Finished!

I finished my first art journal! Very exciting. I know I've posted some of these pictures here before, but I'm going to post them again so I can have everything in one post.

The view from above.


The cover, which I liked so didn't change. The ball is just wire that I twisted together until it was stable.


Skyweasels. This got glued in, and the facing page vaguely matches.


Sprouting. I am very fond of mushrooms. Sticker from a swap, and buttons I spray painted.


Maybe not. I thought the fairy looked a bit hesitant.


Take control. Based around a birth control card.


Fear. Prescription receipt and warning label, eye from a swap.


Secret robot. Image from a swap, the pink-y yarn I handspun then knitted.


Greenery. Lots of green things?


Constitutional. The drawing isn't mine, I got it in a swap. See if you can read the writing on the left page!


Meetings.


Pearled. The rectangles are edges from a swirly painting, I spray painted over them and added pearly beads.


Loofah. Torn paper, feathers, beads, crane, a bit of a painting from a swap. This page reminds me of boas, but I like the word loofah better than boa.


Lady parts. Cartoons from a swap, other images from a Nuva Ring pamphlet (Nuva rings are great btw).


Into the night. I think this one is my favourite. Woman image from a calendar, background was markered. The skirt is scrunched up handmade paper, with fabric over top. The fabric is from a wedding dress, I dyed it using ink pads. It was rather messy.


Reflect back. Shiny things! I like cyborg-y things. The blue star plastic thing moves when you tilt it back and forth.


Timing. I like both sides of this page, but I'm not sure how well they work together.


Fortunate. Fortune cookies are sooooo delicious. I got a bunch from the bulk store and it seemed a waste to not use the fortunes for something. I like that they're bilingual.


Careful consideration. Just marker. Melting rainbows are not something you can make a snap decision about.

That's the end! I'm pleased with myself, this journal was really fun to make, though for the next one I'm definitely going to use a book without lines. Didn't really think that one through. I'm not really sure what to do with it now - I definitely want to keep it around, but it's not going to fit on a bookshelf, and I have a limited amount of flat surfaces. Maybe I could hang it from somewhere....

Evolution

I know I've remarked on this before, but my style really has changed a lot in a few months. Consider the following: (remember Bill Nye?!)



These are my three "Steampunk Garden" cards. The second and third were made as requests for cards similar to the first one, 2 weeks and 4 months after the first one. They're all basically made the same way, with rubber stamps, flower punches and beads, but I feel like the mood is really different in all of them. Pretty sure I'm getting better at layering colours effectively? Feedback is always welcome.

Man, I really want to get some more ink. I have eight ink pads (5 dye, 3 pigment) and they just never seem to be enough for all the stuff I want to do. Ink and stamps are so *expensive* though, even unmounted. I've found some AWESOME stamp sites which have the bestest stamps, and unmounted too, but getting lots is expensive and I never have any money.

/rant>

This ink, by the way, is pretty great. I must find somewhere online to purchase it cheaply.

ATCs

Some new ATCs! This first one I made a while ago but only recently unfinished; it's crocheted, stiffened with mod podge, and has a wire guy climbing on it.




Next is a multimedia collage similar to a card I made a while ago.



The second collage is simpler (only a couple cut up images and some rubber stamps), but I really like the colours in it.

ATCs and Sketching

I've been joining a lot of ATC swaps on swapbot, as well as sketching a bunch. I've been copying drawings from Braun & Schneider's Historic Costume Book, which is great for practice drawing clothing.

All of my ATCs can be found here, but his one is my favourite: