Beryl Taylor

I took a workshop recently with the truly wonderful textile artist Beryl Taylor - please check her out if you don't know her - her work is awesome and to see a lot of it 'in real life' was just fabulous.

We were making fabric books and this is how mine finished up ...

Not the most cohesive of projects (my poor choices - not Beryls) but very enjoyable to make and I quite like the finished result

Art Journal

Not really a blog post - lol - just a share of some completed Calendar Art Journal pages inspired by Art of the 5th group - I have completed a whole (small) journal and am beginning to think i can embrace this process - i like some of the pages much more than others but even those I really disliked I have been able to rescue to some extent - yay!!

Blogging

I have decided to take a break from blogging - regularly anyway - I am finding it impossible to blog regularly and there doesn't seem much point if you don't do this, however I do like to enter the odd challenge here and there so will keep this blog open to do that as and when - in the meantime thank you to those who follow my updates and to those of you who comment - I have always appreciated it.

My plan is to continue with papercrafts, mixed media and art journaling ..

I can be contacted through my email (top right sidebar), through twitter (jacques1906) or via facebook should anyone wish to ...

Paperartsy

The PaperArtsy blog has been full of inspiration this week and I had a play with a few techniques from Ellen Vargo's tag book which is stunning.

Unfortunately I don't have any of her stamps (yet!) and I don't have the elusive dry waxed deli paper that appears on so many USA mixed media artists lists of essential supplies - if anyone knows what this is in the UK please let me know - and where to buy it.

Any way I used the paint scrape technique to apply Fresco Finish paints to my background, tissues paper to stamp the black and white repeating border and distress ink to stamp background in toning colour as well as a few other bits and pieces to create this journal page ... hopefully I am in time to join in this week!

It needs a bit more work and the 'journaling' but I think I will make this into a double page spread in my DLP journal

Another journal spread

Art to the 5th week 4 ... tip in closed ...

... and tip in open ...

Loving this process and now able to incorporate unfinished old journal pages ... also turned this page into more of a 'calendar journal' in Lin style and enjoyed this approach ... a cross between Art to the 5th planner, diary and art journal.

Art to the 5th spread 3

The challenge was to use an envelope as the tip in or as part of the tip in ... it should have been a recycled one received through post but I didn't have one and it was a bank holiday (no post) so used a black envelope from my stash. PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints and stamps.

I don't normally 'do' orange so quite pleased with this! Also finding that i have a desire to write a little ... just going with the flow

Art to the 5th

Second spread ... titled 'Selfie' - Yuk - but I did it ...

In progress above - lots and lots of layers - first Inktense then PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints - loved this look but knocked it back a bit before adding the elements with some dry bushed Gesso which gave it a gorgeous finish - it almost seemed a shame to cover it up ...

With the tip-in open above (although I do not know why I am showing this) ... and with it closed below

I do really (quite) like these pages - this was a surprise as I usually hate my art journaling - I need to brush up on my lettering though - my Dad was a sign-writer - he would not be impressed :-))