2015 Documented Life Project :: First Quarter Recap

Week 1  ::  Book Paper

These are my lovely journal pages from the first quarter of 

The Documented Life Project 2015.
You can find more information on the DLP here. 

I really love this challenge...for me it's just the right combination of journaling, 

art, lists, calendar, quotes and stuff to keep me organized and creative.  

I'm just a smidy behind with the art pages, but no worries, I've got all year to catch up. 

As it turns out, being behind and not having posted 

these pages as I did them, worked out better...for this post anyway. 

 It's helpful to see the pages side by side...

I can instantly identify the pages I love and why...  

I see my style emerging!

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Week 2  ::  Gesso

Week 3  ::  The Color Wheel

Week 4  ::  Writing

Week 5  ::  Under Paper from my Art Table 

Week 7  ::  Cover Up the Good Stuff

Week 8  ::  Repeating Elements

Week 9  ::  Use at Least 5 Layers

Week 10  ::  Doodles and Marks as a Layer Elements

Week 11  ::  Borders

Week 12  ::  Doodles and Marks as a Focal Point

Inspiration Wednesday :: March 18, 2015

I'm not going to make excuses. 

I finally finished this Inspiration Wednesday project. 

I'm simply going to celebrate that I DID! 

I enjoyed the process and I'm pleased with the results. 

Goal Accomplished! 

I have three other small canvases started that I plan to use to 

create a small series exploring texture and collage elements. 

The tags I used in this piece are clothing tags 

I've been saving for the past several years. 

Visit Donna Downey here for more information on her Inspiration Wednesdays.

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MY Documented Life Project

I'm so happy I stumbled upon The Documented Life Project (TDL) and decided to play along...it's exactly what I needed this year to keep me creating. If you want to check it out, you can get more info about here. I've been using Instagram (follow me here) to post the weekly challenges to my Facebook page but thought the easiest way to get them to TDL Facebook Group would be a link back to my blog...my poor neglected blog. So here's a recap of Weeks 1-9 of TDL project:

Cover

Monthly Tabs

Week 1 - My Front Door

Week 3 - Add an envelope from the mail

Week 5 - Doodle Border

Week 6 - Inspiration from Pinterest

My Inspiration from Pinterest - Donna Estabrooks

Week 7 - Draw one shape and repeat

Week 8 - Add a flap to my flap

Week 9 - Recycle and collage.

I started working part-time (well, more like full-time) a little over six months ago. And for 3 months before that searching for a job consumed all my mental energy and attention. During this 9 month period, I did little or no art except for a small amount of art journaling. Now that I'm adjusting to my new role as a working Mom, I find myself craving more creativity. Here's where Pam Carriker's book comes in (as mentioned in my last post here).

I read her book "Art at the Speed of Life" when it first came out, but I don't recall it having much impact on me at that time. I plucked it off my bookshelf a few weeks ago so I could read something at the pool. It was literally an "Ah-Ha" moment. She MUST have been thinking of me when she wrote it - busy, easily distracted, artist wanna-be me! It was certainly the kick in the butt I needed. It's gotten me out of my think about art mode and put me into doing art mode. Her "Declaration of Reclamation" (below) helped narrow my focus and gave me somewhere to start.

To this declaration I added my own list of goals and actions that serve as a roadmap to help me accomplish my goals and gives me a reference for those times when I need a little help deciding what to work on. I'm trying to do something creative everyday, even if it's simply applying gesso to substrates or gluing papers in my journal. Pam's book also helped me remember that I really love mixed media, especially decorative papers, and got me moving back in that direction. I've spent a lot of time jumping back and forth between techniques resulting in a pile of unfinished work and a heap of self-doubt. Now I'm back on track, determined and ready to "Just do it!" Thanks Pam!

Work In Progress



Here's the progression of my final assignment for Wyanne's Paint Free Class (named #8 in my 50 Painting Practice Series). I was starting to become way too attached to this concept and became afraid to do anything for fear I would ruin it. So I just stood there, staring at it, not knowing what to do next. I knew it wasn't finished and thought it was looking a little boring. I want my paintings to be interesting, and this just isn't.

So I got brave and just started making marks.

Again, I stood there gazing and staring, baffled at what to do next. I spent more time just standing there than painting.  I decided to just do something, whether it's right or wrong. So I took away the abstractness (which I love) and made it cute (which I'm not so fond of)! Unsure if I ruined it, decided to put it away and come back another day when I'm less judgemental about it and see the possibilities.

So I moved on to #4. The first layer of this collage was a piece I started last spring in Paul Gardner's Mixed Media Workshop. Didn't really like it (big surprise huh?) and it just sat there waiting for me to be brave and just do something with it. So a few weeks ago I painted some designs over the first layer. Being my critical self, didn't like it, so there it sat a while longer.



 So I messed around with it a little more.

Added some statements.

Then added some really watered down paint with drips and swirls to the top. This is on watercolor paper that doesn't lay very flat anymore because of all the collage materials in it, so the watery paint pooled in certain areas where it looks muddy. The brighter circles are where I applied masking fluid and have now removed it. So there's my under painting.

Yesterday I started to play with it adding some trees, flowery pods and color. I'd like it to have a landscapey feeling, but not in the traditional sense. I want it to be more fun and interesting and not really make sense. That's hard for the left brain person I truly am!

Daisy Heart Revisited

A before shot (left) and after shot (right) of a painting I started almost a year ago for my 7 year old daughter's room. I wanted to bring in the colors of her room and I decided to go big (24"x30"). The before photo shows how far I got and then simply shut down. I learned that painting big is hard and time consuming and it wasn't turning out how I envisioned. That happens a lot with me...I'm too quick to judge and too impatient to wait until it's done before criticizing my work. Since I wasn't really liking it, other projects got my attention and this one got stuck in the corner. Over the summer I decided to finally finish up her room and finish this darn painting, good or bad! Originally I had planned on strictly painting with acrylics, but over the course of that year I have grown to love mixed media and all the different techniques and mediums you can apply to a single painting. So I played around by adding torn paper, sheet music, rubber stamps, oil pastels, chalk pastels, charcoal, and anything else I thought would make it more interesting. Interesting it is and I love it. A far cry from the original. Every night, when I lay down with Paige in her bed and she says she "hates" the torn paper on the petals and wants me to change it back the way it was, I just smile and maturely say "Too bad, it's my painting and I like it that way. You can't make me change it!"

The photo below shows the painting hanging in it's new home, Paige's room.