Open Thread {24 hours}
Wed, October 13, 2010 at 02:05PM 
drying tea bags to use in my art journals
I need to shake things up around here!
It's time for your questions! About art journaling, drawing mandalas, doodling, stitching paper. Ask about art materials for art journaling, drawing, painting + collage. Queries about finding time for art, using creative prompts, beating perfectionism, gesso, how to get started, storing journal pages, books, photographing art, blogging @ art, flickr, our flickr groups, etc.
Perhaps you just need a nudge in the right direction.
You'll find a lot of good info about getting started in art journaling at Art Journaling 101.
Ask me about doing art with children, parenting kids 11 and under (I claim no knowledge beyond that), being a montessori mom, giving kids time and space to play, organizing art supplies, being a room mom, travel, art on vacation, kids + cameras, and improving photography skills.
Be advised that I am not qualified nor do I wish to respond to inquiries about salsa dancing, the history of the Roman Empire, astrology, religion, sports, facebook, making lasagna, youtube, why pluto is a dwarf planet, juggling or anything requiring coordination.
For photoshop questions, I suggestScott Kelby's Adobe Photoshop CS4
The thread closes at 5pm Thursday. I'll respond to as many questions as I can. If you don't have a question, but read Daisy Yellow, let other folks know you are playing along (the comment boxes are lonely).
Reader Comments (15)
So, you have no comment on Salsa dancing on Pluto?
I have personal nosy questions, if you feel like answering them...
What got you started with art journaling?
What inspired you to start a blog about creativity?
Do you write a diary too?
Do you create wall art too?
How is the mandalas going? Still going strong?
What is your #1 art book for inspiration?
:-)
What a great idea. Thanks for answering me first questions about mandalas, sadly though Mrs Muddlehead me managed to delete the email reply. Here are a few questions :-
1. I was just wandering how you are going to use the dried tea bags for your art journals. I know you can make paper look old by using stong tea to give the paper an aged effect but am interested to see/know how you would use then dry.
2. Have you thought of putting your beautiful mandalas together and get them published in a book?
3. Have you tried Zentangling?
4. How many questions are we allowed to ask?
great idea!
I didn't realize you were montessori inclined - this is the first year I don't have kids in montessori - the public school system had to drop it due to funding :( but my kids have thrived in it.
so - has having kids in that learning environment influenced how you approach your art, and how you share your art with them?
Thanks for being such a great blogger. I love checking out what you have to say. How do you deal with doubt or the worthiness of what you do?
I meant to say the worthiness of what you do as an artist. Do you ever have self doubt? As to what is the point of being arty?
I'll answer in order:
Carol, It is disturbing that pluto has lost its identity and seems only fair that it should have honorary planetary status, and salsa should therefore be the official dance of the planet (or at least the official condiment).
Hanna, You are inspiring me to start out STRONG and actually think through my answers.
What got you started with art journaling?
* I'm not sure I can pin it down exactly, but I think it was a transition from scrapbooking where I couldn't get into the canned backgrounds and pre-packaged themes. I always liked to collage, and I became intrigued with artist trading cards. From there, it simply morphed into larger scale art journal pages. Basically collage with words or quotes.
What inspired you to start a blog about creativity?
* Temporary insanity, no doubt. Actually I was reading creative blogs and posting to Flickr, and found myself wanting to write about what I was doing, to share ideas for creating art with children and help others bring art into their lives. I've always loved to write (mom was an english/math teacher).
Do you write a diary too?
* Oh yes! I've kept a written diary since I was a little girl, and it has everything inside! It was all handwritten and in the last decade I type more than I write, but I print it and keep it all together.
Do you create wall art too?
* Unfortunately, no. I'm not sure where to start!
How is the mandalas going? Still going strong?
* Mandalas are a constant. I've been drawing these intricate doodles and mandalas but haven't posted recently. I figured you guys were all doodled out!
What is your #1 art book for inspiration?
It's a journal rather than a book about art, Sabrina Ward Harrison's Spilling Open. The book inspires me to just be myself in my art. Another superb book is Danny Gregory's The Creative License.
~ Tammy
Su, Thank you for your positive feedback!
1. I was just wandering how you are going to use the dried tea bags for your art journals. I know you can make paper look old by using strong tea to give the paper an aged effect but am interested to see/know how you would use them dry.
* I'll cut open the dried tea bags and use them as I would any other paper. Here's where I got the idea: http://bit.ly/98Ov6j
2. Have you thought of putting your beautiful mandalas together and get them published in a book?
* I've been dreaming of this for a long time, but I don't know where to start, so I just keep drawing!
3. Have you tried Zentangling?
* I hope you are looking for honesty. I have no interest in zentangles or any art where I simply copy a style or pre-packaged concept. Zentangles are the product of a company, charging $49 for their kits, so that you can doodle in their style. The joy of doodling is in the doodling, so I don't need a kit. Aren't you sorry you asked?
4. How many questions are we allowed to ask?
* You can ask 217.81 questions per pixel. The fee is 4.31 € per acre, divided by the tangent of Shrek 4.
More answers to follow!
Tina, I combined your questions.
1. Thanks for being such a great blogger. I love checking out what you have to say. How do you deal with doubt or the worthiness of what you do as an artist. Do you ever have self doubt? As to what is the point of being arty?
* Thank you for supporting Daisy Yellow! Fantastic question. I don't doubt the worthiness of what I do. I enjoy the process of creating art. The point to my creating art is simply that, it is enjoyable and adds positive value to my life. It challenges my brain. There does not need to be any further goal or meaning. art=happy.
Are you having self-doubts?
~ Tammy
Sophie,
1. Has having kids in that learning environment <montessori> influenced how you approach your art, and how you share your art with them?
* Montessori jives well enough with my philosophy, although it's not perfect. The kids are doing well in that environment. It was their reggio emilia inspired preschool that inspired my approach to creativity with children, process over product, NEVER telling any child how to do their art. OK to teach method, how to use art materials, but what they do with that material or method is their choice. It is, after all, their art!
Read The Hundred Languages of Children poem. http://daisyyellow.squarespace.com/vividlife/the-hundred-languages-of-children.html.
~ Tammy
Hi,
I don't have any questions and I don't doodle or draw. But I love your blog and look forward to reading it in my Live Mail. I love your photographs and the way you bond with your kids through art. Since I read the blog in Live Mail, I seldom put in comments. So this is just to let you know that you bring a lot of color into my life. Thank you!
I love looking at your pages every day and use some of your ideas, but I don't have any particular questions right now.
I love your blog. I love the idea behind art journaling but I keep hesitating getting started because of other projects, like knitting or photography. Do you focus your "spare" time on art journaling? Do you schedule time just for art journaling?
Karthi, Thank you for saying hello, I so appreciate knowing there are people out there enjoying the site, and thanks for clicking over to comment. It means a lot.
Jaki, It is wonderful to know that you are checking DY daily; please let me know if you have any ideas you'd like me to explore.
Sonal, Great questions.
1. Do you focus your "spare" time on art journaling? Do you schedule time just for art journaling?
* What I like about art journaling is that painting backgrounds, collage and journaling can be done separately, doing a bunch of backgrounds at once, a bunch of collages at once, etc. I don't do pages from start to finish in one sitting. Since I don't have studio space (just my breakfast table) I just get out what I need for that "phase."
As far as how to divide my time, things get tucked in when I can. I work on multiple things each week. Spreading out time across projects means slower progress on each project, but it also means more variety which is fun too! As for art journaling, every two weeks or so, I do a LOT of pages over a few days.
That was a super long answer, and I am not even sure if I addressed your core question. Let me know, OK?
~ Tammy
To answer your question Tammy, I do have self doubts just like most artists I would imagine. Although they soon get lost when I get immersed in what I am doing. I stopped blogging because I felt I didn't have anything interesting to say. But I continue to create in my journal just for the heck of it.