Art Journal - Chapter 1

Last year, I enrolled in Wanderlust 2022

with Everything Art.

I only managed to follow the first few weeks,

working in my handmade junk journal,

before giving up completely.

So this year, 2023,

I am planning to watch each week's video lesson

in turn & then make a journal page

using the same journal.

My page will be inspired by,

but not necessarily precisely following

the lesson.

In 2022, Wanderlust was divided into chapters

& the first chapter was entitled

Gesso & Gel Mediums.

Week 1

The first subject was clear gesso

& how to incorporate it into mixed media.

Week 2

This week was about the contrasts

of black & white gesso.

We used plants & leaves

to create patterns with black gesso,

then used them to create a landscape

& added a found text caption.

Week 3

The third week was about using gel medium 

through stencils to create a clear mask

then use colour to reveal the patterns.

It doesn't really show on my book page,

as the white gesso & gold paint I used was too subtle,

but it is there, just.

I used images from Carolyn Dube,

black gesso on paper from the previous week,

washi tape,

words cut from an old novel

& collage paper from the 2022 Artist Almanac.

Week 4

White gesso through a stencil

to create texture.

I used collage paper
from the 2022 Artist Almanac,
lettering cut from a magazine,
green watercolour pencil,
& green jute ribbon.

Week 5

Scraps from week 2,

with newsprint lettering

& black Pigma Micron pen marks.

The smallest page in my journal,

which is kraft card,

so keeping it simple.

Week 6

Using gesso as a textural layer

& creating collage fodder.

I used collage paper from

The 2022 Artist Almanac,

various tissue papers,

black gesso, gold paint &

image transfer of newsprint lettering.

Week 7

Using clear gesso to protect

a paper background from

black watercolour pencil

(instead of charcoal).

I used collage papers from

The 2022 Artist Almanac,

newsprint text &

a torn page from an old book.

This was the last page in this chapter.

Next week I begin a new chapter

with the theme of

Modeling Paste & Image Transfer.

Wanderlust 2022

For 2022 I have enrolled in the

Wanderlust art journal course

for another year.

The course is run by Everything Art.

The course this year is also

based around materials,

rather than themed,

which appealed to me.

This will be my fifth year,

but last year I fell behind

& have yet to complete the lessons.

To help me this year,

I have made a small junk journal

made from an old book,

with old book pages,

some printed papers

& even fabric.

There are three signatures,

with pages no larger than 4 x 6 inches.

I am hoping that starting each week

with a smaller page,

a page that is already imperfect,

will help me to not be too precious

about whatever I create.

I have chosen a word for the year

& using a background image from 

Eulalia Mejia

have created the first page

in my little junk journal.