5 in 5 - April 2018 - The Sketchbook Project

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th of

each month I post 5 photos that I have 
taken in 5 minutes.

The Sketchbook Project is an annual event and this year I decided to participate. Artists are sent a book which you complete in any way of your choosing using a few basic guidelines. The book is then returned to Brooklyn, US and becomes part of a travelling exhibition and permanent library. I was excited when my book arrived and was pleased by the small size, as I had made up my mind that in order to meet the deadline I would need to work within constraints. I set myself a goal which I explained on the back page of the book:

"I can be a perfectionist and chose this opportunity to participate without pressure or expectation.  There are things in the sketchbook that I would do differently another time, but I have given myself permission to let it go. This was a good experience and learning for me, because sometimes high expectation can stop me starting or mean that I did not enjoy the process so much because I undo or redo in search of getting it right. This time I achieved this by letting go, and I enjoyed making this sketchbook and accepted that good is enough!

I chose a quote as my theme as I wanted a connection to flow through the pages, and these words were meaningful to what I wanted to achieve and where I am in life".  

So let's take a look:

I have a few more details to add and then it will be posted back to Brooklyn. I'm glad I took part, it has been an opportunity to be playful and I used a range of mixed media techniques including stamping, paint, pens and ink, collage, grunge paste, stencils and texture. Thank you for looking, and maybe this will inspire you to take part next year.

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. 

 





Oyay! Oyay!

If I were a town crier I'd be ringing my bell loud and clear!  Because you see, my blog will be one year old on Monday 20th June.

And I am organising a  

BLOG HOP 

to celebrate.  

This is my way of saying thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey.  I have some amazing participants lined up, a surprise or two, and am I excited ?  Yes I am!  I hope you will make a note of the date and join us for some fun!
Thank you to Robert Needham, Town Crier for Colchester, Essex for permission to use this photo. 

I'm also celebrating progress in other areas too.  In my last post I named 10 things I wanted to achieve in the coming weeks.  I have ticked off Project 365 and these photos are now sorted and downloaded onto my Flickr site.  Yay!!

Thank you to anyone who left a comment on my post.  I was truely grateful and encouraged and have visited each of you to thank you personally.  But the Google Gremlins were about... grrrrr!  After writing a comment I would be signed out..... I would sign back in and repreat the process only to be met with the same problem.  I can't tell you how much time was wasted and it got so bad that I actually gave up.  And I don't give up easily!  But I did get to see what other people listed as their 10 things and loved the ideas and the sharing.  And I also found out something pretty special, but more about that next time.... 

Another of my intentions was to start a art journal.  I love using all kinds of media so this seemed a good place to experiment and work on pieces that are small enough to complete.  There's no point in starting yet another project that remains unfinished!  And so I bought this book.  There are no techniques or instructions, just 1000 images of completed work.  But a great souce of inspiration which will naturally flow into my other creative areas.


By the way,  has anyone else had Google sign in problems or is it just me? 
Enjoy your week, what ever you are doing.