Selected Journal Pages

beth Dougherty March 22, 2021

Hello Friends!

I’m still trying to do an art journal page a day. At this writing I am on day 49 and still waiting for inspiration to hit! Covid restrictions in Germany have eased a bit but we’re still mostly house bound which is good for working on art projects. Here are a few of my favorites from the past couple of weeks.

Thanks for looking!
XO Beth

38/100 - In this journal entry I tried to make it look like I was under the collage elements. I went for the literal interpretation!

39/100- returning to a familiar theme…anthropomorphic poultry.

43/100 - I love these words. They remind me to stop and take note of how I am feeling. When I look back I realize the times that I have had a bad feeling about something or I have not been happy doing something it usually does not work out. So often… — 43/100 - I love these words. They remind me to stop and take note of how I am feeling. When I look back I realize the times that I have had a bad feeling about something or I have not been happy doing something it usually does not work out. So often we push down our emotions when they are trying to get our attention and help us out.

44/100 - These are lyrics from one of my favorite songs in the musical Hamilton. Have you heard it? If you are a Hamilton fan like me you can get a print or coffee mug with this image from my RedBubble page.

48/100 - This piggy backs off day 45. Quit being available for things that make you feel bad. Why? Because its about time you’re nicer to yourself!

Day 19/100 is a phrase I stumbled upon “the 47th Problem of Euclid” . I looked up what it meant and It turns out that it is a Masonic symbol rooted in ancient math.

Are Secret Societies Watching you?

beth Dougherty February 21, 2021

Are you intrigued by secret societies? Me too!

This is a true story. About two years ago I was helping my parents clean out my great grandparents house. All of the men on my father’s side of my family, including my father, have been Masons. (My father never actually talks about it though).
When we were clearing one of the dressers I found a very old Masonic handbook that belonged to my great grandfather. I asked my Dad if I could have it and he said yes. Because I was flying back to Germany and I had a very tightly packed suitcase I decided to mail the handbook and a few other things to myself instead of carrying it in my suitcase. A few weeks after I got back to Germany the box arrived in the mail. It had been torn to pieces and badly taped back up. A few of the items inside were broken and a few things were missing. Among the missing was the Masonic handbook. Weird, right? The secret text outsiders were not supposed to look at was gone from the package.
What is crazier is that someone at the post office had put the book “The Men Who Stare at Goats” into the box and taped it back up. On one level it is hilarious that a box would be destroyed in the mail and a postal worker would look at the mess and for whatever reason put a random book in the package and call it good. BUT on another level I think it is a little freaky that of all the mail to go missing - that book (of all books) ends up getting lost and then replaced with a book about people with magical mental powers.

I believe the “Masonic Powers that Be” intervened to make sure I did not get my hands on their manual. It was very mysterious and I guess their secret is STILL safe.

Have you ever had an unexplained, mysterious happening in your life? A coincidence that is too weird to write off? Let me know in the comments below.

This week I am 1/5th of the way through this 100 day journey of quotes and collages. I feel like I just started this project yesterday. It confirms my suspicion that time is actually speeding up. Do you feel this way too? It reminds me that time is precious and our only non-renewable resource. (See day 21.) I need to be conscious of how I spend my time.

I hope this note finds you happy and well and enjoying how you spend your time!

XOBeth

Day 20/100 - Hope is the song of a bird in spring. Yesterday we hiked in the warm sunny weather and it truly felt like the embodiment of hope. Hope is spring after winter, the light at the end of the tunnel.

Day 18/100 - A quote from David Strickel. I enjoy his YouTube channel.

Day 16/100 - Another David Strickel and the Stream quote

Day 15/100 - Day 15 was Valentine’s day. I enjoyed cutting and pasting these hearts.

“Shrine to Frida” Matchbox Shrine, Beth Dougherty 2020

DIY Matchbox Shrine

beth Dougherty March 30, 2020

Thanks to current world events you, like me, might be stuck at home with more time on your hands than usual. Here is a little project that I have had on my to-do list for a while. I wrote up a quick little how-to because I thought you might enjoy doing it as well.

1. Gather your match boxes and craft supplies. A little glitter and glue can turn something ordinary into something exceptional.

2. Empty the match box. Use the inner “box” part for the base and the outside “sleeve” to make the ornamental top and sides.

Cut the sleeve into two pieces. One piece is a middle rectangle the other piece will be the sides plus the other rectangle. The single rectangle piece will become your top. Cut the other rectangle piece, with the sides attached, down the middle to make the flaps for the side of your shrine.

3. Glue the side flaps to each side of your box. Shape the rectangle piece into something interesting and glue that to the top of your box.

3. After your shrine has taken shape and the glue dries add some papier-mâché to strengthen your shrine. I tore up tiny strips of newspaper and dipped them into watered down glue. Then I layered them all over the entire box. You can use a paint brush to layer the papier-mâché if you don’t like getting sticky. The papier-mâché will take a few hours to dry. This step will make the shrine strong and look like it is one form without seams.

4. After the papier-mâché has dried you will have a perfect little box you can decorate with paint, sequins, seashells, old pictures, computer print-outs - really anything that will fit in it. It would make a sweet little gift, a personal totem, a fridge magnet or even a grouping on your wall if you make a few of them.
I used small matchboxes for this project but big ones would be even cooler!

Have fun and stay healthy my friends!

Beth

“La Sirena” Matchbox Shrine, Beth Dougherty 2020

“Shrine to Mary” Matchbox Shrine, Beth Dougherty 2020

Art Journal Q & A

beth Dougherty March 1, 2019

Recently a friend asked my advice on what they needed to do to create their own “art journal.” I thought I would use this space to answer her.

So friend, you want to go down the rabbit hole of art journaling?

Like any other art related endeavor don’t be afraid to get caught up in it! The good news is, if you are a recovering scrap-booker, rubber stamp collector or other craft related junkie you can re-use all your supplies in your new art journal. - Just think - you don’t have to beat yourself up anymore for starting to scrapbook that vacation 10 years ago and loosing steam, you were planning to repurpose your supplies all along. It’s a good thing you bought those tubs of decorative papers and stickers… (oh wait, maybe I am just talking to myself here.)

Art journaling is a fun low-stakes way to allow your creativity to flow. Your art journal is your personal way of processing visually - whatever you want to. Here are some basics to get you started.

Here’s my journal. I did not follow the good paper rule and it won’t stay shut :-(

Choosing Your Journal

You will need a sketch book or “journal,” preferably without lines. Do yourself a favor and get the best quality paper you can afford. Paper is measured by weight, “lbs” pounds in the US and “gsm” grams per square meter overseas. The higher the weight the more paint, water, glue, etc. your paper will be able to withstand . Traditionally sketch books are made for sketching (duh!) so it can be hard to find one with a heavier weight. Several companies make a sketchbook geared to mixed media or mixed supplies 90lbs or 190gsm should do. If you want to go high end, you can use a journal with watercolor paper that weighs 140lbs or 300gsm.

Images from books, old patterns, handwritten notes, sheet music and book pages can all make interesting collages.

Supplies

Stock up on Sharpie pens, magic markers, pencils, crayons, watercolor paints, etc. to add color and decorative elements to your page.

Collect a variety of images. I have several envelopes full of images that I have snipped out of magazines, clipped from newspapers, found on the ground or collected from other random places.
If a graphic or sentence catches your eye, grab it. You never know when you will be able to use it on one of your pages. If you really get into this journaling habit I recommend an accordion folder to organize your pictures by colors or words.

You can find all sorts of printed patterns and pictures in places you never noticed before. The inside of envelopes you get from the bank tend to have pretty patterns. Fortunes (from a Chinese restaurant) make a great starting quote for a journal page.

WARNING: If you print out an image on an ink jet printer, it will run if it gets wet from paint or glue.

Glue

The glue you use depends on what you plan to do on your journal page. For most pages a good quality glue stick will do the job. If you are using a thick almost cardboard like paper (think cereal box) you may need to use a liquid craft glue (Elmer’s school glue) and let it sit for 30 minutes. If you plan to layer over an image with paint or another medium then you will want to use something called “matte medium” if that is the case - Congrats! you are taking your art journal practice to the next level. Matte medium is a mostly transparent paste you can brush on the back and front of the image you are glueing. If you use matte medium the image will be bonded to the paper in a way that makes it pliable and easy to paint over.

An art journal is your personal place for expression and collection. You can use it to work through ideas, collect quotes or make quick sketches of your surroundings. I like to carry around a small bag with all my art journal supplies to pass time on airplanes or when I am in a waiting room (It’s a better than mindlessly scrolling on your phone.) It is very satisfying to look though all the pages you have done previously. It is like you have made a special book just for yourself - a small time capsule of sorts.

An art journal is a great place to collect inspiring quotes. (Beth Dougherty)

In my journal, I often take notes from podcasts I’m listening to or things I’m thinking about. (Beth Dougherty 2018)

This art journal spread was a good way to learn the phases of the moon. (Beth Dougherty 2018)

Sometimes it’s just fun to collect images and see where they go. (Beth Dougherty 2018)

If you want art journal inspiration just search these hashtags on Facebook or Instagram. You can also use these hashtags if you post your journal pages on social media.

#artjournal #artjournalpage #getmessyartjournal #visualjournal #scribblesthatmatter #journalart
#artjournaling #sketchbookart #creativejournal #dailyart #artjournaljunkie

I hope this post inspires you to get started on your own art journal. There is nothing as soothing as following through on your desire to be creative in any endeavor!

Thanks for reading! If you liked this post please leave a comment or press the “like” button.

Happy Journaling!

Beth