02 October 2009

Expanding My Horizons

Breaking out of the mundane...


Recently I completed my first full Chicago journal, well it's not fully completed yet but I'm at the end of it. : )

The Chicago journal is a journal that I started several years ago on the city of Chicago and all the trips I have taken to the wonderous city through the years. I like to label the journal as my "official" first art journal (well personal art journal), but other than drawing and doodling in it, journaling a bit, painting a few pages and adding a few pictures from said trips I didn't really do much else with it.

Now I have officially started my second Chicago journal and my exploration with art has kind of...exploded I guess...in a way that I never would have ever imagined.

I remember searching for the perfect journal to continue my Chicago trips in. It had to be easier to keep flat (my other journal is hard back and way wider than it should be :D ), and it had to be durable also, one in which each page would be relatively easy to work with. With trepidation I settled on a small spiral bound hard back journal not sure if it would be a good choice or a horrible mistake. I always worry that with spiral journals the pages will tear to easily out thus a major reason why I've not used many in my artwork.

Once I got the journal home and debated a bit I just started to decorate it not sure where it would lead, if it would hold up, if I could make the journal work out, if it would be better or worse than my first one...

Now? I've decorated approximately 10-15 pages and am going back to add in the additional pics and journaling that will complete each page. I did the same thing in the other journal but with this one... Well, let's just say it's become what I have always envisioned an art journal should be and I absolutely LOVE it!

Each page of this journal is decorated differently some with paper, some with paint, some with tissue paper and some with stamp pads. The end result? The journal looks great to me and I'm so loving it! So why did I just have to post and squee a little about this??

Because I just had to!!

I don't know when it happened, where the official "transition" actually occurred but somewhere along the way I took a basic starter art journal and have progressed into a pretty, fancy decorated one. My confidence and enjoyment in toying with paints and such have literally exploded. Where the transition happened I don't know, but I'm loving the end result! : )

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