Title: The art journal workshop
Author: Traci Bunkers
Info: 128 p. + dvd. - 2011
Finished: 23 July 2011
Acquired through: amazon.com
Rating: 7 / 10
Notes:
This book is exactly what the title says it is (and that's quite unique in my opinion!). It's an art journal workshop with Traci Bunkers in book form. Nothing more, nothing less. This is not a book for people who want to know all the ins and outs of art journaling and mixed media techniques. This is a book for people who want to dive right in and get their hands dirty and find stuff out for themselves!
The book starts with an excellent introduction into art journaling and the materials you can use and yes, some techniques are given too. But very soon we get to the nitty gritty of this book, which consists of loads of assignments and exercises that you would get in an actual art journal workshop. In short: you are urged to get to work. This is a workbook, not a textbook.
The book has a bonus dvd on which Traci shows how she does six of the assignments in the book. This is a wonderful piece of extra information, especially for beginners who may not know how to build a page up.
A small minor point may be that all the work in te book is by Traci and being done by Traci. Her style is beautiful, but very recognizable. She does not have much variety in her style of working. I guess this is true for all workshops: the art or pages produced (especially if done by beginners) will be copies of the style of the teacher. This is no criticism on the book on my part, but I think beginners should be aware that there are many more ways to journal. I say this because I notice how beginners are focused on doing things 'just right', when there is no such thing. Start with this and then broaden your horizon by looking at the work of other journal artist's too and then...go your own way!
All in all, a pretty pleasant book that will inspire you to get going! And for those who are not able to do so in person, it's a wonderful way to take a workshop with Traci, without the travel or the extra costs. ;-)