Inspired by the secrets a personal journal holds, I set about to create a piece that would have not only visible journaling but also a little bit of journaling tucked away in each of three glass vials. The nature of this piece speaks volumes of who we are as individuals. We are all composed of layers of beauty, secrets and that which is seen by others.
Combining materials that are both hard and soft in nature, this piece becomes a true narrative, piece that pays homage to all of the facets that make up who we are.
acrylic paint pen, white
assorted acrylic paints
adhesive
book text
bone folder or old gift card
assorted colored pencils
craft sheet or wax paper
foam stamps
French stamp
gel medium
gesso
glass bottles, 3, very small
ledger paper
paint pen, wide white
paintbrushes, assorted
paper tape, 8" (20cm)
pen or pencil
printmaker’s stamp
ribbon
scissors or paper trimmer
sealing wax
sheet music scrap
stamp pad, brown ink
string
vintage notebook paper
vintage paper
wallpaper
watercolor paper
wax stamp
wood board
Paint a layer of gesso on the board and let it dry.
Paint watercolor paper with blue acrylic paint and allow it to dry. Then, with white acrylic paint and foam stamps, create a pattern on the blue paper.
Apply a layer of gel medium on the back of the blue paper and adhere it to the bottom half of the board. Smooth down all the edges with a bone folder or old gift card.
To the top of the blue paper adhere elements in the following order: vintage notebook paper, wallpaper, watercolor paper, vintage paper, ledger paper and sheet music.
Cut a strip of ribbon and adhere it to the vintage notebook paper.
Cut vintage notebook paper that will fit in your glass bottles. With a pen or pencil, write on the paper.
Roll the paper to create scrolls. Wrap a piece of book text around each scroll to hide the journaling, if desired. Place the scrolls into the bottles and seal with corks.
Cut 20" (51cm) of string and tie the bottles together. Tie the string with a simple knot. Fray the ends of the string by rolling them between your forefinger and thumb.
Use an aggressive adhesive to adhere the group of jars to the center of the layered paper background.
Light the wick of the wax pen. Once the wax heats, hold the pen over the corner of the watercolor paper and the wallpaper.
Once the wax has pooled, place a sealing stamp into the wax. Allow the stamp to remain in the wax until cool. Remove the stamp.
From a roll of paper tape, cut 8" (20cm), and place the tape on top of a piece of wax paper or a silicone craft sheet.
Paint the tape with cream acrylic paint. Once the tape is dry, stamp imagery onto the tape.
Cut the tape into two strips. From the two strips cut a series of strips in varying lengths. Tear some of the edges by hand for an interesting look. Adhere the tape to the top left corner of the background. With a colored pencil add shading around the tape.
With a dry flat paintbrush, create scuff marks in a random fashion along the edges.
On the top right corner create three circles with a pencil. Fill the circles with a blue patina acrylic paint. Once dry, highlight the circumference of each circle with a Burnt Umber colored pencil.
With a colored pencil add journaling to the bottom and left sides of the painted surface.
Add markings such as hash marks, Xs and Os to all edges of the layered paper.
Adding a colored pencil at a 90° angle, run the edge of the pencil along all sides of the wood.
With a printmaker’s stamp and brown ink, stamp along the edges in a random manner.
With a white acrylic paint pen, create random markings in the lower right-hand corner and the top left edge.
While the paint is still wet, run the tip of your finger over it, blurring and smudging the paint for added texture.