Week 2 : DLP 2015

Information about Documented Life Project is HERE.

Here are the ways I've used gesso for this week's challenge :
1. Prep the surface - rather than cover my entire page with gesso, I decided I'd like to use dylusions sprays in my dylusions journal, so used a stencil with gesso over it as a resist. Applied it with  a palette knife - not 100% successful since my stencil wasn't really clean so the gesso didn't dry white, and the gesso was a bit thin, so not a perfectly crisp design...this is only the very first layer though

I sprayed over with dylusions sprays and then thought I needed a bit more yellow so scraped on some acrylic paint on with a credit card, and blended it with a wet wipe. Some of the gesso pattern looks cool and I can try and retain that as I go

I keep thinking I'd like to make a portrait stencil - I'd seen Julie Fei-Fan Balzer demonstrate one in Creative Jumpstarts last week, and the journal prompt encouraged me to begin and give it a try. This is the test with spray paint on a piece of scrappy newsprint underpaper

2. Used black gesso through the stencil on my journal page, and also to create some added interest around a balzer bits mask to highlight the masked colour. I like how my gesso was perhaps a bit thin and means you can still see the design beneath the hair.

3. White gesso through a stencil (it could just as easily have been a stamp) to create texture/raised interest and to lighten up the page

click on any photo to see it larger

Thought it would be fun to use black & white washi tape for the daily journaling part of the page to pick up the black and white gesso features. I'm also using black and white pens to journal.
4. White gesso to create writing space clear of distractions - unfortunately I forgot to take a process picture of this. Decided to add a piece of an old book page to the background with gesso swiped over it for my quote, but then decided I'd like some hot pink spray action...now that you know it's there, you might be able to squint and see it!

And a couple of other techniques you might like to try with gesso, although I didn't use them on this page ::
To unify/soften a layer - see the first step in making my spread in week 1
I remembered a technique from creative jumpstarts in 2013 where we stamped gesso onto transparencies. Click HERE to see that.
Here's this week's completed spread :

I approach these pages with no idea of how they will turn out. Challenges give rise to learning and growth. They should stretch my ideas of what I can do, enable me to discover new ways to problem solve, make me think differently about how I can create art and how I can make it true to me...I hope you saw something there to inspire you. I am looking forward to what we're going to be presented with next week.  
You can see all my posts about this project HERE and I've created a Flickr album for all my Documented Life 2015 spreads HERE.