Working in sketchbooks with traditional art techniques

Over the last several months, I’ve been inspired and motivated by online opportunities to learn and practice making art—drawing, painting, collage, mixed media, printmaking, etc. Even though I have a minor in Art as part of my bachelor’s degree, I only skimmed the surface of working with traditional art techniques back in the day. Time to circle back.

Sketching and painting in the Junk Journal.

Junk Journals: a non-precious place to start

An easy, “non-precious” place to practice art techniques is in a Junk Journal. Making a few of these junk journals for participation in Junk Journal January and Junk Journal July, I have unused pages in these journals that can still be filled. The junk journals are easy to grab for a slow drawing session or a quick sketch. 

My collection of Junk Journals from 2023 and 2024.

Since Junk Journals are made from… well… “junk” (discarded papers, discontinued sales boards, things from the recycle bin), they are unintimidating. You can give anything a go and not be concerned about messing up.

Water color painting inspired by nature.

Sometimes the work is new (above). Sometimes the drawing or painting gets added to an existing composition (below).

Slow drawings added to a Junk Journal page.

Here is the inspiration from nature…

Inspiration from nature.

and here is the drawing/painting in the Junk Journal.

Drawing and painting from nature.

Sketchbooks

Several of my 100 Day Projects required a sketchbook. I am curating a healthy stack of them! When I need a new sketchbook, I buy three! The extras are used for my general art practice.

Drawing in the sketchbook.

The sketchbooks I buy are: 

• 9” x 12”
• 110 lb. (160 gsm) mixed media paper, so they accommodate multiple techniques—watercolor, ink, paint pens, and other mediums.
• spiral bound (but they have a perf line if I choose to tear out a page for another purpose).

And, I have two sketchbooks of watercolor paper for when I specifically do watercolor.

Nature journaling in a sketchbook.

Taking online classes—especially if you follow along in “real time”—doesn’t provide any time for hesitation. Gather your art supplies, grab a sketchbook, login, and draw/paint/sketch along with the instructor.

Watercolor exercise on watercolor paper.

Watercolor exercise on watercolor paper.

Filling in the gaps

I have used design principles and concepts from my undergrad art studies throughout my graphic arts and printing and publishing career—and of course in my quiltmaking—but now I’m enjoying filling in the gaps of those traditional art techniques that weren’t developed.

Online resources I’ve tapped for developing my practice have been:

• Slow Drawing with Amy Maricle at Mindful Art Studio
• Sketchbook Revival with Karen Abend
• Willa Workshops with Wendy Solganik
• Classes with Carla Sonheim and others
• Drawing sessions with Ruby Elliot [rubyetc]
• Workshops with Jennifer Wilken Penick 

I’m enjoying the learning and the processes.

I joined the Junk Journal July Challenge

This July, I’m taking the Junk Journal July Challenge. It's 31 days of art journaling, mark making, practicing my hand lettering, and collaging with paper and fabric scraps. I have participated in this Challenge twice before—both times with the January version, Junk Journal January—in 2023 and 2024. It’s a fun recycling and artsy, month-long exercise.

"An hour of art making is cheaper than therapy.

My Junk Journal

My Junk Journal this time is a no-sew, accordion book block. It's made with various papers and cardboard from the recycle bin (aka "junk"). I like to use discontinued fabric sales materials as they are always so colorful and have interesting textures and designs. The format of my July 2024 journal is square (8” x 8”). so it's easy to photograph the pages for IG social media posts.

Art journal for Junk Journal July 2024.

Accordion folded, no-sew journal.

The Challenge and the prompts

The Challenge, coordinated by @megjournals and @getmessyart, offers daily prompts that can be used for inspiration and direction. They can be followed… or not. (I usually follow the prompts.) 

This year, a lineup of art journal crafters have created videos showing how they interpreted one of the daily prompts. So, you can see 31 different artistic styles of art journaling through the page each has created.

The prompt for Day 1 was “spark.” 

Day 1 journal spread for Junk Journal July 2024.

To get into the practice of hand lettering, I found a great quote by Robin Williams.

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."
—Robin Williams

I'm letting that little spark of madness cultivate my art journaling this month. 

 

Art journaling the month with Junk Journal January

I have a collection of really cool art supplies—acrylic paints, gel mediums, stencils, various papers and collage materials—from several workshops I took at Ephemera Paducah. I love these supplies! And it's fun to get messy and creative with them. But it's been a while...

Junk Journal January 2023.

Happily, serendipity presented itself in December when I discovered the Junk Journal January Challenge, an online challenge hosted by Meg of @megjournals. This would be just the thing to motivate and inspire me to work with my art journaling supplies. 

Making my Junk Journal

A junk journal is the perfect recycling project! Go to the waste basket and pull out all kinds of papers— brown paper bags, old envelopes, mailers, old calendars, cereal boxes, etc.—in essence, "junk." For my journal, I recycled old sales boards and flyers for my 3-signature, hand sewn journal.

Recycle old papers and envelopes to create a junk journal.

Three signatures were sewn into the spine. Each signature is between 16 - 24 pages. The journal cover is 8.5" x 5.75" and the inside pages are slightly smaller at approximately 5.5" x 8.5". I made the cover slightly larger to accommodate any collage elements or embellishments that might extend beyond the inside pages.

Journal spine showing three signatures sewn into it.

Filling the journal pages with art

Bring out all the art-making goodies: paints, brushes, stencils, glue sticks, my hand-carved rubber stamps, decorative tapes, and collected ephemera! A box of yarn crumbs, paper bits and cut-offs from other stitching and art projects were also gathered to play along in this art festival. 

Work area with junk journal supplies and tools.

The Day 1 prompt was "Resolutions," which turned into my prescription for what to use in my journal. Lots of the other participants interpreted this prompt in a similar way. (Who makes New Year's resolutions any more, anyway??)

Day 1 prompt: Resolutions.

Responses to the daily prompts can be single pages or 2-page spreads. Here are other pages and spreads that have been created in my junk journal so far.

Day 2: Starry (left) and Day 3: Stained (right).

A junk journal is also a great space to try out new art supplies... like Posca paint pens. The page for the "Decorated Tag" prompt was fittingly embellished with these pens. 

Day 4: Decorated Tag (left) and Day 5: Routine (right).

The "Stitched" prompt deserved a 2-page spread. Strands of embroidery floss, knit swatches and other bits from the yarn box came into play for this prompt.

Day 6: Stitched

Sometimes I find a quote that incorporates the prompt.

Day 9: Shimmer

I want to find more opportunities to incorporate stitch and fibers into the pages. Stitching and threads provide an exciting tactile aspect to the pages.

Day 13: Hobbies (left) and Day 14: From the Day (right).

Rounding the halfway point

Today is Day 22 and Junk Journal January is more than half way through! It's been a good exercise to flex the art muscles, get reacquainted with my art supplies, do a little up-cycling, and be messy and creative for [at least] a few minutes a day. 

100 Days of Printmaking—a recap

72 hand carved stamps. 3 sketchbooks. 100 days of hand stamping patterns and textures.
This is the result of my 100 Days of Printmaking with Mixed Media, 2022.

100 Days of Printmaking: First print (left) and 100th print (right).

Stamp improv in the sketchbook

This printmaking project started with some ink pads from previous projects and a few stamps. With ideas gleaned from Instagram and Pinterest posts, I began to broaden my stamp carving and printing designs by doing a daily page or two of "stamp play" or "improv stamping" in the sketchbook. One experiment definitely leads to another... and before you know it, it's down the proverbial rabbit hole.

Experiments and play in the sketchbook.

Exploring stamp and color combinations. 

Repeats, patterns and textures

My initial thought at the beginning of this 100 Day Project was to create overall textures with the stamps. Sometimes I added another color or two while making the repeats. There is a mindfulness when creating a page full of repeats. 

Repeat patterns with hand carved stamps.

Symmetry and rotation

Making repeats led to carving stamps that, when rotated, would create a secondary design. Squares, half or quarter circles, and 45-45-90 degree triangles worked well for this.

Triangle stamps with rotation.

The compositions started to look like quilt blocks and patchwork quilts. My stamp carving got more detailed.

Using symmetry and rotation.

Triangle stamps using symmetry.

Ghost prints

Printing with the stamp and following up with a second print without re-inking the stamp is a ghost print. The second print is a lighter version of the original image and sometimes can even look like a different color of ink.

Ghost prints.

Medallions

On Days 53 and 54 I started to combine stamps and print them in a medallion format. Sometimes I would use multiple ink colors. This got to be a lot of fun.

Medallion format.

Nature inspired

The stamps lended themselves to nature inspired prints. Here are a few.

Nature inspired compositions.

Making trees.

Abstract landscapes.

Stamping and Slow Drawing

As time went on, the compositions became more intricate, detailed and interesting. I added slow drawing and sometimes watercolor to the stamped compositions.

Stamping, rotation symmetry, and slow drawing.

Medallion, nature inspired, and slow drawing.

Circular stamp with slow drawing.

Medallion with slow drawing.

Stamping, watercolor painting, and slow drawing.

Learning and improving by working the 100 Day process

My primary goal for doing a printmaking 100 Day Project was to learn more about working with hand-carved stamps and improve my skills in this activity. In looking at my compositions over the course of 100 days, I can see improvement and a higher level of exploration.

I discovered new-to-me materials—round stamp blanks, acrylic mounts, and VersaFine Clair ink pads—and other artists using this medium. Other revelations are listed on the Day 50 blog post.

My collection of hand-carved rubber stamps has exploded: 72 stamps with 3 that I use both sides. 

Hand carved rubber stamps.

I have three sketchbooks from this 100 Days of Printmaking project. I've continued to use my stamps to make new compositions, although without a daily commitment. I know I would not have done this and experimented with this printmaking technique without making it a 100 Day Project.

Three sketchbooks for printmaking from The 100 Day Project.

Do the 100 Day Project!

The 100 Day Project for 2022

Are ya gonna do it? Who's in? The 100 Day Project starts on February 13 this year.

The 100 Day Project 2022
#the100dayproject   @dothe100dayproject

I did two 100 Day Projects last year and it was so worth it! One involved selective cutting fabrics for 3/4" hexagons. The other one was drawing and mindful mark making.

My 100 Day Project: Printmaking with mixed media

After much contemplation, I'll be focusing on printmaking this year. I've left the door open for the possibility of incorporating other drawing and painting mediums—watercolors, colored pencils, Micron pens—should the mood strike. The work will be abstract. Making marks and creating textures. 

Here are the main supplies I've chosen to work with: rubber stamp blocks, carving tools, ink pads, watercolor paints, Aqua water brushes.

Supplies for The 100 Day Project: rubber stamp blocks, carving tools, ink pads,
watercolor paints and Aqua brushes.

The type or size of sketchbook for this mixed media project hasn't been determined yet. It might be that I use a few different sizes (a smaller one when traveling) with different types of paper. 

Sketchbooks for mixed media.

By the end of the 100 days (May 24), I should be better adept at carving stamps and making prints. I'll also have a stash of textures, prints and drawings to use in other things—bookmaking, cards, collage, art journaling, etc.

Commit to doing something creative for 100 days

This is the 9th year of this global art project. Anyone can do it and it's free! For inspiration and suggestions for choosing a topic/project, visit this website. Or read Michael Bierut's perspective on the original assignment (the impetus of today's The 100 Day Project) he presented to his graduate graphic design students. 

It's about PROCESS and showing up every day.

"Assignments can be too complicated but never too simple." —Gordon Salchow.

Quilting Inspiration from the Old [and New] Masters

Following on the heels of my quilt guild's Challenge exhibit, I was extremely fortunate to have an opportunity to visit the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. If you're looking for inspiration, go see a quilt exhibit... or visit a museum—especially one focused on the fiber arts!

"Vases with Fruit" by Jane Dunnewold
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

Exhibits at the National Quilt Museum
There are always several concurrent exhibits at the National Quilt Museum. This time, the pieces included contemporary quilts and art quilts [a Studio Art Quilt Associate (SAQA) 25th anniversary trunk show], vintage quilts, miniatures and a Quilts of Valor—50 State Salute to Old Glory patriotic collection. Some quilts were by current quilt artists, some by renowned quiltmakers no longer with us, and some resurrected quilt tops by anonymous quiltmakers were finished by 21st century quilters [from the Old Glory collection curated Mary Kerr]. All the quilts were amazing and the exhibits were impeccably displayed.

A New Master is inspired by the Old Masters
As I wandered through the exhibits, I came upon the museum's "The Corner Gallery" exhibit. The bold colors, complementary color scheme, and a somewhat "painterly" look of one of the front-facing pieces caught my eye. As I approached, it became apparent the piece was mixed media, collaged and incorporated vintage textiles and needlework. Then I saw the placard... the artist was Jane Dunnewold!

Having taken a workshop with Jane in 2018, I was thrilled when I saw she was the artist featured in this exhibit! The exhibit is called, "Inspired by the Masters—Jane Dunnewold."

There are 14 pieces in this exhibit. Going from piece to piece, things clicked for me. I saw and was reminded of all the techniques Jane shared with the workshop participants through our week-long experience with her. In this exhibit, Jane cohesively blends multiple techniques and materials into beautiful, thoughtful and playful compositions that are inspired by works of the Masters—such as Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo and Mary Cassatt.

Mixed Media with Vintage Needlework
My favorite part of these pieces was the incorporation of the vintage needlepoint, hand embroideries and miscellaneous hand stitched pieces by "anonymous" needlewomen. I am a rescuer of vintage needlework and have a small collection of embroidered dresser scarves, pillow cases, orphan quilt blocks and the like. Do you see the Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt blocks in this piece?

"Grandmother Matisse's Flower Garden" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

Detail: "Grandmother Matisse's Flower Garden" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

 These are details of "Vases with Fruit," shown above.

Detail: "Vases with Fruit" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

The filet crocheted edging is left to dangle freely from the table and beyond the edge of the composition.

Detail: "Vases with Fruit" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

The vintage textiles are seamlessly blended with the painted areas. It's difficult to see where one starts and the other stops.

"View of the Harbor" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

Sometimes Jane uses hand stitching to bridge different elements

Detail: "View of the Harbor" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

The "Still Life with Cat" incorporates a needlework canvas with longer, bargello-like stitches.

"Still Life with Cat" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

Detail: "Still Life with Cat" by Jane Dunnewold.
"Inspired by the Masters" exhibit #nationalquiltmuseum

In Jane's artist's statement, she describes herself as "the bridge between fine art and craft—linking them inextricably together in a dance of old and new—paint, thread and intention." In the list of materials, she includes, "Techniques are all my own—based on 25 years of fidgeting, fudging and making do."

Jane's work is truly inspirational!