Random Arts Journal Page

Random Arts is hosting another "Journal Page" challenge

in order to make a book that will raise money

for a local charity, "Arts For Life".
The last one that Jane did raised $500.00 for the local Senior Center!
Wow, what an awesome effort from everyone!
I took my page up to the shop yesterday and forgot to take pictures
(even though I have a NEW CAMERA!!!)
(I am SO excited about that!)
so I snagged pictures from Jane's blog.

I had begun a collage that was inspired by DJ Pettitt's work.

I was trying to learn the technique that she uses for her fused collages

but didn't have exactly what I needed...

and didn't have the time to wait until I had the correct supplies...

so, being the kind of artist that i am,

I just proceeded with what was on hand.

I had small pieces of canvas (cotton duck canvas or fabric)

that I had painted with gesso a while back

(actually in prep for a Katie Kendrick class!).

I had tried a couple of techniques

from Kelly Rae Roberts book on it

before going to a larger, more stable canvas

after I felt comfortable with the techniques.

I keep these little pieces of canvas

to use for collage or other mixed media work.

I was at Jane's on a Friday "Unfinished For Free" day

and wanted to show "the girls" what you could do with a piece of "scrap canvas".

I added a few torn pieces of tissue paper,

cut out the flower shapes & stems.

I used gel medium to collage each piece on (under and over the tissue).

Then I added the "sketchy sewing".

This was the part that I had got so much inspiration from DJ on...

her work is filled with this awesome sketchy sewing,

it looks so random yet it

"fits" each piece so perfectly!

I began sewing when I was a young girl

then taught myself to quilt...

needless to say my sewing was usually fairly even, followed the lines and all that.

But THIS sewing...I'm lovin' it!

It made such a difference in the small piece after adding the black thread outlines.

Jane suggested adding the black paper,

a couple of inspirational words...

and wa-la

my journal page was born!

I used a scrap of college canvas from another experiment

to make the other side.

I added Random Arts address label (that was in the journal page packet)

and printed out my address label,

then added the line

"Sending some LOVE your way" in a nice script font

to complete the "postcard journal page".

When I lined up the pieces of canvas,

I made sure that the stitching lines would sew both pieces of college down.

I really enjoyed making it

and am so glad to be able to participate in raising money

for such a worthy cause.

And I'm really loving the sketchy sewing...

it keeps coming up in my work now.

Love, love DJ Pettitt's art work...

you should go and see it!