Guest Artist: Mindy Lacefield’s Art Journaling Magic
We’re absolutely elated to welcome Mindy Lacefield, mixed-media expert and cover artist of the spring 2013 issue Art Journaling, to Somerset Place!
Have your hours of art journaling been dragging on like an arduous chore rather than valued as precious time to express yourself, or maybe you’ve yet to try your hand at this soul satisfying hobby? No matter where you find yourself on the art journal skill scale, this blog post will deliver the skinny on how to infuse fun and balance into your craft. Follow along with Guest Artist Mindy Lacefield as she invites you to “see the miracles in the small and minute” with this inspiring video and other insider tips, sure to spur on your creativity!
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Spice up your art journaling routine with these 10 tips from Mindy!
1) Don’t wait to be inspired. Get out your journal every day even if it’s only for 10-15 minutes.
2) Make a bunch of gelli plate prints to serve as libraries of textures. I love the idea of having your own language and textures. This will bring in your own voice and style. I use these prints to collage with and cut out areas that speak to me as I’m working.
3) Start using bleeding art tissue. This stuff is so amazing! Although it can bleed, it does serve as a stunning transparent color layer that’s so unique when painted over with a palette knife.
4) Do some small figure sketches on lined notebook paper and tear them out. You can do several in a 15-20 time span. It looks really neat and child-like and it also helps when deciding about your composition. You can really play and test out the composition with these little sketches before gluing them in your journal.
5) Using black and white creates interesting contrast. Use black paper and paint white gesso over the page, and then do white paper and paint black gesso over the page.
6) Use the top layer of a patterned napkin to create visual interest and transparency and collage it into your journal.
7) Play with neon colors! I love using a bland color next to bright neon for added contrast.
8) Use small touches of glitter glue for fun.
9) Get out into nature and be still. Write what you see. Write how it feels with absence of movement. Absence of sound.
10) Write a special word with your non-dominant hand in pencil or oil pastel. You are channeling your 8 year old self.
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Join us as we “Ask Mindy”
Would you recommend preparing yourself before you art journal or create as you go?
I pretty much create as I go. I love the idea of showing up and not really knowing what I’m going to do. Facing the blank journal can sometimes be daunting so I write in a spiral bound journal through the use of automatic writing to see what comes out. I begin my journaling process by simply just gluing something down or painting a swatch of color and go from there. Then the moment comes when thinking is no longer happening. I’m only doing. I’m free from worrying about the outcome. I work on several pages or pieces at a time so that there are pages at various stages throughout the process.
Are there any specific stamps you like to art journal with?
I love Traci and Dina’s stamps because they have such a unique painterly texture. You can stamp them into wet paint or use them with ink and paint around them. I love the idea of a stamp giving the illusion of text and/or lettering without actually writing something. Also, what I love, are that the shapes are very organic and raw. This is exactly what I’m looking for when deciding on a stamp to purchase. Traci and Dina are amazing artists and I consider both of them my mentors. I adore their spirit and their art!
What advice would you give to artists who are working part-time or debating on taking the leap of faith into a full-time investment in their art career?
I say you only have this one life. Go for it!
Having a plan definitely helps and to work part-time while you get your art career off the ground is one thing I do recommend. With the added support of the part-time job, you aren’t left stressed to totally rely on your art to make a living. When you aren’t stressed, you can have the freedom to create from a beautiful place and everything else will fall into place as it should.
Just curious, what is “Tim’s Sally” all about?
Tim’s Sally comes from a love of my favorite movie director Tim Burton. My favorite character is Sally from Burton’s “A Nightmare Before Christmas.” My husband’s name is also Tim and while I was trying to come up with a catchy, easy-to-remember name for my Etsy shop, Tim’s Sally was born. It has kinda stuck with me all these years and I love its simplicity and nod to my two favorite Tims! A funny story…someone was asking me about the name and she thought that is was a catch-phrase like “bees knees.” I couldn’t be more flattered!
Random Fact: She believes in magic
She Adores: Dolls from the 70s and 80s (especially strawberry shortcake!)
She Has: An awesome blog site www.timssally.com
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Posted: Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 @ 11:59 am
Categories: Uncategorized.
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Love this! Thank you for sharing. I don’t know what gelli plates are but I will find out.
Awesome! Check out this video, it explains it perfectly! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GRg1YQFi-pg#!
If you want to get your very own gelli plate, we have some on our website here: http://stampington.com/8-x-10-Gel-Printing-Plate
HAPPY CREATING!
ooh, I so want Gelli plates! I have been eye balling them~ Thank you for sharing you wisdom~
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I love to see how you work, whis I had only few of your stencils. Loved all of them. Thank you.
What art journal are you using in the video?
Sorry Sue…I’m not sure what exact journal Mindy used, but I’d definitely recommend Dyan Reaveley’s Dylusions journal if you’re interested in creating and experimenting with art journaling! stampington.com/Dyan-Reaveley-Dylusions-Creative-Journal
Oh so much thanks……love this vid and thanks for sharing Mindy Lacefield……this blog post is stuffed with Treasure with a capital T!!
right? i thought it was the cutest thing ever
yes, I’m using the Dylusions journal. It is so yummy and the pages are thick for painting.