Last winter I picked up three 5×5 inch wooden frames with cute 2.5×2.5 inch openings at Michael's. I had planned on decorating them, filling them, then loading them to Etsy. Well life happened and I didn't manage to finish them. I'm working on that now. This past weekend I picked up a few more, larger frames, on a total whim. These measure 6×8 inches with a  5.5×3.5 inch window. I started each of the frames by applying antique paper with matte medium. Each piece of paper was crumpled, crinkled and torn to size. the paper was pulled from antique (but worthless) books or magazines. I snagged a copy of the "American Journal of Physics" from 1970 a week ago. I have had a copy of a German travel journal from the early 1900s. The paper is so interesting. Layers of it was built up to create texture. After the paper was dried I began to add layers of paint. The large frames were covered with warm colors- yellow, orange and red. I brushed the paint on and then scraped it around. again creating texture. In some cases removing the color entirely to allow the paper's texture to show. I then added layers of glaze. The small frames were roughly painted with shades of blue. I used some of my crapcut stencils (my own designs). through these stencils I scraped colored modeling paste.  I scraped on another shade of blue and teal. on the small frames I decided to make some colors pop so I mixed up a magenta modeling paste and scraped that through a stencil. I'm really digging how the colors play off each other and the stencils and modeling paste add a layer of texture. They feel so cool. I've decided that I'll fill each one with a black and white automatic drawing. I've made 2 of the smaller images and I can'twait to work on the 3 larger images.
Anyway, i'll have them up on etsy soon.

A few of my classes require that I make art as part of the class content. For one of the classes I decided to make an altered book into an art journal. I've been adding a little bit to the book here and there.

I started by scraping paint around the book. I used warm colors because they matched the covers. On some pages I've written with sharpies. And on others I've doodled. Oddly I've not added any collage or ephemera from my personal life. I may have to remedy that.
After I scraped paint I then and added some brushed on paint.

Then I doodled and drew. On other pages I wrote.

On some I added more paint.
The pulpy paper is as absobent as a tissue.

I started this page with white and yellow. I doodled on the waves, but left them "blank." Yesterday in class we did an experiential where we interpreted an article we read and discussed with movement. It wasn't dance but movement. Not my usual thing, but the group decided to work with the idea of fluidity and waves.

When I came home I decide to work on the page a little more because it called for it. There is something to the idea of my art journal being a predictive form of art. Though I had read the article in advance of working on the page I wasn't consciously thinking of waves or fluidity. It just happened. Amazing how what I read comes through on the pages of my art journal.

Today I added the blues and greens to the waves with a brush. Then I layered on the primary red and magenta glazes. I used a rough bristle brush to apply the glaze. I removed some of it with an old gift card and a rag.

I spent the majority of yesterday reading stuff for school. I’m trying to get a lot of the reading I have due done so I can move onto the papers I have due. I finally took a break and decided to dive into something, a project of sorts that has been sitting on the back burner for awhile now. After a lovely series of emails with a friend I decided I had to get some work done.

I picked up a pair of “smash books” over the summer. If you have been reading my blog for any time you know I'm not a huge fan. They were on clearance for $4 each. When I finally started testing them out, I was disappointed in them. The paper isn’t very nice for fountain pens or liquid inks. But does okay with other things. A quick test with acrylic shows a lot of wrinkles, especially in the style that I work. Needless to say, they aren’t really for me. I have worked with worse.

BUT.

I have them and I want to do something with them so I started to go through and glue in some collage elements (personal ephemera) and layering some scraped acrylic paint over the top. Any pages with words- well they have my own stuff on them, dark pages? covered in white paint. I’ll add some colors and more collage pieces in today.

I think I’ll draw with sharpies on the pages. Or anything else that will write on acrylic paint.

I forgot to snap a picture of my drawing from the second Drawn2gether sketching event at the Gulu Gulu in Salem, MA. It was created by the lovely AJ ning member Sheryl.

It was good to get away from the computer, the books, and highlighters for a few hours to sip a beer and nom some tasty food.  After llibations I got to doodle away on an automatic drawing as I got to know a new art friend.

It was good to have a small patch of fun in among writing heavy papers.

Also, I felt much more relaxed than I did with my last automatic drawing. So there is that, the power of not only art but good conversation.

But for now, back to this paper.