About Me

Why in the world did I start making Art Journals?

The year 2012.  My daughter lost her boyfriend in a tragic plane crash and it sent her into a spiral of grief.  My husband and I did our best to assist however we could but how do you help someone when you don't know the depth of their heart wrenching loss, the lonely, desperate even angry feelings? You can only stand by and offer what seems like insufficient support.   It was a very dark time for her, yet she finished nursing school with high marks while supporting three kids as a single mom.   I'm not sure how she made it through.

What is Empathy?
Emotion researchers generally define empathy as the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.

For myself, I allowed my empathetic nature to absorb all her pain and grief.  I became depressed and soon felt like my soul was empty.   Eventually I couldn't be there for her because I was in such a bad place.  Guilt added to my desperation. 
  
I needed alone time and read about ways to heal the mind, body and soul.   I came across websites that taught the concept that Art can heal.   I was amazed that I had never heard of Art Journaling before!

I took several online lessons and bought some cheap composition books and started to play with paint.  I could not believe how much I loved splashing color.

So here I am a year later, still immersed in classes trying to find which direction this will take me.  I love to make visual art pages but have not found my voice as yet.  In other words, it is hard for me to journal on my pages.  I suppose I still feel vulnerable, raw and inexperienced.  The words will come but for now I splash and layer paints.   The thing that most surprises me is that I am drawn to vivid colors - in particular red.   Some of my work has big splashes of red, the brighter the better... and I wonder if that is my soul secrets bleeding onto the page.  The best part of Art Journaling is the more I do, the more peace and calm I feel.

Why Mixed Media appeals to me?

My background is decorative wall painting and faux finishes which involved a variety of surface finishes like smooshing, sponging, marbling, stenciling, fresco and aging effects.  This has given me courage to take those techniques and apply them to paper and canvas.  I have always been in awe of anything that looks vintage so layering paints and papers with stencils and textural materials really appeals to me.   I love being able to see through those delicate layers of transparent paints but have them take on a feeling of being old and grungy.  That really makes my heart sing!

During my years of scrapbooking, I accumulated piles of paper and paints etc. which thankfully I never threw away while waiting for my next passion.  That passion is mixed media art.  I find it absolutely fascinating!

I will share pictures here as I continue my journey of learning new techniques and developing my own style.  Thanks for stopping by

Now go splash some color!