So, what’s going on this month?
ATC Swap
Did you get in on the ATC Swap? This month’s theme (due date was June 15) was gypsy and I’m super excited to see what everyone has done. Feel free to comment here with pictures! Want to get a head start on next month’s swap? The theme is ‘things with wings.’
Loyalty Reward Program
Have you been here the whole six months of the Emporium? There’s a super special workshop open just for you! Best of all, there is more coming! Stay tuned for more rewards.
Have you followed the Practically Imperfect in Every Way workshop? Have you posted your creations? You can share your art in the classroom, here on this blog as a comment, or on social media with the tags: #artjournalemporium and #thedailyartdose. Show us your practically imperfect art!
Savings & Deals
Tangie also let us know this month about Radiant II. This is an online workshop where Tangie is one of the guest instructors. This looks like a great workshop and Tangie even has scored a discount for Emporium members. Want to get some more info? (Link is an affiliate link that pays Tangie if you purchase through her link.)
Art Journal Emporium members also get a discount on the 2015 October Workshop taking place in Arizona! Who’s excited for that? I know I am!
If you’re interested in the Junque Journal class (starts Wednesday and I can’t wait), Tangie has even given a coupon in the Emporium for that workshop.
The I-want-it-all subscription option (C) for the Emporium has been lowered in price! Let Tangie know via email if you would like to upgrade or click here to get your subscription.
Whew! I guess Tangie needed a vacation after arranging all of that!
Download and Products
Also this month we’ve had the monthly Grab Bag released, a pack of digital papers, and a new collage sheet miniworkshop.
Then there is the zine for this month. The Tangerine Telescope this month features quotes. Which one was your favorite? Has it inspired you to do an art project on your favorite quote? Be sure to show us.
The Daily Art Dose
Then of course there is my favorite part of the Emporium. These mini-masterpieces really make me want to check in every day to see what’s been made. If you are sharing yours on social media, be sure to tag them with #artjournalemporium and #thedailyartdose.
Anne Lou’s layout has the most beautiful colors.
I can empathize with Kay on this one. Gardening makes it hard to sleep at night sometimes!
And Carol made us this fantastic creature!
There’s more of The Daily Art Dose on Instagram, so check them out there too!
Book Club
Here’s one of Tangie’s pages that help round out our exploration of Journal Spilling by Diana Trout.
I love the splash of color on Liz’s page
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That’s it for now, enjoy the rest of the month and remember to give yourself time to create.
Posted by: Becky Sasala
I can finally type again!
This month the book club worked on Journal Spilling by Diana Trout. So. Much. Awesome.
Exploration #1
Rese calls this messy and murky. I call it fantastic.
The colors on this page by Liz drew me in.
Exploration #2
Tangie’s shot of her plunging in. I feel that I want to post this in my art room for inspiration!
And Tangie’s result. Fantabulous.
I love the quote on Mindy’s page.
Exploration #3
Jan’s page is a great example of layers over text. I love it.
I like the way Tangie’s background colors faded into one another.
Exploration #4
Donna’s Picassoesque self-portrait is really great. I love the cubism feel mixed with what looks to me like some comic book style inspiration.
Jan put her inner critic out there for everyone to see. Very nice work.
Exploration #5
Tangie’s title image for this exploration just oozes creative gorgeousness. Yes, it is a word. Now.
Anne Lou made this marvelous page using marbling medium.
Exploration #6
Tangie’s lettering is always fantastic, but I really like the way the lettering in this one runs into and around the green. Plus, it is a quote by my favorite man of all time. Bonus!
I love Kay’s lettering too! This is a great mix of collage and writing with a fantastic statue picture.
That is it for May! While I’m still way behind because of the hand injury, I hope to work on this book this month. Who’s looking forward to June?
Posted by: Becky Sasala
This month for the Art Journal Emporium we were lucky enough to get an EXCLUSIVE interview with Diana Trout, author of Journal Spilling (our book of the month club choice). I'll share just a few of the questions/answers with you here, along with some of her GORGEOUS artwork! If you are a member of the Art Journal Emporium check into our Book Club classroom to get the FULL interview!
What does art journaling mean to you?
To me, it means that I get to play with whatever materials I want! I can write, collage, paint, scribble. I can explore thoughts, shapes, colors. It’s not going to be judged or put on a wall for purchase. It doesn’t need to be archival. It is mine alone and non-precious.
If you could give one piece of advice to an artist struggling with self-doubt what would it be?
This is really tough and you just have to work through it. Recite a mantra. I like the Little Train That Could: “I think I can, I think I can.” It the mark on paper that feels permanent. Put your hand up if you sing in the shower. Are you a professional singer? Do you dance at weddings? These artistic expressions don’t leave a mark so we are more comfortable with them. I like to remind people that there is always gesso and collage to cover things up.
You can find Diana Trout online here: http://www.dianatrout.typepad.com
(All images used with permission of Diana Trout from her blog).
Just one more week to go in April! It's exciting to look ahead to May, however.
Art Journal Book Club
Speaking of May, we're moving on to a NEW book in May. Check it out!
Exploration 5
Tangie's exploration gave us some incredible blue flowers. I love this most because my spray painted paper towel collection is now validated.
Mindy shared some amazing layers with us in this layout.
I love this layout by Liz, but even more than the layout, I love the courage she showed in continuing through!
Exploration 6
Tangie's page simply pops with color.
Liz's page has some incredible shading on it. And I love the wings!
Mindy's page for exploration 6 is incredible. That's it. Just awesome.
The Daily Art Dose
Liz did an afternoon discovery for us in her daily art dose.
This picture by Becky reminds us that sometimes you have to take your daily art dose where you can find it.
As we are nearing the end of the month, make sure you download your collage sheets!
That's it for this week. If you'd like to see more of our art, check out social media with the tags #artjournalemporium and #thedailyartdose. Don't forget that we are also working on #the100dayproject!
See you soon!
Posted by: Becky Sasala
We are half-way through April and still steaming along in our creative adventure.
Art Journal Book Club
We're working our way through Art Journal Courage by Dina Wakely.
Exploration #3
This part of the book took a lot of courage for many of us. But I think you will agree that the results are definitely worth it!
The eyes on this simple face by Shari are fantastic.
I couldn't decide which of Liz' layouts I liked best, but eventually I decided to go with the eagle because tracing is cool.
Mindy's layering is gorgeous on this layout. So is the face!
Exploration #4
I think we've determined that most of us are hesitant to show ourselves in our art. But this week, we were courageous!
Tangie's journal pages that she shared with us really reflects on this chapter of Dina's book.
Anne Lou went digital with her layout. I love the layered look she was able to achieve with the stamp and blending.
This stenciled page by Liz is fantastic! I love the way the colors work together.
Emporium Deliveries
Have you seen the rest of the deliveries in the Emporium this month? So far, we have our Daily Art Dose, an ATC swap (maps!!), the book club with an exclusive interview, {Be} Mused Cards, the Art District Grab Bag (if you subscribe to it), The Tangerine Telescope (with subscription), #the100DayProject challenge, new collage sheets, and new collage videos! All our deliveries this month have been incredible so far...What have you made with them? Make sure to tag them in social media (#artjournalemporium and #thedailyartdose and #the100dayproject), post them in the classrooms, or even comment here with your creations.
The Daily Art Dose & #The100DayProject
This monthly prompt is inspiring all kinds of creative projects, many of which are combined with the #The100DayProject. Tangie gave us the challenge and has been fantastic about keeping it up herself. Best thing about it is all the creative inspiration we are all getting daily from everyone that is playing along.
This double challenge from Kay features a dog (yay!) and some inspiring exercise.
Mindy made us a cute little bird with a great quote.
And that, fellow Art Journal Emporium Explorers, is all for this week. We hope you were inspired to create and that you share your creations with us!
Posted by: Becky Sasala
Did you just see that? The truckload of awesome art and inspiration that just nearly ran us over? April has already come in full of color and style and there is still so much more to come.
With this much incredible awesomeness going around, I’m not going to be able to highlight every work of art that deserves it…because they are all fantastic. So, check out our art on social media that has been tagged with #artjournalemporium and #thedailyartdose.
Art Journal Book Club
This month we started on Art Journal Courage. It. Is. Fantastic. We even have an exclusive interview with the author!
Exploration One
Tangie’s page led the way for our inspiration.
Joycelyn did this gorgeous texturey page all about courage. It’s a great quote on an even better page. I love that lion!
This page by Liz features obscured journaling and some great affirmation words. I love that her girl on the page looks as ready as the page says.
Shari’s page has some great positive thoughts to balance her negative self talk. And stenciling. I love stenciling.
Exploration 2
Tangie’s page has stenciling, butterflies, and journaling…oh my!
Mindy shows us her mind map on this gorgeous two page spread.
This page, by Donna, has handwritten journaling deliberately skewed to obscure it. Love it!
The Tangerine Telescope
Did you get your issue yet? WOW was all I could say when I opened mine a few days ago. I’m looking forward to seeing what kinds of inspiration the magazine and prompts have for us this month.
The Daily Art Dose
One of my favorite places to check in with daily! I just love the thought of taking just a few minutes each day to be creative.
I love that Liz’s word juggle is actually juggling!
Becky’s photo, “The Write Stuff” says that the prompts can be interpreted in lots of ways.
Kay’s showing us more of her lettering work this month. Thank you, it’s lovely!
#The100DayProject
Speaking of being creative every day…The 100 Day Project is a way to keep yourself committed to the cause of creativity.
Tangie is shooting for 100 art pages in 100 days.
Kay is taking the challenge seriously and doing a mind and body combination. And she’s doing more elephants. I love her elephants.
I want a poster of this one by Fonda.
Other Things
Tangie also released a new BeMused set…and we’re still only at day 10! If you are in the Artist Trading Card Swap for April, remember that your cards are due next week! I’m looking forward to seeing them.
If you haven’t been by the Emporium in a while, now is a great time to get back in on the fun. If you’re not a member, come join us!
Posted by: Becky Sasala
Welcome to April!
This week starts another exciting month in the Art Journal Emporium. We have a new book club selection starting this week, a new Daily Art Dose, a new Tangerine Telescope, an ATC swap, and lots of extra goodies to look forward to for the rest of the month. Not to mention, Tangie’s new “A Walk in the Park” workshop.
The Daily Art Dose
The new list of inspiration prompts is out! It’s so exciting to have a reason to take a few minutes each day just to do art. Using these little one-word prompts also stretches your creative muscles. Win-win!
Liz is flexing her lettering finesse with this ATC inspired by ‘wander.’
Becky did this mini work of art as a take on the ‘tomorrow’ prompt.
Artist Trading Card Swap
The deadline for the next Artist Trading Card Swap is coming up! April’s theme is maps. I *love* maps. The aged parchment, the compass rose, the ‘here there be dragons.’ Modern maps are great too. And star charts.
Need some inspiration or art kits to help make your ATCs? A bunch of cartography sets are included with the Art Journal Caravan in 2012. There’s also a huge bundle of all the weekly parcels for the 2012 caravan which should have other helpful goodies.
We’re still early in the month, but I can see great things coming. Don’t forget to look for our art (and tag your own!) on social media using the tags: @artjournalemporium and #thedailyartdose.
Posted by: Becky Sasala
What a month! And it’s still not quite over. Have you gotten a postcard from the swap yet? I love mine and I’m so happy I decided to join it. Let us know what you got!
Ink & Paint Along No. 2
Don’t forget that you have until March 31st at midnight EST to submit your page using this giveaway. You could be randomly chosen to win a super surprise package!
This layout by Sara is really fantastic. It seems to rain a lot here in the Mid-Atlantic in March, so I have had lots of practice smiling this month.
Crystal has a great quote on her page. I like the flowers, but I love the circles!
I love Elly’s journal writing and her quote.
The Daily Art Dose
Liz’s artist trading cards are fantastic.
Arlene did this layout on the prompt color. I admit that the dog drew me in. Love him/her! Seriously, they are all great.
Also this month we’ve had the Symbology Project 3, the March Monthly mini workshop, downloaded stencils and collages, and looked forward to a new book club selection next month.
As always if you’d like to see more of our art you can join the Art Journal Emporium or search for us on social media using the tags: #artjounralemporium and #thedailyartdose.
That’s it for now…go forth and create art!
Posted by: Becky Sasala
There’s been a whirlwind of excited creativity going on in the Emporium lately. Have you seen all the new stuff? Here’s a quick rundown of the latest and greatest for you:
- A NEW Art Journaling the Magic Class
- Symbology Project # 3 Workshop
- Collage sheets and videos for March
That’s all in addition to our daily awesomeness. Speaking of daily awesomeness…let’s look at some art from the past week that caught my eye.
The Daily Art Dose
You don’t get more daily awesomeness anywhere else, folks. These mini-masterpieces always make me smile.
Marilyn’s sketches are always great. I love the redundant-ness of a sheep in a wool sweater.
Liz’s ideas for her daily ATC’s are always clever, but I really liked this little turtle.
Book Club
We’re heading toward the end of our first book with some great inspiration and great art under our belts. I can’t wait to see what our next book in April has in store for us.
Kay’s layout from Exploration #7 is simply gorgeous. There’s so much going on. I love her varied writing style.
March Monthly Mini-Workshop
I love these little challenges!
Fonda took the triangle challenge and squeezed it! See what I did there?
Shari posted this on Instagram with our tags, but I thought it fit best here in the March Monthly. I love the quote!
I’m so looking forward to seeing what goodies I get in the postcard and ATC swap!
Until next time, remember that art needs to speak only to its creator. Enjoy the process!
As always if you want to see more of our art, check out our links on social media with the tags: #artjournalemporium and #thedailyartdose.
Posted by: Becky Sasala
ATC Swap
Are you excited to see what kinds of wonderfulness is in the ATC swap? I know I am. The due date is coming which means we will be seeing our cards soon!
Did you miss March’s swap? We’re doing another one in April – sign up now!
Book Club
This month we are finishing up one book and getting ready to tackle another. In these last few weeks, I wanted to highlight a layout I think does an excellent summary of the entire book.
Dianne’s layout is filled with incredible color and an awesome quote.
Super New Release
Tangie just released another Ink & Paint Along and what gorgeous watercolors they are! I can’t wait to see how they are used.
The Daily Art Dose
As always these small works of art make my day.
Liz made these two ATC’s for ‘momentour’ and ‘magical.’ Yes, yes they are.
Marilyn’s zentangles never disappoint. This one for ‘whistle’ is no exception.
Lastly, in honor of the word ‘lucky’ here is Penny’s mini-masterpiece.
That’s it for now. See you here next week for another review! If you’d like to keep track of our art on social media between now and then, search for our tags: #artjournalemporium and #thedailyartdose.
Posted by: Becky Sasala
