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Art Journaling & The Silly Conversation in my Head

A silly conversation happened while playing in my art journal. It wasn’t about how I decide when to stop adding layers or the fancy close the page technique- although both of these are in the video.

It had to do with how I started painting the buildings on the page and why that triggered that good old perfectionistic voice in my head.

The bubble wrap isn’t just for packing, it’s for playing too.

You can use stencils in more than one way. In the video, you see how I used my Linked stencil like a stamp by getting it all inky with Art Spray and then plopping it on the page.

Below are the backgrounds for future play that were created getting the stencil loaded up with the black. Not a drop ever has to be wasted!

Here you can see the black lines from the Linked stencil as I’m adding some writing using a fine tipped bottle. These bottles come empty and you can fill them with any color you like. If it can squeeze out the tip, then you can put it in there! At the end of this post, I’ve got a full supply list for you too.

Why were so many layers added to this page? Because it was fun! That’s the number one way I decide if I should add more.

The paint was sprinkled directly onto the page and then spread around using the brayer.

This is the point in the play when the silliness began in my head. I didn’t draw this out ahead of time and I was using black paint. That meant, if it didn’t go “right” there was no going back.

My response was a bit ornery to that voice because it seemed to want this to be architecturally accurate. I never signed a contract saying I would make my art journal page true to the zoning regulations of building codes.

So I intentionally created a weird elevator shaft and apartment balancing on top of it. That would never be approved by the building commission.

An O.O.P.S. happened here. I just didn’t like the white pen there. It was an Outstanding Opportunity Presenting Suddenly.

I just painted over it with black but I had to wait for it to dry. That gave me the time to do some scribble journaling about my impatience.

That impatience helped me decide on the 3 little words for the title from my Are We There Yet stencil.

Art Crayons added some color to those words with a bit of smudging because the paint wasn’t fully dry yet. But why wait patiently when you’re an impatient person!

The glow of the words are almost like a neon sign in the big city. A city made of architecturally imperfect buildings!

If you’re still reading here, you’ve probably enjoy playing with your art supplies so you might want to check out my free workshop, Permission to Play where we let go and make a cardboard art journal.

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  • PAMELA SMITH January 10, 2020, 4:47 am

    just found yr site & loved watching you journal….how inspirational are you!!!!! lol. going too go back & look at the rest of yr postings. i have a journal all ready to go…never done one b4 so this is all new & very exciting. Bit nervous i don’t make a mistake & botch up my 1st page but i know EXACTLY what yr thinking right now…”there are NO MISTAKES pamela…just gt in & get started & do it…it’ll just flow once you get started.” Am i right? lol. well after watching yr lil episode i think i might just get going tomorrow. today i received a lil box of crafting gear i ordered online & one thing was drying gun, also washi tape,. beautiful paper etc & can you believe i couldn’t throw the bubble paper away, thought there’s got to be a use for it in journaling so i googled & there you were!! {you lucky thing lol}. i think you & i have the same sense of humor somehow lol. Anyway thanx for inspiring me.

  • lois paulo January 11, 2020, 7:08 am

    love your videos so informative in a fun way. my question is your journal…..what is it where do I find one, love the bigness of it.

  • Kim Condas January 11, 2020, 12:12 pm

    I love that you make me laugh at that voice, which talks to me, too! Your riff on not going to architectural school cracked me up. And I truly love how you try something, decide against it, and just move ahead. Thank you for the joy that you may not realize shines from you

  • Gloria McAllister January 13, 2020, 11:01 am

    Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your group. I love what I’ve seen so far. In fact, I think you have just inspired me to go clean up my craft area so I can get back to playing!