Thursday, July 28, 2011

Acrylics?!?

and i don't mean acrylic nails.... happy thursday friends!!

i was kinda crazy when i signed up for TGF's He-ART Journaling class, seeing how i have a huge pile on my plate as is... i was very much ready to step out of my comfort zone and try this new thing that is a rave all over the world.... so i signed up... for personal and crafting reasons... i do believe this will open up the world of mixed media to me and may or may not help me grow in the different aspects of crafting, i won't know unless i try... it is definitely worth a try... it's a 23 week course of basically journaling in the form of art, hope i can keep up... i had SO much fun with the 1st week's assignment... SPREAD YOUR WINGS! in the sense that you reflect on something with wings... ie, fairies, angels, butterflies, birds, etc on your journal pages.... i chose to do butterflies...
here is my 2 page creation... butterflies was the first thing that came to mind after reading the assignment... to me, the butterfly is very symbolic in the sense of metamorphosis, and i put that on my life in general and then my crafting life... we all hit transitions in our lifetime and what better comparison than the butterfly to relate to.... (yes, the very hungry caterpillar is one of my FAVE books)... i've added 3 butterflies on to these pages that represent my 3 children... why?!? because for me, each one of them have transitioned me into becoming a better person in their own unique ways and because it represents their changing lives (transitions)... i see butterflies as being so pure and innocent... just like my kiddies.... i love butterflies, always have, but it wasn't until i was much older that i truly looked into the symbolic reference of butterflies and compared it to life.... welcome to the beginning...

the next thing to go along with the whole meaning of butterflies was that i wanted to try a different medium, which would represent my crafting... so i stocked up on some acrylic paints... a decent priced set of colors since i'm not sure if acrylic painting is for me i just wanted to try a few first.... yes this is my first time using them and OH I LOVE IT!! i love the textures it leaves on the paper.. my basic background here is all acrylic painting... the blue sky, the grass, clouds, and flower stems.... oh but i admit one thing about the painting.... took my 3 tries to do one and i made a big mess.... but oh it was super fun!

mixed media?! well if you can consider adding embellishments to the paint, i used a pack of prima flowers to add to the stems and some feathered butterflies....
here's a pix just showing the 3D effect to the pages... i opted to not scribble on my pages just yet... it's too nice to mess up with my ugly hand writing.... but i eventually will... i decided to dedicate the complete journal to my kiddies so they can reflect on me when they want to and see what was going through my mind through the course of this class... i won't work on the dedication page until i complete the whole journal first and i have yet to figure out how i want to decorate the cover... i have it covered with some yuzen paper and have a quote in mind that will tie in with the dedication page but not sure about the "other" elements... so you'll just have to stay tuned for that... =D

overall the first week went great! ventured to a different type of crafting which is way past the comfort zone... paper crafting will always be my first love, although i'm really loving this new art journaling.... so each week (if i can keep up) you'll see journal pages for sharing...

phew! have you stuck on to read this whole post?! if you did, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! If not, hey atleast you stopped by! Thanks for coming by and sharing a brief moment with me! join me tomorrow for something down to earth... =D

13 comments:

  1. Wow! I love your pages :) I joined this class too-it's a new adventure for me too :) x

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  2. Wow you did a great job with your pages ;) I joined this class too-it's nice to try something new & different!! :) x

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  3. Woah..... very deep symbolism there! Cute job!

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  4. Thank You again, Kris! for your help yesterday!

    As you already know I LOVE your layout and like you said I guess we were thinking along the same lines with the paint.LOL!

    Haven't told too many people I'm in this class, too, because they would really think I'm crazy with all the other stuff going on (oh, I guess I just told more peeps!)But like you said it's a personal journey...hope all of us Hawaii Sistahs can stay on for the next 22 weeks!

    Thanks for sharing the story behind your pages...really cool.

    Have a great weekend!

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  5. WOW! This is SO fabulous! I love it- and LOVE that you are doing the Heart Journaling w/ us!!! Thanks for sharing your art from the <3

    Oh -hey did I ever send you that pic of Ava? I can't remember?

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  6. As I told Joy, you two are so brave to be going on a 23 week journey of journaling. You did a fabulous job with the acrylics and I love your symbolic use of the butterfly. Our family also loved the Very Hungry Caterpillar and at one time had a dozen caterpillars in various stages on our dining room table. LOL!

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  7. Hi Kris. I am happy that you have gotten so much out of this so far. I read about it and really wanted to go with it, but there is just no way for me at this point. I am so over welmed with everyday life at the moment that I really can't see adding anything more. I love your first pages and I really enjoyed reading how much you have gotten out of it. I think that I will just sit back and enjoy your expierience. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. Hugs, Lisa

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  8. beautiful! love the colors! so brave of you to do this! looking forward to following your journey!

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  9. Wow Kris, beautiful pages! I didn't know there was a class going on. Guess I've been kind of out of it and not reading blogs. I'm sure you'll finish all 23 weeks.

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  10. Ok, awesome job on your first 2 pages. Your thought process and deep meaning has me in tears! I'm so glad I'm walking this journey with you (and Joy too). I hope I can stick it out for the next 22 weeks.

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  11. Love this, girl! Wish I have time to join in the fun! Can't wait to see more!

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  12. This class that you are taking sounds like lots of fun. Your interpretation of the assignment is very impressive and deep. Love the page that you created. I can't wait to see the other pages you work on in the future.

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  13. very creative art journal pages! you did a great job! i was too intimidated to participate!

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Thanks for stopping by my blog! Your wonderful and sweet comments keep me going! Thank you so very much!! Have a blessed crafting day! Hugs, Kris