Evenings with my art journal...

I have been spending the last few evenings playing around with paints and techniques in my art journal.



Maybe these will be backgrounds for something...



Or maybe not...



I also made the realization tonight (as seen on an older very pink page) that I can just have experiments (ugly or not) in my art journal, that I can just use it for experiments and pages don't HAVE to be "finished", and that I can have fun!



That is the most important part of it all!

Rainy Sunday and finding a stash of old inks...

It is one of those gray days that I am glad to be inside and putting more of my art supplies away. In fact, this morning I found a whole box of old inks and liquid acrylic paints that I knew I had but wasn't sure where they were...



So I spent some of the morning testing out each one and logging it (guess that is the science side of me) so I would know what I had before I went and bought more (which I almost did when I saw a couple of online sales but thought, well maybe some of my old inks are still good... and a lot of them were)!



And this is where they will live... (those are Twinkling H2Os in the other box):



And THIS is my art room organization best friend:

Geocaching Again!

I had a ton of fun this afternoon geocaching with my friend Jan. We found 8 new caches and then another new one for me that she had already found but wanted to show me just cause it was so clever. AND we walked around 2.8 miles while doing this so it was a double bonus!

Without giving too much away here are a few photos...









This next one eluded us for a bit but I found it! (Then she had to climb the tree cause I am too short!)

A few hours later...

The room isn't finished by any means, still a lot of junk to put away but here is a start...



and

Old Favorites and a New One...

Yesterday and today I have been looking at some art and videos by some of my favorite art journalists. Some of them I have been lucky enough to take workshops with (so inspiring!) and others I look at from afar but all inspire me and motivate me to create more.

I have many, many favorites but for now, here are 4 of them:

JULIANA COLES:
Juliana Coles website and her Institute for Extreme Journalism website.
Juliana Coles You Tube Channel.

TEESHA MOORE:
Teesha's website which includes her amazing journals.
Teesha's techniques videos page.

TRACI BUNKERS:
Traci's blog.
Traci's You Tube techniques channel.

The above three I have taken workshops with. The next one I recently discovered and enjoy seeing her Inspiration Wednesday videos.

DONNA DOWNEY:
Donna's webpage.
Donna's Inspiration Wednesday videos.

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Spent some of this morning still playing with Pinterest and looking at the above websites and other journaling pages on the Internet.

But my main task for the rest of this weekend is to continue reworking my art room (well art and everything else!) into a better usable space.
Today's goal: take everything out that is on the floor and clear off my work table.
Here's why:



and

Inspiration

"The day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
~ Anais Nin

Discovered Pinterest could help me as an Inspiration board without having to print out things that inspire me.

Later that same day...

Pinterest captured my attention this morning and I spent way too much time on it looking at interesting things other people had pinned, then found a few (lot) others to pin to my page...

Pages 4 and 5 of Art Journal

Pgs4-5, a photo by Cali-rhoz on Flickr.

Making a little more art tonight. THese are the last of the orangish pages (which don't seem to photograph all that well).

2 more pages!

I just got inspired and wanted to start!!



Page 2



Page 3

Why I like Art Journaling

Since it is a New Year I thought I would get down a few thoughts about WHY I like to work in my Art Journal. The reasons change over time but here are the ones that are on the front burner at the moment:
I art journal as a way of experimenting with ideas and techniques.
I art journal to express and process my feelings.
I art journal to use supplies I haven't used in a while.
I art journal to allow myself to fail. (although that is a hard one for me and I want to work on that a lot more this year)
I art journal to learn about myself.

When I travel I also like to use my art journal as a travel diary. It didn't work last summer because I got so caught up in having to blog about my trip so between that and the actually traveling I never had time to do art. I think next time will be easier. That was the first time I had traveled with my Netbook and I think I have some ideas for how to lessen the online time and do a little more journaling when I travel next time. Only way to tell is to get out there and try it!

Art Journal 2012

This last week I have gotten very inspired to start up my Art Journaling again. I have been watching free video blogs for ideas and looking at all my favorite journaling artists for inspiration and last night it hit me that I just needed to start! Just do it!



Repurposing some of the pages I salvaged from the travel journal that didn't happen last summer to jump-start my 2012 Art Journal. I forgot to take a picture of the "before" (just background) for this one but my plan is to take a shot of the background, then the final page for the pages this year. The first 12 or 13 are already done from last year's journal that didn't happen (because I decided to blog the trip online instead). So as I get a page done I plan to upload the "before" photo and the "finished" photo for each one.

Kale Chips, take Two...

Trying them dehydrator style this time...

Sunday Update: they were really boring! The oven must bring out other flavor cause these are still sitting on the kitchen counter 2 days later!

Another new experience and it is only Jan 2!!

I finally bought and cooked KALE and found out that I LOVE it! I had always heard kale was too bitter and the couple of times I had ever had it from anyone else it was awful. But lately there has been so much written about it on the blogs I read (Paleo food ones mostly) that I thought I would give it another chance. And I am so glad I did!!

I find my previous reluctance similar to this blogger's... and probably to many people. But boy oh boy kale is sure good for you!



First of all I found Lacinato Kale which everyone had said was better than the other old fashioned kind you find. I guess this one is sometimes also called Italian or Tuscan kale. I don't remember ever having it when I lived in Italy a few summers ago but I may have. Anyway I found it at Raley's and got two bunches to test out.



A few leaves I tried baked kale "chips" which are ok but so thin they just crumble and then you end up with really green-spotted teeth so these might not be a school food for me. Just sayin...



The I choose a recipe from one of my fav Paleo blogs, Nom Nom Paleo, and tried that. It had to be good since it also had bacon and we all know, say it together now: "Everything's better with bacon!"

It turned out yummy! So now I am a kale convert and plan to research other yummy ways of having this new (to me) leafy green. AND it was part of one of my short 2012 resolutions: Eat more leafy greens! Check!

My First Geocaching Experience...

My friend Jan (pictured below) took me with her to a few Geocaches that were in my neighborhood and I am hooked!





I actually had signed up on the Geocaching site years ago then never did go or try it. I have a few teacher friends who enjoy this hobby so I am glad to find I had a ton of fun testing it out too!



I am not going to say where these are because I don't want to give too much away but these were my photos from my first Geocaching trip!

I want to try some countryside ones in the Spring -- it seems like it would be a great way to get outdoors and enjoy the scenery as well as have adventures finding caches. And it is so popular in Europe so who knows, maybe next time I go abroad I can do a little geocaching there too! For now, let me get my feet wet in and around Sacramento!