A Happy Creative New Year

Happy New Year to You

Here is my new calendar page - looking rather plain, and below are my December pages.

This is my third year of keeping a diary in this form. Kate here is hosting the 2012 366 challenge so visit there if you want to join in.  I love keeping a diary this way and although it looks involved, it isn't.  You need to find half an hour or so to prepare your page.  I cut 4cm squares and glue them on a double A4 page.  As you can see my background for January is fairly simple with colour washes.  Filling in the little squares needn't be done everyday - I often fill several at a time adding the little drawings and colour when I have time.  Some entries are just a couple of words or even a doodle.  I must say I love looking back over my previous pages and they have resolved several arguments about when we had done something.

 I have been finding time to do something creative every day even if it is just filling in my calendar.

Here are my latest pages in the Design Matters sketchbook project based on my little owl paperweight.

This one is bordered with the little lino cut I made and features a cut-out that opens onto the page below.

The right hand page was created by using a gold oil pastel to take rubbings of leaves on brown paper and flooding the paper with watercolour.

This page features a pocket for holding all the little samples and bits related to the owl.  I have used a larger  

lino cut I made based on a paisley pattern that was on a supermarket Indian dinner box.

The sheets  below were created by rubbing the lino cut with wax crayons or oil pastel.

My favourite technique is using gold oil pastel on brown paper as I did on the owl page above.  It gives a beautiful rich finish.

I am in the middle of my next project, so watch this space.  I am also working back through the book enhancing the pages with additional techniques.  It is a new notion for me, as previously my sketchbooks have more or less been a chronological record of my thought processes and learned techniques, whereas with this one it will a single piece of artwork.

I have reached the last Module of the Design Matters Creative Sketchbook Course and now I am seriously considering signing up for Creative Quiltmaking, which is a City and Guilds course, next. 

I now need to devote some time to commenting on your blogs - I have managed to peek at them, but I hope you'll understand,  I am on a creative wave and I need to ride it as long as it's with me!

I do wish you all the best for 2012  and look forward to sharing what you have been doing.

Jill