From a practice page to a master piece

Do you own a practice journal? Do you try out new techniques or products in your spare book?
Gayle is proving that the inspiration is everywhere. She will show you how simple practice page can turn into a master piece. 

Hi everyone.

Hello Mixed Media Place friends.
I’m showing you a simple art journal page today. When I work on a page or canvas or any specific project. I always have this particular art journal right next to me.
Sometimes as I’m working I’m not sure how a particular paint, ink or mist colour is going to look; or, how the texture of a stencil will turn out with gel medium, texture paste or molding paste, they will all give a different effect, so I try it first in this art journal. It’s my try out, practice page. Bits and pieces get randomly added to this page with no plan or idea while I’m working on my main project. Later, when the dust has settled, and the main project is complete, I’ll go back and look at what I have on my practice page in the journal……sometimes it’s just a mess; but often what’s there can inspire an idea and with the addition of a bit of stamping, writing, collaging and drawing, an interesting page can evolve, and it’s fun to see where it takes you. Of course this is not an original idea of mine….Donna Downey is a master of this with her amazing “collage journals”. So, instead of trying out different ideas and media on scrap paper that you then throw away, practice in a journal…. you never know what that “practice” page will inspire in you.

This page evolved from a previous project created for Finnabair, see HERE. I was not sure how the stencil I chose, Elementals ‘Grungy Grid’ for the background was going to look, or how the coloured mists I’d chosen would look when ‘blended’ together or how a second stencil, Elementals ‘Basket’, would look added over the top; ( which I didn’t end up using ) so I just tried them in the journal page first. I had never coloured a tea bag before so I practiced misting one first in the journal and adding Finnabair’s art ingredients glass and micro beads to see what they would look like.
So, I had, on my journal page, a pretty, misted background and a random, floating tea bag with some beads. I could add a left over tea cup from the main project and some doilies. Tea is “brewed”, witches make “brews” so that’s where she came from. Some stamping, some writing and some ‘dribble’ rings and this crazy page was done.

Materials from Mixed Media Place:


Thank you.