Journal Pages
I have been keeping diaries and journals since I was 7 years old. I used to just write in them with an occasional sketch but find myself doing more and more art in them. They no longer sit neatly on the shelf but instead creak and groan with crinkled pages and fat collage elements. Here are a few pages and a couple of of covers. I made a coptic bound book with paste paper for my next journal. It is waiting and calling to me from my desk saying, "here I am ready for you. Come and play with me."
This journal cover is a reverse painting on mylar covered with newpaper collage and papier mache. Painted and glazed with acrylic, oil and wax.
The first page of my brand new journal showing myself as artist, executive and genii. Here I am writing about my hopes and dreams for the coming season.
A wonderful quotation. Dreamsickle colors.
I went on a 2 day doll making spree and recorded the results here. Since this page I have repainted all but one of the dolls in metallics and glitter!! Some of the faces are painted and some are stamped.
I've always loved to dance.
We made hula skirts at Day Camp when I was in the 3rd grade. I thought I'd tell a few stories about myself that I had never told anyone before.
I had done 5 paintings of houses. Printed out digital photos of them and put them all in one big house.
Put myself in houses. Acrylic paint and digital photos.
One of those days when everything is uphill.
This is the cover of my altered book; a new project I started to try out some techniques that combine reverse painting on mylar with journalling and collaging. The cover is caulking compound with a window covered with sheer fabric. Lots of juicy glazing and scrafitto.
The heart image is a reverse painting on mylar attached with grommets.
These portraits are reverse painted on mylar and then attached onto the altered page. I wanted to see if I could get a likeness and to play with fun colors. Maybe I will do portraits someday!!
This is an altar I made some years ago out of plywood that I carved and then painted with oil pastels, acrylic and india ink. (Hmm, that reminds me. Where did I put those silver milagros that I picked up in Oaxaca last March?) Anyway, after I painted her everyone said she looked just like my daughter (take your pick; I've been told they look like twins) ... it measures 12x23 inches opened. The images surrounding the face are personal symbols.
This is the triptych altar closed. The little house is the one I grew up in - 600 sq. feet of stucco on the Arizona desert. My heart center. I have always collected mermaids, madonnas and goddesses. I put in an angel to watch over everything. If I make another I will add a four leaf clover because I have had a very lucky life.
I made the paste paper at Art and Soul in a workshop given by Denise Kester. She is a generous teacher and I hightly recommend her. I got the instructions for making a coptic journal off the internet (an autodidact searches and searches and won't be disuaded!!) ... it sings out to be filled. I stamped a copper plate for inside the cover that says "My House". The journal is where I LIVE.
This view shows the stitching and the various colors of paste papers that bind the signatures. I used a variety of paper in the book with and without the original deckles and some so thin that it is transparent. The pages are not the same size. It will be so much fun to deal with each page as a separate entity. I love coptic style books because they lay open perfectly flat and they look exactly like what they are.
I love paper mache. There is nothing you cannot make out of it. I have made couches, cats, birthday cakes and godzillas. This is a picture I made that hangs in my oh-so-formal dining room. The frame is made out of paper mache. My house is a fancy place. You can imagine.
This is my one-a-day challenge. To do a painting each day showing something memorable about what I did that day. This is a really interesting exercise; it makes you think about your daily routine in a very un-routine way.
On the left is my latest journal. It has an open spine with a join at the top and bottom (let me know if you know the name of this type of binding) and modelling gel that looks like plaster on the cover. On the right is the same book opened showing the tropical watercolor and some "writing" in white ink. The iridescence in the paste paper is reflecting the light.
Send e-mail to judywise@canby.com
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