Art Journal Page #12

 I’ve talked before about finding my creative joy and as I think about what to write for this blog I realize that joy can come in many forms and at different times in your life.  It does not have to be an everyday emotion but when it comes it makes an impact.  Creative joy, personal joy, etc, etc, are essentially the same and your heart feels it the same way.  For me is about trying to let my mind find calmness and balance in order to be able to appreciate what matters to me and to learn how I interact with the world. 

This page is for my daughter who is our greatest joy.  No matter what is going on in our lives, my husband and I just need to look across the hallway and look at this person and see the reason we still have a fight in us to get through life.  Yes, she is an only child and some might think that putting so much importance in one person isn’t healthy, but as a mother and father we feel that every child should be that important.  they are after all our future and my believe is that if she ever has child because she knows she is loved, she will give that child the same love, and the chain will continue on.  Isn’t it better to leave that kind of legacy?  The world has enough cruelty in it already we do not need to add to it my neglecting our children.

(This page is named Wondering Mind Field because my daughter and I love creativity.)

Project Notes:

1. Sprayed the page with turquoise watercolor paint, then using ModPodge™ glued some strips of paper from an old book.  Took some gauche paint and with some bubble wrap created the bubbles on the side of the page to create texture and balance.
2. I have some Jane Davenport Girl Profile Stencils (click link for shop) I purchased from the Crafter’s Workshop and traced the faces with a Sharpie®.  I wanted clean lines instead of paint.
3. With Mod-Podge™ I pasted some dry-wall tape strips to add texture.  This tape is my favorite and I find myself constantly reaching for it when journaling.  I also took some coordinting washi tape (love them!) and added some more layer to the page.
4. I also used a simple stencil that had a pattern of small quares and with modeling paste added even more dimension to the page. 
5. With Tim Holtz® Distressed Ink Pads, Recollections® phrases stamp, and Ranger Blue Archival Ink pad I added all the background distressed look with words.  I also used a spray water bottle to spray on to add the smudge look to the background.  i covered the faces so I would not smudge too much.
6. The faces i colored the front one with the Distressed inks and a wet brush to represent the older generation (Me) and the back one i left it clean and new looking to represent the new generation (my daughter).
7. With a black felt marker I drew the half circles on the edge (Doodling) and some mini stamps of butterflies and flowers and stamped them using Ranger® Black Archival Ink.  I outline all the doodles, flower, and butterlfies with recollections® white Opaque marker.
8. The last touch was a cut out of a antique fountain pen.
9. I sealed the entire pages with semi-gloss gell medium.

If you look at the page it has all the passions and interest my daughter and I share, which are:

• Words – representing our love of reading.
• plane (washi tape) – our love for traveling
• Pen – our obsession with pens
• The entire page – our love for art.

Thank you visintig, be safe and keep looking for your creative joy
WonderingMindField