Art journal page with watercolors

Yesterday, I’ve created a page in my art journal: "Looking for the best part in your self", which I wanted to share with you today. 

Instead of using acrylic paints for my back ground as usual, I decided to use watercolors for the first layer of my page. Just playing around and watching the colors flow is so relaxing. You never can go wrong with that. Secondly, I used my watercolor crayons to strengthen the colors and bring more structure into the page. Then I drew the hand with oil pastels and cut it out. Together with the duckling and the other collage elements they formed the third layer. And last but not least I decorated the page with some doodles.

I had so much fun with this page.  Lately I am working in an unstitched insert in my A5 Fauxdori. (travelers notebook). The fun thing about this booklet is that I am playing on all the pages at once. Slapping some paint here and there. Pasting some bit and pieces  on several pagers and so on. Every now and then a page gets completed just like this one. 

It is a very freeing method, since you don’t have to create the perfect page anymore. You just add elements on the page which needs something extra. When you feel you're ready you’ll  stop, even if non of the pages is finished. The pages develop questions and you can return to your art journal when you’ve found a part of the answer.

Mixed media collage: Brigid’s Fire

Yesterday I have finished a mixed media collage which shows my interpretation of Brigid, goddess of Fire and Inspiration. Here she is faceless and fiery, caring for her eternal flame with nurturing attention, She inspires me to rekindle my own fire and start creating again.... 

The quote says: "From a small spark comes often a big fire"

Six of Cups: Closing the Gap

Druidcraft Tarot

A while ago I received a comment from Prince Lenormand about my creative blocks, in which he had added a link to the Six of Cups from the Druidcraft tarot. That card really hit the mark because it felt if I was torn between parts of myself and not being able to connect them: The man is inside the house, looking outside longing for the time when he was young and everything was still simple.The children are playing outside and having fun together. The only thing I could do was to go upstairs to my room and pick up my paint, some scraps of paper and make a mark  I was inspired to try this by a post from Sharon form the Wishing tree. 

It felt so good and it was much more easy than I had expected. I used to do a lot of Art journaling and what I have made this time is quite similar: I've started with pasting pieces of paper on a white sheet, added some paint en crayon and  I printed out some sentences I had written and the children from the Six of Cups. It is funny but after I had finished the collage bit, I noticed the gap between the two parts. And there and then I decided to use that as the theme for this Art journal page.

Bridging the gap between me and myself

In the end

We're not that different at all

Meeting at the playground of my mind

Where the gap between fantasy and reality is closed.

This was a careful start. I am not there yet, but I know now I am still able to create something. This wasn't about the result but merely about me humming, singing and playing without fear. I would like to thank everybody for their kind and encouraging words. They have meant so much to me.

Hugs Ellen