PAJWLH- Getting Started...

So this is our first post for our Progressive Art Journal Workshop! WOO HOO! I am so excited to get started :)

Right now I am sitting in a hotel room prepping for CHA (Craft and Hobby Association trade show) yet all I can think about is this fun amazing adventure we are all about to start! For our first post I thought I would keep it easy and share a simple prompt and supply list.

I have had a couple of you email or message me in regards to supplies for this art journaling workshop. Well this is a bit tough to write down in a list form as this is not exactly like a regular class that you would take.  The only items you will definitely need will be a surface (journal or pages) and a pen. I encourage you all to use what you have. There really is no reason for you to buy anything unless you see a pressing need for it. I will share with you products that I use and that I love and may even show you some fun techniques with these products but to purchase them is your choice, they are not mandatory for this course. Because we all have different tastes and aesthetics I would hate to see any of you spend your hard earned money on supplies that you might not even favor. So this list that I am providing is not a necessity list, mainly just some products that I really enjoy using. I will be adding supplies to this blog post as we progress through this year, especially if we find some products that are fun to share. This list should act merely as a list of suggestive items that I enjoy.  

Surfaces 

Depending on your work surface preference, you can work on pretty much any porous surface that you enjoy. Here are a few ideas to get started.

• sketch book
• drawing paper
• canvas sheets
• stretched canvas (If you choose to display your work)
• journal
• 80 lb (or heavier) cardstock

Pens and Pencils

• Micron Pen (20 and 05) These both are great for writing in your journals
• watercolor pencils
• oil pastels
• chalks (I use these very rarely, but they are cheap and come in handy)
• grease pen (China marker) This is something I use to outline a lot. Works great on most surfaces
• carbon pencil- basically this is a charcoal pencil without the organic iniquities. this is great for creating shadows and blends nicely with collage mediums. Here is a great guide to pencils if you are wondering the difference between the many types that are out there.

Paints/mediums

• acrylic paint, if you are just working in a personal journal craft paint (usually about .69-99 a bottle) should work just fine. If your art work is for display or gift try and use student or artist grade as the quality and pigment value will be higher and more durable.
• gesso- this might be another thing that you might use ofter. For one of the workshops we will work on starting over or prepping a page. Gesso works great for this, or even a few coats of white paint, but we will get into that a little later.
• watercolors- there are so many out there right now, especially in the scrapbook market. I use Clearsnap and Creative Imagination products and have found that they would wonderful, but again use what you have :)
• dyes- stamp pad re-inkers have become my go to for dying. I use Clearsnap for this as I have them on hand and have found that their concentration is strong. This just helps with having more flexibility if you use it as an additive to anything.
• modeling paste- This is just a fun product to play with and add depth to any project. This first project below I used a lot if modeling paste.
• gel medium/collage paste- basically something to stick stuff down with. You can use glue or modge podge for personal journals, if you are displaying your work I recommend gel medium as it is made for being displayed for long periods of time and I believe it has a UV protector in it.

Misc.

• Glitter- hardly ever do I create something without glitter. Glitter paint, glitter pens, dry glitter... the more sparkle the better in my book :) Glitter equals Happiness. Period.
• Patterned Papers- I have a basket that I throw my scraps into. This makes for quick and easy access for tidbits that I can grab as needed. I like to keep a variety of colors of patterned papers around. Helps to add visual depth yet still gives a fun pattern or hue.
• Handmade papers- These are sometimes pricey so I mostly use scraps from projects in my art journal. These papers are usually made of mulberry which has a beautiful organic texture to it. Now there are tons of additives that are thrown into the papers... they just keep getting better and better.
• odds and ends- any sort of ephemera that catches your fancy.
  

Places to find tools for this class:

First check your crafting closet. This is a great time for you to get resourceful with what you have. Don't have paint... use patterned paper and create a mosaic from your scraps. Can't find your scissors... just rip it. Another great place is your kids school supplies. I constantly use my kids art supplies, water colors, pastels, markers crayons. If you need color you can easily find it in your house in some way or another :) Anything else that I use I will recommend some places to purchase the product if you choose. Feel free to comment in any thread if you see a deal or bargain on art supplies, just please do not advertise for a company or store you work for. This is a safe place to create, we are here to support and help each other, not pressure anyone or load info that is not relevant.  

Prompt One:

Ok, so I am going to keep this one simple. This is a project that I created for the Charity Wings auction for this CHA. It is being auctioned off for the charities that they are promoting. With this project I started with no idea what I was doing... I simply sat down with some fun new products that I wanted to experiment with and had fun.

supplies used: 14x14 canvas, Paint (Plaid Industries) Grease Pen (Sharpie) Mask and Watercolors (Creative Imaginations), letter stickers Prima Marketing Inc. Inks, (Clearsnap, Smooch accent) Tsukineko (Staz-On Black), Vintage paper, Decoupage medium (Beacon, Fast Finish Decoupage), sequin, gems.

Side profile view showing flowers created with modeling paste and a Creative Imaginations mask. Canvas inked to show depth and add faux age/wear.

Close up of the verbaige... my son came up with this one ♥

 So for this part of the workshop let's start by creating a free form (meaning no specific guidelines) page to get the creative juices flowing. The title of this piece above was told to me by my 10 year old son. I love that even though he is young, he inspires me so. For the title of your page, use words of encouragement that you might give to someone. This is going to be a page that we will use in the future and revisit but for now, this will give us a good start at getting into the swing of creativity. Make sure that the back of your page is blank we will be doing something with that later. Also, if you have a blank cover to your project, keep it blank for now. When I return from CHA I am going to film a video of a cover idea you can use if you'd like. Feel free to post links to your page here. Seeing everyone's pages will be inspiring for all of us.

I hope this helps get things rolling for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. I will try and get back to you while I am at CHA... but being that it is a little crazy right now please give me grace. I will try and respond to you quickly :)

Since I will be here at the show PLEASE let me know what it is that you would like to see. I am walking the floor (the first time, I am not in a booth... woo hoo!) so I can get up close and personal with products you might want to know about. Please let me know. Just comment here what you want to see and I will take pics, ask questions and video if I can.

Thanks for taking this first step with me on our creative journey. We are going to have fun this year!!!

~Liz ♥

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