Fall In Love with You!

“As I began to love myself, I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth. Today, I know, this is AUTHENTICITY.” – Charlie Chaplin

Valentine’s Day has arrived, flinging open the door to love. But when jotting down names on your Valentine card list, did you add yourself?

An article published in a local holistic magazine titled “Self-Love” caught my eye. Drawn from the wisdom of Charlie Chaplin, the article was inspiring as well as thought provoking. So often we think of others and their needs before our own. Shouldn’t self-love, or if you prefer to call it self-care, be part of our daily nurturing practise? Isn’t getting to know our authentic selves the best gift we can give to others? What is wrong with falling in love with ourselves?

I have once again decided to study Tarot. I have added Tarot to my “when I have the time” list over and over again. Taking the lead from the article, I decided to make a journal as a gift…and maybe a physical prompt…for myself.

I really love the small journals currently on sale. This little book is manufactured by C.R. Gibson and is similar to others I have altered and perfect for my next Artistcellar Design Team project. For me, journaling is more about note taking, list making and snippet saving. Similar to the other journals, the book has small folder attached to the back cover. It’s perfect for hiding away little bits of ephemera.

The cover is dusky blue faux leather. I lightly sanded it and the applied a thin coat of gesso. When dried I attached a piece of rubber stamped tea stained paper with matte medium. I have been experimenting with a variety of stamp inks, dyes and paper. I decided against using the paper covered in wax as I wanted to try hand colouring the image.

My choice of stencils was an easy one. I masked out part of Steampunk Lace stencil. It fit perfectly at the corner of the cover. Echoing the Tarot card, The Wheel of Fortune, it will be a constant reminder of karma and the fluidity of life. I built the colour with layers of Dylusions Paints and Spray using brushes, a sponge and paper towels.

Surrounding the stencil and stamped image with swabbed and splattered paint, I was nearly finished. I added the words “Carpe Diem” created from the same paper as the woman’s face. I coloured the woman’s eye and lips with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and a brush, giving the image a bit of shine.

This Valentine’s Day…and every day of the year…be kind and loving to yourself. It’s the best way to share and honor your own truth and live authentically. Simply fall in love with you! 

MATERIALS USED:

• ARTISTCELLAR: STEAMPUNK SERIES (Steampunk Lace), HALFTONE DOTS (Highlight, Midtone, Midtone 2, Shadow)
• LIQUITEX GESSO
• LIQUITEX MATTE MEDIUM
• PLAID ACRYLICS: Sunflower
• DECOART: Splendid Gold, Blue Harbor
• DINA WAKLEY MEDIA ACRYLIC: Blushing
• DYLUSIONS PAINT: Vibrant Turquoise, Cut Grass, Fresh Lime, London Blue, Crushed Grape, Squeezed Orange, Bubblegum Pink
• DYLUSIONS INK SPRAY: Bubblegum Pink
• TATTERED ANGELS GLIMMER MIST: Rouge, Pumpkin Spice, Dragonfly
• REEVES: Bronze, Gold
• MEMENTO INK DYE: Tuxedo Black
• RUBBER STAMPS
• NATURAL SPONGE
• PAPER TOWELS
• WATERCOLOUR BRUSH
• SANDING BLOCK
• PAINTER’S TAPE
• R. GIBSON JOURNAL: Markings 3.5” x 5.5”

Finding Power, Love & Serenity

"Travel brings power and love back into your life." – Rumi

TRAVEL: To go from one place to another, as on a trip; journey.

From the time I was a child the word “travel” was the genesis of my wanderlust. I couldn’t walk past a travel agency without stopping to look into their store window. Gazing at posters showing incredible scenes of cities that seemed so far away only fed my desire to travel.  I wanted to learn about the lives of the people depicted in those posters. I wanted to see for myself the towns and cities that looked so enticing even when viewed through a plate-glass window. I wanted to put pins in a map of all the places visited.  I knew I was destined to live a nomadic life.

And I have been lucky. I have visited almost all of the places that sparked my interest. And I found when traveling my journey enriched not only my physical but my spiritual life as well.  And this is why I am in love with the beautifully crafted Artistcellar Labyrinth series. Let me tell you about the journey I wandered in creating this collage.

Starting with my Strathmore Journal, I covered a page with Dye-Na-Flow Midnight Blue fabric paint using a 1” foam poly brush. While still wet, I splashed on Dye-Na-Flow Magenta followed by dripping rubbing alcohol into the wet dye. As the page dried a soft floral pattern emerged.

Although I liked the effect, I wanted to see how the dye would react on Mineral Paper. But this time I drizzled on a bit of rubber cement before coating the paper.  The beauty of Mineral Paper didn’t disappoint! I liked the way the resist seemed to flow with the dye one enhancing the other. Although the technique was the same, I now had two distinct looks. Where my journal paper produced a soft velvet effect, the mineral paper was watery, wild and wonderful. Looking at the backgrounds, I couldn’t decide. Which one should I use in the final work?  As the saying goes “You can never have too much of a good thing”, so opted to use both.

In my last collage I featured the Chartres stencil. This time I knew Crete was the one to use and stenciled directly on to the page in my Journal beginning with Viva Decor Inka Gold. I liked the effect I got the last time I used this product and polished it when dry with a soft cloth. It then became a wonderful base for shades of Silver, Gold, and Rose Red acrylics. The final element added was a vintage map.

Just working with the Labyrinths allowed me to recall the memories of my journeys. I believe travel empowers you to wander with purpose and explore the passions that drive you. Travel is more than the physical movement from one place to another. Travel resurrects the desire to explore within and find love and serenity in just being present.

MATERIALS USED

PLAID FOLKART METALLIC ACRYLICS: Rose

REEVES ACRYLICS: Silver, Gold, Rose Red

DYE-NA-FLO: Turquoise, Midnight Blue, Magenta, Sun Yellow

VIVA INKA GOLD GLOSS PAINT

NATURAL SPONGE

SOFT CLOTH

1” FOAM POLY BRUSH

RUBBING ALCOHOL

RUBBER CEMENT

MINERAL PAPER

STRATHMORE Mixed-Media Visual Journal 300 Series- 5.5" x 8.5"

LABYRINTH SERIES STENCILS FROM ARTISTCELLAR

DIGITAL IMAGES – Purchased & Created

Is Looking Through Someone Really Looking Through Yourself?

I'M LOOKING THROUGH YOU - Collage

Change is the only constant in life. How often have you pondered this quote? We welcome change when we feel we are moving in a direction that is good for us. We resist when we are uncertain of what a change hold for our future.

"Looking" is the theme of the Journal sent to me as part of a round-robin Journal exchange. When it arrived, it was like opening a jewelled treasure. The completed pages were incredible, glowing with colour, vision and creativity.

I knew this Journal was on the way to me. Prompted by the theme, The Beatles song, "I'm Looking Through You" kept playing through my mind. The lyrics tell the story of Paul McCartney's relationship with actress Jane Asher. At the time, they were growing apart, each following their own path. They didn't see eye to eye on how the relationship was to move forward.

The substrate for the page is heavy white paper. Working my way through a few fashion magazines I had at hand, ripping out photos I liked, I arbitrarily glued them down to the Journal page. My Muse was with me, and everything just seemed to "fit". I got out an alphabet rubber stamp set in a font I really like. With indigo coloured ink, I randomly stamped the lyrics to the song. Stenciling metallic acrylic paint over the glued images completed the page.

Change. When we become aware of a transformation in others, doesn't it mirror a shift we are experiencing in ourselves? For good or bad, change will always be with us. How do you recognise the winds of change?