Make your own Washi Tape

 Make your own Washi tape.  Washi tape is Japanese paper tape that's decorated.  All the rage for art journals, art projects, scrap booking.  But what about making your own?  We used different types of tape, sticking them on plastic sheets until use. Above is my collection. 

I took a class with Jill Cardinal at Oregon Art Supply in Eugene.  We had a great deal of fun, painting our own tape and stamping with hand made stamps.

 Medical tape is see-through but also easy to tear and hard to remove from the plastic sheet.  Here's a few samples put in my tiny art journal.

Hand made stamps are my favorite.  I quickly carved this eye stamp in class.  The feather stamps, I made previously.  

I am always on the look out for good abstract design stamps and tend to over-think it.  Jill and I were playing with "random designs" and she showed me her best trick.  In her box of carving material scraps, there are many discarded designs and broken, or cut-off pieces.  They make GREAT random stamps!  Cut off a few edges and try lining them up in various ways to make repeating patterns.  Many of my "fancy" washi tape designs were made with these so called scraps. 

We played a game: on person cuts lines into a stamp section and hands it to the next person, who cuts out a piece that looks fun to stamp with.  We tried lining up the prints every which way.  See more examples on the bottom photo.

 This morning, I applied the random designs to my colored envelopes.

(The little tree stamp was made by my kids- part of a set they made for me with mushrooms and a gnome.)

Tea Journal

Tea Journal

A little canvas tea journal that I made earlier. I didn't share it sooner because I don't really like how it came out. But since then, I realize how much I've learned from it.


I really enjoyed the process of making this journal all about tea time. Paint, ink writing, machine stitching, stamping, and some paper collage, buttons, hand stitches, paint pens, on heavy canvas.





I picked a pale color palette, so if I were to do this project over, I would choose richer colors and more variety. It's too pale, lacking depth. I also happened to use cheaper, thinner paints. Now, I prefer to mix these with heavier body paints with more pigment. About 4 hours total to create this little book.

Back cover

Inspriations

These are the three books I'm finding inspiring currently. Did you read Natalie Goldburg's famous, "Writing Down the Bones" book? I read it years ago, and it made me realize writing was important and that I had something to say. Super inspiration.

I didn't know, until now, that she also paints and wrote a book about it. Her observations in painting, informs her writing. Her easy attitude about just DOING it, would make anyone want to paint.

Oh and guess what? This used copy I bought happens to be signed by the author, and with a nice paper article about her tucked in. Huh!

Tracy Bunker's "Art Journal Workshop" is a great start for art journal newbies like me. The CD shows her process step by step, though I'm mostly enjoying the content prompts. This style of art journal isn't just about making the page look good, but important topics to write IN it.

The third book, on top, I had to hide from myself until I've finished the other two!




One of my other loves, is carving rubber stamps. I'm making a new set for use in art journaling.



You don't have gouge as deeply as you may think, but watch that you take enough of the edge off if you don't want to see it. I love this thick carving medium because I can stamp with it without adding backing.



A blank page made from an Art Journal technique of painting on and scrubbing off. I've discovered the joy of white on top by accident.

Super Power Journal- Teesha Style!

This is my Power journal. I stitched the 16 page journal myself out of one sheet of water color paper that I cut to 8x10" size following the wonderful videos of Teesha Moore.

This is very much in her style. Her youTube videos are a fantastic resource for those of us wanting to know how to get started, and what materials to use.



I made the journal, painted the pages, collaged and just started to decorate it, before I found out that it was going to be all about super powers and super heroes.


I indulged in a set of Golden Liquid Acrylics, and am glad that I did. Gorgeous, highly pigmented colors that can be washed like water color or used straight from the bottle creating opaque acrylic coverage. LOVE them! What else? Paint pens, water color crayons, sharpie marker,


These are the pages I have done so far, and will post the others as they are finished.


At ArtFest, I was amazed at some of the personal journals people were sharing. I learned that when you are viewing someone's personal art journal, you are invited to LOOK at the art, the layout, the colors, the materials used, the ideas, BUT your aren't supposed to be READING their personal journal entries. And if you do, don't judge or ask them about it.

That leap of faith, the trust and sharing involved touched my heart.

Or course, I'm posting these online, so you are welcome to read them if you like.

I have to say more about Teesha Moore's work. Her blog is a massive source of inspiration, and she's freely shared her techniques on you tube with everyone. I appreciate the information about specific materials, but also about relaxing, listening to music, working intuitively -- using art journaling as a meditation. She isn't analyzing her lay outs or what people will think when they see the page, she's off in her happy world, wearing head phones, tearing out colors and images that appeal to her, and pushing paint and collage around on the page until they feel right. So freeing! Thank you Teesha.

I have a question. Does anyone seal their pages when they are done? What do you use? The magazine images and water colors could be damaged if I don't put something over them.

Art Journal Pages

This is the pretty art journal I bought at ArtFest 2011. The handmade style, thick watercolor paper, colors, and stitched leather butterfly spoke to me. I like the small scale for painting experiements, storing favorite color palettes, and small journal entries/thoughts.



Page one lay out. Collage, then layered, washy acrylic paint, stamps, stencils, pencil, sharpie handwriting.


My Wicked ticket embeded in a layer of matte medium. Paints, etc....


The Sun and Moon layout, with a cut page, reveling the moon's sky page.


Cut out shows the colors from the sun page.



Ooooo, lots of blank pages yet.....

Artfest Day Three!

Everyone has been asking me what "trades" are. Artfest, with it's 500-600 attendees, has a tradition of bringing small works or art, small journals, artist trading cards, and charms to trade with others. It's fun.

Here's most of my haul. Everything was so creative and thoughtful: pins, tape to use in your journal, artist trading cards, packs of ephemera, or tiny packs of decorative paper, pins, and all different charms.


Look at the art! There's something delicious about teensy art, isn't there?


I brought 85 trades: printed bookmarks from a slice of artquilt I had made, my silk screened patches (like above) on linen, and a few of these wearable coffee cozies that I brought to give to my room mates and teachers.


Day Three class was Paperclay with Michelle Allen from Portland. We had good day learning how to turn tin foil (armature) and paperclay into fully formed little creatures full of life and personality. She brought tons of paint and materials for us to play with, and was fun and encouraging.

I was interested in taking the class because I haven't done any sort of sculpting in a long time, am drawn to paperclay, and wanted to learn how to make figures look old and rich with paint. Of course anything new I learn, I'm eager to share with my kids, and our friends. Paper clay is so much fun!



Here's my droll bunny figure. Interesting how working with clay, or in dollmaking, you just start working and the doll starts to form itself and tell stories. Mr Bunny has a hanging hook, a heart, and little tiny copper wings in back.

Oh! So how did we create the color? Layers of very thin acrylic paints. Layers and layers, slowly building up color and richness and letting dark browns fill into the cracks.

It was fascinating to learn Michelle's techniques, and I related to her great focus on the face of the creature. That's just everything. If the face doesn't look right, I have to keep working on it until it looks good to me, before I do the rest of the body, or there just isn't any soul in the wee thing.


Wonderful work from other students....... love this guy!


Here's our collection at the end of the afternoon. Look at all the awesomeness!


More paper clay friends!


Fabulous flying birds a classmate made, and plans to hang in her antique bird cages.


Here's one of Michelle's paper clay scenes, set in a box. Two figures on a swing. Completely charming and lovely. I recall her advising us "not to fall into trying to produce these to sell, as we'd never recoup the hours we'd put into them". I imagine so. This is a very slow, rewarding process, but not something that can be streamlined for sale.


My cutie wonderful room mates. First thing in the morning and we weren't really awake or fed yet. Sorry to post this one Girlz, but it's the only one I've got. Miss you!


A view of our bunk house from the commons.




Night walk on the beach. What a lovely setting.


And unexpected thing happened to me during Artfest. I begrudgingly developed a crush on art journaling. My resistance comes from being creative for a living. I keep a personal journal, and fill sketchbooks. I ask myself why would I want to pour time and art into a book that no one sees? After watching everyone art journal for four days, and asking questions I am intrigued.

I bought a fancy bound journal with fabulous paper, at the show, and I cut up a sheet of watercolor paper at the artstore and stitched up a very Teesha style collage journal. I've had a blast collaging and painting away in it. I maybe, just maybe, will scan and post my explorations.


Finished Green Angel Painting on canvas, with machine sewing, buttons, and fabric edge finish.