Sunday, January 29, 2023

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.




 

12 comments:

Angie's Recipes said...

I would love to take a class with you :-) The page looks really nice.

Iris Flavia said...

Now THAT sounds very interesting - and it came out great, too.

Darn it. You´re too late with this some 5 years. I threw away a whole (small) suitcase of real photos as I had them scanned (our condo is not very big). Ahhhhhh.... noooo.
I could bite my butt, thankfully I´m not that flexible ;-)

Christine said...

Beautiful page. My brother was on a Viking Cruise fyi.

Anne (cornucopia) said...

Wonderful art style. I can't believe how fast January went by. I hope you didn't get too much snow the other day. (CJ and I got lucky with rain, instead of snow, but it looked like you were in a snow zone. Is it Spring yet? :-)

David M. Gascoigne, said...

January seems to have gone by in a flash, and already the days are getting noticeably longer. It's an old cliché, but nonetheless true, that times goes by faster with age. After all, wasn't it just yesterday that I turned fifty? Hugs - David

CJ Kennedy said...

Very cool technique. I think I have that book as the cover looks very familiar. Stay warm.

Jeanie said...

What a wonderful, colorful book! And I really like today's piece. I need to see those colors on this all-white day!

Divers and Sundry said...

What a wonderful use of old photos!

Valerie-Jael said...

Looks like a good book and your journal page is fabulous! Have a great week, hugs,Valerie

Lowcarb team member said...

A lovely journal page.

All the best Jan

NatureFootstep said...

what a great idea of working with old shots. I have been painting on photopaper, not printed, but not really on a photo. I´ll keep it in mind :)
Thanks!

Aimeslee Winans said...

VERY nice altering you did on that photo and another beautiful page, looks very organic. I have that book and I remember when that was the rage to do. But I didn't actually do any until I bought Angela Cartwright's book (yes, THAT Angela from Make Room for Daddy and Lost In Space). She altered a bit differently using oil pencils and I was intrigued by that. Anyway, it's cool to do no matter what is used. Hope your fireplace is going strong! XOX