Intuitive Collage and Art Journaling

Hello everybody,

As an artist I have been practicing mainly in more traditional media like drawing and painting materials and some polymer clay as well. There are many other forms of art though that I find fascinating. I have been experimenting with intuitive collage and art journaling. Mixed media techniques make me happy. Here is what I came up with. 

"Fantasy Elephants", Mixed Media on Paper, Intuitive Collage

For Fantasy Elephants I worked on a cardboard surface reinforced on both sides with wallpaper to make it sturdy and flexible. I started off with making an intuitive drawing of some elephants with colored pencils on heavy drawing paper. I then adhered it to the surface and decorated the whole with paper embellishments, wallpaper scraps, glue-on gems, glitter, acrylic paint and quotes found inside chocolate wraps. The leaves, grass, rocks and some of the flowers are hand-cut, either randomly or following wallpaper patterns. Some of the flowers are punched or stamped. The grass, some of the leaves and the border of the drawing are painted. The work expresses family, love, trust and friendship.

"Girl Shooting for the Moon", Mixed Media on Paper, Intuitive Collage

For Girl Shooting for the Moon I worked on a 300g/m2 watercolor paper surface. The background is layered with acrylics and wallpapers. I painted it pink, green and gold and used some sponging and stamping techniques as well. I decorated the whole with punched butterflies, glue-on gems, flitter stars, wallpaper elements, patterned paper, glitter and a brad. The girl and the hand on the right, both drawn with graphite, are my original artwork. The girl is not fixed to the paper but is tucked into a slot representing a balcony. The quote: "Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars. Les Brown" in the top left is handwritten with a blue gel pen. The letter tucked in the flower in the bottom right contains a thought of mine concerning color and is handwritten with the same blue gel pen. The border of the work is finished with a water-soluble crayon. The work expresses perseverance, courage and success.

"Binder for Intuitive Collage and Art Journaling", Mixed Media and Recycling

I decided to collect all my collage and art journaling projects in a traditional binder with two rings. This way each work can be represented as part of a portfolio or can be framed later on. I made sure to integrate the two holes in the artwork so they can be hidden when matting or they can be shown as part of the image. I recycled an old binder because the rings were still good and I extended it because I made a mistake when I took the measurements for "Fantasy Elephants" and found that the work was too big to fit the original binder. I thought it was a shame to cut a piece from the artwork so I extended the binder. And while I was at it I added a few extra centimeters so in the future I can work even bigger. I decorated it with the glue and pinch technique explained by Jennibellie in her tutorial How to make a Large Box Journal - Recycled Art Journal Project which can be watched on YouTube.

"Binder for Intuitive Collage and Art Journaling", Mixed Media and Recycling

So, these are the early stages of my collage and art journaling adventure. I will share as I go. If you like this project or you have been working on a similar one, then please share your thoughts in the comments below or contact me! I would love to hear from you!

Click on Glowing Roots Newsletter to subscribe to my newsletter and get blog updates, artsy news, freebees and special offers delivered directly in your inbox.

Love,

Rika