Back to work!

Well, nothing seems to get me going like having only limited time! On regular work days I try to spend at least two hours a night in my studio. Of course this doesn't always work out. Sometimes there's other stuff to do, sometimes I just really don't feel like it and sometimes time just gets away with me and there's none left for art. But to me it is already a great accomplishment that I show up in the studio at all! Until just a few years ago I talked a lot about art and I thought a lot about it, but I hardly got anything made. Art trading, the internet, flickr and some artsy discipline has really made a difference to me. I still have my off times when nothing comes out of my hands, but they're the exception now and not the rule and if I end up in a rut I know I will get back on track again.

Vacation time is over people and I have been working again for two days now and here's what I've been doing.

First another art journal spread. It seems I have little interest in other stuff than art journaling these days and that's fine with me. Everything always seems to come in waves and why not enjoy what I feel like doing instead of forcing myself to do other things? It's another spread in my ALMBH journal. The prompt was about where you are and I felt like I was in a good place since I got to make art and was in my favorite room in the house, my studio. The spread is therefore called "In a good place".

I really liked adding the broad organza ribbon with metallic stars. The ribbon lies loose on the page except for on the top and bottom where it's stapled down. What I enjoy about this journal is most of all the fact that I've finally given myself permission to use all the things I have collected over the years in collage sheets, stickers and ribbons, fibers and tapes. When I do art I always feel a little bit like a cheater if I use other peoples images or magazine images, but hey, it's a journal so who cares? It's for my own enjoyment, not for creating masterpieces, haha.

I also finally (and I say this with a little red on my cheeks) returned to my trilogy. Thank god my niece is a patient young woman. I added the painted doilies to the black surfaces and here is how it looks now:

I really like how the pink contrasts with the black. It looks really cool! I am thinking I may not add the flower pictures I talked about before after all, or maybe in a later stage. I kind of like the clean finish of the doilies like this. I think I will add text next with a white paint marker (I love white paint markers with a vengeance, one cannot have too many). I have collected a bunch of quotes about trees that will go nice with the theme of the paintings, which will be trees, even though you can't tell right now.

Aah, it's good to be back in the art trenches and get my hands dirty and busy!