Every minute counts

I have completed another collaged page, which finishes my first double page spread.

Every minute counts

I developed the time theme & composed a Haiku poem.

Every minute counts

As time passes by so fast

Each moment matters

Every minute counts, as time passes by so fast, each moment matters

I have used more images from Mary Green, added one further piece to the original page

& a little coloured tape here & there.

My last pages for January had to be reserved for my calendar.

January 2015

Documenting 2015 in detail

A Merry Note

Time for the next Waddington Weekly altered playing card.

When all aloud the wind doth blow

And bird sits brooding in the snow

Then nightly sings the staring owl

Tu-whit Tu-who - a merry note

William Shakespeare

Colour in my World

I have again combined two weeks of challenges & prompts

from The Documented Life Project in my Journal.

The Art Challenges for week 3 & 4 are

Week 3.  The Colour Wheel 

Week 4.  Writing

& the Journal Prompts are

Week 3.  "I found I could say things with colour & shapes that I couldn’t say any other way" Georgia O’Keefe

Week 4.  Words with Friends

I have taken a step back to a project I made inspired by Michelle Ward. 

In My World in Colour & Words

I created my own set of colours, attached a meaning, then named them.

Building on from week 1 & 2, I first covered the blank pages with handwritten paper;
a ledger & a letter,

then covered in a layer of gesso.

Once dry, I added my coloured shapes & a quote from Marc Chagall

"All colours are the friends of their neighbours & the lovers of their opposites".

Be free to be yourself

I have used printed text & elements, gesso,
white paint pen, black pens & coloured tape.

Each Moment Matters

Just a few images this week of progress in my collage journal. 

I have finished lining the inside of the new covers &

included a cutting from a newspaper, which seemed quite apt.

Inside the Front Cover

The first collaged page, with just a little paper, glue & scissors.

I found it quite hard to get started,

so I took inspiration from Mary Green,

using some of her vintage images.

Each Moment Matters

This is a project that I will pick up & put down throughout the year,
so there may not be new images to publish every week.

No pressure, just taking my time
& enjoying the moments.

The Power of Love

Time for the next Waddington Weekly altered playing card.

The words today come from a poem by Edmund Spenser.

"Such is the power of love in gentle mind
That it can alter all the course of kind"

Collage Journal

I will be using my edition of Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith,
for collage, using the prompts provided on each page.

I am aiming to be lateral, rather than literal, in my interpretation of the prompts.

All new & unspoilt

But to begin, inspired by the Start Here sign on the front cover
&
Crack the Spine
 &
Make a Sudden Destructive Unpredictable Movement with the Journal

Starting at the beginning

I ripped the cover off, then pulled the book apart.

The book had arrived in the morning, in perfect condition, without a mark, crease or imperfection on the cover.

I had smiled as my hands glided over the smooth surface of the cover
& as I flicked through the fresh clean pages.

Then I opened the front cover & pulled it off, then turned to the back & did the same.

In some weird & wonderful way, it felt good.

So now, what to do?

Cut Through several Layers

I cut the cover in two, right down the spine & pulled each page away from it's glued spine.

Now to start rebuilding, that which I had destroyed.

I backed the two pieces of the cover with cardboard.
Sanded around the edges, to add a distressed look.

Hole punched the new covers, along with the loose pages,
to create a new book, with the pages in the order I want them to be
& secured them with metal book rings.

The rough torn pages

I cut through the front cover to add a metal frame
(charity shop find from a few years ago).

The new front cover

Then continued to be destructive with more of the pages, including
Leave this page Blank
(I thought a page with a hole in the middle couldn't be blanker)
Lose this page
(With it's middle cut out, the page was lost)
Scratch, using a Sharp Object
(My craft knife was sharp enough)
Scrub this page
(All the dark pages were sanded around the edges & cuts)

The first few pages

Destruction on Purpose or with No purpose?

The pages I had cut through were place in the front of the book,
so that I could inset the metal frame
& see through to the Title Page.

The paper used to create this paperback is quite thin,
so I created hole reinforcements to strengthen the cut pages.

Phew, that was an interesting experience & as I had to use a hacksaw to cut off part of the metal frame & use a metal file to smooth the rough part down, it was really quite exhausting too!

Ready for the next phase

The next stages will hopefully be more creative, rather than destructive.

It's not the Destination but the Journey

My dylusions creative journal has finished it's long journey
all the way from New York, USA
to me here in England, UK.

I have followed each stage of it's journey with an increasing level of excitement.
It has already been to places that I have never seen or experienced.

In a way it has lead me to my overarching theme for this year,
which is to focus on my creative journey.

January's main art journal theme is about finding ways to tackle the "blank page".

I have started my journal with a double page spread for week 1 & 2.

Week 1

Week 2

The Art Challenges this month are

1. to use book paper 
2. to use gesso

& the Journal Prompts are

1. Be your own goal keeper 
2. "The Beginning is Always Today" - a quote by Mary Shelley

So following the challenges, I first covered the blank pages with book paper,

then a layer of gesso. Once dry, I added some colour & embellishments.

I am always thrilled when, purely serendipitously,
I create something with extra meaning,
as in one of the hearts I cut from the book paper.
Not only did it have the word heart on it,
but also twelvemonth,
a good start for this year long project.

My serendipitous journey

Following the prompts, I have listed my personal goals on the back of this tag,

which fits inside the envelope pocket.

My Creative Goals

The words are taken from a poem by Susan Coolidge.

Inspiration quote by Susan Coolidge

I have used book print, gesso, acrylic paint (Rose/Orchid/Pistachio), a manilla envelope, dymo tape, printed text, elements from 7 Dots Studio, rubber stamps from PaperArtsy & Tim Holtz,
black distress ink, black pen, pencils

& a word definition torn from an old dictionary.

The winds of dawn

Today is time for my second Waddington Weekly altered playing card.

My favourite words this week are from a poem by W H Auden.

Begin again

Welcome to the first of my craft projects for 2015.

I am using a pack of old playing cards from Waddingtons
to create a keepsake of my favourite
pieces of poetry throughout the year from
Poem for the Day.

Each week I will alter a playing card,
incorporating words, ideas & images inspired by that week's poems.

The first is by Susan Coolidge.

New Year

As the New Year starts,

my thoughts turn to the direction

I would like my crafting to take this year.

I know I want to get back to being creative

on a more regular basis,

so I am planning on following the art journal prompts

on Art to the 5^th Academy™ Documented Life project.

I also have plans for a project forming in my head,

which has the working title of the

Waddington Weekly.