Wednesday 9 May 2012

woyww - class stuff

My desk is covered with left over bits and pieces from the weekend workshops I attended. Bright and colourful art journal pages surrounded by lots of baking paper in an attempt to stop pages sticking together and paint seeping through the journal.  Loving the portfolio pastels .. they would have to be the cheapest and best thing on my desk at the moment.

The class with Donna Downey was interesting and I definitely had a light bulb moment when I heard numerous people talk about not writing a lot of stuff in their journal.  I just can't pour emotions into a journal.  I go blank and it doesn't help when DH sings Sid or Johnny's lyrics "pretty vacant ..." when ever he sees me trying to journal.


Another journal page using string and canvas and then coloured with acrylic paint and babywipes.


 The final workshop was a canvas which incorporated a lot of the techniques we learnt in the art journal workshop. I was really happy how it came together.  I used an old pic of my mother and her friend taken sometime in the late 50's.  They looked so elegant and happy sitting in the sun smiling at the camera.


So all in all a great weekend of workshops.  Hope your week has been creative.   I also hope blogger behaves and stops removing my blog as it updates, improves and does what it does in the name of progress.

Off to visit Julia and her addictive world of WOYWW.

41 comments:

  1. Hi Sandra, Have you gone home from work early? Just caught you before I leave too. Was going to tell you blogger was doing something weird to your blog, so I'm glad to see it all appears OK now. I like those colourful pages and your mother's photo is lovely. Can't wait to see the rest.

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  2. The pages look amaZing!!loving all the colour ..not triedportfolio pastels will have to lookin to them!! I love your pages, hugs trace x 25

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  3. loving your pages,know what you mean re writing in journals,enjoy making my april page but the filling it has put me off doing a may one so maybe like you shall just do the pages,fab poppies on your final piece
    have a fab crafty woyww
    kay #28

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  4. I'm loving the journaling pages!! I like the idea of using the string too!!!

    Thanks for visiting!!

    Amy E. #3
    scrapthissavethat.blogspot.com

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  5. I agree with you about too much writing... I like a pithy or thought provoking phrase, cos the art is paramount for me... lovin your pages and your desk
    Frankie
    xx

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  6. Great pages. Looks like you had a lovely time
    Lynn 40
    One I made earlier today

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  7. Ooh I'm liking the journal pages, and the canvas is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

    Lisa Sparkle :)

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  8. Looks like you had a great weekend. Love your creations.
    Hugs,
    A x #47

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  9. I never write personal stuff in my journal - it's just for me to play!! Love what you are doing here, and the class sounds amazing, lucky you!! Helen #9

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  10. Class sounds incredible and your pages look amazing!I have a box of those pastels and I haven't even tried them yet, - you have just inspired me, thanks!!

    Happy Wednesday hopping!
    #20

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  11. Oh I can certainly tell you went to a Donna Downey class, her work is so distinctive. I am with you on the journalling, I always think less is more, you really only need a few words to trigger a memory anyway (my opinion of course!). Thanks for the snoop. Anne #2

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  12. Hi Sandra...thanks for today's crafty snoop...loving your journal pages...happy WOYWW...hugs kath (44) xxx

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  13. Your desk looks so colourful this week. I love the look of those pages you're working on.
    The class sounds great. Surely your pages are your artwork so you can do just what you want on them. I've never written on the few I've done. just enjoyed creating a mess really!!!! Your pages with the photo of your Mum is stunning.
    Have fun and Happy WOYWW
    Hugs Lisax #86

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  14. It sounds like you have had a fab weekend with some great classes! Gorgeous projects on your desk, I especially love your canvas, its beautiful :)

    Have a fab WOYWW and a lovely week, Hugs, Karen xx #49

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  15. Sounds like a wonderful weekend. Love your desk! Thanks for sharing!
    Glenda #83

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  16. You have been busy by the look of your desk...so much happening!
    Thanks for letting me take a peek...Happy WOYWW ~ enjoy Neesie #45

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  17. Lots of lovely stuff going on!! Thanks for sharing.

    #97

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  18. Lucky you getting to the workshop and the results are great. Donna is an inspiring tutor ( I did one of her classes at CHA last year in LA) Sounds like you had fun.
    Lv JoZarty No99 xxx

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  19. Your classes sound fab, great pages, love the idea of using baking paper to stop leakage. Take care, enjoy WOYWW this week, I know I will! Zo xx 73

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  20. Your journal pages are lovely ... sometimes I write in mine ...sometimes I copy bits out of books, quotes etc ... anything goes Jacqui #101

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  21. Creative desk!!
    Loved also this Donna-video!!
    Happy WOYWW Wednesday!
    Hugs Marleen #8

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  22. Sounds like some fun workshops. Love the canvas. Thanks for the peek! Happy WOYWW! Tammy - #122

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  23. I'm liking your journal pages. I can't journal in a book either, it all seems very contrived. So I don't. I stick tickets and other silly bits of 'keep me' stuff that I can't seem to stop gathering! I thought you'd be waxing lyrical about Donna's class, interesting isn't it, that the project has to be something you're truly into before you can lurve the tutor! Haven't tried the pastels..write some more about them would you?

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  24. Hi Sandra Dee - Looks like a fun course. Your canvas is really pretty. Why not give a page to hubby to journal on - could be a fun experiment!! Happy WOYWW to you Helen 50

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  25. Fabulous canvas, your course sounds a lot of fun, Thanks for the snoop, Hugs May x x x#31

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  26. oh my, i'm SOOOO jealous!! a Donna Downey class? you lucky thing!! Fabulous creations, love them! Trish #60

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  27. wow a class with one of my heros.. Donna Downey Your canvas rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  28. So far, your blog seems to still exist. I love your journal pages, they are looking good and not Pretty Vacant at all! I'm with you though, don't want to pour my heart and soul into pages-I learned my lesson on that! I had a journal in high school, wrote bits of song lyrics in it, friends wrote crazy thoughts in it, I glued in ticket stubs and random bits of things that interested me. I couldn't find it one day. It turns out my mom took it to a psychiatrist to prove how insane her daughter was and then I had to go to weekly meetings with the shrink about how I was obviously the cause of all my family's problems (which I was not but blamed for it I was). So no more journals and no close family ties. That's how you fix that. Maybe you should write the Pretty Vacant lyrics on to a page just for giggles and grins.

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  29. What a lovely bright and cheerful journal you are creating. I know what you mean about journaling in there though. Not my cup of tea!
    Hettie 157

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  30. That looks like a very happy desk, your journalling looks great, I am still trying to coax myself to jump in to art journalling:)

    Sheilagh 163

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  31. Great projects - I love the colour scheme.

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  32. I love your canvas. It's so great. Did you copy the photograph and use it that way? I have some wonderful old family photos and could see doing a project similar to this.

    I'm not a big writer either. I've done it and I always rip up the pages because I don't want anyone else to read them..... art journaling leaves a lot up to interpretation so that's probably the way to go.

    Happy WOYWW
    Hugs, Kay #127

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  33. The canvas is gorgeous and the journal pages are very creative - love the use of the string - thanks for sharing (Hazel, WOYWW #95) x

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  34. Loving the bright coloured pages of your journal book. Nicely done and what a great workspace. :)

    146

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  35. Colorful journal pages -love them! Thanks for the tip about the baking paper. I will definately be using that one. Dani132

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  36. Lovely work on your desk - Art Journals are amazing to work with. It's always hard writing in them though.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  37. happy late woyww, love your desk

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  38. I can't journal full stop - love the fab colours you're using :) Di xx

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  39. Sandra, I love your journal pages - beautiful! What a great tip, putting the baking parchment between the pages - must remember that one!

    Thanks for your lovely comment on my blog about my album - glad you like my little frame! As for journaling, I haven't done any albums or journals before, and have often thought I'd never think of anything to write on a journal page - some people just seem to flow with ideas, don't they! However, choosing a theme makes it much easier, and I actually found it hard not to write too much!!

    Anyway, just because most people journal on their pages doesn't mean everyone has to. The whole point of an art journal is that it is yours - personal and unique, and you can and should do exactly what YOU want and not feel pressure to do otherwise!!! Keep up the good work, your pages are AWESOME. I love what you are doing with the string - adding yarns and fibres has been in the back of my mind for a while - look at the work of Elizabeth MacIntosh (Charles Rennie's wife) - she added all sorts of interesting stuff like that! (Might do a page about her...)

    Better stop - I'm beginning to ramble lol!! Happy belated WOYWW,

    Shoshi #85

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  40. no one in their left mind would try to draw and talk at the same time ( Betty Edwards quoted someone saying something like that). if you have no problems working with the right side of your brain ( image stuff is easy) no wonder you then struggle to add text ( language is left brain), try this:

    steal someone elses words and add them, because you want to 'finish' a thing that you know 'needs' words and you can't find your own..

    or

    don't even try try to do the words and the images in the same 'sitting', ( different brain parts at work - takes forever to understand how to quickly switch from words to imagery), which is why people who seem to successfully do it will admit they do the writing first and images MUCH later or immediately go over the words with imagery, or they leave the imagery and much later and then go, journal in hand. have a coffee, sit quiet and add a journal entry later. I bet your fav. text + image journal pages were done over an extended time period.


    if journaling is 'too personal' sit alone where you can eaves drop on another conversation, as you listen in flick through your journal, when an image matches what you hear start copying the conversation into your journal...pick up the stuff on a restaurant/bar/coffee table - what is it telling you that matches a journal image?

    journaling does look fabulous if you can 'match' some text to an image , for me it is what makes it a special form of Art.

    You have a freaking journal that needs your images and words ha ha ha

    dxxxxx

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  41. Loving the canvas work with your Mum on. It took me a surprising while to spy the choccy!!
    Kxoxo #54

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