Friday, March 28, 2014

Nature Journal

Well, you took the class....now what?  Guess I'd better get busy and do something with all the renewed inspiration. 

So, I did.....I've been making pages for my Nature Journal that I started in class, last Saturday, with Roxanne Evans Stout teaching and great group of other aspiring artists.......


This page is made with hand made paper layered with dark brown paper and topped with Joss paper that I stamped with my hand carved beetle stamp.  I stole an idea from my friend, Jeanne, and typed the line "these are the nights beetles love" on paper, stitched it to tea-dyed muslin and glued it on....add a button and done!


This is more handmade paper and a dried maple leaf stitched inside of a silk tea bag!  Made use of Mother Nature's handiwork on the leaf and glued it down!


More handmade paper, some tatting stitched down, another tea bag, crocheted heart with a heart shape leaf and a hat pin, stitched around with string and added a rusty key for the finish!






This is one of those pages that you start with one idea and finish with something very different.  The "booklet" started with Roxanne demonstrating a book she had made using a twig for the binding.  An idea I really liked until I realized it would add too much bulk to my already bulky book, if, I added the twig.  So, I stitched it together with blue string and added a brass tag to weight it down, added stamps, some rub-on lettering, a very old photo, real Monarch butterfly wing, sheet music, and a dried yellow flower!!!  The translucent paper that covers the photo......from a box of candy!  Really, you just can't throw anything away.











This is the last page of "booklet".  The birds and berries are printed on a lovely napkin that Roxanne provided, I glued it down on a piece of blue paper and the "metaphor" tag came off of something I purchased to wear......and kept the tag.












This is the last finished page, not the last page for the journal.....I have two more in the works!

This one features a paper doily that friend, Jeanne, eco dyed and gave me....geez, I love that piece of paper!  I really like paper doilies anyway, but when you add the natural colors and the texture...YUM!

The lined paper in the background?   It's from an old music composition notebook I found at a flea market, I love the lines.  The date?  My idea is this journal is my version of a Victorian nature journal so I wanted to add a date, it, ties to the date on the old photo above too.  I guess, if it was suppose to be Victorian, it should have been dated earlier....Oh, well!

So, there it is......my week's worth of work!  It's been a good week.

 

11 comments:

Julie said...

All so beautiful!!!!!!!!!

Jeanne said...

wow, your nature journal is coming along.... great pages...

canemahstudios said...

Your books are so inspiring and I love looking at them! They remind me too, of natural history journals of the Victorian age. I hadn't thought about that, until you mentioned it.
I particularly like the booklet within a book technique you've used with the old photo, butterfly wing etc.
Really magical and invites the viewer to look deeper.

Unknown said...

So wonderfully textural - beautiful!

rivergardenstudio said...

Oh my gosh, you have sure been creative this week!! I love everything that you have been doing, such lovely pages, especially the beetles!! Can't wait to see what you do next!
roxanne

Halle said...

This is spectacular! Love every bit of it. How very inspiring...

My name is Erika. said...

Great journal. I love nature journals and yours is not only pretty but very artistic.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Oh Jan, I can't believe it's been this long since I visited. Life has truly gotten in the way. I am in awe of your nature inspired journal. I also love the way you shared the class you took, too.

As always, I'm in awe of your hand made stamp, and your sewing. Where in the world do you get silk tea bags? I'm in LUST!!

And of course, I am also in awe of your eco dyed papers that set your art apart. Wonderful art, and very inspiring post.

halohill.blogspot.com said...

Everything so beautiful! So many elements, all full of beauty! You always amaze me!

SHeila

Unknown said...

"Dandelion and Daisy" has been included in the A Sunday Drive for this week. Be assured that I hope this helps to point even more new visitors in your direction.

http://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-sunday-drive.html

Dianne said...

oh my dear, what gorgeous pages! they are lovely, every one. did you coat the leaves with anything? I wondered if they will get brittle and crumbly? really like the idea of using the real thing on the page. Love it all!