Sunday, September 27, 2009

Wandering, wandering... for 45,000 years

Time to share a journal post for September with you all, before the month completely runs out and I get too far behind. Life has been hectic of recent times with illness and work committments but now the committments are done and I am free to art away again, Yay!
Pat over at The Weaver of Grass, asked me a little while ago to share my collage process with you all, and I said I would once the crazy work stuff was over.

So today's the day. I thought we would start with one in a journal. Journals are a great way to thrash out ideas, techniques and allow you to makes mistakes and learn without pressure. You don't have to share them with anyone and they are just the greatest learning tool EVER!!!. So what if it all goes horribly wrong? It was cheap, you lose nothing but time and a little of this and that, you learned something, and you can just turn the page and start again! Yay to the freedom. And no one ever has to see it if that's how you feel, woohoo obligation free experimentation!


So here's the start of Septembers page.



At this stage the page has a coat of Gesso and some tissue paper stuck to it. I used mat medium but feel free to use whatever you like, remember to experiment that's a major part of what you are doing here. I wanted a tissue background and I have zillions of tissue patterns left over from when the kiddies were little tikes. How jolly convenient!


Next its time to splash around a little paint and develop the background. Now I did have some preconcieved ideas here. Objectives to achieve. I wanted bright colours. The page was going to be a reflection of Australian colour and light. It's bright here, bright light and colours so thats what I add to the page. A little stamping is added to the background for interest.



A smudge here and there, fingers are great tools, LOL!


Now lots more paint. What colours do you imagine Australia to be?
Reds, golds, and earthy tones inland. Lots of greens and blue shades along the coast.
I wanted to represent the inland areas in this page , so bright golds and reds, a little green and

voila!



Some scratching here and there, building up the layers and visual interest.

Now for a bit of focus. What do you want to say?

I want the page to speak to you about my home in terms of its texture and colours.

I add a gel medium transfer onto some calico, I like the rawness of it.
Its an iconic Australian image. The kangaroos and the setting outback sun.

I add some stamped numerals and some wording to boost the imagery. I want the message to get across, and I have something to say.



And there it is...



I am wandering, wandering...

45,000 years of history incorporated into the page. (well at least visually I hope!)
Australia is an ancient land. The aboriginal peoples ancestors migrated here approximately 45,000 years ago.
European settlement only a tiny 231 years ago, give or take a few days, LOL!

Journal page -gesso, tissue paper, acrylics, ink, calico, gel medium transfer, paper, bark and text.
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11 comments:

Lisa said...

Beautiful, colorful..it says you are happy to be back at your art! really nice tutorial Kim...love how you put that together.. it always great to see how others create!

Caterina Giglio said...

wonderful work, great texture and fun seeing your process! just love the transfer on the calico, very cool texture! and the colors are perfect for our Fall which is going on right now! xox cat

The Weaver of Grass said...

Good stuff Kim! Thank you for responding to my request. Your collage shrieks of confidence - that is where I would fall down,every layer you have added says something - makes a statement. I hope you will give us more of the same, with your thoughts - then when I gain a bit of confidence I shall have a go.

rivergardenstudio said...

This is wonderful... each stage a work of art on it's own... and the final result is beautiful... Roxanne

Kelly Jeanette Swift said...

Interesting to see your process. A really nice piece. Glad you can get back to art.

Unknown said...

Gorgeous! Thanks for the process, I love seeing how artists work and think! The piece is full of life.

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughtful art process, and I continue to be impressed with your writing! I love this piece and enjoy its relevance to your sense of place. Is your journal all about Australia? That would be way cool!
Thanks so much for your kind comments on Cinnamon.

~*~Patty S said...

WOW, wonderful writing, guiding of your process and your page is fantastic and speaks brilliantly of your homeland ... making me wish more than ever that one day I will get to visit!!!
Love the close up views too, thanks so much Kim for a special visit!

Anonymous said...

how fantastically fun and colorful! i love it!! now you've past on the journaling bug and i want to cut out of work for the day (okay, it's just past noon and i haven't started working yet anyway) so i'm off to play! of course i'm doing the back of a page that is "perfect" so with my luck i'll screw it up. :)

hugs! so glad you're feeling better and getting caught up, sweets. i need to follow suit and catch up too!!

Karen Cole said...

I agree with Roxanne, each piece can stand alone. Why not use each photo to start a new collage? It's fun to take your own work and work form that.

I love your explanation of the colors in Australia. Someday......

Thanks for the visit!!!

Nettie Edwards said...

This is lush!