You are Resilient

Day 7 of 7
of Kasia Avery's
Soothe Me
art journal event.

I had already prepped my old typing manual pages
with a wash of diluted white gesso primer
by Daler-Rowney.

I added a layer of clear gesso
by Liquitex,
then a wash of Pentel watercolour paints
in purple & blue.

I printed out my words,
mounted them on more of the painted paper as before,
to bring cohesion to the seven spreads.

Finally, I added some Posca paint pen doodling,
washi tape
& a date stamp.

The number 7 also crept in
& I have added the day number
to the other six spreads.

Below is a video flip through of my journal.

One inchie at a time

Day 6 of 7
of Kasia Avery's
Soothe Me
art journal event.

I had already prepped my old typing manual pages
with a wash of diluted white gesso primer
by Daler-Rowney.

My inchie grid was drawn with
a black Pigma Micron pen.

Doodles added, one inchie at a time.

Coloured in with a black Stabilo All pencil
& a wet brush.

Then I added the date stamp.

Trying to keep calm & carry on.

Raw Emotions

Day 5 of 7
of Kasia Avery's
Soothe Me
art journal event.

I had already prepped my old typing manual pages
with a wash of diluted white gesso primer
by Daler-Rowney.

The three circles were drawn
with a black Posca paint pen.

Words were written
with a black Pigma Micron pen,
then rewritten over in a white Posca paint pen.

The circles were filled with torn painted paper,
mixed from Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paints
(Ruby & Lemon) with white gesso on top,
then colour added to the rest of the page
with Tim Holtz Distress Crayons
(picked raspberry/spiced marmalade/mustard seed).

I am trying to use a different medium each day.

Then I added the date stamp.

Today we were suppose to let our emotions out.

No trouble there then.

They are bubbling there, just under the surface.

Raw & deep felt.

I am sad, because I saw my parents today,
unable to kiss or hug either of them
was just too painful.

I feel like the world is
spiralling out of control
& there is nothing I can do.

I feel helpless,
completely helpless.

The flowers will bloom again

Day 4 of 7
of Kasia Avery's
Soothe Me
art journal event.

I had already prepped my old typing manual pages
with a wash of diluted white gesso primer
by Daler-Rowney.

I stamped a floral images
(which I think are by Dawn Bibby)
with black Archival Ink.

Added a layer of clear gesso
by Liquitex.

Added a wash of Pentel watercolour paints
in two different blues & white,
then with a wet brush,
removed some of the watercolour pigment
from the flower petals & leaves,
revealing the white page beneath.

Then I added some Posca paint pen doodling
& a date stamp.

Each day seems to be getting harder.

Each day that passes hurts a little more.

But my daffodils are in flower,
the tree blossom is about to burst open,
the gardens birds are singing cheerily
as nature continues oblivious to
our current situation.

One day at a time ...

Daily Gratitudes

Day 3 of 7
of Kasia Avery's
Soothe Me
art journal event.

I had already prepped my old typing manual pages
with a wash of diluted white gesso primer
by Daler-Rowney.

I added torn pieces of already painted paper
from the same typing manual as my base pages,
which had been created to use up spare
Dina Wakley Media acrylic paints
(lemon/lapis with white gesso)
leftover from a past project.

I used
Faber-Castell Gelatos
(Chocolate/Limoncello/
Pistachio/Margarita Mix)
to add more colour.

Then I used my black & white Posca paint pens
& a gold Signo pen,
to doodled over the Gelatos.

Next I watered down some black acrylic paint
(from ecogreen crafts)
& splattered my pages
& my desk
& my computer screen ...

Once I had cleaned that mess up,
I added a small butterfly image
(already printed & cut out
from the Graphics Fairy),
some Masté washi tape
& a date stamp.

Day three I am grateful that I find peace
in time spent in my art studio
being creative.

I am grateful for the spirit of friendship & community
shown by my Instagram followers & those I follow.

I am grateful that at present my family is well.

Stronger Together

Day 2 of 7
of Kasia Avery's
Soothe Me
art journal event.

I had already prepped my old typing manual pages
with a wash of diluted white gesso primer
by Daler-Rowney.

Still feeling in a splattery mood,
I grabbed some Neocolor II pastels by Caran d'Ache
(Malachite Green/Olive/Metallic Gold)
& flicked my water brush over them
on to the pages.

I added some old tissue paper
& a date stamp.

Today's word was isolation,
so I opted for a few black circles
doodled with my black Posca Paint Pen.


Countries,
communities,
families
& friends
are all experiencing isolation.

We are all united by isolation.

We might be in isolation,
but we are not alone,
we are in this together
& together we are stronger.

What if ?

Day 1 of 7
of Kasia Avery's
Soothe Me
art journal event.

I had already prepped my old typing manual pages
with a wash of diluted white gesso primer
by Daler-Rowney.

I splattered the background with
watered down Distress Ink
(in broken china & peeled paint).

I added my words with
my black Stabilo All pencil,
& then having sharpen the pencil
I sprinkled the black shavings over the page
then sprayed with a mist of water,
letting the inks & words run.

After drying with a heat gun,
I added a little more Distress Ink
in broken china,
Masté washi tape,
a date stamp
& doodled a border with
my black Posca Paint Pen.

On day one,
these two words were swirling
around in my head,
making me uncertain,
uptight & a little scared.

Seeing them written down on my page
& partially dissolved with water,
removed their potency.

Soothe Me

Kasia Avery at Everything Art
is hosting a free
7 day art journal event
entitled
Soothe Me.

I made a small journal
which measures 4 x 6 inches.

The cover uses prints of two of my pages
from her Advent Calendar event
held in December 2019.

I thought these two pages
were very apt for this event.

I added a new title
(which are words cut from an old novel)
doodling with a black Pigma pen
& a piece of Masté washi tape.

Inside there is one signature
stitched with paper string,
with eight pieces of paper
creating a journal with 32 pages.

I used pages from an old typing manual.

I prepped the pages with a wash of
diluted white gesso primer
by Daler-Rowney.

You can see the original pages below.

Front Cover

Back Cover