off in a whole different direction, trying different resists and layers; and then I ended up with this...

 To find out more about the Radiant II - Art Journaling Workshop, click here.

To find out more about Julie's "Art Journal Every Day" series, click here.

I wish you are a super-duper Saturday my friends! 

Friday, October 30, 2015

It's Good To Be Back!!!

Hi everyone!  I've been missing this blog and all of you, and it's oh so good to be back!

I look back at the summer and how many projects I was trying to juggle and realize that it was a bit too much - I don't know what I was thinking!  I am prone to FOMO, and have a tendency to sign up for wayyyyy too much.  (anyone with me on that?) It was a good learning experience, and I'm trying to be better about it. Here's a quick update...

I finished the 100-day Project!  I got derailed a few times, so it took me a little longer than it should have; but I got back on track and I'm really proud of myself for that.  It was inspiring to create alongside so many other people, committed to this goal of doing something (anything they choose) for 100 days in a row.  I made some new friends, along the way, and I will definitely do it again next year!!! Here's a pic of my 100th Art Journal Page for the project...

You can see all 100 pages here, or by searching #100daysofjournalingforshelley on instagram.

I did not, on the other hand, finish the "Index-Card-A-Day" project.  It was going at the same time as the 100 day project, and I realized doing both was too difficult.

Mixed Emotions - (the online art journaling workshop that I teach with Marit Barentsen), finished up on October 8th.  It was an awesome group of students - enthusiastic and so supportive of one another; and I really feel good about how it went!  Lots of fun and lots of beautiful art was created!  Thank you so much to Marit and all of the students for making it so special!

So, what have you all been up to?  Let me know in the comments - I'd love to hear!

Hugs from chilly Minnesota!