january journal diptych

A new year of journaling has started for moi. Here's my first journal of the year for you to feast your eyes on.

You might remember when I discussed my plan for 2010 journals here. This is the first fruit of those labors, although perhaps labors isn't the correct word, as it was way too much fun. Speaking of not correct words, you might have noticed that I didn't use the words "journal quilt" to describe this diptych. The reason is quite simple ~ these are not quilts. The technical term I guess would be mixed media. I did initially plan to do quilts, but I changed my mind... I decided to use my stash of 8"x10" canvas boards that I bought eons ago for a now forgotten project and make these mixed media journals.

I thought that some might find it interesting to see my process for this journal, so I took pictures as I worked.

I started with my acrylic paints, reds, yellows and oranges swirled together on the canvas panels. I scratched into the acrylic paint before it was dry. Then I printed my original journal sketches on Extravaganza, layered bits of fabrics and threads, and hand needle felted them in place. This was the most fun part of the entire project! I have never needle felted by hand before, even if I had the supplies for a while. I figured this was the perfect opportunity to try it. And I only drew blood once, and didn't get any of it on the art. Here's a close up of the luscious felted goodness. I've got snippets of thread, color catcher sheets, dryer lint from Laura Wasilowski, fabrics, netting.... Here's what it looked like after the first felting. Then I added a bit more bits, felted some more from the top and from the back. I used matte medium to attach the felted Extravaganza to the canvas panels. The gel was only under the felted parts, so that the organza would stay separate everywhere else. And then I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the progress.... But it went something like this: once the gel was dry, I took out my acrylics again and painted on top in more swirls and circles. Once the paint was dry, I added bits of hand stitching to parts of the organza. Then I let the journal sit around for a day or so before I declared it finished. Voila!