Journal 52 : Week 13

Journal 52 is a weekly prompt from Effy Wild (Free HERE) that I'm creating on a deck of jumbo playing cards 3.5'' x 4.75'' (8.5 x 12 cm). Each card will include stitch, a found word, and be inspired by the project I've been working on that week or what's lying leftover on my work table. See the original post HERE.
#13 : Embodied. Thinking about being fully present in your own skin and listening to what your body needs. Inspired by the art work Effy used for this prompt - I shared this with you on my blog in 2018 

and I've responded a couple of times with my own silhouettes of female bodies.

Began with the papers lying leftover on my table from my March book

I decided to use one of my own silhouettes so printed a photo of my art resized to fit onto my card. Cut out to use as a mask.

Started with some stencils before adding a glaze and thinking about how I will incorporate stitch.

My word was "found" in Effy's notes this time - I printed it large on one of my recycled papers. My stitch elements are lace and the hearts were an important addition to indicate self-love. My completed card makes me smile. 

Find all my Journal 52 posts HERE. I love to see the monthly progress - this is a photo of my collection so far. That's the first quarter of the year💜

March Meander : Winged Things

I have an Intention to create a book a month this year : small and gorgeous, mixed media and stitched. I shared my initial inspirations for this project HERE.
I paired a lovely project by Susie LaFond called a Meander book with Kellee Wynne's online workshop "The Layered Page" which she is currently leaving open for free indefinitely. I began by cutting recycled book pages into 16 x 6" squares so that I could add stitch and then pair the pages front and back to make 8 squares before joining into the lovely book format. My chosen theme for this one is "Winged things" and I'm working with nature's palette of blues and greens for my backgrounds. Here's where I got to in my intro post to this project. 

Next was to add more complexity with layers of collage papers. Click on any photo to see it larger.

I then worked on each page individually. As well as my main Winged focal, I'm looking forward to including appropriate found words, fibre and stitch. 

This first is my front cover with gorgeous sari ribbon ties already attached but I'm not sure of the order of the rest yet.

I wanted to include some native New Zealand birds in this one 

If you are interested in finding a bit more click on the bird names highlighted : Kea above. The Ruru/Morepork below (So sweet. We had a little Ruru owl in our tree earlier this summer - also fond memories of my childhood growing up on a farm)

Piwakawaka/Fantail - appear twice on my pages. They are one of my favourite native birds. I have had this stamp for a long while 

The wood blocks of the Piwakawaka/Fantail and the Huia (now sadly extinct) were recent purchases from Tatter Tales in Waipawa. Read more HERE.

And this is the back cover : 

Now to share the completed book all stitched together. All the stitching on the individual pages was done with the same green rayon thread but to stitch it all together I decided to use a variegated thread. The Meander book only has 8 pages so I had to stitch the above pages back to back - I only stitched the edges which would not be stitched later to an adjoining page. 

Then stitched them together - a couple upside down hoping it will be logical when it opens...This was very tricky - had to go very wide with the zigzag stitch for it to be able to fold. Don't think I'll do this again with double thickness of watercolour paper.

This is the Meander layout - 'front' side. You can click on any photo to see it larger.

The book covers

And then the pleasure of playing with changing foldings to see different pages together

Very happy with my book project for March and can't wait to show you what I'm doing in April. See my other posts about this monthly project HERE. 

A Year of Rumi : March with FREE lesson links

I'm being inspired by Effy's A Year of Rumi online class again this year but in my art journal this time. See what I did with the class in 2019 HERE. See my January and February 2020 posts in my art journal HERE. Last year Effy shared a speed painted version of her March lesson on YouTube. Find that HERE.

I really love the roses in this one and what Effy did with the eye, but it's taken me until now to attempt my own version since I wasn't quite sure which way I wanted to take it. Effy has very generously decided to release her Darling Human tutorial for March FOR FREE FOR ALL with no strings attached. Go HERE. The PDF contains everything you need to enjoy this lesson, including links to the videos, supplies list, and a step-by-step walkthrough.

I thought this would be a great springboard for my Rumi lesson since it's a one-eyed portrait and Effy also demonstrates working with a right hand facing ‘palette page’ which you can then turn into a painting and a perfect place for a quote. With those 2 inspirations, here's what happened in my journal. Click on any photo to see it larger.

Find out more about A Year of Rumi with Effy Wild HERE. All the lessons are available for instant access in the classroom. There's also a very supportive and inspiring FB group. See all my posts about this class HERE.