Cath Sheard Art

Tag: art journal

  • My journals are a safe place

    My journals are a safe place to play, experiment, and say whatever’s on my mind and in my heart. I share most of the pages I create, but there are a few that stay unseen in my journals. Alan’s away at the moment, so yesterday Sandra, Bruno and I went to New Plymouth playing Munzees after I’d taken Tony out for morning tea – he doesn’t want to go out for lunch at the moment for some reason. We had a fun day, and both earned a badge we didn’t expect to – it was fun!

    I’m heading to Hokitika on Thursday for about 10 days, so today I’ve semi-packed my bag. Next Sunday Pen and I will be working on some collab pieces at Left Bank Art Gallery, which I’m excited about. I’ve have spent most of the day at my art desk. I’ve got some lovely new Dina Wakley MEdia printed transparencies and stencils, so had to test them out 😉

  • Process; back to basics

    I completed my Dip Art & Creativity (Hon) back in 2007 or 2008 – it’s a long time ago. One of the things I learned during that journey was I am fascinated with the edges of my work, my works involves memory, and I am process driven. The memories and process are more important to me than the final look of the work.

    Pen Kirk and I have done a couple of joint exhibitons which have been very process driven, and I’ve found that a wobderful mix of easy and challenging. The work I am doing on my own has been less successful; I’ve been thinking about why, and doing some research. I’ve watched some of my favourite artists on YouTube, and a new one Marabeth Quin. And there it is – I’ve moved too far from memory and process which are my key drivers, thinking too soon (and too much) about what the final work will look like.

    I thought I was ready to start a new body of work. I am in the sense I know what it’ll be about, but my “aha” moment is that I shouldn’t break out the lovely new wooden panels I’ve got just yet. I’m committing to filling at least one journal, maybe two, with playful experiments, without referring to photos of the areas, so I work from memory and with no expectation about the finished pieces.

  • I’m back – and creating

    I haven’t blogged since March. It’s taken me all that time to figure out why WordPress wasn’t working properly. Once I figured it out, the solution was easy! Sigh…

    Pen and I are between exhibitions at the moment. I’ve got a few things I’m playing with but, so far, nothing has grabbed me enough to turn into a series or even hold my interest for long. I know to just keep playing – it’ll come. Helen Wells talked about this recently on YouTube Vrbo YouTube Occasions Wins & Losses NZ EN 16×9 15s

    I’m teaching a basic Dylusions art journal class. We’re meeting one night a week for 10 weeks. It’s lovely watching people have that “aha” moment when they realise how freeing an art journal can be.

    Alan and I have been out into the back blocks of Eltham twice recently, staying in a cabin well away from the world. Log fire, no noise or light pollution, surrounded by steeps bush-covered hills and deer, with the sound of a stream nearby. Bliss!

    I’ll share a of few photos of where I’ve been and what I’ve been creating. There’s no real rhyme or reason to the art at this stage, and that’s exactly the point.

  • Trying ArtStacks

    One of my YouTube favs is the wonderfully talented Claire Stead (Art_Journal Love). The other day she made a page using ArtStacks and I just had to check them out. They offer themed paper packs, so three sets somehow ended up in my cart. Got to love a quick digital download!

    I’ve used them in my 6×6 Dina Wakley Media Kraft journal, with DWM paints and stencils. I had printed them on 160gsm white paper, so they’re a bit sturdier, which I prefer. The colours are bright and the images are, mainly, easy to fussy cut. I’m thrilled with them and will no doubt be buying more.

  • Hand of the artist

    I’m going through a “strictly Dylusions” phase; my Dina Wakley journals haven’t been touched for a couple of weeks. Sometimes I work in both, using their products plus a few others such as Tim Holtz and Claire Stead. Other times, I feel compelled to just do one thing.

    I’ve been painting or inking, then stencilling dozens of pages in three journals. Once they’re dry I add borders with stencils, washi tape or collage. In the evenings I sit in the lounge doodling with black and white Posca pens while Alan watches tv or we listen to music.

    I outline all the collage, add stitch lines round some elements, doodle round the stencilling, and so on. I’m not fussy about it – if the line is wonky or goes over the collage it doesn’t matter.

    All of this means that, although I’m using products designed by someone else (a lot of the collage is straight from Dyan Reaveley’s own journals), the final pages are mine – they clearly show the hand of the artist. I love that!

    The pages below are sections from some of the ones I’m working on. I flip back and forth in the three journals, so I don’t have to wait for the pen work to dry.