AJC10 Week 10 - A Blank Page? (double page layout)

One of the alternative journalling prompt for this week was "What's your first reaction to a blank page or canvas?" I blogged about blank pages last year Oct/Nov time as I was trying to find me. The journalled poem appeared in my main blog then, but I've now added to it for the Art Journal Caravan.

Credits:
Background papers - Studio Tangie @ SBG, Nature Notes papers
Journal book - Studio Tangie @ SBG, Art Journal Caravan, Steamer Trunk Elements

AJC10 Week 10 - Sometimes I wish I could point... 2 minds

This double-page layout came about because of a project appearing on a blog by Graphics Fairy. The phrenology images were freebies. With the week I've had, the words just came to me yesterday morning. The picture of me is from a few years ago from a Halloween dress-up but the colours suited the layout.

Credits:

Background papers - Studio Tangie @ SBG, Enchanted Art Box kit, Artist Canvas papers

Phrenology heads - Graphics Fairy blog @ Blogspot

Black and white striped border - Studio Tangie @ SBG, Enchanted Art Box kit, Altered add-ons

Sparkles - Studio Tangie @ SBG, Industrial Velvet, Elements

AJC10 Week 10 - To be free at Last - Scrap-inspired by Fran Horne

(Forgive the quality of the photo - the piece is red, white and black).

Last Saturday, I took the decision to go to Malvern, a place where I used to live when I was first married. My first marriage was short but was mentally abusive and whilst I love Malvern, there's still a small part of me that fears going there. Anyway, despite feeling nervous, I survived, and found that an art exhibition was on in one of the shops. The artist (Fran Horne) is a book artist and the exhibition was inspiring, as the artist's style could easily be adapted for art journalling. Her website shows some of the work that was on exhibition http://www.franhorne.co.uk/ and my page above is inspired by her work. The page is from "The Self-Esteem Companion" by McKay, Fanning, Honeychurch and Sutker, a book that I accidently ordered twice, but rather than send it back, I thought I would alter one copy and then I saw the Fran Horne Exhibition and it felt serendipendous to do that to a page. The page on "Freeing Your Body" appeared to be relevant for this week

Pens - Kuretake

AJC10: Week 10 - Life can be a bit of a Circus

This week's task was to "explore the idea of entertainment and how sometimes life really is like a circus!" At the beginning of the week I learnt that it's unlikely that I'm going to get any help from the Local Mental Health team after all now to help me address the mental issues behind my bingeing eating. I'm gathering my own strength to face this myself. The tightrope is actually from a washing-line digital kit so it set the tone of the piece, that sometimes there are just so many things that need to be done or need our attention all at once, hence the hulu ring and ring of flames behind the walker.

Credits:

"Wall" Background paper - Tangie Baxter @ SBG, Art Journal Caravan Week 10 Parcel

"Floor" and back border - Tangie Baxter @ SBG, Penelope & Priscilla kit

Curtains and Golden Lace - Tangie Baxter @ SBG, Centre Stage kit

Art Dolls - Tangie Baxter collab @ SBG, Hello Dollie

Rope, clothes pegs, and clothes - Laurie Ann, ScrapArtist, Fresh Laundry kit

AJC10: A summary of my week - last week

Postcards home

Credits:

Paper and elements from Tangie Baxter, Art Journal Caravan Week 9 parcel

except for postcard - from Studio Gypsy, Paper Fluff 1

AJC10: Smallest of things

This was a photo I took last summer and blogged, but I liked its simplicity so had to include it for a week on the power of imagery.

Credits:
Background, string, and picture frames - Soaring kit, Studio Zampf @ SBG

AJC10: Week 9 - Peace

My second layout for last week incorporated the quote for the week from Margaret Fairless Barber. I wanted a pared-down layout with the zen garden background, but I added the orchids to give some colour to the piece. I slightly recoloured the "peace come from within" quote and split around the main quote, as otherwise it disappeared into the background.

Credits:

Zen background, "Peace" quote and orchid stem (multi-layered) - Orchid Dreams Awakening Kit, Studio Phlong @ SBG

Paint spot - Art Journal Caravan Week 9 parcel, Studio Tangie @ SBG

AJC10 Last week - The power of Imagery - Drifting Off

Last week's Itinerary was to explore "the idea of an image that is really powerful, calming, exciting, energizing, refreshing": a mediation image that might keep you calm and refreshed, centred or focused. Periodically my son can't sleep. Sometimes he's overtired or ill or it's because of previous bad dreams. I used to receive relaxation lessons to help me anxiety and over the years he and I have used one of the visualizations as a way of getting him to sleep.

We imagine we're laying on a beach, with golden sand, peaceful waves that lap gently on the beach and wispy clouds that are float in the sky of blue. The visualisation does vary each time I tell it but usually it does the trick - in fact last time, I nearly fall asleep telling it. I darkened the floral frame that I put inside the doorway and multiplied it to represent the nightmares and inability to sleep, but the doorway shows the beach bed and the light waiting to banish the nightmarish dark away

Credits:
Room with doorway frame, Floral and tree frame (decoloured and darkened), Beach paper, Hammock and Umbrella elements - Fishy Island Kit, Lorie Davison @ SBG
Paper strip used for journalling from Keeper of Time kit, Studio Gypsy @ SBG