Wednesday, 8 July 2015

"Learn to be silent" - Art journal with Alison.

After few days of hard work in the shop (we are very happy you liked our free shipping weekend and new Paper Artsy releases ) I'm very happy to get back to the blog to share some more inspirations from Alison Bomber with you. Alison is our July Guest Designer who knows very well how to amaze us with her stunning creations. This time she prepared something that I love the most - an art journal spread. Are you ready to dive into the mixed-media world of texture and colour with Alison?


Hello all, Alison here from Words and Pictures, and delighted to be here at Artist Trading Post for one final time this month.  I'm a stencil fiend, so I was really happy to play along with the Crafter's Workshop Stencil theme this month... so far I've shared an altered 3D project, a card, and today I've got some art journalling pages for you.


To create these pages I played with the beautiful Cathedral of Love stencil designed by Rebekah Meier.


I started by gessoing some book pages and then applying texture paste through the fabulous Gothic window arch on both sides of the page - one high and one low.


I heated the paste with my heat gun until it was bubbling... love the extra texture this gives it.


And then I got busy with some spritzing as my first application of colour.  I used Distress Sprays, but any favourite spray will do.  Because we're over gesso, the colours soften as they dry.


Serendipity took a part in the next stage.  I had a large arch sitting around from a whole other project, and noticed that it looked rather good on the page, echoing the textured stencilling.  So I die-cut some more arches out of grey cardboard and gave them the same coat of Quinacridone Gold paint that the large arch had had.


Next, it was back to the Cathedral of Love stencil.  I sponged Distress Embossing Ink through the  stencil onto the arches and then clear embossed it.  I'm a huge fan of clear embossing for the dimension and light-reflectivity it adds to a project.


You can get a similar effect by using a gloss gel medium of course... so I did!  I used the same lovely stained glass bit of the stencil on various places on the blue-spritzed page.  As soon as I'd applied it, I patted it with the palette knife to get some extra texture, and I softened the edges to get  a messier look.


I even applied some gel freehand with the palette knife so that you get a rough randomness to the glimmer it gives.


The stamps are mainly from the PaperArtsy Hot Picks line - the tall stems...


... and the birds among the grasses...


... but the flying birds have migrated from The Artistic Stamper.  They're all stamped in either Archival or Distress inks in various shades of blues and browns.


The words come from Pythagoras (yes, the triangle man - the square on the hypotenuse and all that), and they have been part of my life for as long as I can remember.


In an increasingly frenetic world, I think they are ever more important.  Certainly I am aware of the need to find time and space in each day for silence.


And I know both my work and my crafting time benefit from allowing my mind time to wander and settle.


I wanted to intensify the shading around my textured stencilling as well as around the die-cut arches and the words, so I used chalk pastels, Ecoline inks and the Prima Watercolour Pencils to create  depth and detailing


By creating shadows around the stencilled texture, you can really give it extra depth.


I love the control you get in applying the colour with the pencils, and then you can soften it with a water brush until you get just the effect you want.


These pages really give me a lot of quiet satisfaction - they do the same thing to my heart and mind as the words do - allowing the mind to soften, and creating a moment of space and calm in the noise of the everyday world. I'm so grateful to Kasia for inviting me along to play at Artist Trading Post this month... I have had  a great time and I hope you've enjoyed the projects I've shared with you.  Thanks so much for  having me!

Products Alison used for her project:



Thank you so much Alison for being such an inspiration for all of us and sharing your unique talent on the ATP blog. It was a pleasure to work with you and I hope we can do this again soon.

Here you can find previous Alison's blog posts for ATP.

Have a lovely day
Kasia

37 comments:

  1. Great Journal page! LOVE the quote! Thanks for the tutorial!

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  2. Fabulous journal pages, Alison! I love the soft refreshing background and great sentiment! Love it! Hugs!

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  3. Love these 2 pages. They look adorable.
    Thanks for showing and telling us how you made it.
    Anneke

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  4. What a terrific advertisement for mindfulness. A wave of calm came over me as I read and studied this post. Beautiful work as always Alison and thank-you for reminding me to take 'quiet time', definitely great for focus. Nicola x

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  5. This is so amazing! I am thrilled about that soread Alison! Gorgous!

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  6. I love Crafters Workshop stencils and especially those of Rebekkah Meier. This spread is beautiful. I love how the arch left over from another project found its way onto this one: I am a great fan of serendipity! I love how you used texture so brilliantly too. The spread reminded me of a walk I once took through the ruins of Tintern Abbey on a summer evening. If I've used 'love' too often, it's because I genuinely do love what you create and there seems to be no other word to truly describe the inspiration you give! xx

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  7. Amazing pages, Alison, TFS process ...very unique and very inspiring

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  8. Great journal spread, Alison.. Love the colour combo !
    Corrie x

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  9. wonderful work and wonderful words too Alison - art is all about quiet and reflective time for me too - although it sometimes develops into other things !!! Lol! Hugs rachel x

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  10. This is so very beautiful Alison. Such serene colours and so evocative of calm and thoughtfulness.
    Fliss xx

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  11. I'm a bit behind with catching posts (will remedy asap). Gorgeous pages, old ruins come to mind, particularly with the birds & fee growing grasses. Of course the stencil techniques are great, always like a bit of bubbling too from heating. Texture is my passion in mixed media & plenty here. Like the subtle feel too. Tfs all your pieces, tips & ideas. C

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  12. I am so so in love with this page and that quote! I could just keep seeing this page in silence. BEAUTIFUL, Alison.

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  13. Wonderful pages Alison, love the dimension and the clear embossing and gloss gel applied here and there, and the arches are gorgeous!!! Coco xx

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  14. Wonderful pages Alison, love the dimension and the clear embossing and gloss gel applied here and there, and the arches are gorgeous!!! Coco xx

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  15. Great journal pages with some wonderful techniques. Love the quote and the calmness of the colours.

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  16. Stunning -- Solace. -- Mary Elizabeth

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  17. So beautiful and peaceful Alison!! Thank you so much for the tutorial! Well done! xo

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  18. Beautifully calming Alison! I love the blue tones and the bits of shine here and there and of course those wonderful words by Pythagoras. Beautiful work, as always! Anne xx

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  19. Tranquil colors, soothing sentiments, lasting impression of peace.... LOVELY... thank you Alison. j.

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  20. Absolutely lovely. So calming and beautiful.

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  21. Oh my Alison - I am calmed down and ready for bed! This is stunning! Chrisx

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  22. Such beautiful pages, Alison. Gorgeous colors and texture. :)

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  23. oh, Alison!! I love everything about these pages.

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  24. Beautiful - I especially love the ethereal look of the stamping on the pages. Thank you so much for showing us step by step how you achieved these beautiful pages.
    Hugs, Neet xx

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  25. A beautiful calming page that really does that wonderful quote justice! I had not seen that stencil before, and now it is well and truly on my wish list. Love the wonderful stamping around the edges too!

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  26. Oh my, Alison - not only is this incredibly beautiful, with wonderful textures and color.... but your quote is exactly what I needed to hear now. What a fabulous make - one of my (many) favorites for sure! xx Lynn

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  27. Goodness - what lovely pages - it relaxed me just reading your method and wonderful sentiments Alison - Julia xx

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  28. Beautiful Alison, the glimmering textures are wonderful and the colour palette (my favourite) is calming and restful, perfect for that insightful quote.

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  29. gorgeous pages Alison with lots of yummy textures. TFS and huge congratulations on your GD spot xx

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  30. A stunning page, dear Alison, so beautiful with your amazing background with the different textures and light reflexions. I totally love your clear embossing on the arches, looks magic !!
    And the tiny birds gives movement to this beautiful page .
    Hugs, Dorthe

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