Journal Art in Action: Journaled Canvas

Journal Art in Action: Journaled Canvas

In our workshops we teach a number of techniques that can be used in your journal or on canvas. You might have seen many of our layering techniques in the art you see in local stores. You can always purchase something for your home but what if you created something original using the techniques you've learned with us.

Above is something you might find in a store.  Below is my version inspired by the painting above.

Take some time this week to see images and break them down into manageable parts and recreate your own version on canvas.

Art Supply Haul: Diaso

ART SUPPLY  HAUL
If you have attended any of our Juicy Soul Retreats you might have heard us mention our favorite store for art supplies.. DIASO. It's a Japanese dollar store and they carry lots of fun things including art supplies. A few weeks ago I went to one of their largest locations in the area near San Francisco and purchased a basket full of fun things.

Here's what I got and how I plan on using it...

Plastic Lace Place Mat
I found this amazing plastic lace place mat (green) that I use to spray through with watered down acrylic paint for pattern on my journal pages. Spray inks work great with this too. Some of the ink gets captured on the plastic so I used the run of on other pages. The pattern looks great. I show some pictures later.

Liquid Chalk Pens
The big pens in the middle are liquid chalk pens which are great for creating lettering on dark painted backgrounds. These need to be covered with a gel medium after it drys to set the ink. If I don't cover it with something clear the chalk flakes and moves around. That actually might be fun to play with and see what happens.

Acrylic Paint
I found a variety of acrylic paints to cover my journal pages. They came in some amazing colors...very rich and vivid. When I use them more I'll show you some results.

Mini Index Cards
I found this mini index cards they are the exact size of business cards. I had this idea of using them to write on and slip into envelops in my journal. They might also be fun to create one of a kind business cards.

I found a few You Tube videos about art supply hauls. Its fun to see what other people find and use in their art.

Thrift Store Art Haul  Video

Art & Crafts Supply Haul Video

Artist Date: Missoni Score!

It's all over the news this week about the "Missoni Mania" happening at Target. Women are lining up for hours in front of Target stores to get anything created by Missoni.  It was too crazy not to check out, so a decided to make it an artist date and go in search of designer goodies myself.

I braved the stores looking for Missoni. I was not alone...there were others...with carts looking along with me. I felt myself racing them ...then running to what looked like a hand towel. It was a false alarm. I went to another Target and I finally scored...2 barrettes and 2 eye masks.  I love eye masks for traveling (it makes me feel all Hollywood) and the barrettes will look great in my hair. I was so excited when I found them I felt like I won the lottery.It was like a little bit of creative history in my hands.

The whole experience reminded me of my mom fighting off a lady to get me a Cabbage Patch doll for Christmas in the 80's. It didn't matter that I was almost in high school at the time (long past playing with dolls) ..my mom had to get me one of those Cabbage Patch dolls. She scoped out the Toys R Us stores in the area. Made deals with the sales people to call her when they came in. That lady can work it! Today I got a taste of that ... and it was exciting!

I braved the stores, faught off the fashionistas and got the Missoni!

Travel Journals

I love to travel. I never want my trip to end. Journaling on my trip lets me remember the details of the trip and every yummy sensation that I experience in the moment. The cool saltyness of the oceam. The warm sun on my skin. The funny travelers we met on a mountain top and shared stories. Its all there in the pages of my journal,  I cherish these journals and one day I will find a beautiful book case and put them up on display for me to visit over and over again.

September 2011 - Juicy Soul Retreat

Thanks everyone for coming out to our final Juicy Soul Retreat of the year. Andrea and I had a blast co-leading the retreat and there was lots of play, joy and creative juiciness from everyone who joined us. Each retreat has its own flavor and this session was so much fun I am still buzzing with ideas that we all came up with for our journals.

Below is a few photos of the fun. I created some custom pouches for each participant to hold stamps, chocolate and a pen....perfect for a creative genius on the move. Andrea created hand painted folders for everyone filled with a variety of papers and surprises for collaging.

Thank to everyone for carving out some time in your lives to be in community to create with us. It was fun getting messy with you and we look forward to seeing how your journal pages progress.  Stay tuned for the next dates for our 2012 Juicy Soul Retreats.  See all Photos

Still making something special for the Juicy Soul Retreat

Shhhh! I'm making something for the Juicy Soul Retreat. The ladies registered for our Sunday class are in for a treat. It's our last class of the year and Andrea and I are going all out.

Preparing for Juicy Soul Retreat this weekend...

The Juicy Soul Retreat is this weekend. This is a half a yard of canvas covered in paints, crayon, ink, marker and tape using a few techniques Andrea and I teach in our workshop. Andrea and I create unique juicy kits for each participant. I'll be using this canvas to create some thing yummy for everyone that participates in the Juicy Soul Retreat.  I'll post a picture of the finished project when its done. Andrea is working on folders to hold other goodies. If you would like to join us there are only a few more spots. You can register online through A Work of Heart Studio.

Use old Office Supplies for journaling

Use your old office supplies:
Background page with purple acrylic paint and printed circle sticker labels to make this random page.