Welcome, Art Journal Enthusiasts! I have a new Art Journal Spread to share with you; I've titled it, The Dividing Line. This particular spread features Modeling Paste, home-made by me. I used a mix of gesso and baking soda, which can be really crumbly and messy if you don't use enough gesso to make it look like cement. This takes practice, messy practice. *wink*
My goal with this spread was to test out this home made-modeling paste to see how well it would work with a stencil, and this time I made a stencil of my own with long dividing lines. I knew pretty quickly I was going to use them across the top of the page, but I also decided ahead of time that I wanted to put some color down first since when I used modeling paste before without color on the background, I didn't like it as much. I used a brayer to lay down watercolor paint; this is the FIRST time I've used a brayer to lay down color. I have used brushes, sponges and even my fingers, but not a brayer.
First tip with a brayer: always make sure it's clean before you use it! I had to put down many layers of watercolor before I was satisfied with the coverage. Plus the color was very washy, not thick and dry. (This is not acrylic paint, so there's a bit more effort put in since watercolor isn't opaque and takes more applications for good coverage.) But once I used the brayer, I found that I LOVED the textured look I got from using it, versus laying down color with a brush. Once I had the color down, then I applied the modeling paste with my hand-made stencil. Very messy procedure but I loved the result. That's when the name of this spread came to me, since the lines were creating divided space. So I decided to tear some good 'ole colored construction paper into pieces and stamped out the letters individually, then adhered them with matte medium. I later edged them with more watercolor; love that look.
As I filled in more of the space, It almost felt like a cliff with a dam of water both visually and viscerally, so I decided to emphasize a separation between the top of the page and the bottom. I tore some gold colored magazine pages into pieces and used those to create a division. I also used a small round sponge on a wooden stick to add more watercolor after I used the brayer and created lines of "water" coming down in a circular motion; as I did this, the idea of a turning came to mind. Then I realized the connection: The Dividing Line Becomes a Turning Point! Wow.
I absolutely love it when this happens; do you know why? Because when I play in my art journal, I gain understanding of myself and my life experiences, bringing the subconscious to the fore. The realization with this spread is a perfect example of what I mean. Once I had this idea solidly in mind, the rest of the spread just fell into place. From the application of the words "Becomes a" to the words, "Turning Point." For "becomes a", I used a white Uniball pen on stamps for the letters, reinforcing the letters with pen directly on the page for solid coverage. I LOVE the contrast of white on the darker bluish hue. It really POPS.
For the "turning" word, I wanted it to express itself with its meaning, so I stamped it out in a turning manner. And for "Point," I wanted it to have a directness to it, so I included an arrow pointing at the end and highlighted the letters with my white Uniball pen. I also painted the dividing lines with a gold color. I love the contrast of the gold with the bluish hue.
I really enjoyed the process of creating this spread, the realization of learning more about myself, about making decisions and how those decisions can become turning points toward authenticity. We all want to be authentic, don't we? Each decision we make can help us be more authentic than ever.
Sometimes when we face a life challenge, it can feel like a dividing line, especially when we determine to say NO to something we were once saying Yes to. But once we make that decision, knowing it brings us into our authentic path when we do, it becomes a turning point of truth in our lives. When we know the truth and live it, we are free, aren't we? Journaling Prompt: Have you recently experienced something that felt like a division or a change of direction for you? If so, detail it in your journal, including how you felt and responded to the realization that you needed to make a change of direction toward authenticity. Affirm your choice to Stay Aligned with Who You Are.
Art Journal Prompt:
Dedicate a page or spread to a recent decision you made, changing from YES to NO or from NO to YES; you may want to use the NO or YES as your starting point and stamp out the meaning behind the decision. Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring Copyright 2015 Art Journal Images by Dawn Herring
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This Refresh Daily Rewind video focuses on dealing with False Starts and what we can learn about our creative process with the decision on where to go from a place of uncertainty and finding the value in every courageous step we take in our creative lives.
This Refresh Daily Rewind video is about Going Slow and how that can make a difference in your creative flow as well as in other areas of your life.
Here is my next Refresh Daily Rewind installation with my new video series for Getting Back to the Basics of Activating Your Creative Center with the topic, Life Practices, where I talk about how they can make a difference in our daily lives.
Here is my newest installation of Refresh Daily Rewind, where we get back to the basics of activating our creative center. In this video, our topic turns to the Heart. From my sincerely refreshed heart to yours!
I also wanted to show how the main featured top has the cut outs by the collar, the red tank I layered with as well as the necklace I chose for the jewelry enhancement (an Avon selection gifted to me by my sister) of this particular outfit. I love red for its vibrancy so I wanted to accentuate the reds in the top with the tank and the necklace. I'm also wearing earrings that match the necklace not shown in the photo above.
Now it's YOUR TURN! Journaling Prompt: What kind of colors inspire you? Are they vibrant, bright and fun? Or are they more subdued, interesting and mysterious? Do you have these inspiring colors in YOUR wardrobe? What do these colors speak to you? What kind of action do they inspire in you? What Creative expression can you initiate with these colors? Art Journaling Prompt: Take the same colors that inspire you and feature them especially in your next art journal spread to honor your preferences and show what they speak to you, either in cut out letters, stamped quotes, or a doodle dedication to all colors that you love and why you love them. Remember to give yourself permission to try some new combinations in your wardrobe. You never know what will make you feel absolutely fabulous! @2015 by Dawn Herring @2015 Images by Dawn Herring @2015 Header by Dawn Herring I think Experiment is one of my favorite Art-Related words. Experimentation implies trying something new, or perhaps adding a fresh approach to something you've already done. My art lends to experimentation, whether I'm Playing in my Art Journal, starting a new watercolor painting or trying my hand at mixed media on canvas, all of which I am doing now! Yikes. You might wonder why I say Yikes in regards to my venues. Let me explain. Back in 2014, when I was in the midst of a residential move, I decided that once I settled into my new home, I was going to make space for another venue in addition to my art journal and my watercolor painting. I know. Like I'm not busy creating enough already, right? Well, I've kept an art journal for 4 1/2 years now, and am still loving it. Wouldn't change a thing on that end. But I was still intrigued with the idea of applying the same principles I've learned in my play time with my art journal to a canvas. I had already worked with canvas with watercolor, so I wanted to see what it would be like to add more than one medium to that substrate. And I had several ideas to work with already. (I always have more ideas than I know what to do with.) So I determined that I would make extra space in my new art studio space for mixed media work. I was going to have FUN with this! First I had to determine what kind of desk or table I would use and eventually settled on my previously used computer cart (which I was no longer using for my computer since I now had a separate desk for that), which has wheels on it, so I could move it if necessary...I like the idea of portability when you need it. So once I settled on that, I knew I would need to make the additional space for it. And there was another piece of furniture that needed to be moved. So for a while, once I put it in there, I felt very cramped. And cramped is not a good feeling. (Once that piece of furniture was removed, it felt better.) Then I decided to get myself an additional french easel for my studio space so I could paint either in the bedroom (where my other one resides) or I could paint in my larger studio. (Hubby actually suggested that!) So I got another one. Now I have three separate spaces in my studio to create with: one for my art journal, one for my mixed media work and one for fine art watercolor painting. So you'd think I would just jump right in with them all and get to playing, right? Um. Well, not right away. I was currently working on "Forge," which is now posted on my art gallery, I had an art journal spread started and waiting for my return. I started that mixed media canvas and kept running into blocks with it since I wanted to be sure to use only high quality products for my work and some stuff I wanted I had yet to acquire, yadda, yadda, yadda. With all that said, I let my art journal languish for about three weeks. Yes. Three Weeks. Oh, I would piddle with it once in a while but found I didn't have the energy to pursue it since I was so focused on "Forge." So here I was, I had met my goal of having all three projects going at once. You know, so I could work on whatever I felt like working on when I wanted to. But, honestly, I felt blocked. Even burdened. Burdened?? Yes. Like I was carrying too much. And I was losing the playful, intuitive energy that I so loved and wanted as a creative person. You see, I really wanted to know what it felt like to be so productive as an artist; not that I didn't really want to try all these things, because I did and still do. But I needed to pace myself more so than ever; there are only so many hours and minutes in my day. So I must learn to be more gentle with myself and truly only do as much as I want to and not try to set expectations for myself that aren't necessary. (And we all have that tendency at one point or another, don't we?)
I don't want my art to start to feel too much like WORK in all caps. Oh, I know creating takes energy and time and sometimes it is work, especially when you want it to look just right and you make a perceived error or something doesn't work out the way you want it to, etc. But I want my ART to always be a place where I can feel free to listen, to play, to intuit and to Honor Myself as artist as much as possible. And Not Allow Resistance to Have Sway over my Creative Life. And So It IS. And I AM Blessed. Art Journal/Journaling Prompt: Do you ever feel blocked as an artist once you have a met a goal you've kept for yourself in order to grow creatively? Detail this experience in your journal, describing where you were at the time you determined this goal and where you were when you met that goal. Did it meet your expectations? Were you surprised by how you felt? How did it affect your creative process? Did it stay the same, feel amazing or burdensome? If it felt heavy to you, what did you do to get yourself to a better place of balance? Affirm your place of creativity visually in your art journal. Draw a picture of your space or cut out pics that remind you of your place of creatvity. Write affirmations and use images to show what you love about your creative space and any goals you're met and are happy about. Also, dream about what your next step will be; detail in your written journal and create a visual to honor your goal. Remember to Honor Your Preferences, Your Personality and Purpose in your Creative Expression and give yourself breathing room when necessary. And also remember, it's all in the experiment! Copyright 2015 Dawn Herring Spring! Ah, it has arrived and is marching forward as I type. I did this spread a day before spring commenced and am just getting the time to post about it now. But, alas, the trees are budding, the birds are singing and dancing and having a grand ole time enjoying their favorite time of year (I would assume, with all that fabulous creative energy going on!). When I started this art journal spread, I used a new stamp with small circles on it that I purchased from Hobby Lobby. I love circles, so it's perfect. A bit different from using bubble wrap. Once I had that down, I started tearing collage elements from fodder I pulled from my stash. I began laying it out in various places, creating a composition of sorts in the process. This gave me a structure to build on with this spring sentiment in mind. I will call this spread my stencil and stamp spread since I used new art items I had just purchased and was excited to try out and play with. Experimenting is key when it comes to art journaling. (Yes, I think that bears repeating.) The 2nd image above is a close up of the second bird I stenciled on this spread, the first you can see in the first image on the right page. I use a cosmetic sponge to apply watercolor paint to create the image from the stencil. Very key to use just the right amount of water with the pigment so it doesn't bleed. You have to practice to make it work well. I decided to paint in a stamp of a rose on this bird above. I used several small flower stamps after I stenciled in a few round flowers with petals in various spots. At that point I realized that this spread was about spring! with the colors, the images of birds and flowers and such. So that's when I decided to create the word structure, The First Signs of spring. I always have the option to stamp in the letters directly on the page or stamp on colored construction paper and adhere the squares I cut out to the page. So I did a combination of both. I love this process. It's so much fun to see it come together as I lay out where the words will go and how the individual letters can be laid out. As you can see in the above image, I shifted the letters so they give the impression of a springing step. Once I had this complete, I decided I needed something to fill the white space that remained. I gave myself a day to consider it and came back with the idea of spattering watercolor paint lightly to give it some color without overwhelm. I used a paint brush and my finger to release the paint lightly directly onto the page so it looks sprayed. I was pleased with how it came out!
So, the first signs of spring...the birds, the budding trees, the flowers beginning to bloom, (the fire ant mounds in Texas after some good rains)...but what about YOUR Spring? Art Journal/Journaling Prompt: Spring is always associated with New Life budding and blooming. What is budding in your heart? What dreams are trying to break through your heart's soil? Any seeds planted long ago that you buried never to believe they'd have a place at some point? What are you ready for that you've been hesitating about? Right a list of the seeds of spring that you want to grow. Then take one of those items, one that you are drawn to most, and use it as a journal prompt to riff on. See what comes up. Or do a mind map with the word of that seed and see what associations arise. Or you can take the word and create an art journal spread to honor that seed dream you want to make real. Then write a first step you can take to implement it, no matter how small. Just acknowledging it is Honoring to Who You Are. Spring is my favorite time of year. It's when I see and hear my mocking bird the most. And now I have a growing collection of videos I've taken of his gorgeous song and his beautiful dance! But I also love listening to the dreams of my heart, detailing them in my journal. So I keep painting, keep playing in my art journal, keep nurturing those dreams to make them fruitful. Enjoy your Inner Spring and Celebrate Who You Are and What You Dream every day..and then go make it happen! Copyright 2015 Dawn Herring Copyright 2015 Images by Dawn Herring Collection, Dawn Herring HAPPY NEW YEAR!! WELCOME TO 2015!
I wanted to share with you my art journal spread for the New Year. I had been thinking about what to do with it for several days. I considered cutting out whole numbers from a green background, but that simply didn't suit me. I also considered painting numbers but that didn't feel right either. So I let it sit for a couple of days. Then the idea of creating numbers from torn paper in collage style came to mind. Ah, eureka! So I went into my stash of collage materials (mostly pulled from magazines) and found a recently pulled full page of a green-faced watch. Hmmm. I've been loving the color green lately, drawn to it for a myriad of reasons, so green certainly seemed the way to go. Plus, a watch represents time, and with a New Year as the theme, well, it just kind of went hand in hand, right? So I tore away, putting bits of green and silver color together and formed 2015 across the spread. Plus various bit of paper in the rest of the space. Once I had that down, I added some green paint that I randomly dabbled on directly from the tube, then scraped with an old credit card. In another sitting, I added more paint with a small circle sponge, highlighting with black and then more green. Then I added some green oil pastel to highlight various spots. As the final layer, I stamped HAPPY NEW YEAR with upper case alpha stamps, adding two layers of New Year so you get a double view randomly placed. I stamped it with Jan 1 15 this morning to show it completed and then signed my Dawn Herring signature in the top left area with a green pen. That was my actual artistic process with this spread. Art journaling, to me, is a multi-dimensional approach to using my creativity, giving me opportunity to listen to my intuition by going with what feels right, and just having fun with color, texture, mixed media, and expressing myself in Who I Am. I highly recommend art journaling as a creative process for folks with this New Year or at least some kind of creative expression that helps you Honor Who You Are very directly and even indirectly. Sometimes those subtle impressions speak volumes. Oh, and of course, I journaled my way through the process as well, talking about what I felt about my decisions and how happy I was once I figured out what I wanted to do with it to start. Sometimes the starting is the hardest. But it pays off when you listen carefully. And the more you practice listening, the better you'll get at hearing the inner wisdom we essentially need for every day of the year. I'll leave you with a journal prompt: How can I best listen to my Intuition in this New Year, and what creative way can I express myself to Honor Who I Am? (If you're already keeping an art journal, use this prompt for your next spread.) Enjoy your first day of 2015 and beyond...Honoring Your Personality, Your Preferences and Your Purpose in Life. Copyright 2015 by Dawn Herring I love finding sources of artistic inspiration wherever I happen to be. I can never know what will inspire me, whether it's a design on a pillow or texture in the woods... I recently went on an adventure in a local park with my hubby. It was spontaneous really, but I also felt it would be the perfect fulfillment of an adventure assignment I wanted to take on with Jani Franck's ecourse, Unearth Your Creative Nature, which was to go on an adventure and see how it changes you. So, my time in the woods with hubby became just that; I had a wonderful time, with camera in hand, ready to capture anything I was drawn to. One of the first things I noticed was the TEXTURES of the woods. I absolutely LOVE texture, whether I'm creating it on the page in my art journal, or creating textured detail with my paintbrush using my beloved watercolor. So when I saw all this delightful texture all around me, I was determined to capture it in image and hope to use it in my artwork, whether overtly or subtly. I love the spindly look of these first two images, with the thin, pointy type of foliage on the branches of trees and bushes. I love the contrast also of this with the mottled, shadowy background to the right. I also thought the spindly look of these branches created an interesting contrast against the green-leaved back drop as well as the shadows cast on the ground. The contrasts of textures and backdrops fascinated me; it showed me the diversity of nature, which makes for a very creative-inspired landscape. It taught me that it's how we stand out that makes us unique. The image below right I think is one of my favorites; what an interesting texture and color with was look like swirls of bark on this tree; it reminds me of the swirls on a layered blouse of sorts. It was even more inspiring in person! I think I especially appreciate the contrast of this bark against the browns and greens of the foliage and branches surrounding it that really caused this tree to stand out to me. The tree bark in the next photo below left is even a contrast to the one at right; it's a bit more typical of what I see on a tree trunk and yet I was still drawn to its textures and the green and gray sources growing on its surface. We can be happy with exactly how we look, even if it's not typical to others in our environment. After I took these photos of tree trunks in all their delightful textures, contrasts and contexts, I saw a left over stump from a tree close to my feet. I had to really squat down close up to get this shot. I liked the randomness of the twigs surrounding it and the naturalness of what was past versus what is present and potential for change. Even when we see a situation that looks like nothing good can come from it, just a stump of what's left over from a painful experience, if we're patient, honest with ourselves and stay aligned with Who We Are, we are bound to find truth and beauty in ways and places unexpected. We just have to be open to look for them. Then we'll see the sun, glorious upon our surroundings and in our hearts, bringing hope and healing to the broken places. Restoration to what was lost. Let your heart sing now and it will come to pass. Copyright 2014 by Dawn Herring |
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Dawn HerringDawn engages in many roles: As Writer/Blogger and Artist/Creative and Founder of Refresh with Dawn Herring: Where Art and JOY Align, She enjoys sharing from her vast experience as award-winning, life-long artist and leader in the field of written journaling, offering encouragement and proven tips to other journal keepers. Dawn's focus is on written journal keeping, artistic expression and finding your Creative Voice, and positive change that leads personal empowerment, encouraging you to leave your authentic and positive mark in the world. Dawn is a Commercial artist, hand letterer/illustrator and writer/blogger and enjoys sharing insights, humor, and encouragement as she shares from her life experiences as a woman, wife, mother of two grown daughters and as a Grandparent to a special needs grandson. She enjoys keeping a journal and reading spiritual texts to help keep the light on. May JOY Align with Your Creative Heart. Archives
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