Anatomy of a Journal Spread

I'm still in a "play with lots of stuff" mode, and I decided I needed to use some of the images I've torn from magazines and the scraps of paper I have stacked in messy piles.  As usual, I didn't really have anything in mind aside from just having fun and letting the page evolve on it's own.

I began with paper randomly painted with left over acrylics from previous projects, and scrapbooking paper.

I continued with more torn paper - this time I used images torn from magazines and catalogs.  I applied all the papers with Mod Podge.

Using colors in the torn paper as my color cues, I scribbled on water soluble crayons in all of the white areas and over some of the torn paper.

Then I looked for an image for my main subject.  I remembered this image of an ancient sculpture that I had torn from an old National Geographic.  It seemed to fit perfectly with the colors and feel of the torn paper.

I moistened my fingertips with water and began rubbing the crayon into the pages, blending the colors together without obliterating all of the marks and lines from the initial application. 

I applied the face and added a bit more water soluble crayon to add further depth of color.

Then I took an old CD and loaded it with a watered-down mixture of black craft acrylic. (I saw this trick using watercolors in a Milliande video)

Using the CD like a stamp, I applied it to both pages in a random fashion, reloading the CD with paint as necessary.  This technique produces lots of yummy, textural marks.  I lifted the right hand side of the page before it dried, and got a horizontal run.  Not planned, but I liked it.

A few words of wisdom from "the ancestors, and a few more brush strokes and markings were added.  I used the CD to make a few random circles and mimicked the design on some of the magazine pages.  I added the number 3 to add more visual interest to complete the spread.


I hope you've had a great week, and as always, I hope you're finding time in your busy life to "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"