Another Realm: Journal Page

In working with my Goddess Journal I decided that, try as I might, I probably will NOT draw a face for every journal page. I'm not that good and I want to try other techniques. But the pages will still tie in to the theme.

This two page spread was an experiment in two things: 1) a different color scheme (for me) and 2) using windows on the page. First, I love this window technique.

I came across this particular window in a wonderful workshop I'm taking on altered books. The teacher is Monica Zuniga and she's absolutely amazing. You can find her website at Hands and Heart, another ning site (see side link). I'm enrolled in a portrait drawing class that she'll be teaching starting Aug. 20. Check out her beautiful site. This altered book workshop is free and you can see all of her cool techniques in her beautiful books!

Here is a closeup of the two pages individually. You can click on each page to get larger views:


The verse is from a poem I'm writing. It's not finished yet but this is my favorite verse so far. I'm trying to keep with the idea of including some form of poetry in each spread. After adjusting the size of the verse in Photoshop, I printed it out onto matte brochure paper and then inked around the edges. It is adhered to an envelope I made, painted and inked up. Then I stitched it with embroidery thread onto the dyed cheesecloth underneath. The little page fits perfectly inside the envelope.

I like the aged look of the pages. The page with the eye reminds me of an old, weathered page that has burn marks on the edges. Monica's technique is super easy. For the "eye" window I used 6 pages from an old book on oil painting that I had. When I finished with the technique I glued all of them together and then adhered them to the Moleskine page. I used the criss-cross staples for more texture and then repeated that theme in the stitches on the envelope.

I don't use a whole lot of oranges and reds in my work but I am trying to branch out and use other colors besides my faves of pinks, blues and violets. The fun thing about trying some of these new techniques is I never know where it will take me once I start!