Today we are going to Claim our Journals!
First thing I want you to do is dry brush Gesso over all of the writing you did yesterday. Don't be scared. Just go for it!
Use a paint brush with NO water, dip it into a little bit of your Gesso and scrub the surface with the paint. You should still be able to make out that there is writing on the page but it should be a lot harder to read. (You may need to use a bit of waxed paper between your pages at this point to prevent the paint from getting on the rest of the pages and to prevent them from sticking together while they are drying. ) Really THINK about the words as you cover them up. Cover some words more than others.
Take a moment to look at and think about the words that you can still see peeking through.
Allow this to dry. For those of you with a heat gun you can speed up the drying process.
While this is drying you can get out your stash of markers, gel pens, colored pencils, anything that makes color that you enjoy using.
Working on the first page:
Stamp or write “This Book belongs to: “ at the top of your page. Write your full name underneath that. Then write it again and again until you have filled the page with your name. Use different fonts. Be Creative. Be free. Doodle around your name with hearts and flowers. Add glitter. Anything you wish. I want anyone who picks this book up to know WHO it belongs to. This is YOUR book!!
And now a small homework assignment. Don’t be scared, it’s only a “thinking” assignment. ;)
I want you to think about what you need to protect and nourish your creative spirit. Think about the things that sustain you. What’s needed to shield you from outside criticism and your inner critic?
I want you to think about what you need to protect and nourish your creative spirit. Think about the things that sustain you. What’s needed to shield you from outside criticism and your inner critic?
That’s all for today. We’ll see you tomorrow!
*Oh and an extra note on cheapie acrylic paints. My favorite journaling acrylics are bought from JoAnn’s Fabric at less than a dollar a piece. I have also heard that Walmart has some that are good. I love using these for this sort of project for one big reason: fillers! The reason artist’s acrylics are so expensive is because they have a lot more pigment for your buck and a lot less watery fillers. They usually have great coverage and a little paint goes a long way. Cheapie paints however are loaded with chalky and watery extras that normally make them a lot less desirable but are exactly what we need for this type of thing. We want layers to show through so we don’t want great coverage and cheap paints also tend to be very matte and somewhat chalky which again is perfect for books! It means there is less chance the pages will stick when they are dry. Hooray for ChEAp!!
If you are posting pictures in your blog or flicker please send me a link to post. Or you want you can email me pictures of your process I will put them up here. :)