Art Journaling 113

I started with one of my favorite poems, “The Wise Owl” for this 2-page spread layout.

1. I really love the look of white on dark journal pages I have been coming across, so I splurged on a white DecoColor marker from Aaron Brothers for $3.50. To prepare the pages, I painted them with a dark blue watercolor and let dry.
2. My owl was drawn on the right page copying a magazine image, but I will probably find something simpler when I do this with a class. The point is to have a large bird drawing, with as many feathers and spots and line details as possible.
3. On the left side, I wrote my poem “The Wise Owl”
The wise old owl
sat in an oak.
The more he saw
the less he spoke.
The less he spoke
the more he heard.
Why can’t we be like
that wise old bird?
4. Some stars and dots were added around the pages, with a little yellow oil pastel inside the large stars.

Art Journaling 112

This is another 2-page art journal spread, this time on the topic of dreaming.

1. I plan to give the students a rectangle to trace, one approximately the size of the shown quilt. They are to tilt it, make it go off the paper, and trace.
2. The head is drawn, along with a pillow and headboard. The quilt may be divided up into smaller squares. A quick heading and paragraph about dreaming are added in the extra space.
3. All lines are traced with a black marker. I filled in all the spaces on the quilt with color and pattern.

Art Journaling 111

The goal I have for my journal is to fill up every single page, including the left hand sides. This post is an idea for making a 2-page drawing, one that goes across the center spine.

1. I placed my hand across my open journal and traced it with a pencil. Following the same angle of the fingers, I wrote “GOALS” as if extending from one finger, and the words “2009 – 2010 Year of School” below it. I decided to list my top 3 and added them at the same angle. I hope to reinforce to the students that when they write in their journal, they don’t necessarily need to write in horizontal lines.
2. To give texture to the large area on the left, I drew lots crosshatch lines with the Sharpie marker. On the right, all the writing was also traced with a thin Sharpie.
3. Lastly, I colored in the pages with a little oil pastel. My Portfolio brand of pastels are water soluable so if you brush water on top, it looks a bit like a painting.

Art Journaling 110

This could be called a “My Favorite” page, which could include food, pets, flowers, clothes ... anything that is easy to find in your average magazine.

1. I found my photo first, and glued it to the center of the page.
2. I wrote in curved lines, “My Favorite” on top and then “Oatmeal Cookies” below with a permanent marker.
3. Radiating lines were drawn with watercolor pencils. I started with pairs of dark orange, filled them in, and then filled the remaining areas with yellow. A little water turned the pencil into paint.
4. After drying, I used regular colored pencils to define the edges and the letters a little more. I think this would be cute also with a photo of a cat or dog – any subject matter that they can cut out of a magazine.

Art Journaling 109

I’ve seen even really young students make some stunning collages with magazine photos. The most successful seem to be those with a theme, like those that collect swatches of similar color.
1. I’ve posted this idea before regarding color collages, but I think another approach is to do it with a more organized grid system. My journal pages measure 7" x 10" so I used a 2" template to trace and cut lots of swatches of blue from various magazines. I glued these swatches down, all side by side, forming a 3 column by 4 row grid.
2. After all the squares are in place, I used the themed blue colored pencils to fill in the rest of the page until all the white was gone.
3. Using a black Sharpie, I did my best to name all the various colors of blue. I admit that I cheated and googled to get some extra blue names, so maybe in class the kids could be asked to label just a few of their squares. The point is for them to realize that that there are many, many shades and variations of any one color, and naming them might bring a little more appreciation for all their subtleties.

Art Journaling 108

Today had a very prominent number attached to it – my son turned 13. There was lots of talk and cards and cake all revolving around this special number, so I'm thinking that must happen with other occasions to. Maybe a really good test score, or jersey number or locker number could be the starting point for a journal page.

1. I started by writing a little about the day in very spaced out lines with a black pen. I continued until the background was filled with evenly spaced lines.

2. Using watercolor pencils, I drew an outline of a big “13” on the paper. The area around the letters was shaded in, changing colors in some areas. For those unfamiliar with watercolor pencils, the cheap ones from Crayola will not give you bright, pretty colors. My favorite are the Prismacolor brand, which you can find at Staples.

3. I brushed water over the pencil and blended the colors when necessary.

Art Journaling 107

I saw a poet somewhere who writes by just choosing words from a page in a book, and blacking out all the rest. I think kids could have a lot of fun with this if they were allowed to make really silly sentences that were still structurally correct.

1. The students will receive one column of a newspaper story. They are to circle a series of words that make a complete sentence. My one rule is that no two words may be next to each other. The chosen words are highlighted and circled with a marker.
2. The newsletter is taped to the left on a journal page. On the right, the made up sentence is written out by hand so that it can be easily read.
3. Finally, whatever image this sentence brings to mind would be illustrated and colored with colored pencils. I imagine these pages would be very fun to share with the class when finished.