Session 3 of Creative Writing Journal 101 part 2C

1. After the pages with the staired look and little squares, I decied to do a spread with putting the gesso on a bit thicker and then pulling off some in areas and leaving some on..kind of a checker board effect.  Dried it with a hair dryer and on to the next spread.

2. I purchased at the local Ace Hardware the tile spreader a while back. I use those tile or grout spreader for making texture papers for my collage work almost the same way as I'm doing to the journal pages.  I spread it on a bit thick for this process as the gesso will soak in really fast to the dry book page underneath so you want to be able to move the gesso around so it does need to be a bit thicker.  Have some fun and play with some pattern making, or listen to some music and let the music move you right on to the you finger tips to the page.. really it's not going to matter the master peice of this will be the whole book not one journal page..

3. Next spread of pages...I decided to cut the eye shape out...don't know why again just seem to flow when I have the exacto knife in my hands...remember to put a board underneath, as it so easily could cut right through to the other pages..and if you do don't work some how you can work that little boo, boo right in.. and let it be the happy mistake you meant to do any ways..

4. I have deli sheets I use between my coated collage papers and I also use them in adding layers of texture and to alter the surface a bit more..in this case I've used it for a transparency effect...and I glued with the soft gel medium the cut out shape to the side...totally change the look of things...I'm thinking later on that shape will be an interesting object to work with...Potential there and a jump of inspiration may happen...

5. I added the gesso and top of the cut out shapes, I can see I missed posting a image here with the goldfish cut on...I just free formed and then did the same with the deli sheet..now if you don't have deli sheet try some wax paper..it may take a bit for it to glue down but it will stick..

6. The goldfish cut out I glued to a spread a few page in and gesso over the surface. 

Now some may ask why gesso over other the pages...I look at this way, when I bring in the color in the next couple of days you will see the different values of the color appearing and it will build on the character of the journal.. Lets say your going to get excited even more and inspirations will spark ideas...trusting in the process is the part new and old artist struggle with all the time...we want what we make to look perfect and be a masterpiece...luckly this is not set up that way to be...it's a creative process that can be brought to many surfaces..

Now this will sound even funnier..look at it this way...The book pages after glued together are naked and now with the gesso you layering it with a you undergarments......some of these undergarments will have major texture and other will be the simple plan janes up to the waist...just the process one can go through, now some may decide to go commmando and just put color to the naked surface...again now rules and I just might have a few pages like that coming up...tee...hee..hee..

Quick Note: all the steps are saved on the tabs under my banner under Collage Techinques...if you need to go back and check on a few steps.