Week 2 – The Documented Life Project


January Theme
The Blank Page and How to Face It!
January 10
Art Challenge: Gesso
Journal Prompt: “The Beginning is Always Today” – Mary Shelley


Welcome to Week 2!  Are we having fun yet?  I know I am!  I am loving going through The Art to the 5th Academy and seeing all of the amazing journal pages in our gallery.  This week, I will be using Gesso in my journal to create a page inspired by Mary Shelley’s quote. 

I was all set to do something completely different on my page until I came across this picture when I was searching through my drawer of ephemera.

It’s from an ancient McCall’s sewing pattern envelope and I couldn’t stop laughing at it.  This is what I feel I look like . . . “What up, Dawg?”  Yeah, that’s me, the dorky mom who thinks she is so cool!  #gangstamom  It became my inspiration for my page and a reminder not to take myself too seriously. YO!

I started with Golden Fluid Acrylics and used a brayer to randomly rub them onto the journal page.  The Fluid Acrylics have a nice transparency.  Once dry, I used a Donna Downey Stencil (poppy stems) to add some light to my background, then dabbed on contrasting colors and the white gesso.

Instead of using gesso on the bottom layer of my journal page, I used the gesso on the top layer.  I watered it down and painted a pathway over my background.  I love the way the colors just slightly show through the white gesso.

Mary Shelley’s quote inspired me to start with today and walk through this year with attributes that I love.  Each step, each day is a new beginning.  I added my “cool mom” avatar with gel matte medium and embellished the page with a permanent black pen and a smudgy pencil.  I love the path I’ve chosen to walk down this year!

I will be looking forward to seeing everyone’s pages this week!  Happy Documenting!


You can learn how all of the Art to the 5th Artists have created their Journal Covers in our new class entitled, “Cover Story.”  You can find it HERE.


Join us on The Art to the 5thâ„¢ Academyâ„¢ – a thriving “community” and classroom for “The Original” Documented Life Projectâ„¢!


For more information on this week’s challenge you can find us here:
Flickr
Instagram: #documentedlife #documentedlifeproject

Looking for previous challenges? click HERE

Visit our blogs: Sandi Keene, Roben-Marie Smith, Rae Missigman

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Comments

  1. Rae Missigman

    This is just so awesome! I LOVE the old photos like this and they remind me of Brave Girl Camp too! 🙂

  2. Donna

    Your pathway is fabulous and placement of pattern women works so well.
    The colors, texture and energy of this page are simply inspirational! Thanks for sharing.

  3. Patricia Jones

    Hilarious! I was looking at the photo and never realized she was the peek! Love it! Gangsta mom!
    "Ain’t nuttin’ up dawg! jes ret ta roll wit week 2! dat’s all!"
    See, I have this lingo (not really) I teach 6th graders who think they are really cool!
    Roll week 2! Roll!

  4. Toni

    Lorraine, I love your page! That vintage image really speaks to me too, but your "What up, Dawg?" interpretation cracked me up! But I totally see that now! TFS!

  5. Mary W

    This page is awesome! Your first layer is really beautiful as is the way you lightened up the page by stenciling – good idea. I happen to love how the first layer looks and would have kept it their just to look at just as I keep kaleidoscopes just to look at. But making a journal page is the purpose so making it a game board (like life) IS JUST SO COOL. Your pattern image just makes me laugh since that is the role model I had to live up to as a young wife and SO glad it has evolved. Such a funny memory & fun page.

  6. Leike

    I cannot express HOW much I adore this page!! it is so playful , but yet has that romantic view of the vintage style of life !! Your imagination and creative eye is something to treasure dearly Lorraine !! xo

  7. Kathy

    Awesome awesome page! Love your pathway and the various sayings on it. Great design. TFS!

  8. Avatar

    good morning Lorraine!
    absolutely beautiful page! your words encourage me to try harder to look at life differently this year! thank you so much for sharing! That is one beautiful path!!!!

  9. Kay

    What a great idea, Lorraine. I Love This!! I remember the days of McCall patterns (yes I am that old). And I consider myself cool too. 😉 Thank you for sharing this with us – Wonderful colors and patterns here.

  10. Avatar

    I LOVE your page! I am always pinning vintage images like this. Love what you’ve created !

  11. Cassie T

    Haha, ‘Dawg’! That is awesome! Great background and I just love where you went with it! Seems pretty cool to me 😉

  12. Cassie T

    Haha, ‘Dawg’! That is awesome! Great background and I just love where you went with it! Seems pretty cool to me 😉

  13. jodiann

    Great use of Gesso, what an idea to remember for a block of journaling on a darker background. Thanks! !

  14. Shawna Strange

    Love your take on the challenge. Gesso after, is so out of the box! Gangstamom. Hahaha. Too cute.

  15. Avatar

    Love!! Love incorporating vintage images! And "what up" made me laugh! I’ll be looking at my vintage images in a whole new way! 🙂

  16. Amber Hight

    This is so dang awesome Lorraine, lol!! I looove how you used gangsta mom on that path, brilliant and hilarious:) Thanks for sharing your inspiration!!!

  17. Avatar

    LOVE your pages!!! Very unique and so fun!!! This is my 1st time doing DLP and I’m having a ball already! Thank you for all your time and effort in organizing all this fun!

  18. Jewels

    Wow this turned out GREAT (dawg lol). I was all set to start with the gesso first but this has give me some ideas. Obviously we can also use black gesso to….Thanks for the inspiration

  19. Sandi Sakowski

    I love this!! SO darn adorable!! Love the art but the pictures make me chuckle!! heeee heeee

  20. Avatar

    GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SHARING >>> THIS ROAD YOU’ll be traveling ! <3 ….lotza prompts there.

  21. Mary Elizabeth Lauzon

    Love this pathway. Wonderful way to move ahead on goals. Inspired!

  22. Tina

    Love it…. What a great Idea on how you used each picture!!! I would of just used one.. I love this

  23. Cindy Ceroky

    awesome and totally original. i love it! and your comments about motherhood. LOL great page!!! very creative

  24. Lucie Hale

    I didn’t want to look because I knew I would want to copy your page, but I couldn’t help myself and now I want to copy your page!!!! It is so original!!! I love everything about it!!! I even have vintage mommy images like yours!!!
    Don’t worry though, even though I want to, I won’t copy your page! I am using it as inspiration! Can’t wait to share mine. I’ve only been on this journey 2 weeks and I feel so inspired by everyone’s amazing contributions! Thanks so much for sharing!

  25. Fiona

    LOL – "Wassup dawg!" I love your spread. That path with pattern woman standing at various stages – so random. Love love love!

  26. kim

    Hysterical, I feel the same way about myself!!! Try and disguise it though..lol
    Love your pages and thought process!

  27. Avatar

    Love your colors, the pattern package ephemera (totally love!), and the way you used the gesso as a "Candy Land" path! Wonderful page!

  28. Avatar

    Yo, Yo, Lorraine, wassup? LOL
    I’m not entirely sure how else I can convey how awesome your take on the challenge is because I’m just as dorky as you! #gangstamomsunited

  29. Avatar

    Hi I am new to art journaling and to this challenge. I love your interpretation of this prompt. It is clever and humorous. It is just pure class 🙂 Thank you for sharing. T

  30. Nanelyn

    Thank you for your inspiration….Beautiful, the surface and that which is unwritten.

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