It's Pretty Black and White

It's Pretty Black and White prompt #artjournal, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

I interpreted the prompt as something that was usually colorful, but that would still be pretty in black and white. I thought of a flower. Items used: junk mail, tear strip from a box, buttons. Stamp was made from an empty sewing machine needle case.

Debbie

The Neighbors Never Knew

The Neighbors Never Knew prompt #artjournal, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

I think people know me as a quiet, reserved, buttoned-up lady. But I do have a wild side to me, known by close friends and family. The photo above is me behind my daughter Lisa on her motorcycle. We didn't actually go anywhere, since I didn't have a helmet during my visit with her. That photo still gets comments from friends who thought they knew me. 

I like to put my face close to the windows of tall buildings, freaking out travel companions who are afraid of heights. I enjoy having the full force of wind and rain on me; it's exhilarating. I travel using public transportation to places I've never been, with the chance of getting lost. Yes, there's a bit of daredevil in me. It makes life fun.

Items used: Snippets of thread from the recently finished quilt Darlene, scrapbook paper, flyer from a church bulletin, magazine cutout, antique buttons.

Debbie

Like my Facebook page Traveling Quilter and get more updates on my quilting and my travels.

If My Mug Could Talk

If My Mug Could Talk prompt #artjournal, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

I eat cookies for breakfast at work. Some people think it's weird, but I do it anyway. My mug is tall, colorful and sassy, a gift from dear friend Debbie S. I used junk mail and snippets of embroidery floss from recently made quilt In Verdant Dreams.

What If...

What if prompt #artjournal, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
What If prompt. What if I could live at the beach? I love the ocean and I would love to live on a beach. I'm two hours drive from the Pacific Ocean, and I take day trips there several times per year. Once a year I do a three-day personal quilting retreat not far from San Francisco. I can see and hear the ocean from my room. The scene on my journal page is a block away from my motel.

I painted the background yellow, then used a toothbrush to flick turquoise, brown and red paint, sort of like grains of sand. There is a page from John Steinbeck's Cannery Row; Monterey is one of my favorite places, about 3 hours drive from where I live. There is a bit of music from Claude Debussy's La Mer (The Sea), and a scrap from a Dutch-English dictionary.

Good Old Days

Good Old Days, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Good Old Days prompt. I loved when my children were small, and some of my fondest memories are of trips together when my son and daughter were young. Here is a photo of the two of them on a long ago camping trip. My son, now in his thirties, still loves to camp. Recently he took his two young daughters, ages 3 and 7, camping by himself. They all survived and had a wonderful time. To embellish the page, I used snippets of threads left over from a recent quilt and added antique buttons.

Drink of Choice

Drink of choice prompt. I enjoy Diet Pepsi. Page made of packaging from a 2-liter bottle of Diet Pepsi, and a newspaper ad for Pepsi. Painted using the cap, bottom of the bottole, wadded up label. White strips are the reverse side of the label.

Drink of Choice prompt #artjournal #dietpepsi, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

Rain

Rain, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
I love the sound of gentle rain. As a girl I enjoyed splashing in puddles in my rubber boots. So fun! Used paint, stones, fabric, sequins. Besides a brush, I painted with toothpicks, bottle caps, meat tray.

Favorite Quote Challenge #artjournal

Quote prompt. Although I'm not as Bohemian as Auntie Mame, I do like to bend the rules, go on adventures and live an un-ordinary life. For this page I cut out titles from a travel magazine and fished my quilting studio trash can for embellishments. The ink ran out as I printed the quote, but I used it anyway. Art doesn't have to be perfect.

Favorite Quote Challenge #artjournal, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

Advance 3

Advance 3, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

Paint, homemade stamps (thread spool, eyeliner), pages (Dutch-English dictionary, quotes book), scarf fabric, trim

Connected to the past

Connected to the past, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

Home where my parents lived when I was born. Information found on birth certificate, looked it up on a recent trip to San Diego. Place is still standing 50+ years later.

At the ready

At the ready, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

Hiding

Hiding, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

Protective

Protective, a photo by quilter4010 on Flickr.

Art Journal

I've been reading about art journals for a while now. The other day I decided to go for it.

I bought a spiral bound book with sturdy, shiny pages from the thrift store, about $1. I believe the spiral binding will allow the book to expand without looking overly full.

Here are some typical pages from the book. Silly, aren't they? I plan to cover the illustrations with my art.

Here is the page for my second art journal entry. (I did one the day before but didn't think to take any pictures of the process.)

Using my granddaughters' paints and paintbrushes, I sloshed on some paint to cover up the drawings. I used my hairdryer to dry the paint.

I referred to a list of art prompts that I had created by looking around the room, writing words that popped into my head as I looked at various objects. I ended up with a list of 75 nouns, adjectives, concepts, etc. I picked 10 words at random for the first 10 days.

The prompt for the day was "hiding". I wrote Hopes, Dreams and Fears in fat permanent pen, then covered the words by gluing a piece of scarf material from a bag of scraps.

I've done three pages in three days, and I kind of like it. Although I'm a perfectionist, I've told myself that the pages don't have to be perfect. I try to get a page done within 15 minutes. I don't have fancy art supplies, but at this point they aren't necessary. When the book is full I'll find another, probably at the thrift store.