It's Elemental, My Dear

The Elements of Art Journaling class has officially started and I've made the cover to my EOAJ journal.  I'm transforming a simple composition book and started out with a layer of gesso, then built up layers over that.  I intended to do more layering but loved the splatter look enough to use it as the background.

Delving into my stash of papers and graphics I noticed that the things that I was drawn to were related to the elements of water and air.  Not surprising since I'm a Pisces with lots of water and air signs in my horoscope and very little earth or fire.  I have always felt a strong connection to the Earth though, and so a representation of a tree found its way onto the cover too.

I loved the whole process - there was a flow, a rightness, a deep, deep contentment all infused with a sense of fun and joy!  After watching the videos I just totally lost myself in creating.  I didn't have anything planned in advance, so was able to let my intuition out to play. 

I used various scrapbooking and wrapping papers, candy wrappers, homemade alcohol ink sprays, and a feather for the cover.  To reinforce the binding, I added two ribbons and two two fuzzy, delicate yarns (braided to give more strength) and then attached a gold leaf charm and several beads.  The perfect journal cover for this water baby, lol!

A super fun bonus was that my daughter and 2 year old grandson joined me in my creativity!  When Marta saw my journal, she left and came back with her own composition book and asked me to show her how to make her own cover.  I loved being able to share some of what I've learned!  Her cover is still a work in progress, but she gave me permission to share it.  It's her first try at art journaling, and I love the result!

 Even little Anthony got excited about making art!  He had a blast creating masterpieces on paper (and skin, lol!) with acrylics and glitter.  He took home two of his creations, but I kept this one:

I love participating in EOAJ and feel so blessed that it was given to me as a gift by a very special lady with a very huge, loving heart - and knowing that it has inspired my family to play and create along with me just adds to the joy and pure deliciousness! 

And it's not to late to jump in!  Registration will be open through July 15th, and you can get all the info at The Elements of Art Journaling