Out with the Old

Here we are at the end of another year, and as usual, we wonder what happened to the previous 12 months!  Life certainly seems to go by in a blur, and as I reflect back, I'm grateful to have my journals and blogs to help trigger the memory of those moments worth recalling.

My first "Angelia's Art Journals" post appeared in March 2010, and that's lead to more than I could have ever imagined.  I can't believe how many wonderful people I've met through this blog and I'm looking forward to meeting more of my fellow creatives in the next 12 months.

2010 was the year I decided to take control of my health and begin walking.  My almost daily pilgrimage to the beach has become an integral part of my life, and in spite of the inclimate winter weather, I still sneak down when I can.  I haven't given up on the walking though.  It's been temporarily replaced by a treadmill and recumbent bike. It's not the same, but it's growing on me.

There were commissions and parties and lots of other good moments in 2010.  There were, of course, some moments that I would not want to revisit again under any circumstances.  But you know what?  I can make the choice NOT to revisit those moments.  It's all about editing, and I think this clip from "Everybody Loves Raymond" is the best statement on editing life that I've ever heard.

So, as we bid a final farewell to 2010, I hope that all you take with you into 2011 are the good memories, and I hope you take time to reflect on those things that have helped in your evolution of the wonderful and unique person that you are.  "Happy Creating!"

You're Invited!

2010 Summer Party 2010

Here at Angelia's Art, I'm hosting a summer celebration for the entire month of August!  It's ALL summer, ALL art, ALL AUGUST, and YOU'RE invited to the party!

FEATURING

• A Daily SUMMER prompt (See "Party Prompts" in navigation bar)
• A new SUMMER song featured daily
• An end of SUMMER *ARTtastic giveaway!

PARTICIPATE
      "Let your ART shine all over the world"
         The more you PARTY, The more chances you have to
         win! the *ARTastic giveaway!!!

HOW TO PARTY

• Post your SUMMER journaling pages on your blog along with my official 2010 AUGUST SUMMER party logo:  

                "Let Your Art Shine All Over The World"            

• 
  
  Link this logo image back to http://www.angeliasartjournals.blogspot.com/
• 
  
  For each SUMMER image that you create and post on your blog, put a link to that image in the comment section of this post.  I will create a permanent link to your SUMMER image here

Each entry is a chance to win the *ARTtastic giveaway. For example, entering 6 images gives you 6 chances to win! 

*ARTtastic Giveaway

The giveaway items will be listed here and updated regularly.  The first item in the giveaway is this fabulous "sassy & chic" tote bag, because, hey, how else are you going to take your journal and art supplies to the beach?!

OK! Let's get this SUMMER party started and get into some "HAPPY CREATING!"

*ARTtastic Giveaway Items

1.  Sassy & Chic Tote
2.  Journal Junkie 2010 Acrylic Painting
3.  Composition Notebook Journal
4.  ARTtastic Tiara

Junk to Journal: "Look Into the Southern Sky"

I really liked this accordion fold booklet that I received from Cleveland MOMA several years ago.  It's an invitation to a gallery show filled with extensive information about the show/artists.  (Yes - I'm a closet hoarder but I don't need an intervention just yet.  Well, maybe....)  I knew that one day I would use this invitation in my own artwork, and as it turns out, it was perfect for a "junk to journal" project.

When I began, the only thing I knew for certain was that I wanted to maintain some of the color on each page, and I also wanted to make sure that some of the words were still visible.  Other than that, I had no idea in what direction I was headed.  I loved the black/gray striped cover, and that gave me the idea to look through my portfolio of magazine pages.  I'm wild for color, but I'm also drawn to black & white (b/w)imagery so I had quite a few predominantly b/w images in my collection.  One such photo was that of a male.  It was a very moody photograph with very little contrast. The predominant feature was the large, black sunglasses.  I used that for the cover and decided to pull some of the red-orange color from one of the other pages.   I decided to paint over the features and also altered the hairline turning "him" into "her".   I came across the words "Look into the southern sky" and they just seemed to fit with the sunglasses and the feel of  the warm, sunny background.

Click on any image to enlarge

The next images that I came across were the skeleton heads.  There were actually 4 or 5 of them in one strip, but I tore them out individually.  I then came across the dog, the watch face, and the turquoise stone.   The stone reminded me of an art mannequin head right away.  I began playing with the images and it occurred to me that they looked like some kind of bizarre evolutionary timeline.  That's when the journal took on a "life of it's own".  It's a story of where we are now as a civilization and where, maybe, we're headed.  I hope you enjoy viewing the images.

Other notes of interest

I used this booklet upside down. The writing shows through the paint in places, but the font is small and can't easily be read upside down so it's not distracting.  I used tempera and acrylic paints and Mod Podge as an adhesive.  I also used a Sharpie extra fine black marker and a white gel pen.  No humans were harmed in the making of this art.