Creating a Mixed Media Art Journal

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Creating a mixed media art journal page uses many of the mixed media techniques we have discussed previously. Art journalling give you a chance to bring all of those techniques together to create a piece of art that is uniquely yours.

Start with a book ready for altering, a sketch book or a notebook. Open to a new page and give both pages a good coat of gesso. Remember to be aware of the brushstrokes or scratchings you put into the gesso; these will still be visible and add texture to the finished design, after the paint has been added.

Next add some colour. Here I’ve chosen a green and a purple, both craft paints. They have been added at a diagonal, using first a dry brush, then a wash after the first layer is dry.

Adding green paint to mixed media art journalAdding purple paint to art journal

To tie the two colours together and to “dirty” it up a bit, add a little black paint, using the edge of a credit card to create thin lines.

Adding a little black to an art journal

To add further layers, paint on some tissue paper with matching colours and tear into strips. These can then be stamped and edged with black ink. Glue these onto the page. Ink used here is Brilliance Graphite Black. Stamps are from See-D’s Perfectly Paisley set (#50326).

Adding colour matching layers to add texture to background

Now your page is ready for journalling. I have used a white and a black gel pen of the Uni-ball brand. Both wrote well and dried on the paint. Take care when writing onto layouts; you may need to heat set your writing with a heat gun. Also some pens don’t write well on gesso.

Writing added with gel pens onto art journal

The brilliant aspect of art journalling is that you can write about anything; it does have that journalling aspect to it! Lately I have had the words from Pink’s song “I don’t believe you” going through my head. I have written the words out, as best as I can remember them. And like any song that just keeps going through our heads, I may not have started at the beginning, or finished at the end, or repeated the right bits…. but it is a reflection of the melody that is flowing through my brain.

Detail picture of art journal layers and writingWriting detail in art journal

I hope this introduction to art journalling will inspire you to give it a go. If you have completed some mixed media art work or altered book before, then the step to journalling is taking faith in your handwriting and what you want to say. If you are just beginning, then the best way to learn is to get started, start painting, start stamping, start writing. Only then will your skills grow.

And remember that this is for you, so choose the colours and images you love. You don’t need to share it with anyone. And don’t worry about your handwriting ~ while you may not like it, it is a part of you and that is what we are putting into our journalling.

If it all goes really bad… you can always gesso over it and begin again. But please sleep on it first; you may be surprised how a fresh set of eyes can appreciate your own work much better in the morning!
Happy creating!

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Altered Books – Removing and Gluing Pages

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In the previous article we discussed what an altered book is and its history, what to look for when choosing an altered book and where you may be able to find them.

To recap on choosing a book: it needs to be in good condition and it must have page sections have are sewn in. To check the construction of the book, hold the book up so you can see the inner part of the spine and where the pages touch it; if you can clearly see the page sections (the little books within the bigger book) then it will have been stitched. To check further, carefully open the middle of one of the sections. If you can see cotton or thread, then the book has been stitched and is exactly what you are looking for.

"Using books to create altered art"

In the second part of the Altered Books in Mixed Media Arts series, we will look at the technique of removing and gluing pages used to prepare the book before getting started.

Preparing your altered book
If your chosen book is dusty, it is worth wiping it down with a cloth to remove most of the dust.  To warm the book up, open it gently, somewhere in the middle and carefully flex or open and close the book to get it moving. This is particularly important if your book is brand new and hasn’t been worn in.

Removing  pages
As we begin to alter our book and add paint and papers and embellishments, the size of the book will grow. Often this is part of the charm of a finished altered book; it’s so full that it barely closes.

In starting out, we can help the book by removing some pages and gluing others together. This reduced the overall bulk of the book and creates thicker pages. Firstly have a quick look through the book and see if there are any pages that catch you eye; a fantastic heading or font, a lovely picture that could be incorporated into the design. These are the pages you will want to keep. Mark them with a post-it note, so they are easy to find during the next step.

Take a lead pencil and a sharp craft knife or scalpel (as we are cutting in close to the spine, it helps if the knife is a smaller one). In between the pages you want to keep, select four pages (two spreads) to begin the removal / gluing process.  The middle two pages need to be cut out, parallel to the spine, leaving about half an inch (1.5cm). On the outer two pages, that now face each other,  pencil a small “G” (for glue) onto the pages, to remind us that these are the pages to glue together.

Move through the book, between the pages you want to keep and remove quite a few pages (as a guide, about a quarter of the pages will be removed) and mark the pages to glue.

Don’t throw out the removed pages. These can be used later to create background papers or words used for embellishments or to add texture. As these removed pages are the same paper with the same font and format, it makes it easier to integrate these pages into our altered layouts.

Gluing pages
Now we are ready to glue our newly made sections together. Gluing pages together give us a thicker substrate to start our project. Gluing can be a frustrating process, especially if you want it to be “prefect”, so remember that this isn’t a precise art and any imperfections will add character to our final mixed media art piece.

I use a gel medium for this type of gluing; it sticks well but does take some time to dry, so it’s not the best if you are in a hurry. Start by brushing the glue along the middle of the two removed pages and ease these together. Then coat the outside of the stumps and one whole page that is to be stuck together. Carefully ease the second page up, starting from the spine out. Work from the middle out, removing bubbles as you go.

These pages need to be stuck at the right angle to the spine, so that it will close. You need to be mindful of this when bringing the pages together.

Repeat with another one or two sets of pages, then close the book, put it on a flat surface (the floor works well) sit something heavy on it and leave it to dry. After a day or two, you may need to open the book up and sit it on its end, with pages spread, leaving it to dry for a while longer. This is necessary when using gel medium or if the weather hasn’t been really warm. It needs air to circulate to fully dry.

In the next article we will continue to discuss preparing our altered books by using gesso, how to choose a  theme and where to looking for inspiration.

Happy creating!

…

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 Mixed Media Backgrounds with the Credit Card Painting Technique

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Creating your own backgrounds is an exciting part of any mixed media art project. While there are many commercially available papers and products out there, creating your own background from scratch is a great way to ensure no one else will have a project looking like yours.Making your own backgrounds also allows you to tune the colours to match your theme.

Credit card painting backgrounds

Credit card painting backgrounds

Background papers can be made in a variety of ways. Today will concentrate on using the credit card painting technique. I’m not sure who created this technique, but the likes of Lisa Vollrath and others have all added to my knowledge and inspired me to give it a go.

The materials we need are items you will have around the house; base paper(mine has text on it from an old conference papers book), two different coloured paints, one metallic paint and an OLD credit card or store card or any other small, flexible plastic card. I read somewhere that using your real credit card with the paints will wreck the magnetic strip on the back, so please do not use your current card! We will also need some backing newsprint or plastic, to protect our working surface from the paint.

The credit card painting technique can create lots of backgrounds in a short space of time, so be prepared with extra text paper and somewhere to put them flat to dry, before you begin to get dirty. Lay out your work surface and place the text sheets on top.Give the paints a good shake and apply a line of the first of the two paints, directly onto the top of the page. Hold the top of the page with one hand and use the credit card in the other. Hold it angled towards you and carefully drag in down the length of the page. When you’ve reached the bottom of the text page, lift the credit card and move across the the next bit of paint. Again, angle it towards you and carefully drag in down the length of the page, going parallel to the first strip on paint. Continue until you’ve covered the text page or run out of paint. Sit aside this first paint layer to dry. Move onto the next sheet, with the same paint.

As you experiment with the mixed media technique, you will find different paints have different runniness (or viscosity) and this will vary how well it spreads down the page.Also the different in angles the credit card is held will change the effect that is created. These are the fun aspects of this technique as each attempt produces a slightly different result.

Once the first layer of paint is dry it is time to repeat the process with the second colour or shade. Depending on how different the two colours are will alter the results. If the second colour is a lot darker than the first, then I often apply it sparingly, so the colour comes out patchy,rather than having the second colour obscuring all of the first colour.  Once more, give the paint a good shake and apply a line of the paint directly across the top of the page. Hold the paper with one hand and use the credit card in the other. Hold it angled towards you and carefully drag in down the length of the page, then move across the the next bit of paint.  Drag the card down the length of the page, going parallel to the first strip on paint. Sit aside to dry.

The third, metallic layer of this technique is often what bring this background to life.Spot the gold or silver or bronze paint across the top of the page and lightly drag the credit card down the page. The metallic paint brings a sparkle to the painted paper that adds a wonderful finishing touch.

So that’s the basics for creating a mixed media background using the credit card painting technique. Feel free to experiment with different paint and paper combinations to see what wonderful creations you can make. You can even elaborate on these painted sheets by adding some stamping, or adhering them straight on to your next mixed media art project.

Happy creating!

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