Art Journal Faces - Each one tells a Story

In this video on my YouTube channel I share some of the faces and scenes in my art journal.  When I work in my art journal the intention is not to initially draw a face, but to work on creative play on a background without judgement at how it should look, just reaching for supplies and allowing them to find the pages.

Once the page has got to a certain point I start to think about what I can see emerging from the background, often you can see shapes of images - you may have to turn it upside or on its side to see the shapes/figures that have formed without you specifically thinking about it. 

Each image has a story to be told and you have been given to task in telling it, the first step is finding them on the page and releasing them into the world - I will let their voices be heard.

Dancing to the Beat of Your Own Drum

She decided to dance to the beat of her own drum, not worry what others had to say or tried to say.  She no longer sought the approval of others and understood that she had been on a journey collecting the tools she needed to stand on her own two feet. 

 

A big learning curve had taken place and she was free to be who she wanted to be and live her life.  She could express herself in the way that tapped into her creative dreams, visions and goals - it truly blessed the world and herself

I hope you enjoy looking at some of the images on the video and look forward to seeing how you start to approach your Art Journal.

Experiments in the Garden

Come and join me in my Creative Garden and see some of the things that I use for my creative projects. Let me know what your getting up to in your green space.

You an also check out some of the other Gardening videos while you are there:

Join me the Creative Gardener

Distraction Art Journal

Distraction Journal

In this video that I shared I show you in 'real time' working through two art journals and creating two faces. It is a great idea to have a space where you can spend a short time in being creative.

You don't have to worry about things being finished in this journal, it just gets you being creative rather than doing other things which saps your time and makes you loose focus for the real work you want to do.

In this video that I shared I show you in 'real time' working through two art journals and creating two faces. It is a great idea to have a space where you can spend a short time in being creative.

The emphasis in my distractions journal is to give myself time to play creatively so that I can get on with other work. I usually start by adding color and marks to the page and then my 'go to' is to create faces. I don't restrict myself by having to finish it all at once, but I am able to dip in and out of the journals.

I love using the water soluble pastels/pencils or crayons as they dry quickly and come in a wide range of colors.

There are times where we put things off when you need to try and break through and complete your tasks. Very often we also have to look at the position that we are in (literally) and shake ourselves up. My distractions journal is a place where I can unwind and recharge my batteries

Supplies used

Neocolors, Derwent Inktense and Graphite Soluble. You can check out the supplies on Amazon HERE

I would love to hear how you use your art journals to help you stay focused, leave a comment below. Stay blessed and be a blessing

Arts and Wellness Cafe - Personal Growth and Development

Come and join me in the Arts and Wellness Cafe, it is always great to have you accompany me as we ponder on the various aspects of Arts and Creativity.

In todays video I wanted you to think about ways in which you invest in your creativity and work on your growth.  It is important that you are constantly learning.  It might be a subject that you want to experiment in - there are so many free tutorials around that you can access, books that you can read.  You only have to decide what the subject will be.

I have been one of the teachers who shared a taster session on Life Book recently and my session was all about creative play.  I love working with different and new supplies and constantly look at ways in which I can do more with the supplies that I have.  If you didn't get to see my finished piece it is below.

Life Book Taster Session - Amanda Trought

The great thing about Life Book is the amount of lessons that you are getting, a wide selection of teachers and techniques, so you will be spoilt for choice at the range of techniques, you also get to continue to have access to the FREE taster sessions if you didn't get to complete them all.  It is also a useful idea to redo some of them using different supplies.  I would love to see what you do using different supplies with my session.

You can sign up for the Full 2021 Life Book Course HERE Remember to use the 20% discount code FEELHAPPY20 at the checkout.

The other thing that I am excited to share is some of the Eco-dyeing with Avocado seed.  Artist Dylan Sara shared how to create your own inks as part of his Life Book Taster Session.  I decided to experiment and see what effects I would get dyeing fabric, and here are a few of the designs that I did:

Avocado Eco Dyed

I created a paste and applied the avocado seed to fabric

Avocado Eco Dyed Fabric

I allowed it to dry in the sunshine and it acted like a resist.

I will be sharing the process I used in another video, you can see in the video above some of the results once the avocado has been washed off.  It was great fun to do and I shall be looking forward to adding them to my fabric stash and getting to use them.

Creating a Sculptural Loom - Recycled Materials

Sculptural Looms 

One of the things that I have always done is make something out of the things that I have, looking at things with new eyes and seeing what else I can do with them.

Sculptural Loom made with Paint Brushes

In this video I will be sharing with you how I alter old paint brushes and marker pens to use in another creative project. I will be showing you how the sculptural looms came about for me. It is essentially a loom that you create a woven piece on then you decorate with beading and jewelry and create a mini wall hanging.

In the next video in this series I will share with you how I weave on the looms.

Thank you for joining me on this creative journey.  One of the things that I want you to leave with is that you can try any creative activity that you would like.  You don't have to stick to one thing you can see what it is like and make your mind up from there - life is too short to be holding yourself back!!!

Other Great News!!

Life Book Taster session have been EXTENDED until 18th October, so you have a bit more time to go through all the FREE sessions.  Let me know how you get on with mine, and there is a question about the critic that it would be great to get your perspective on.  If you haven't yet had a chance to sign up you can do so HERE

Registration has opened for Life Book 2021 if you are considering Signing Up you can get 20% discount using the code FEELHAPPY20

I have two great sessions to share (we will be working with a clay project and a slow stitched project)

SIGN UP HERE

When you get a chance subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven't already.  I have lots of tutorials and art videos coming up for you to continue to wet your feet and enjoy.  Tomorrow I will be sharing in the Arts and Wellness Cafe, you can see back recordings HERE

Creating with Neocolors

Do you have art supplies that are just sitting there waiting for you to use them but you said they were for 'best'?  You were waiting for that time to come when you would use them, but when you eventually did go to use them you found that they had either dried up or disintegrated.

That has happened on a number of occasions and I should have learnt by now, but from time to time I still use the cheaper products on myself and the more expensive ones for the 'professional work'

I know Neocolors are not the most expensive water-soluble wax pastels you can get but they did cost quite a lot back in the day and they were definitely not going to be used in my art journals but I had to wait for a canvas before I used them.  Well - No more!!  

I decided that all my supplies were fair game and that if there was anyone that I should be using them for it should be me and my creative growth.  This would mean that to value myself I needed to use supplies which I value on myself rather than wait!  It is not a nice feeling to go to use your supplies and find after years of putting them on a pedestal they are not useable.  

The video shows you my creative play with the Neocolors, and when you are playing it doesn't have to have a specific outcome, just spend time with the supply and this will also help you to get to know them.

Neo  Colors come in tins of 10, 15, 30, 40 If you would like to try working with Neo Colors you can check them out on Amazon HERE

Arts and Wellness Cafe - Nurture and Unleash your Creativity

Come and join me in the most recent Arts and Wellness Cafe where you are encouraged to unleash your creativity.  Start trying new things, revive some of those art supplies that are just sitting down doing nothing.  If you are not familiar with the way they work then ask, take a course - you can even connect with me and I will show you how - you can take a look through my YouTube videos and you may find the answers there, above all, just don't give up.

Another thing that you need to be mindful of is 'self nurture' - it is alright not to have everything planned out all the time.  Sometimes you need to take stock, take a break, really look at where it is that you are going creatively and in other areas of your life.

Looking after yourself using creative activities have an amazing effect, and you have to also look after your supplies and where your creative practice takes place.

I also mention Life Book Taster Sessions, I hope that you have signed up and making the most of the art activities and free gifts and who knows you may be one of the ones who win one of the 40 places that are being given away.  My session is going live on Tuesday 6th October and I hope you can join me and let me know how you get on.  You can sign up HERE if you haven't already.

On Monday I will be starting my Podcast series again and Mondays is Creating in Faith where we look at a word and spend time reflecting You can check it out HERE