Author Archives: ajsartjournal

Unknown's avatar

About ajsartjournal

This blog is to share my adventures in art journaling. It's a journey of discovery and you are more than welcome to join me. A little bit about me … I’m English and live on the Isle of Wight which is off the south coast of England. I am retired and I’m married to the love of my life. We have been together as a couple since 1970 but only got married in 2007. before that we were just getting to know each other 🙂 We have had an amazing life together, travelled to distant parts of the world and lived life to the full. Sometimes when we look back at our life together we say “Wow! did we really do all that stuff?!” My husband has been very unwell for the past 10 years and I am his full time unpaid carer now. When he was younger he worked as an advocate supporting people who were detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act. He was also a musician and DJ. He is still interested in music and on good days our house is still filled with music. Me, I’m much more of a visual person, I love photography and images and now, of course, I love art journalling and being creative. We never had children, but we are now the proud parents to two beautiful cats called Bill & Jack (after Bill Burroughs and Jack Kerouac). They are getting old now and need more care and attention. Want to know anything else? Just ask 🙂 Big love AJ

A wonky Mandala :-)

Posted on by
2

A wonky MandalaHello friends!

OK so symmetry isn’t everything and I went a bit ‘off centre’ when I drew this one, but I love the colours which are Inktense Watercolours (mainly) and it’s a reflection of my Universe at that time 🙂

I hope your week is going well, I’m back at work now and enjoying my boring job but having some concerns about some of my colleagues who are very stressed by their workloads.

I heard a radio programme about chanting the other day so I thought I would give it a go.  I’m using the Buddhist chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo but I haven’t learnt how you breath and chant at the same time yet – I keep running out of oxygen!  I don’t think it’s supposed to make you light headed is it?  I doubt I will keep it up but for the time being it’s an interesting exercise.

The Mermaid Circus starts next week and I am so excited about it.  I’ve also ordered a copy of Art Journaling magazine because it has 10 pages by Teesha Moore and I just had to have it.  I got an email today telling me it’s on it’s way, so I hope Postie does not delay with the delivery.

I was wondering how I would remember all the stages and all the things I want to share with the participants on my Art Journaling workshop on 27 April, so at the weekend I sat down and drew a map fo the workshop on a sheet of A3 paper.   Of course I am bound to take a few diversions off the map, but if I stick mainly to the route it will all get done in the right order.  Yesterday I ordered the last of the pens I need for the participants to use and they too are on their way to me.  By the time of the workshop I should have 5 journals completed in the style we are using so there should be plenty for people to look at and hopefully get some inspiration from.  I have also made up welcome packs of goodies to give to the people who come along.   So I think I am just about ready to Rock ‘n’ Roll now.  I am feeling slightly nervous and very excited to be running my own workshop.

Hopefully on Monday evening I will get the names of all the people who have enrolled (if not on Monday then it won’t be until Saturday 13 April which is the first time I will be able to get back to the Library).   As soon as I have that information I will contact everyone to share some more information about the event.

I hope you are all having a lovely week and are keeping warm.  It is still cold here and we even had a flurry of snow today.   I keep thinking about that lovely tropical island paradise of Tobago and how much I’d like to be chillin’ out under a palm tree on the beach at Castara Village:

Castara BayIt’s always hot in Tobago and this is about as crowded as the beach at Castara ever gets …. Happy Days 🙂

See you all soon

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

Confusion Reigns & the Universe Delivers

Posted on by
Reply

Unquestionable WonderHello friends!

Because I work full time having bank holidays is a special treat and this weekend especially as we had Friday and today (Monday) off work.  But the change of pattern confuses my brain.  In the UK we changed to British Summer Time this weekend, the clocks were supposed to go forward on Saturday night, but in this house we put them forward on Friday night.  I think this was because Friday felt like Saturday to me and I convinced T to alter the clocks.  Consequently we spent the whole day on Saturday in a different time zone to everyone else!

I’ve had a busy weekend though.  Lots of art on Friday, on Saturday we went to the local DIY store.  We couldn’t understand why there was hardly anyone there, but now realise it was because we arrived just after it had opened.  Then I spent the rest of the day breaking up a large lump of concrete so we can replace the rotten wooden gate post with a concrete one.  Oh my that was hard work!  It totally wore me out and I had a hot bath and realy night that day.  Yesterday I also felt exhausted all day but I went to a Cemetery Open Day in another town on the Island and then visited my parents in the afternoon.  T had a go at breaking up the other piece of concrete holding in the other gate post, but it was too difficult for him.  We have been wondering if any of our friends have a pneumatic drill, it doesn’t seem likely does it?  Today I’ve had time for more art :-).

The weather this long weekend has been bright and sunny, but still very, very cold, I’m beginning to think I’d like to emigrate to a warmer climate, but then there are the cats to consider…

Talking of the cats, the Bengal Boys were three years old this weekend and had a special fish supper to celebrate.  For the past 6 months there has been a bit of a power struggle going on between them as to who is Top Cat.  I wish they would sort it out because I don’t like it when they squabble.  They are both still very sweet, but not with each other.

Early this afternoon we were visited by our friend Russ who we have known for at least 30 years but hardly ever see.  He said, “I was just passing so I thought I’d drop in and see you”.  He stopped and had a cup of tea with us and said he noticed we had been breaking out the concrete by the gate posts.  T explained what problems we are having and  Russ said “I’ve got a pneumatic drill I can lend you”, he went away and has just called back to deliver it.  It seems so unlikely that that could happen all I can say is “Thank you Universe and Russ”!!!

The page above is the from my third Teesha Moore inspired journal.  I also got some inspiration from the sculpures of one of my favourite artists Jean Miro.

Have a good week and I’ll see you all soon.

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

Peace from within

Posted on by
2

Peace from withinHello friends!

It’s mid-week and I thought it was time for another mandala from my little book of Wisdom Circles.

There is definitely something calming and centering about drawing mandalas.  If you have never tried it, give it a go.  You start from the centre point and you work your way out and around from that point.

A mandala is a map of your universe and of your life, its central point represents you, surrounded by the cosmic maelstrom that is the world you live in, the mandala is a joyful expression of your life and work.  Any time you can tune in to the universe it’s bound to be good for you.

Oooh I seem to have gone a bit deep and mystical with this post.

Have a good week my friends and I’ll see you soon.

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

 

 

You don’t have to be perfect

Posted on by
1

You don't have to be perfectHello friends!

OK I am officially obsessed with the weather and it is still very, very cold here.  Fortunately we have not had snow again, but other parts of the country have.  It is however still very wintery and I don’t like it!

On Saturday I was going to do some work in the cemetery, recording inscriptions from memorials,  but it was just too cold and wet.  Instead I spent the day with my friends in the Learning Centre setting up display boards for our next exhibition.  It was an enjoyable day spent with lovely and enthusiastic people.  Even though we had the heating on all day, it never warmed up.  We had to keep our coats on all day!

This weekend I have had to download a copy of the history group‘s website to my external hard drive (because we are moving it to another host).  The website is so huge that it took from 7pm until nearly midnight on Saturday and from 7am till 6pm on Sunday.  I didn’t want to do anything else on my computer while it was downloading just incase it messed things up.  So I didn’t have time to post to my blog yesterday.  I spent the time preparing some more pages for a new art journal.  There is always a good side to things that seem a problem 🙂

On Saturday I went to the Library to see how registration for my workshop is going and was delighted to hear that there are only four spaces left.   It would be great if all 12 places were taken up, as I have prepared goody bags for 12 people.

The page above is the second page of my third Teesha Moore inspired journal.  As you can see another strange creature  popped up to join me on this page.  I have no idea where they come from but I suspect there are plenty more just waiting to materialise themselves as soon as I give them a chance 😉

Have a good week everyone and if you are in the UK I hope you are managing to keep warm.

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

See the world through fresh eyes

Posted on by
2

Fresh EyesHello friends!

It’s the middle of the week and all is well here. It is officially the start of spring and we even had some sunshine 🙂  I have been enjoying myself at work which is somewhat surprising considering how boring and repetative my current job is.  This just helps to prove to me that being happy is definitely a choice I can make.   I hope life is being good to you too.

The page above is the front cover of my third Teesha inspired journal.  The journal was finished before I got the new Molotow pens to play with.  So how are the new pens?  They are lushious!   (I know that is now how it’s spelt but this spelling seems more appropriate to me).   I don’t know if the Molotow  are better than Sharpies or Uni Posca pens, but there are more choices of colours AND they are refillable so those are two points in their favour.  I just love pens of all kinds, it’s good to have a variety and selection and, personally, I don’t think it’s possible for me to have too many pens.

My exciting news is that I signed up for the Mermaid Circus an eight-week online workshop with Teesha Moore and Jane Davenport.  It starts in April and I’m looking forward to it immensely.  The workshop I did with Teesha at the Art Retreat last September was the best and I really would love to spend more time with her.  Teesha is not only a great artist but she is a beautiful,  lovely and generous soul.  It’s unlikely I shall be able to afford to get over to Seattle where Teesha lives so an online workshop is going to be the next best thing for me.  The workshop starts on Monday 8 April (that’s 20 days away) and  I am sure that it is going to be a good investment for me.

I made a little video of my completed 6×6 journal:

That’s all my news for now folks, see you soon.

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

A completed journal :-)

Posted on by
8

Completed Journal Complete002-for-webHello friends!

At last my 6 x 6 journal is finished.  I started it in August 2011 and completed it in February 2013, of course it was not the only thing I was doing during that time, but it is always so satisfying when a project is complete.   There are some pages in this journal that I don’t really like, but the whole, completed journal is quite lovely I think.

I have one more journal with a spiral binding that I have already started but from now on I am going to use journals without the spiral binding because I don’t really like how it disects the page.  I always cut that bit out when I post them on my blog, but that ugly bit in the middle is just not attractive.  So from now on it’s going to be altered books and handmade journals, several of which are already on the go 🙂

It’s raining again here (what a surprise!) and my plans for cleaning my car and taking Mum for a walk are ‘out of the window’.  Still on the positive side other projects are progressing.  My room needs tidying up again, but I just can’t seem to find the time for that.  Yesterday I cleaned the whole house apart from my room.  There are just too many distractions here, that’s the problem!

Anyway, I hope life is treating you well and filling you with joy.

Big love

AJ 🙂

Little things can make me so happy

Posted on by
3

The Bees KneesHello friends

We had snow on Monday and it’s been even colder than it was before.  The snow has gone now and the sun came out today which was lovely, but I’m still longing for some warmth.

Today the postman brought me a parcel of pure joy!  These pens are just so fabulous.  I had them delivered to my workplace and after I unpacked them I lined them up on my desk and excitedly showed them to everyone.  None of my colleagues could understand why I was so excited, but then I don’t understand why they are all so fascinated by the boring game of football.  I’m sure it’s a very good thing that we are all different and I’m glad to be the ‘odd one out’ in the office.  🙂

Short post tonight because we have to go out to a surprise 60th birthday party for a friend in a minute.

See you soon

Big love

AJ 🙂

 

Madness

Posted on by
2

Madness in LoveHello friends!

Woo! What a good weekend I am having.  I’ve done loads of art – I’ve have four journal pages in various stages of completion to use in my workshop to demonstrate the process AND I’ve started a new (Teesha inspired) journal and have completed the collage, shading and outlining on four pages.  I love doing the collage but I really love doing all the penwork and lettering.  So let the fun begin 🙂

Yesterday I went to a friend’s 80th birthday party and that was great fun.  An afternoon spent in good company with excellent food and a fun quiz thrown in too!

Today is Mother’s Day in the UK so Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mums out there.  T and I are taking my Mum and Dad out for lunch.  We were intending to go for a walk afterwards, but I’ve just been outside and it is very cold again, probably too cold for Mum to want to walk.  In fact they have forecast snow for tomorrow here!  What is happening?  It’s March for goodness sake, winter is supposed to be over by now!

The page above is the front cover of my second ‘Teesha inspired’ journal.  Thanks to my friend Jeanette House over at One Little House I also found another source of inspiration for this type of art journaling – Sandra van der Geest who does fabulous work.  Check this out : http://youtu.be/LpKUCC5CNmg It makes me happy 🙂  Sandra also has a great blog here.

I hope you are keeping well and happy.

Big love

AJ 🙂

Mandala time :-)

Posted on by
Reply

MandalaHello friends

I hope your week is going well, I am feeling really great.  Yesterday we had a sunny and WARM day!!!!!  It was fabulous!  Today it’s been overcast and dull (but dry) and this evening it started to rain again.  But that doesn’t matter because we had a whole day of sunshine yesterday.

Normally in February the small pond in our garden fills up with frogs for their mating season.  I mean it really fills up so there is barely room for them to move and the croaking sounds they make are fantastic, but this year there haven’t been so many, probably because it has been so cold.   However T reported today that while he was in the garden he saw three frogs and a toad making their way from the hedge to the pond.  If this carries on we will have to put the mesh cover over the pond again to protect the frogs from the cats.  Jack and Bill like nothing better than fishing the frogs out of the pond and playing with them.  The frogs of course don’t enjoy the game one bit.

I’ve just ordered some more pens (like I haven’t got enough already) and I can’t wait to try them out.  I’ll let you know when they arrive 🙂  These are supposed to be the last pens I buy before the workshop in April, that’s what I’m telling myself anyway.  Some people have already signed up for the workshop 🙂  It’s still 7 weeks away and I’m already getting excited!

The page above is page 3 of my Circles of Wisdom journal.

See you soon

Big love

AJ 🙂

An Invitation

Posted on by
2

Invitation

Hello friends!

I am now fully committed to running my art journaling workshop and some people have even signed up for it!   It’s quite good that for my first attempt at this type of thing I can do it without charging as Ryde Arts Festival are going to pay me to do it.  In return for this I and the participants in the workshop are going to produce pages that will be temporarily bound into a book that will form part of an exhibition during Ryde Arts Festival week June 28 to July 7.  After that everyone gets to keep the pages they contribute.

I am getting on with my preparations for the workshop and I just have a few more pens to buy so there are enough for eveyone to use on the day.  That is an excellent excuse for me really as I LOVE buying pens 🙂

I hope your weekend has been good, mine has been fairly productive but I am still wishing for warmer weather.  Come on!  It’s March and time to warm up!

Have a good week.

Big love

AJ 🙂