Wrapping up January at AJJ

Hi everyone.

January is quickly wrapping up, so today I want to share my last page for Mia's Add a Photo challenge at Art Journal Journey.

Thank you Mia for hosting, and thank you everyone who joined us. I loved seeing all the creative ways people used photos in their art journaling. This was a fun way to begin 2023's art journaling journey.

My page today started with this old altered photo. Years ago there was a great arts and crafts store about an hour away from me down on the North Shore of Massachusetts.  One of the best things about this store was that they brought in  artists and designers so I was able to take occasional in person classes with some very talented people. 

I really miss taking these classes because  it was always fun to meet new people and learn new techniques. Not that you can't do that online, but I liked actually being there, especially if a technique had me stumped. Plus it was always nice to get immediate feedback.

One of the artists I took a class with was Karen Michel. She taught us how to alter photos into mini art pieces. 

You have to use an actual printed photo for this technique (not one printed on a computer), so it is a great way to use old, not so good photos. Since you are altering them, they don't have to be composed or even focused very well.

First you wet the photo, and then go at it. You can sand off partial colors, make cool "textures" and even paint on the photo. Finally we mounted the photos on some black paper which in my case, I rough cut.

I recently found a few of these altered photos from that class in a box, so I decided to use one for this challenge. I began first by making a background which included a black and white magazine paper (out of an old Somerset Studio) as well as some printed tissue. Then I added my altered photo art. I used some gold paint and freehand painted some circles and half circles. I then outlined them with a Sharpie. Finally I cut the love word out of a magazine and outlined the letters of love with a Sharpie. 

 I have no connection to the artist, but if you're interested in Karen Michel, here is her blog link: Karen Michel, and here's a cover photo of  her book about photo altering:

Have a great end of January.