Your Life in Your Hands

Another piece in my Wanderlust art journal,

this time inspired by Kasia's lesson.

The images on the first page were taken from a magazine,
as per her prompt.

They were too large to fit on my page, so I photographed them,
then imported the image into a Word document to reduce the size.

I  also flipped the image around,
so that the eagle was flying in the opposite direction,
mainly for visual balance,
but also figuratively as it is now flying
towards the future, not the past.

My poem was written using the three prompts of
past * present * future

I am using spare pages from my Wreck this Journal book,
for collage pages for the Wanderlust course this year
so for the second page the

trace your hand
page seemed apt.

The hand, one of Eliza's collage images,
was outlined with a black Stablio All pencil

& lightly blended with a water brush.

The butterfly image was also from Eliza.

*   *   *
it was another time & place
a different world
filled with tired shadows &
fading voices of yesterday

whilst blackbirds sing in the sunshine
I sit quietly with my thoughts
resting deeply in contentment
in this moment, here, today

my hopes with freedom soar so high
across the seas & through the sky
read my words, hear my voice, listen to my story
tomorrow, her arms wide open, beckons me

*   *   *

The Journey

Another piece in my Wanderlust art journal,

this time inspired by Jamie's video.

I am using spare pages from my Wreck this Journal book

& these two pages seemed to fit well with the wandering path theme.

Begin
commit to your journey
Faith
believe in yourself
Detail
plan & prepare for success
Practice
good things come to those who try
Take one step at a time
there will be many steps on your journey

Validate
make sure your destination is somewhere you want to go
Document
ensure that you can measure your progress
Trust
accept the fact that you may not see progress with every step
(& that you may make mistakes along the way)
Celebrate
when you achieve a goal, take a moment to celebrate
Restore
some days you will just need to stop to have a rest

I printed out text & cut out four circular shapes from kraft paper.

The path was drawn in with a black Stablio All pencil

& blended with a water brush.

A Path to Contemplation

Another collage page in my Wanderlust art journal,

using a few of Eliza's collage images,

together with one of my own photographs.

I am using up spare pages from my Wreck this Journal book for these Art Jar collage pages.

Take the road less travelled,
it will make all the difference.

Words adapted from a poem by Robert Frost entitled The Road Not Taken.

Finding my Path

A collage page in my Wanderlust art journal,

using a few of Eliza's collage images,

together with one of my own photographs.

I am using up spare pages from my Wreck this Journal book for these Art Jar collage pages.

The quotation is by Cheryl Strayed.

"When the path reveals itself,

follow it."

The background image & other elements are from Eliza's Collage Collection,

with the exception of the arrow shapes cut from Tim Holtz Resist Kraft paper.

I have also made an index of the course themes on another page.

The covers for my journal were made back in October.

I used images supplied by Kasia.

I used fruit tea to stain some cotton for this page,

adding texture & fragrance.

More fruit tea stained pages, this time watercolour paper.

On the inside of the back cover,

I made a pocket to keep all the little pieces of collage paper.

The journal is divided into sections,

reflecting the monthly themes,

with a book ring binding so I can take pages out to work on,

with room to expand with any dimensional elements.

Pause for Thought

This is my One Word card for January.

My word is
Thought.

A new year,
a fresh beginning,
a clean slate,
which means it is time to pause for thought.

Whether you have drawn up New Years Resolutions,
made plans for the year ahead,
this month we all seem to find ourselves in both a reflective,
yet forward looking mood.

The passage from Pride & Prejudice
on which this contemplative lad stands, says
"with thoughts that could rest on nothing".

If you are struggling this month to make a decision,
try a simple exercise in free writing
to see if that helps bring clarity to your thoughts.

Writing down our thoughts, without censure,
is a great way to understanding what our subconscious is trying to tell us.

The image used is a Paper Doll from Tim Holtz.

My previous One Word cards

Begin - August 2017
Change - September 2017
Inspire - October 2017
Believe - November 2017
Joy - December 2017