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I love books. About a lot of different subjects. I learn through reading, and I enjoy the art books full of tutorials.

I discovered an easy peasy technique in Claudine Hellmuth‘s book “Collage Discovery Workshop“: using plastic wrap to create a fun texture. It’s awesome when doing layers and layers for backgrounds.

I was on Youtube, looking for videos about Glimmer Mists (I just LOVE Glimmer Mists… and am always looking for new ways to use them in my artwork, things that are out of what we usually think). And found a video using the exact same technique found on Claudine’s book, but with the spray.

I tried, and here is what came out:

See how easy and quick it is ?

You have to be quite heavy when spraying the Glimmer Mists.
I used several colors, but you can use just one if you want.
It’s handy to already have the plastic wrap cut and ready to use before you start.
It can take time to dry, don’t be too impatient (yes, it’s hard. I know). But it also depends on the surface used; if it absorbs the Glimmer Mists fast or not.

If, as I do, you plan to add more layers OVER it, you have two options to avoid any smudging:

1. Heat dry (with your embossing gun) and then coat it with a hair spray (thank you so much Scrapacat for the tip).
2. Coat it with the Workable Fixative spray (by Krylon).

If you give it a try, I’d LOVE to see how it turns out. You’ll never get the same result twice (that’s part of the fun too).

I think I’ll never say too much how my BIG experience is affecting who I am. I am no longer affraid to say that yes, is some way or another, I am an artist.

And I realize that you don’t have to sell artwork that worth billions of money to BE an artist. Even people who don’t paint, or draw, or sculpt, are artists.

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A few weeks ago, Connie shared a moving text where she declared her artist self. And each of us did the same afterwards. I read so many beautiful statements that tears fell off of my eyes many times.

I wanted more than words, something I can look at when the Gremlins attack and cast doubt about it.

I took a big poster board and just started to create. I had no idea what it’ll be. I just knew I had to do it. So it’s not pretty. It’s not the most beautiful artwork I’ve created. But I like it. Because I am not perfect.

And you know what ? I recorded it, i always keep somewhere in my head what Kerri told me once: “always record, you can always erase if you don’t like it” 😉 Very good advice, isn’t it !

It says:

My Artist Statement.
I am an artist because I say so
I am an artist because I create my life everyday
I am an artist because I feel I am my self whith paint on my hands
I am an artist because I collect art supply instead of shoes
I am an artist because I am BIG & FEARLESS
I am an artist because when I see skies, I imagine them on canvas
I am an artist because I’m proud to keep (tons of) diaries
I am an artist because it flows in my veins
I am an artist because I fill my walls with MY canvases

Of course, this list can go on and on.

I’m sorry, I had some issues while editing the video, it’s not the best quality but I really wanted to share it with you 🙂 Here it is:

PS: there is still room for you in the next tribe of BIG, so have a look, if you want to experience something you’d never imagine so juicy and so life-changing. No need to be an experienced painter to join. Read more about it here.

By the 4 winds is a project I do with other women in our Journals. One subject, several points of view. If you want to know more about it, go there.

This week (note: this blogpost should have been fully published on July 13rd, I update it today on August 12th), I wasn’t inspired at all, and as my mum was with us for a last week together I didn’t take time to think and create for this week theme, that was “OBSTACLES”.
The majority of my peeps are in vacation right now, only one did her “homework”: thank you Sofiah !

Look at what Sofiah created:

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Journaling about Obstacles is tough. Some words came but images didn’t.
When I was in front of my blank page, I realized that the best way to go through an obstacle is to fully Trust. Trust Life, trust the process, Trust the fact that nothing is impossible.
The Universe puts on our way only obstacles we can overcome. It can take some more or less long time to succeed, but we can if we never give up.

I recorded while I was doing this page. I hope you’ll enjoy watching it.
I’m appreciating going out of my comfort zone in terms of colours. And I am currently in love with this combo of yellow+red+greenish blue ! I use it over and over again. Until the next colour combo I’ll fall in love with 😉

I tried to use light modeling paste as a base for texture (you know how much I love texture) instead of gesso, but I’m not fond of it; I don’t really know why. But I have a huge jar of it, so I better gotta find how to use AND like it ! What do you do with it (as it’s too light for using with stencils for example) ?

Here is a close-up on the heart:

And here is the new Art Journal Video I made (yes, i am really enjoying making and sharing these videos with you ! You can click on it to see it directly on YouTube if you want):

You felt inspired by this journal theme and created about it ? Enter your NAME and URL below so we can see what you did:
[linkme]

I really had fun making the cover of this sketchbook !

I purposely staid vague about what will be INSIDE the sketchbook, but if you know my art, you can easily identify it as mine (or… I hope so).

I kept it quite simple, it does not contain too many layers, just quite a few.

Oh I have a question for you: as you may notice when watching the video, I had hard times with my Faber Castell Pitt Pens: they refused to cooperate and to work properly on my textured surface. Do you have any suggestion about waterproof pens that would also work on non-smooth surface ?

I think the video will speak for itself 😉

Here is the video, I hope you’ll enjoy !:

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Hello !

I hope you all had a wonderful week-end.

Today, I am going to share something that is very important to me, you may be okay with it. Or not. It’s alright if you’re not.

Since my early teenage years, I am a huge believer. I don’t call it “God” or “Allah”, it’s not a “He” or a “She”, sometimes I call it in French “Les P’tits Vieux” which I don’t find an appropriate term in English. For me, and it’s my personal point of view, It is both Feminine & Masculine, Dark & Light, Positive & Negative… the ambivalence in everything, everywhere. But most of the time, I simply refer to this Life Force as “the Universe“.

Before I discovered Art Journaling, I was an avid writer in diaries (since I was something like 7 years old) in which I glued and doodled sometimes. So the writing part is kind of important in my Art Journalin process; even just a word or a short sentence make me feel like it’s more complete.
I love writing unsent letters. Do you know this ? It’s simple: you write a letter to someone you have something to say (usually, it’s something painful you can’t tell directly to the person, but it can be anything you need), and when you are finished, you symbolically destroy it. What I do is that I safely burn it, visualizing all the negative feelings associated with it vanishing away; but you can burry it, tear the paper and flush it in a river: be creative, it can be absolutely anything (just be careful, ok ?) ! The major positive thing about it is because it stays “unsent” you don’t have to censure yourself and you can expose everything you feel, every word that needs to get out of you.

It is a very powerful way to keep going on your life without being hold back by old feelings. Give it a try 🙂

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In this Art Journal page, I wrote a letter to The Universe to express my Gratitude regarding all the beautiful Souls that are coming into my life lately, and I ask for some guidance (You see, no need to be in pain to write an unsent letter). Gratitude is an important part of my life, that’s why I began the weekly ritual I call “Gratitude Friday“, you can read more about it there.
Then, I simply let the paint go on the page, trying not to overthink but to just enjoy the process.
I used my Silhouette to cut the stencils.
It’s not perfect at all. I made a glitch when i wanted to stencil the round thing in the left corner, using black fluid acrylic: bad idea, too liquide, it resulted in a huge black spot on the page. Not a problem, i just incorporated it and add some more texture with the bubble wrap while it was still wet. Before, I would have litterally panicked and the Gremlins would have been feroce with me “look at what you just did, you blew all your page, it’s ugly, boooooooo”. Not this time. So I notice a change in the way I see my Art Journal process and I am glad.
My girls wanted to participate and added the stars and butterfly. Pretty pretty.

And here is my first Art Journal video !! I want to deeply thanks all of you who told me they liked my first one about being BIG & FEARLESS, and for sharing it around you, I’m so blessed to have you, thank you !
I hope you’ll enjoy this one as well: