February Journal

I have made it through two months of Journal52! This has to be a record for me - but I am determined to keep at this. Here are my responses to this month's journal prompts...

Week 5: Abstract Art Inspiration...
I'm not really big on abstract art. Even with Zentangle, I prefer to add in some kind of story. But I had a big stack of Gelli plate prints from a class a few weeks before. This one jumped out at me:

With a lot of patience, paint pens, and just a little stomping of feet, I was able to turn it into this:

Week 6: The Art of Love Letters
Second only to Abstract Art, sigh, I hate Valentine's Day. I guess that is what makes something a true challenge. This piece was done with stencils and glittery spray dyes. Messy and annoying - like love - but pretty if you keep at it. I wrote a letter to myself and then drew tangles on top of everything. My favorite part is the bottom left corner. I drew in what I thought was missing from the stencil design. Then I cut out the whole thing to look like a file folder. Not sure why. "Love" seems to be in the file drawer for me. Although if anyone wants to send me a love letter, I wouldn't object! :-)

Week 7: When I Grow Up
I had ideas about doing something with archaeology or kids' books. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I am doing exactly what I always thought I would do, but also things I never believed were possible. Drawing pictures for kids is pretty close to drawing pictures with kids, right?

My daughter, Lilah, and I have been doing a lot of drawing together and her ideas are usually spot on. This sketch was a "back and forth"drawing. She draws something, I add to it, she responds... we try to out-do each other. ie: She was annoyed that I drew fingernails on her hand because it was supposed to be holding the genie's lamp - and I messed it up so it made no sense! oops! I added little lines to turn the lamp into a "ring" on her hand. OK. That could work.

In case you don't get the connection to "growing up" - being a grown-up is all about having super powers, magic, getting all your wishes granted, being a beautiful princess, flying high, and making new friends. (Or maybe you forgot?)

I added the color with Prismacolor pencils.

Lilah: How long did it take you to learn to color like that?
Sandy: 42 years.
Lilah: But you're older than that!
Sandy: The first two years, I just chewed the crayons.

Week 8: Found Poetry
Although I have done a few pieces like this in past journals, I didn't know it had a name until I discovered Austin Kleon. And now I see found poetry showing up everywhere. Even the CZTs have been playing with it and Zentangle. Cool.

This piece goes well with my theme for this year - and I will do another post about that, soon.
I transferred the book page to paper with Sheer Heaven, used gouache for the black outs and background, paint pens for the words and swirls, a Zettiology stamp for the girl - with lots of altering and lace, and some Micron pens for details.