Joining the Documented Life Project ..

It's the start of a new year and I am joining The Documented Life Project with Roben-Marie Smith  ,  Lorraine Bell , Rae Missigman,  Sandi Keene , and 100's of other creative folks who will be documenting, photographing, painting, collaging,  journaling, and planning their creative year.  

I started journaling weekly last year so this year will be fun to do my journaling with a group and focusing on particular themes each week. 

This is the cover of my journal at this point. I'm sure I will add more as the year progresses.

Glamping + Art Journaling = Bliss

We spent a wonderful weekend in the woods of Big Sur Glamping (Glam + Camping).  I'm a city girl but I love nature.  Every 3-6 months I need to take a trip to the mountains or the ocean to recharge my batteries. We usually go deep into the mountains to camp. This time I  wanted to try something new. I wanted to see if we could get the camping feel without all the gear required to go on a full blown camping trip.  

For the first time in my life, we booked a cabin in the woods.  I didn't know what to expect but it was a lot nicer than I thought...maybe a little too nice to feel like camping.  We did cook outside and sit at night around a fire pit.  We probably brought too much gear for the glamping trip but we learned what works and next time we will know how to pack.  Its a great alternative to traditional camping. 

We did have a little run in with the local wild life. On our first night we were warned that they had a skunk problem on the campgrounds. We kept a watchful eye for most of the night. As we sat around the fire, suddenly Dexter started to bark like crazy. Andy flashed his light into the darkness and there it was a Skunk with its rear facing us and its tail in the air. I grabbed Dexter and started running to the cabin. The skunk walked off before I got inside. We where not sprayed but I was shaken. The rest of our stay I was on skunk alert. We never saw another skunk.Thank goodness!

There are some great advantages to glamping, since we spend less time to setting up camp, I had more time to journal in the morning while Andy slept in. We we could have eggs and croissants on the patio while Dexter played off leash in the fenced in patio.  We had hot water for showers and heat at night.

It was a nice trip for all of us and we will surely return again in the fall.  

Weekly Sketch Book Oct 28- Nov 3

Something simple and a little dark from my weekly journal.

Weekly Sketch Book

This week all I had time to do was add the numbers and Its just fine. Dexter went to the groomers for a visit with his glam squad. We also had an amazing event for my friend Lupe's son Javier. It was a cuban themed party complete with men in panama hats and women with flowers in their hair.  

I love a theme party, I guess that's why I love Halloween so much. Its an opportunity to transform and get a little more dramatic. That night I got to wear a dress that I originally planned to wear for another event a year ago but changed my outfit choice at the last minute.  So my dress still had the tags on it and it needed to be worn to the perfect event.  I'm so glad that event showed up this week.  We had an amazing time.

Weekly Skech Book

I may be a few weeks behind but I'm still journaling!  This is the week I had a great offsite with my team at work.  We had several days to really get to know each other and share some of our ideas and special talents. It was one of the more relaxing offsites I've had since working with this team a few years ago. It was a welcome treat.  

There were long days at the offsite but I still managed to make time before bed to add a bit of this and that to my journal page. 

• The background is poster paint and all the stamps are from the $1 bin at Micheal's. (Gotta love a dollar bin!). 
• The birds are decoupaged from a napkin set I got a Ross a few years back. My numbers this week are from a set a numbers I created for my Juicy Soul Retreat. I had a copy in my scrap bin so I tried to use all the numbers I could find. I ran out on the 21 and the 22...so I just painted them in.  
• I was also trying to see what would happen if I blacked out around images. I usually do this with gesso to make the image pop, this time I wanted to try black and I really like it. I'm sure to use that in the future.
• I am a big fan of Jo Malone perfume and I want to remember one of their new fragrances for the Holiday...It may be a gift to myself. 
• The rest are decorative tapes to section off my page and add interest.

The result is a great week in my journal

By the way...I finally did my nails with gel and they lasted only a few days before they started to peel off. I am so hard on my hands with my art that I almost never get a manicure and thought Gel could hold up and it was a bust.  So off with the polish and on with the art making. 

Weekly Journal

 

I'm back in my weekly journal. This week I found an image of a woman that really inspired me...I found her in the pages of a Nordstom catalog. I love using images of models from fashion magazines and shopping catalogs  in my work.  I'm always attracted to faces with unusual expressions or really interesting features. There was something deep and thought provoking in her expression that attracted me to use her in my journal this week. 

Maybe its because I'm still enjoying the buzz of being in paradise for a week
with friends I have known for most of my life. 

Maybe because I realized how important vacations are to my heart, mind and spirit. 

 I feel like the vacation changed something deep within me. The humility, the laughter, the dancing, dressing up every night... I feel more like myself than ever before.

My journal page this week doesn't have words yet. But if I were to add words it would be words of gratitude and a celebration of returning back to myself.

Weekly Journal: A Few Weeks In Review

Weekly Art Journal from Julie Valentine on Vimeo.

I've been working on a weekly journal since April
and its been so fun and simple.
I'm particularly proud of myself for keeping up with it.

It's a really simple way for me to be creative on a regular basis.

So much of the creative process is about making time to be creative and
letting go to allow the creative ideas to unfold.

 This week I wanted to show you the pages in my weekly journal so far.
I love looking at people's art journals and I thought you might like to see mine.
Enjoy!

Leave a comment if you have questions
about any of my pages, supplies, techniques. 
I'm happy to share.

Weekly Journals

This is my weekly journal page for the week. I wasn't thinking so much about capturing the events of each day as much as I was focused on my general mood for the week.  

The theme was " happiness". 

• Baby George was born
• I watched the movie "Happy" about the scientific
  study of happiness in human beings. (Really interesting)
• I taught the Juicy Soul Retreat with my good friend Andrea.
  Great fun and lots of happiness!

Something funny I want to share...Dexter got into my washi tape collection and ripped up a roll of tartan tape. Those rough edges on the tartan tape in my journal, are really little Dexter teeth marks. Makes me laugh every time I see this page.

Just to give you a point a reference, this is where I started earlier this week. It took layers and layers to get to my final look.

Weekly Journal

 

This weeks journal was a little bland and simple but
the week in life was full of richness and  color .

I scheduled a family photoshoot for us with a great photographer.

I have always wanted to have a professional photoshoot to get 

great photos to put around the house or use in a Christmas letter. 

I even put it on my Vision Board this year.

Some how I crossed paths with a photographer on Facebook

and I loved his work so I made an appointment for a session.

It took a few weeks to coordinate the session, our outfits and a location. 

The day came and we where both scared and excited.

The photographer is a really cool dude and he made us feel at ease,

while corralling our silliness.

The end result is that we had a blast.

We'll get our photos in a few weeks.

Weekly Journal Pages

I wasn't going to show this page. 

I was feeling like it was not complete or interesting enough to share. 

As I examined the page and thought about that week,

 it is a miracle that I found time to put down the numbers for the days of the week.

It was one of those weeks when the work day and the after work day merged into one. 

 Last week got away from me and so did this week. 

I made a noble effort to begin. 

I made time to kiss day 12 with my new favorite lipstick 

I made time to leave some scribbles on the page.

 I will always remember this week for 

how everything seemed to happen at once 

and i still made time to do something I loved for me.

Weekly Sketch Book Journal Pages

This week I'm inspired by Jenny Doh's Peace, Love, & Art blog post where I got reconnected to the joy of working on faces. When I started my art business many moons ago, I started with faces of women as goddesses. It is still something I enjoy creating but in the last year I stopped creating faces. I just lost interest in the subject and moved on to other things. This week I am inspired to return to faces in my weekly journal pages. Here is my basic starting point then I add color and texture to move it to the next level.  Let's see what happens!

It's the end of the week and boy did I struggled with these faces. Early in the week, I had a vision of finding delight and inspiration in each image. I looked forward to creating a new expression for each face. I was even going to swing out creatively and try some abstract touches like Jenny Doh's faces. 

The honeymoon was over on July 2 when I worked on July 2 and the frame work for July 5th.  Nothing seemed to work.

I didn't like the paint I was using, 

I didn't have the right brushes for the size of each image. 

I couldn't find a juicy enough pen to write over the acrylic. 

The faces looked warped or mean.

I was cranky and ready to scrap the whole thing. My thoughts went to ... " I could cover the whole thing with gesso and starting over."..but I didn't. 

Then I remembered ... I've been here before.

I forgot how the creative process looks when we try something new. 

I forgot how we  might judge ourselves too harshly when we are trying a new process

I forgot how comparing yourself to others or having specific expectations can block our own creative expression.

I forgot...I remembered and then I let go

It's just paint and ink on paper. 

It's just for me (and you ;))

By week's end, I was getting into the groove and surrendering to my creative style. I even started to like some of the faces. July 4th and 6th are my favorites.

Follow me on Instagram at reddragonflystudio #weeklyartjournal

Weekly Sketch Book Journal

 Here is the begining of a new week. I created this back ground with acrylic spray paints. Its hard to see in the photo but the texture is bubbly and has a bit of a shine.

I created the areas for the days of the week with vintage papers I found at a flea market. This was someone's short story. I love giving new life to items that might never be used or tossed out. Everytime I use these pages I think of the original author. There work is still being appreciated, even if is not in the original way they may have intended.

Now I've added some dates and a bit of doodling.
We will see how this progresses this week.

 
This week I spent more time on my story pages than on my daily pages. I had fun choosing a word to focus on in the day then choosing some supporting words that summed up that day.

 
This was a quote came across this week that totally resonated with where I am right now.

“Everything changes when you start to emit your own frequency rather than absorbing the frequencies around you, when you start imprinting your intent on the universe rather than receiving an imprint from existence.”

― Barbara Marciniak

 This page came out of me wanting to use this face I cut out from a magazine a while back. It has been on my mood board for a year. This week the image just called to me. I watched Oprah's Super Soul Sunday today and India Arie was being interviewed.  India shared the one bit of advice Dr. Maya Angelou shared with her..."Be Your Truth". Embody your truth. Listen to your inner voice. Center yourself in what you know for sure. Wise words in the face of all that is happening in the world right now.

Weekly Journal

 

We started with a fresh page at the beginning of the week.

It's the end of a new week and I've had a blast in my weekly journal. 

This week I took a few days off from work to just have a bit of "Me" time. I spent those days working out at the gym, swimming and creating in my journal. I feel so free from just a few days of taking it slow and doing things I love.

I even got Andrea Chebeleu to join in the fun. It will be fun to see her pages each week. If any of you are working in a weekly journal...please let me know. Its lots of fun to see what you're working on...it's inspiring.

Weekly Sketch Book Journal

It's a new week and a new canvas to work on. How will this week unfold?

Things are taking on a whole new look since I started earlier this week.

I even added a new page for additional thoughts. 

Love how the pages are starting to curl from the weight of the paint.

As I create a regular practice of creating in my journal on a regular basis, I'm learning to use all the bits of supplies I have been "saving" for a project. This week as I came across items I used them in my journal right away. I found this image in a calendar and I loved the art so much I knew I wanted to use it in one of my journals.  Its been sitting in a stack of things for 2 years...this week if found a home on my weekly journal page.

Used lots of bits of book pages from my art studio and vintage letters I got from a flea market.  The Hepburn image came from a cell phone cover I got free when I was buying earrings at the mall. This image has been sitting around for years. So glad I found her a home this week. There is still more to do on this page but I like where its going.

Weekly Sketch Book

There where lots of things to complete this week. I had a long "to do" list and some how checking off the boxes did not feeling exciting, then I came across a scripture ..

.

Don’t worry about anything;

 instead, pray about everything. 

Tell God what you need, 

and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6

That just brought me such peace reading that. So this week I give all my concerns to the Divine and I turned my attention to all that I am learning on my journey. I started this week thinking about all the wonderful things that are a blessing to me in my life.

I started with simple pages using washi tape and number stickers

 

Then I added book pages to each day and I was ready
to add whatever inspired me during the week.

Let the week unfold and added bits of memories. Dexter barking to get what he wanted. I did a presentation at work that went pretty well and I'm glad it was completed...then I noticed the line I highlighted in yellow on that day. That book page was put there completely at random.

I got so exited about my scripture that I created a page just for the words. I'm sure I will be referencing this page often. I needed to give it a bigger presence in my journal.

I'm already starting pages for next week.

Weekly Sketch Book

 It's the start of a new week and new Sketch Book page. So this week its all about stamps and washi tape.

 I'm starting to play with images from the travel brochures from my trip last week. These images got my attention so I added them. Its kind of fun working small and looking for images that can work in a small space.

I added more color and pattern. I also added some lines out of a book I got a a flea market. They just seemed to capture the mood of my week.

I hope you enjoy watching my creative process as much as I do.  I like seeing how the pages form. Its teaching me to be patient and to go with the flow.  A big lesson that I'm practicing in all areas of my life.

Weekly Sketch Book

A new week...a new journal Sketch Book page.  This week I've started the page in a new way...by adding some color and some left over bits from some decorative labels.  The date stamp is an old stamp I got from my favorite dollar store...Daiso. Its been hanging out in my studio in a dark drawer for years. It's time that it found the light of day and was put to an artistic purpose.    So here we are at the beginning of a new week. Let's see how the week unfolds.

By mid week I had added numbers and some gesso to cover up some smudges that made it hard to read the numbers. I kept removing color and ink and suddenly I saw this little clown face emerging from day 21. So I just went with it. The little bird is from a series of stickers I got earlier this year from a company called Typo.

By week's end we all took a trip to Cayucos, California to listen to the waves of the ocean and get some much needed rest. I added that to this week using cut out letters from one of the brochures I picked up on our trip.

Weekly Sketch Book

This weeks Sketch Book journal has been really rewarding.   I've been journaling in little bits of time in the morning and evening before bed.   I love looking back to see the special moments of the week.

This was my page at the begining of the week.

 

 

By weeks end...the pages got much happier.  

Weekly Sketch Book

 This week in my 2013 Weekly Sketch Book, I took photos of my progression through the week. I had a dream that I was blind in my right eye for some reason but I could still see with both eyes open. The dream was on my mind for a few days until I came across the phrase ... "to turn a blind eye".  I took it as a sign to pay attention, face issues head on, and trust my gut. So this week I did just that. The page reflects my first instinct to add color and texture. The result is a completely different look from last week. 

Weekly Sketch Book Journal Pages

I am inspired by Jenny Frith's Sketchbook Journal Pages and Sarah Bellemare's May Challenge to create something everyday.  Started to follow their process this week, for the first time, to experience their unique method of journaling on a regular basis.  I'm always looking for new ways to journal and this process looked really inspiring.

I found it really fun to prepare the pages for the week ahead of time...creating blocks and numbering the days of the week.  I had a blast pulling out all my stamps and letters. 

During the week I added color, stamps, images and words. It was really great. My journal is small enough to fit in my purse so I take it with me everywhere and journal on the go. 

This week I bundled up Dexter and headed over the hill to Half Moon Bay Beach for a few hours. It was great to watch the waves, smell the salty air and feel the wind in my hair.  

When I was a little girl I lived in Brazil and we would go to the ocean on really hot nights to cool off. 
Going to the beach is my favorite place to go to "cool off" mentally and clear my mind.  After my a visit to the ocean, things just fell into place at work and I got some projects at home completed. It was a really great week.