This was one of the very first journaling pages I created almost a year ago, when I first dove into the practical world of mixed media (rather than hanging around the fringes and just “watching”)  – and it’s focus wasn’t on techniques – rather it was a way to help me confront my fears. 

I centered the design of my page around a rusty bird cage I created out of a Tim Holtz die cut – to represent the way our own fears and the lies we tell ourselves can cage us and keep us from realizing our potential.  What was interesting to me, was that as my page evolved, and as I printed out the “lies” onto paper to collage onto my page, I realized that they weren’t just lies and fears surrounding my art, but lies and fears that had held me back in many areas of my life.  It was a real “aha” moment to see them like that in black and white, because once I had brought these fears out “into the light” so to speak, I was able to confront them with the truth – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phillipians 4:13) NKJV.

And that’s what this next element in my page was representational of  – being set free from my fears by seeking the truth.  Everytime I find myself struggling with these same fears and lies, I come back to this page and use it as a reminder to myself, and to encourage myself. 

Here’s what the whole page looks like, simple, but as with most of my pages, incorporating many layers and details:

At the time that I created this page, I didn’t want to start working in one of my “real” journals that I bought for the express purpose of art journaling, because I didn’t want to “wreck” them.  Which of course sounds silly now, especially because one of the lessons I’ve been trying to hammer home in my own mind is that there are no mistakes in art – it’s personal, it’s subjective, it’s an expression of our inner selves – our heart, our soul, our mind, our beliefs, our values, who we are. 

So, I went to the thrift store and bought myself a children’s board book.  It was a book of nursery rhymes – and I chose it for a few reasons – one being that it brought me back to my childhood – when I was invincible and could do anything, be anyone.  I also chose it for more practical reasons – I liked the size, and I thought the window in the front was really neat.

I began by gessoing all the pages inside – to prime my surface since board books have a slick, shiny surface, and to give my mediums some “tooth” to grip onto.  I then worked on my cover.  I didn’t think I’d be able to take myself or my art seriously if I was staring at Mother Goose everytime I pulled out my book LOL.  I can’t even begin to detail what I did to the cover as I added a whole bunch of things – acrylic paint, crackle paint (from Tim Holtz), collaged vintage music sheets, stencils and sprays, modelling paste, stamping….

The front cover was a window, and instead of being able to look into the page inside, I created more of a shadow-box look.  I decoupaged some script paper onto the first page inside the book, and then stuck the first page and the cover together with my matte medium. I then altered the color of my Tim Holtz ideology metal bird piece with some alcohol ink and stuck it inside my new “frame”.  Finally, I die cut a metal frame using metal foil and my Spellbinder’s nestabilities and embedded it into my paint layer.

When it was done – I absolutely loved it – and still love looking at it, and running my hands over it feeling the texture.  It reminds me of something I might find buried in the lost city of Atlantis – a piece of copper that’s been underwater too long. 

So there you have it – my first art journal page I created about a year ago.

Before I go I wanted to thank you for the comments you’ve left these last few posts.  It’s rewarding to know that what I share encourages others, and it’s helpful to know that I’m not alone in my feelings and thoughts – that many of you are feeling the same way, and beginning the same journey towards finding your art, that I’m on.

As I continue to share my adventures in mixed media, I will also share more about what I’m using, and how I’m using it for those of you that are interested in trying it out for yourself.

I’ve often heard it said that the first step to making your dreams a reality is to share your dreams – to put them out there in the “universe”. But sharing your dreams with others, whether in a public forum like this one, or even sometimes just with the people in your life, can be a really scary thing – What if people laugh?  What if people tell you it’s unrealistic?  

As a blogger, and a “public figure” here in my own little corner of the blogosphere, I’ve certainly received plenty of negativity and even personal attacks over the years about things I have done in my business, choices I’ve made, directions I’ve taken, etc.  As someone who needs work in the confidence arena (as I shared in my last post), it’s been a tough journey to teach myself not to take it personally. To shrug it off, and to keep on keeping on.

Surrounding myself with people who are positive and encouraging is what has really helped me keep going, and slog through it all, and I am blessed to say that my husband and family have always been behind me 100% of the way. But I also want YOU to know that I feel blessed and thankful for your support and encouragement. It may sound kind of cheesy, but I really do treasure each and every one of your comments, and it means a lot to me that you take the time out of your busy schedule to visit me here and leave your comments.  Whenever I’m having a rough day, I often come back to my blog and read through my comments, finding it just the lift I need. So thank you!

So getting back to our dreams….as I mentioned yesterday, my guiding statement for 2012 is “Face your fears…Reach for your dreams”. So what are the art-related dreams that swirl around in my head when I lay awake thinking at night? {deep breath}

• To get my work published. The top two publications that I’m going to aim for are the Somerset Studio magazines (i.e. Art Journalling, Somerset Studio, Somerset Memories) and Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine.
• To start teaching mixed media courses online
• To travel around the world teaching at mixed media events like Julie Fei-Fan Balzer or Donna Downey (two of my “art heroes”)
• To get my artwork licensed and reproduced on various products (i.e. with a company like Demdaco)

Now some of these are short-term goals (the first two in particular), and others are ”someday I really, really hope so” goals (i.e. the last two goals).  And truthfully, it feels almost ridiculous putting these goals in writing – particularly the last two goals – because they feel almost out of the realm of possibility (for me anyways), but then one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in life and in business so far is that BIG DREAMS yield BIG RESULTS while little dreams yield little results.

So now that some of my dreams are “out-there”, I’m feeling accountable to making sure I don’t just dream, but actually DO.  Any of you want to join me in this and take the leap by sharing your dreams, and putting them “out-there” into the “universe”?

Here’s the art journal page that I shared a sneak peek of in the photo above – it was a writing-intense layout starting to dive into my dreams. You can click on each picture to take a closer look.