Yesterday morning I was a bit miserable so spent the day scrapbooking and felt better in no time at all. I’m determined to use up all my older supplies this year, including cardstock I no longer love the colour of. I have been using paint and gesso to do cover ups, and stenciling to create new surfaces, which is all good fun. Here’s some of yesterday’s layouts. A few of these are my entries in the Creative Jumpstart 14 give-aways over at Natalie’s Studio.
When I saw the art calendar challenge 2014 at The Kathryn Wheel blog I knew I had to join in; you can find all the details by following the link. I love Kathryn’s examples and we share a name, so how could I resist! I am working on loose sheets, 2 A4 pages at a time, and will bind them at the end of the year. I’m finding my work is increasingly detailed and fussy, which is not really me at all, but I’m enjoying it so who cares…
For these pages I used Dylusions ink spray and a Donna Downey stencil, then gesso and Tim Holtz Distress Paints with one of Michelle Ward’s stencils. I used archival ink to stamp some text here and there, and to add a fine black border round the outside edge of the pages. I used the Dylusions again,with two Tim Holtz stencils, the bubbles and the stars. I cut a bunch of 1.5×1.5 squares, edged them with black archival ink, wiped gesso across the centres, and wrote in the dates with a Stabilo pen. I stamped the month and year with black Archival and some old Memory Makers foam stamps, then added some details with a White Signo pen.
This year I am organising an art journal round robin, so spent last night and this morning starting to decorate the cover. This involved gesso, Dylusions inks, stencils and gold heavy body acrylic. Then today I have been preparing a couple of pages in another journal and, guess what? Yes, I used mainly the same supplies… I’m consistent if nothing else! I find a page that has paint, gesso and a bit of texture is often enough to get me writing, and then all kinds of thoughts spill out onto the page.
This commemorates my Mother’s birth father, Fred McKenna. Sadly, Mum never knew him, but in later life got to know her half-sisters. One of them, Margaret, provided some photos and information so I could make this piece of work, which is going to Italy later this year for the 2014 Legato exhibition in Cassino. Fred served in WWI and this year’s Legato is the ideal place to honour the grandfather I never knew.
I have been working on this piece for days; it’s 18×24″ on stretched canvas. I haven’t varnished it yet, just in case; there’s one small spot that might get adjusted yet. I have photographed the entire piece, and then there’s some close-up shots to show the details and layers.
This morning I am adding spots of colour, layers of gesso over the photos, and obscuring some of the writing. I’m also transcribing a letter I have from his daughter so I can write all the info onto the canvas. It is *not* as bright as this looks, but my camera’s being unhelpful!
Cath Sheard Art 