LOOKING FOR ORDER IN CHAOS! - WOYWW

Here is my workspace this week.... I am almost ashamed to show.

It's a crazy chaos that I am trying to organise and clear. It also spread back into the house a few weeks ago and the dining room table is also covered.  I have bought rather a lot of new materials recently including more this weekend:

Did I mention that I filled a new loyalty card in my last post?  Well I did, and I did it again at a different shop this week!  You see I spent Saturday with Dyan Reaveley, learning art journaling techniques.  The colourful mess page you see above is one of my first attempts of creating background pages in my brand new journal. And because I can see I am going to fill the journal quite quickly I thought I had better buy two more! I also bought a new Perspex block as this one is good for larger stamps and has a measure down one side and a curve on the other - useful for drawing lines to journal in or for giving pages a different shape edge. 

I already have Cut-N-Dry foam but can't find it so decided more was needed.  And the 6x6 Template sheets are for cutting out my own stencils. Yay!  What fun it will be to design my own - I was going to experiment with a laminated sheet and I will still do this as they will be considerably cheaper if they work.  Completing my shop is a collection of Dylusion sprays - I've thought about buying these for so long!  I posted about my day with Dyan here so pop over if you want to find out more.  It was an amazing experience and I can't wait to book another day it her. 

Sometimes the universe gives us what we need... 

For weeks now my head has been very messy with information and ideas that I have gathered.  In fact, my head has been as messy as my workspace.  So I have been writing it all into a notebook to contain it...  make sense of it...  and keep it safe. 
And I knew were to find it. 
Only now I can't because very annoyingly I left my notebook at the workshop, and I am lost without it.
    
So I am stepping back and starting with a blank page because One of the things I had been working on is ideas for my  third Blogaversary next week. The problem is, I had so many ideas that I was overwhelmed and consequently nothing is planned as yet.

But I will!  I don't want the day to pass un-noted so without my book I will start again and this time I will keep my ideas simple. My wonderful friend Pauline has offered to pick my book up for me.
Phew!! 
And here are a couple of other things on my workspace, work in progress and things to come. 

I do hope you will pop by again next week to celebrate my third Blogavesary with me. I am thinking a giveaway, a swap, or something equally fun! 

So that's me, for now.  Over at Julia's you can find out what other people have on their workspace today.  And what a great way of finding out what others are making a mess with, buying, and doing.  Have a great week and thanks for popping by! 


 

A DAY WITH DYAN REAVELEY

My friend Pauline and I had planned to go to Harrogate this year to visit Art from the Heart.  You see, we were keen to book a couple of classes with Dyan Reaveley, but do you know what? 

Dyan came to us instead!  Well, to the south that is.... to
Faversham in Kent. She was running four classes this weekend but we
decided all four might be too much to absorb all at once, so we
booked two and plan to go to Harrogate another time for more. 

I love art journaling and you can see one of the first pages I ever
made here. I still remember how powerful it was to produce this page and I had it in mind to buy a 'proper' art journal and materials so I can be more serious in my intent. And finally, yesterday I did just that! 

Pauline and I were so excited to be meeting Dyan, and we soon got down to making a mess.  Now you know how it is when you have a brand new book of beautiful blank pages...  you want to stroke them and perhaps put it aside for something 'special'.  Well, Dyan was having none of that!  She ran a tight ship and when she said open a page, pick up a Dylusion spray and use it on the page, well we did!  We were told not to spend time choosing a colour - just take the first one you reach out for.  And we did!  Then we had to repeat this on another blank page.  Third time we were primed and about to spray... when Dyan said  'spray the persons page sitting next to you'! 

Then we had to tear two pages from our book, and a strip out of another page...  all this done quickly and without opportunity to think about what we were doing.  Which is probably just as well!  It felt very liberating to act so fast and unconsciously... which for me is what art journaling is about: the freedom to express yourself, with the focus on process rather than a plan or outcome. 

After this we set about making some background pages. Dyan is an excellent teacher, and not only that, she is one of the most modest and generous artists I have met.  She invited photographs and said her sole intent is to encourage others to try art journaling.  That her work is just 'paper and paint'... and if 'copying' her work gave others the confidence to give it a go, then that was fine.  She said we could share her work, did not need to give her credit... and her whole attitude was so relaxed and giving. I am sure this allowed us to be less precious with our own work and to experiment and be playful.   

The classes ran from 9am to 6.30pm and we learned different techniques including how to spray, stamp, mask, use hand writing, college, and create different effects. Now my confidence is boosted there will be no looking back!!   Here is my new book looking pristine:

 

 And soon after, with pages torn out and covered in ink:

 

A page in progress:

 

 

And one completed:

 

I didn't think I would achieve so much in one day and a part from enjoying everything I learned it was pure pleasure to meet Dyan.  She was so inspirational and says that art feeds her soul.... I know mine was truly satisfied yesterday.