Watercolor Journal Pages & WOYWW

I don't seem to have had much time to create anything lately because life's just been too hectic.  But on Sunday, I did crack open some watercolors and of course, they're still on my work table on Wednesday, so I can share them with you for WOYWW148.

I was fooling around with different color combos and recording them in my journal.  And while I had all these puddles of paint on the palette, I created some patchwork watercolor panels.  Not sure what I plan to do with them - make another journals more than likely and write on them.

 

I like giving journal pages a watercolor wash as a starting point.  Here's a page I created with a yellow watercolor wash as the base.  I included a piece of dictionary page in the center of the page and gessoed over it.  I hand wrote a favorite poem by Wendell Berry and some stamped words from the poem at the top and bottom.  I finished it by highlighting the edges with a watercolor crayons (the blue and green).

I know my handwriting is horrible, so I've included the poem below.  Enjoy!

I Go Among Things and Sit Still - Wendall Berry

I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
around me like circles on water.
My tasks lie in their places
where I left them, asleep like cattle.

Then what is afraid of me comes
and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.

Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it,
and the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.

After days of labor,
mute in my consternations,
I hear my song at last,
and I sing it. As we sing,
the day turns, the trees move.

I hope you're having a creative week!

Ali

Final Gingersnaps Challenge & WOYWW147

I posted the last challenge on the Gingersnaps Blog today!  There's some lovely artwork on there by our talented design team and visiting artists for our final copper, ginger or rust color challenge.  It's sad to see it close, but it's time to try new things and take on new challenges :)

Here's the piece I created.  I seem to have a fabric thing going on right now.  I'm not loving the corners - I've got to figure out a better way to deal with that.

 

The different layers you see here are from bottom to top: chipboard, batting, muslin, 2 pieces of vinyl wallpaper, patterned paper by Graphic 45, embossed copper c/stock and a strip of rust linen (scraps from my living room curtains!).  Here's a close up:

The main panel is made up of 9 inches that include stamped images from Stampin' Up! and Artistic Outpost.  The circular thingamajig is a key from a vintage cash register.  I love it and have been trying to find a use for it for a while now.

I took a photo of my work table when I was done making this - it was a ocean of orange!  I'm linking it to What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday 147.

Hope you're having a creative week!

Ali