Art Junk Journal - Ocean One

One of my creative pleasures is creating handmade Journals. My very dear friend Zoey taught me this skill many years ago by teaching me how to make a Japanese Stab Bound Journal. Over time, as she made a variety of journals, it inspired me to make more and share my work with others, in hopes that this will inspire you and others to follow your creative passions.

As I create my journals, it's very rare that I sit down and create the entire journal at one time. I find the bits and pieces that go into the journal over time so I just collect the pieces until I have enough to start putting the journal together. Sometimes a journal starts with me gathering pages and putting them into signatures until I have enough for a book. Other journals start with the cover and evolve from there.

Ocean One, the journal that I'm currently building, started with the cover. I cut a pasta box open and glued one big piece of ocean themed paper over one side of the box.

On the other side, I glued the same paper as the base layer, then added panels with complementing fish themed paper. At this point, it didn't look perfect and I could see flaws, but I know I'll be adding a lot more goodies to the book so a lot of those flaws will be covered up or less noticeable. Also I am human, we are all human and handmade products often have human flaws so over decades of trying to be perfect, I have learned to accept these flaws and move on. Being creative is not about perfection. It's about enjoying the process of creating.

Next, I added another paper panel to front journal cover, with a piece of textured handmade net-like paper underneath. I debated and I'm still debating on what I may add to the cover after this, but the right treasure hasn't come to mind yet so that will wait as I work on other aspects of the book.

Then I found a random video on YouTube with instructions to sew the signatures into the spine of the book. The first one was the hardest, of course but once I got that one down, the rest were easy. There are many different videos and techniques out there to explore if you are planning to make a journal of your own.

Now comes the really fun part... decorating the pages. I haven't decided what I'll do with this journal yet. I am leaning towards gifting it to a special friend so right now, so that's the way I'll move forward with my pages. In this case, my finished journal will have several blank pages as well as decorated pages with space for the new owner's pictures, writing and own art work.

Another medium that I have recently been practicing is watercolor pencils. I am still learning the way that different colors, brands and papers work differently with the water and the brush. Some colors brighten and spread thickly when water is added to the drawing. Other colors with the same amount of medium on the page become lighter and don't spread out on the page as much. I finding that have favorite pencils and colors over others in my collection.

For this seahorse, I found that my light blue pencil didn't spread much and in some spots, it actually lightened up. The bolder blue pencil was a big spreader. The trailing colors around the dorsal fin are all from the bolder blue pencil. I also used a little lavender for contrast. The lavender did not spread much but the color did brighten up where the pigment was on the watercolor paper. This small practice taught me that I have to learn each pencil as well as the painting techniques as I grow my watercolor skills.

This was my second watercolor pencil seahorse. I love how the hot pink spread on the coronet at the head of this seahorse. It almost has a fuzzy hair look to it. I used this same technique on the dorsal fin but when I drew the lines, I found I used more pressure on the pencil and it left more distinct lines on the dorsal and didn't look quite like fuzzy hair.

On the tail, I tried to use a hot pink base with purple shading. Both colors spread, but they didn't spread evenly. The hot pink flushed through the water quickly and spread over a wider area. The purple spread more where the purple met the hot pink so around the edges of the purple, there is spread but then where the lines are, they are still quiet bold. Perhaps I need less pressure on the purple pencil. I will need to try that on a future piece. I also used watercolor paper instead of cardstock or regular paper, which is new for me. I asked AI (Google) why watercolor paper has that texture and this was the response that it returned:

• Texture helps to hold water and pigment, allowing for better paint application.

• It creates varied surface effects, enhancing the visual interest of the artwork.

• Different textures (rough, cold-pressed, hot-pressed) cater to different painting techniques.

• The texture influences how colors blend and interact on the paper.

• It provides a tactile quality that can enhance the overall experience of the artwork.

I guess have more experimenting and reading to do about watercolors. One of my greatest pleasures of creating is doing experiments with different mediums and techniques, then fine tuning my skills. I will always be a growing artist in that sense.

Since I will be gifting this book to a dear friend, I decide to make journal cards and pages in the journal with the seahorses. On the backsides of each seahorse, I used the watercolor pencils to draw lines for writing space. Then inked the edges of the cards.

For the pages, I cut out some seashells from magazines and collaged them together on cardstock to make a pocket in the journal. Then I slipped the first seahorse journal card into the pocket. I will leave the page as shown in the picture and my friend can decorate the page more if she is inspired, or she can use the page as more writing space behind the journal card.

For the other seahorse, I made a pocket page as well, using light blue mesh so the picture can be seen without removing it. I used the watercolor pencils again to create some fun air bubbles and used a scrap of printed wave paper to make a second pocket on the same page. I made a second smaller journal card for the wave pocket and wrote a very special message to my friend that I know she will enjoy. This page is actually shorter than the page after it so you can see the same wave pattern on the second page, which blends with the image on the wave pocket.

The ocean is always a fun theme to craft around. It's something that a lot of people enjoy and there are so many possibilities of colors, images, textures and fun sea creatures. As I decorate more pages, I'll share my progress and do a journal flip-through when it's done.

Enjoy, craft and stay happy!

Best wishes always,

Judy - Mud Doll