"Wanderlust" art journal - NOVEMBER and DECEMBER

Here are my final art journal pages in my 2017 art journal. I managed to finish this journal still in 2017, on December 31st actually... I got pretty behind during the final months because I wasn't well mentally and couldn't focus on anything creative.

"Wanderlust" art journal - SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER

As I mentioned in my previous post, last month was all about catching up with my "Wanderlust" art journal. I have three traveller's notebook inserts for this year-long "project", so I'm now in the last one.

I'm following the Wanderlust classes and if a page was inspired by a particular class, I mention it under the picture.

I'm still not enjoying the creative process much and it shows on my art... But I'm over hiding my bad art, so here it is.

inspired by Wendy Brightbill class

this page has a flap that opens 

(I needed a page with a flap for a class I'm teaching)

the quote continues under the flap

a failed attempt at image transfer...

inspired by Marta Lapkowska class

inspired by Andy Skinner class

So, I finally managed to catch up. I guess, I can now get behind again ;-)

"Wanderlust" art journal - JULY and AUGUST

In summer, I was hit by a serious creative crisis. It continued pretty much till the middle of September. I did very little art journalling - but I read about 30 books in 3 months. The bookworm in me rejoiced... the artist, not so much....

So, for the last couple of months, I've been trying to catch up. Why, you ask? Why not just skip the uneventful months and restart now? Well, that's me... If I have a journal dedicated to something - in this case a weekly page - I just have to fill in all the gaps - no matter what.

I'm still following the Wanderlust classes and if a page was inspired by a particular class, I mention it under the picture.

this was the last page before THE CRISIS

inspired by JOFY class

created for a "Doodles" challenge

inspired by Amy Maricle class

a page done with the Facebook live prompts

I watched the live broadcast but didn't create while watching.

I don't believe in art done under pressure.

a simple extra page*

* If you remember, I have three traveller's notebook inserts dedicated to this Wanderlust adventure. I can fit 4 months of weekly pages in one journal. But there is usually one or two extra pages left in each insert for some random pieces of art.

"Wanderlust" journal - MAY and JUNE

I'm here with my May and June pages in what I still call the "Wanderlust" journal:

inspired by Dyan Reaveley's class

 inspired by Kate Crane's class

one of the "Activities" prompt "I'm like a ... that..."

We were supposed to be "working big" in one of Kasia's classes. I made a big master-board which I cut into smaller pieces and created covers for my future journals.

But I also wanted to have something in my journal so I used the leftover pieces to create this page. I'm not super thrilled about how it turned out, though...

As I promised last month, this is the finished mini-book from the "working small" class.

a minibook in a mini box

 I felt slightly betrayed we only got a Finnabair interview this week

and not a class

inspired by Vicky Papaioannou's class

 not inspired by anything particular - just me testing my brand new stencil

 not inspired by anything particular - just me being in a very melancholy mood

inspired by Rae Missigman's class

Random "thought of the day":

I'm not a fan of the prompts that urge you to go outside your comfort zone. Yes, it's OK to try something new but this needs to come from within. You see some technique you've never tried before or you are scared of trying and you keep thinking about it and try it eventually - in your own time, at your own pace. But trying something uncomfortable just for the sake of trying - that is not right. This should be about you and not about going outside your box at all costs.

This is not supposed to be a rant - even though it might seem like one... it's just something that's been on my mind...

Also, I'm not sure how many people are reading this as I get close to zero feedback - which slightly discourages me from doing more detailed posts. I get into this "what's the point of this all" mood because I'm really not sure who's interested in this.

xo

Pavla

"Wanderlust" journal - APRIL

I find it harder and harder to be inspired by anything from the Wanderlust class. I'm still following the weekly classes but I feel they don't "ignite" anything. I haven't felt so uninspired in quite some time...

I've been doing art journalling for a while so I'm no beginner. I know how to start a page and I know there are rules and I know these rules can be broken. Maybe that's the problem - I've already defined (and re-defined) myself in art journalling. I know what works for me and what not. And so far, most of the classes were outside of my box. Not outside of my comfort zone. No! I'm up for trying new things - but within my rules, my boundaries. I'm not sure if I'm expressing my feelings clearly...

So, without further ado, here are my weekly pages:

One of the classes was about minibooks - I tried to make one, forced myself to make one, but it remains unfinished. I'm waiting if it "speaks" to me - I don't give up on it yet and might finish it one day...

I finished first of the three traveller's notebook inserts I'd devoted for this class. There is a flip-through on my Instagram (if you're interested).

Wanderlust 2017: MARCH

Here are the March pages in my "Wanderlust journal":

live Facebook adventure*

This month, there were some pages I liked very much. I'm also in love with the traveller's notebook format of my journal.

(*) The last page was done during the Facebook live event. I'm not a fan of random prompts in random order so I was very happy when one of the last prompts was "to cover the page with paint" and I could hide the sequence of prompts that didn't really work together.

Three months into the Wanderlust classes... and I'm still not sure whether I like them or not. I'm not happy about the format, teachers, classes, the overall pace... Not that it's bad or anything, but it's not just my thing, I suppose. I find it very hard to be inspired, so I'm just doing my page a week(end). I've established this weekly crafting "ritual" when I'm painting on Saturday afternoons/evenings and that works for me.

Wanderlust 2017: FEBRUARY

Here are the February pages in my Wanderlust journal.

Some pages were inspired by the videos, other were following a prompt from one of the many "activities" posted on the Wanderlust class webpage.

[Warning: rant ahead]
The first class of the month was about breaking the page, and that there was no need to complete the page. Don't get me wrong, I have a few journals with backgrounds in various stages of progress but I'm not enjoying the process of putting one element on a page and then moving on to scribble something on another page and then adding some paint to another. I don't enjoy doing this. I have no problems facing a blank page - I have several quick techniques to deal with breaking a page and I don't need to do this on purpose, just for the sake of doing it. I don't think I need to waste my creative time on this. Moreover, sometimes I find it distracting to face a page that has something on it that I'm not happy about at that particular moment. Sitting down for 10 minutes a day to add random things to random pages all around my journal is a waste of time for me. I'm sure each and every one of us has a different approach to art, this is not mine. But, because it was that week's lesson, I did it. And had to face the unfinished pages in the weeks to come. Not my cup of tea. [end of rant]

inspired by Amanda Grace's class "The Love Letter"

 inspired by Clair Bremner's class

 Prompt: "This month was… (insert at least six nouns)"

inspired by Guest Activity from Eliza - Quotes

The navigation in the Classroom gets more difficult for me as more and more posts are added - especially in the "Activities" section - some post are updated with fortnightly/monthly prompts, new ones are appearing. I need to be watching for when the post was last modified, which is annoying.

But I'm enjoying the format of my journal. I will be continuing in it - with or without the Wanderlust classes.