Get Messy || no. 03

 

This week's journal entry is a bit of a hodge podge. Sometimes when I feel a little stuck, I pull a bit of inspiration from multiple sources instead of just one. The really great thing about the Get Messy group is that you begin to amass quite a collection of art and journal prompts. That way you can always find something to get the ideas flowing.

I describe this as part reminder, part self portrait, part getting creative with paint, and part washi tape.
They don't really seem like they go together...especially the washi, but I had fun finding ways to incorporate it without it being too whimsical. I wanted to try and maintain an ethereal quality. The background was the best and most time consuming part. Working with acrylic paint can sometimes be a challenge. It doesn't blend quite like watercolors, it doesn't have a long working time, it lends itself to layering which is definitely my favorite way to use it. Color on top of color...really working it in, just going with whatever happens. 

I added an old woodblock script stamp to emphasize the worn vintage look I was trying to create. In order to get it to fade away, I stamp it off a bit and dab away ink in random places. The trick is to get it to stamp unevenly. I also like to incorporate my own handwriting in pencil. I was trying to get it to look almost like an old love letter. The words above the photo read" "whatever i am is enough."
The photo is a picture of me, switched to black and white and printed on printer paper. The thinness of the paper almost gives it a translucent quality. I adhered it and painted over it using gel medium which is great as an adhesive, but also shows off brush strokes...which is really why I used it. The washi was added to give a bit of a modern touch...the color, the straight lines...I was really happy with how it turned out.

Get Messy || no.02

Oh hello, yes this is my second post in the same day. I had these posts ready to go but had yet to take decent pictures. I seriously can't wait for warmer weather and longer days.  That said,  I am posting pictures of the journal page I made for the second set of Get Messy Art Journal prompts. Still in keeping with the Season of Love theme. I did a two page spread devoted to my one and only...YOU know who you are.

I used the word "you" as both my art and my journaling. I wanted to capture the feeling of devotion and selflessness that are components of my own personal love. The word "you" is the ultimate expression of that as opposed to the words "I" or "me." Not being terribly adept at brush script, I decided to wing it without practice. I wanted to capture something that had fluidity and wasn't absolutely clear which is why I allowed the edges to bleed. I wanted the letters to appear as shapes with movement rather than a clear word. I kept the background clean creating minimal texture using paint. The words obviously are quite simple and get straight to the point. I love the idea of destiny and it was to that which I was referring.

Get Messy || no.01

As a member of the new Get Messy Art Journal group, I have been having a great time being a part of such a creative and prolific community. It has taken me a while to find my rhythm after moving, the holidays and being sick for a month, but easing into it has been good for me. You can still register for the group here if you are so inclined.

The theme this season is Love and the prompts have been superb. I love having a jumping off point and something to ponder while I come up with an idea. Like most of my pages, I often start with words...either my own or a fitting quote, lyric or excerpt from a beloved book. I then create imagery that I feel supports the word. This is where I really get to challenge myself.

My first entry is a single page which I do create from time to time. I used my handmade journal for this one. The words read..."You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens." This is a quote by Rumi that I came across on Pinterest. I believe it to be true. Heartbreak is an intrinsic part of love and can help one open up to something deeper and infinitely sweeter.  I used small bits of paper in a similar color palette to create layers. I wanted the papers to scatter from a single point mimicking the look of something shattered or broken.

Interestingly enough, just a few days ago I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and came across this quote by bonnietsang. I though it fit the idea of what I had felt when making this page so well. I love when that happens.

"Turns out, the heart must be broken into a million pieces in order to reveal your inner light. In that light, you'll see your true self resting and at peace-she has no judgement she is accepting and she is full of love."

this is happening

Yup. It's been over a month since I last blogged.  Let's call it a winter break shall we:) During my respite, I moved to a different city as noted in my last post, I drove through half the country...the upper western half and I got a month long flu. I know, I know...that's all so 2014. I am now firmly ensconced in my lovely Chicago neighborhood. I've already slipped while walking the dog...definitely a rite of passage for me. I still have far more boxes to unpack than I care to disclose. I am currently flue free...thank the heavens! and I'm thrilled and humbled to be contributing to the new Get Messy as a creative team member.

Oh Yes! You read me right. I am on my very first creative team. More than 20 years after playing in my first art journal which was really just a spiral notebook, I am now excited to be sharing my actual work. Art journaling is not just a form of messy scrapbooking, although it certainly could be if that's your thing. Art journaling is expression, it's no rules, it's experimental, it's liberating, it can be sparse or full of color, layers and texture, it's intense, it's celebratory, it's cathartic whether you speak through words or images...through layers of paint or ripped pages from books. It is poetry laid flat and covered in gesso. I don't use it to preserve my memories...I use it to process them, to explore my present and daydream about my future. It is everchanging...just like me.

If you find the idea of art journaling fascinating, you are right. It is. If you are interested in being part of a community...then the Get Messy Group might be for you. I am happy to have found it. I am happy to be sharing, and I hope that we can be friends...that we can inspire each other, and we can both...in our own little corners of the world, create, share and get messy.

Get Messy | October 30th

This month's prompt:

Journaling Challenge: Gratitude. What are you grateful for? What aspects of your life are you thankful for, that you might be overlooking while being busy?

Art Challenge: Use visual examples for at least three things you’re grateful for. Photos/doodles/magazine cut outs/stickers/anything. SHOW us your gratitude!

This was a tough prompt...mainly because it was hard to keep things simple. I'm grateful for so many things so I just ended up writing everything out on the last two pages. It ending up being one of my favorite prompts and I can see myself doing something like it every month.

Details: On the first page I actually cut out a piece of paper bag and ran it through my printer. That was a personal touch and takes me back to a childhood memory of gratitude and Thanksgiving. On the right side I used a large crosshatch rubberstamp and adhered three small B+W photos. One of Keith, one of me and one I took of the sunlight filtering through the trees during a walk. The "THIS" stamp was an obvious choice. Those three things are it for me right now. My fella, nature, and another year of life on this earth.  I filled up the following two pages with all the things for which I am grateful right now. Letting it flow out of me felt right. I might have even had a tiny happy weep as I reflected on the words and what they meant to me.

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Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practice our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal.

Get Messy | October 23rd

Hi all! Sometimes I can't believe that I have stuck with this project for so long. It has opened me up creatively and provided a welcome respite from the craziness going on in my life right now. Some big changes are coming for casa Wisniewski and I have been doing my best to process them. It's always crazy how life can change in a single moment.

This week's Get Messy entry was based on Essay 10 by Ralph Waldo Emerson entitled "Circles." I know I could have somehow used circle based imagery, but the essay is about how things are always changing and this is a lesson especially evident in nature. The passage I used reads as follows:

Life is a series of surprises. We do not guess to–day the mood, the pleasure, the power of to–morrow, when we are building up our being. Of lower states, — of acts of routine and sense, — we can tell somewhat; but the masterpieces of God, the total growths and universal movements of the soul, he hideth; they are incalculable. I can know that truth is divine and helpful; but how it shall help me I can have no guess, for so to be is the sole inlet of so to know. The new position of the advancing man has all the powers of the old, yet has them all new. It carries in its bosom all the energies of the past, yet is itself an exhalation of the morning. I cast away in this new moment all my once hoarded knowledge, as vacant and vain. Now, for the first time, seem I to know any thing rightly. The simplest words, — we do not know what they mean, except when we love and aspire. 

I love the idea that as much as the universe reveals to us we are still inherently unknowing. Life is truly a surprise. All we can do is love and aspire. 

Details: I found an old book filled with botanical illustrations. Instead of just tearing the sheet out and adding it to my book I snapped a photo with my phone and played with it a bit in Photoshop. I then printed it on a piece of distressed bluish/greenish paper. I like layering printed images on top of other printed images.  On the the left I just wrote a short quote. and included a strip of old paper that may or may not be be a piece of Scenic Route I've hoarded for years.

Before I go, I just wanted to thank you. If you left me a comment here, or on Facebook or Instagram. If you liked my work or decided to follow me. I have been inspired by the work of so many people so thanks. I deeply appreciate your time and kind words:)

Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practise our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal

Get Messy | October 16th

I was out of town until Monday night and feel like I lost a day. I guess I kinda did. It's crazy the difference one day makes. I am behind with everything...including my art journal pages. Although it would be smart to create a few pages in advance, I have not done this. I had an idea for what I wanted to do...but no real time in which to do it. A few months ago I would have blown it off...telling myself that making art journal pages was not high on the priority list, but that's the funny thing about committing to something. You get better and better with the follow-through and that sort of creeps into other parts of your life.

sorry for the weird looking pics. As a west coaster I have to get pages done a day in advance and usually that's fine, but losing time this week put a definite crimp in my plans, hence, dark ass pics. I tweaked these within an inch of their lives and they still look...off. But if you squint, they look kinda good, right? Ima try to take better ones tomorrow because I'm not sure I can live with these.
edited to add: pics have been fixed. hooray!

Details: I wanted to keep the focus on Fall and nature but create something a bit more abstract on the right. I used pieces of paper and basically created haphazard swatches. It was neat working with color using paper rather than paint. I love the way the little strips work together. I added the machine stitching for a texture. The left is a picture of pretty gold leaves but from a distance it just looks like a burst of yellow. 

Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practise our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal

Get Messy | October 9th

So far this October is shaping up to be one for the books. New projects, new opportunities mean little time for extracurriculars. It's times like this where my commitment to this Get Messy group has proved to be so important. I truly believe creativity breeds creativity. Whether it's big or small, making time to be crafty feeds my soul and makes me happy...this week was no exception.

I decided to take a page out of Maria's book (see what i did there:) and make a new journal each month. I chose to create a small volume of simple handmade books with an elastic band to keep them closed. I could have started in January, but starting now, right after my birthday feels right. I titled it "no.41" to represent my 41st year. The first entry is devoted to the Fall...my favorite season. I am a big big nature lover. Every Fall I pull out a ratty copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau and revisit some of my favorite parts. Not being a particularly religious person, I feel most connected to the universe through nature. It is where I go to pray and express gratitude, to think and work through my problems...to cry to celebrate and just be. In the spirit of Thoreau's love of simplicity, I used few supplies.

Details: on the right side I printed a picture I recently took directly onto some book text scrapbook paper by Mustard Moon. It is several years old and I'm not certain the company even exists anymore. I adjusted the opacity a bit so the picture would not look too harsh. I used some old Cosmo Cricket alphabet stickers for the "Fall" at the bottom. On the left I kept everything to one corner. All the stamps are super old wood block stamps by Stampin' Up and the little bird is by Inkadinkado. I used a stamp for the paint splatter and a label die cut from an old Studio Calico kit. 

Sometimes digging through old supplies is like finding treasure. It's so easy to forget that much like in life...I already have everything I need to be happy right at this very moment.

Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practise our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal

Get Messy | October 2nd

So today is my birthday. A year ago I was traipsing around Paris and this year finds me home with nothing much planned. I know some people are freaked out by their 40's, but it really is pretty great. I'm thankful I was taught to truly treasure age and the aging process. I'm glad I lived with a grandfather who told stories and a grandmother who showed me that there is so much beauty in age (even if it includes hair dye and red lipstick). I'm also lucky to have pretty good genes. The only thing I really want for my life as I inch toward my golden years is adventure. I find that I am more fearless than I have ever been. I don't know how that happened but age has a funny way changing you in ways you never expected. Here's to another year of being 40 something.

Details: I am pretty much obsessed with gold splatters much like the rest of the world:) But I wanted a no fuss approach. My favorite go to craft hack is a splatter rubberstamp and some gold embossing powder. This way I manage to get that molten look I want without having to wait for anything to dry. The photo of myself is layered and topped with some polka dotted vellum. You can't really tell but i tucked a small coin envelope under the picture and put a tag in it with some private journaling. 

Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practise our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal

Get Messy | September 25th

 This week's journal entry was inspired by the following prompt:

Journaling Challenge: Live your adventurous dreams on paper. What would you love to do, or at least try, if you had the courage to live more adventurously? I would, for example, like to live on a houseboat or a train wagon.
Art Challenge: Try a method or material you’ve never worked with before. Be adventurous!

I approached the challenge pretty literally.  Interestingly enough, I've explored this topic before in other journals, but I decided to create something new. My fantasy adventure is kinda funny but I would love to mine for gold. My husband and I watch all the Discovery shows, we've watched documentaries...we're both super fascinated by the whole thing. Lacking all experience and knowledge I don't intend to actually pursue this line of work, but I do like daydreaming about it.

On the left side I chose to just do a bit of abstract embroidery. This is something I've wanted to try for a while. I've sewn on layouts and such but never embroidered. For a while I hunted for a pattern, but eventually gave up and created a freestyle design of my own. I wanted to recreate the look of little gold nuggets below ground. I really loved it and can't wait to do it again.

The right side is just a line from one of my favorite songs by the amazing Jill Scott. This song came out about 10 years ago and I still listen to it all the time. It's all about freedom and whenever I listen to it I can't help but feel...golden.

Details: The background is by Crate Paper...I think it's a little bit on the older side. The right side was written by me, but I based my type style on the Emmascript font.  I used a fine tip gold Sharpie paint pen so it would show up on the dark paper. The bits and pieces at the bottom is a tiny strip of kraft/shiny gold paper for which I do not know the source, a tiny piece of gold polka dot washi and a small gold banner tab that I got in a Studio Calico kit a few months ago.

 

Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practise our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal

Get Messy | September 18th

I always get a little bit excited when September rolls around. Not only does it mean that Fall is right around the corner but it is also the month of fashion. With New York fashion week wrapped up and Paris fashion week set to begin quite soon. I enjoy immersing myself in a world of color, texture and pattern...if only for a little while.

I was inspired to create a different sort of journal entry this week inspired by my love of fashion and how my own understanding of it has evolved. I use to believe that great fashion and style were synonymous and you couldn't have one without the other. I no longer find that to be true. I wrote a post about fashion and style a few years ago...you can find it here.

Details: I wanted this layout to look slightly editorial as a nod to my beloved fashion magazines. I kept the type simple and chose to include a photo of my very red lips since it relates to the journaling. I drew the photo of the girl using a .005 Micron Pen and a red Sharpie for the lips...I liked the girl's hair because it reminded me of my own...the drawing itself is heavily inspired by the marvelous Garance Doré.

For the record:

I have never actually been to a fashion show...The mall ones don't count right?
I was in Paris during Fashion week last year and it was pretty fabulous.
So were Kim and Kanye.
I use to work across the street from Chanel and a block away from Barney's and never went in.
The closest I've ever been to any designer was when I helped the Mulleavy sisters choose paper.
 

  
Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practise our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal

Get Messy | September 11th

 

 

this week's journal entry is based on one of my favorite poems by E.E. Cummings:

 

maggie and milly and molly and may 
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang 
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing 
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone 
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me) 
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea

I love this poem. I memorized it when I was little and have often repeated it to myself like a nursery rhyme. I grew up a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. The beach was my playground...literally. My father would push me on the swings while the sun dipped and the waves crashed in the background.

It is so true, that for me, the sea is where I find myself. Where my troubles are soothed by salty air and crashing waves. When I leave I feel like a child again...hopeful, optimistic and filled with joy.

DETAILS: I decided to use only three paint colors...two shades of blue and gray. The white is only layers of gesso. I built the layers on top of regular white cardstock. I loved limiting myself to those three colors and trying to achieve depth through layers. I added some faint handwriting in pencil. I just repeated parts of the poem and my own musings. This is one of my favorite techniques. The picture is me on Bainbridge Island taken in April of this year. My husband took it while I wasn't looking and although you can't see my expression, I remember clearly the joy I felt that day. I added that tiny star as a way of connecting that quote to the full poem:

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practise our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal

Get Messy | September 4th

 It rained super hard Tuesday night...a thunderous short lived power rain. It suddenly occurred to me...it's September. I feel like this is the time of year when everything just moves fast. I think that's a side effect of getting older. The world just moves at lightning speed which makes me feel a contrary need to slow everything down. I wish my favorite books lasted an extra chapter or two, I wish my favorite shows included a few more episodes...i feel the need to stop and really see things, hear things and eat up every minute, but time waits for no man and as the poem goes...

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old time is still a-flying;

And this same flower that smiles today

Tomorrow will be dying.

                       

 I kinda wish I wrote that poem out on my journal page, but I thought of it after I made the layout. I woke up Wednesday morning to big fat glorious raindrops on all of my roses. The sun was shining and the drops were sparkling and I got in there and took a super close-up. I have two journals going right now...a simple moleskine and another larger book. I intend to use them both interchangeably. I like this little one for more simple entries vs the messier ones.

This particular spread is pretty simple. Since the Moleskine pages are pretty thin, I glue them together and I avoid any water or paint directly on the paper itself. On the left page I just cut up some paper..inspired by these fun raindrop images. On the right, I just included my super close rose pic. You can see the raindrops up close...but from a distance it just looks like a cloud of color. I layered the picture on a paint swatch...I knew I stole those for something:) shhh, don't tell.

Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practise our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal

BTW...if you're interested, I restocked the shop today!

Get Messy | August 28th

It's been slow going this summer. My attentions have been divided between work, the shop, and typical summer extracirculars...like catching up on House of Cards and drinking lots of Prosecco. It had been a couple months since I touched my art journal even though I would tell myself everyday to make time for it. I just wasn't feeling it and then I started noticing the "Get Messy" hashtag on Instagram. I was super inspired not to mention hooked. When Caylee gave me a chance to get in on the action I was excited. It was just the push I needed to get back into it.

My first layout also happens to combine this month's prompt:

Journal challenge: Who are you? If you had one page to show the world who you are what would you put on it?
Art challenge: Use anything except an actual photo of yourself to make a self portrait.

I chose to interpret the idea of portrait by using a question mark as my base and filling it with images that are a part of me, but not my face. Some are pretty obvious...others are more obscure. The conclusion is that I'm still a work in progress...a delightful combination of the things and people I love.

I kept things super simple and just used white cardstock, some gesso and watercolors and the pictures...that's it.

Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practise our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal

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