Product review…

I have to start this review with a confession and an apology.

I have talked smack about Mod Podge for years. I would cringe when I saw jars of it in my workshops. I would tell people the reasons you should never use Mod Podge in your art journal. I would tell them horror stories of collages falling out of there journals, yellowed pages and pages stuck together. Now I have to eat a partial crow. I have found a Mod Podge product that has a very specific use in an art journal.

Mod Podge Ultra comes in a spray bottle and I have finally found a way to use up my water-reactive sprays. My style of art has never been conducive to using water reactive products, like Distress Ink or Dylusions sprays. I like to layer and layer and layer and then I might add a layer. I need permanent products, which is why I lean towards acrylics. I have a drawer full of water reactive sprays though. Why you may ask? Well, I love art products and I love both Tim Holtz’s products and anything by Dylusions. I buy them because I love the colors. I love how easy it is to use sprays. I love having gobs of supplies. Now ask me if I use them.

In the past I have experimented with adding gel medium or matte medium over the sprays to make them permanent. I have tried fixative sprays. I have tried one color family so I didn’t care if the colors reactivated. I have had minimal success with these attempts. That is why the sprays were still in my drawer. Then Mod Podge Ultra spray walked into my shopping cart.

Do you want to see how it works?

Why should you use an inspiration board?

Do you ever have time to be creative, you sit down, all of your supplies around you and then nothing? Nothing comes out. Either you don’t know where to start or how to pick up where you left off. Maybe you are a little scared of the blank page in front of you. Or you are afraid of “ruining” something you have already done.

I know all of these dilemmas because I have experienced them all. My creative time was always limited when my son was younger. I would be happy to have a few minutes to work in my journal or a canvas. Then I would just find myself staring at my table, time ticking away. Each time that would happen, I would become more discouraged. I got to a point where I didn’t want to set time aside for my creativity because it was so frustrating.

I was looking through a magazine one day and there was an article with a tour of an artist’s studio. Although it was a beautiful space, the one thing I marveled at was her inspiration board. It took up a huge section of a wall and had all of these photos, scraps of fabric, bits and pieces. In the article she talked about how she collected things that inspired her and put them on that wall. Then as she was working, she could look to the wall for inspiration when she was stuck. That idea really stuck with me.

Now I don’t have a huge wall I can use (at least not yet), so I had to figure out a solution. I use lots of online references, mostly on Pinterest, so I create a digital inspiration board that I print out. I change my inspiration board every month or two so I can rotate in new inspirations I have found. Here is my most recent inspiration board.

I tend to collect inspiration within color stories. Here you can see I am largely influenced by fall colors. I also like to collect color combinations I want to try. For example, the orange flowers set against a blue background. Some of this may directly inspire my art, other bits may inspire me but be unrecognizable. The main goal is to have a place to start.

So if I sat down and was feel uninspired, here is what I may do. In my art journal, I would paint a page light blue and when dry, start adding circles in shades of orange. Or I may paint alternating stripes in orange and pink. This may become part of the background or it may completely disappear under future layers, but it is a starting point. I think most of us struggle the most with the starting point.

Have you used an inspiration board before? Are you inspired to try one now?

For more inspiration, check out my Pinterest board.

Scared of a blank page?

I have said it before….starting is the hardest part.

How can you get past the fear of starting a page? First, it takes practice so don’t expect it to happen instantly. Second, you need a list of “go to” page breakers. Let’s make that list….

My first tip is a color wash with a baby wipe. I know, I know….you don’t know what color to use. Here is where you have to have a little faith in me and yourself. Pick your favorite color, squeeze a tiny bit on your page and use the baby wipe to cover the whole page. Then leave it to dry.

The second tip for your art tool kit….use stencils. Let’s grab another blank page and 2-3 stencils. If you have a smaller page, use two stencils with different sized openings. A larger page can handle 3 stencils. Here I would use stencils with a large, medium and small sized opening. I also limit my paint colors. Pick 2-3 colors that are on the same side of the color wheel (cooler shades of blues and greens OR warmer colors of reds and yellow). This prevents making muddy looking colors.

The third tip for your tool kit is collage. Grab some book pages. It doesn’t matter what type of book. Just grab a few sheets and tear them into medium sized pieces. Use gel medium (matte medium, collage medium) or a glue stick to cover your entire page with book pages.

Do you have a favorite tip for breaking a blank page?

Time to get started!

Now you have all of your supplies ready. What do you do next? The most important step is to start. Most people get a little precious with that first blank page. We tend to freeze up and don’t want to “ruin” it. The only way you can ruin a journal is to not use it.

If you have no idea what to do, now is the time to check out some YouTube videos or maybe an online class you already bought. Almost everyone I know started by looking at someone else’s pages and trying to copy them. There is nothing wrong with that (as long as your aren’t claiming the art as your own and selling it). Those of us who have YouTube channels hope that you watch the video and try it. This is the time to follow some artists on social media. Find art that you like and save it. Find colors you like. The more you look, the more you will find what you like.

MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Get Inspired!

What else do I need?

Now that you have a journal, how do you get started?

Let’s take first about what you are using your journal for. Are you writing in it, sketching, painting? Obviously this influences what supplies you need. Let’s break it out…

• Writing and Journaling - look for a great pen. It does not have to be expensive, but find one that writes smooth. Also considers how easy it is to refill the ink. Does it dry fast enough to prevent smearing? If you are thinking of combining watercolor with your writing, look for a waterproof ink.

• Sketching - here you may want pencils. You can easily sketch with a #2 pencil. Make sure you buy a good pencil sharpener to keep handy. Above and beyond that, you start to get into the world of drawing pencils and colored pencils. Start with some basic supplies and you can always add on later.

• Painting - obviously you will need paint, but do you want to work in acrylic or watercolor? Both mediums have their own primer (gesso vs. watercolor ground), type of brushes and techniques. If you don’t have a preference, I usually lead new art journalers toward acrylic paints. Why? I find acrylic painting to be a little more forgiving when you are just starting. In acrylic painting, it is easier to layer your paints, even covering something you don’t like. As for paints, you can easily start with the $1 paints at a big box craft store.

• Collage - well, you need some paper and glue. What kind of papers? Take a trip around your house and look for magazines, scrapbook paper, paper bags…get creative. Magazines offer lots of collage material. Many of us don’t have magazine subscriptions anymore, but lots of libraries sell magazines for pennies. Plenty of us have scrapbook paper we meant to use one day. Maybe you received some junk mail with a cool photo on it. Anything that can be glued down is now your supply.

Time to gather up some supplies.

So, what do I need to start?

If you are fresh to art journaling, what do you REALLY need to get started? This has almost as many answers as “Why have an art journal”.

PICK A JOURNAL….ANY JOURNAL

Let’s start with the first, most important part….a journal. What type of journal you use is dependent on what you want to use it for. If you plan on writing or journaling, a lined notebook may be perfect. Like to sketch, you may want a journal with heavier paper that will lay flat when open. Want to throw some paint around, then you will want a mixed media journal. What if you think you want to do it all? Get a good mixed media journal. You can write on the pages, sketch, add watercolor or acrylic, even collage on the pages. My favorite journal to recommend to new art journalers is the Dylusions Creative Journal by Ranger. It has heavyweight, smooth mixed media paper that takes many different mediums. It gives you a reliable surface to create on. A bonus is that it comes in multiple sizes, so you can decide which one works best for you.

So, what can you use if you don’t want to commit to buying a journal yet. Let’s take a look around your house…..

• Composition notebook or spiral notebook

• Old cookbook or “coffee table” book

• Atlas

• Used day planner

• Magazines

Any of these may require a little prep. If you plan on painting in your journal, you may want to glue 2-3 pages together to give yourself a more substantial surface. You also may want to gesso your pages before painting. (Gesso is an acrylic primer that prepares your pages for paint.)

Time to pick out your journal!

Why to have an art journal?

Many times I am asked what is an art journal or why do I keep one. I usually struggle to answer this in a few sentences. It is a struggle because “art journal” can mean different things to each person. First there is the name….art journal. How is that different from a sketchbook, a visual journal, an artsy journal, a junk journal or a diary? It’s not. Everyone has a different name for what they do. The name does not matter. What matters is what you need it for. (I will refer to “art journal” from now on because that is what I most often call my journals.)

Here are some of the common reasons people keep an art journal:

• Try new products and techniques - Bought a new paint or brush? Grab your journal and try it out. Make notes of what you did so you can reference it later.

• Sketches - A journal is the perfect place to practice sketching, drawing, doodling.

• Document your day - Do you want to remember the little things that happen each day? Write a few lines of journaling and add a quick sketch of something that happened that day.

• Art practice - Consider your journal an alternative to painting on canvas.

• Creative education - Keep notes from any online classes you take.

• All of these or anything else you need it to do.

Just remember it is YOUR journal. What you use it for can change as you change. Maybe right now you need to write and journal. Do it! Maybe later you want to practice sketching. Do it! Then you take a mixed media class and you want to practice. Do it! The most important part if to DO IT!