It was a year ago that I noticed a lot of my fellow online crafters joined an art journaling project called The Documented Life Project. I checked it out and found out the project was about making a weekly art journal page inspired by the prompts that the team of “The Documented Life Project” (or DLP) present to you. I didn’t look further then and did not join, after all I create weekly pages in my Chronicles art journal so why should I join another weekly project that was about journaling your days.
This year, however, there was again buzz about DLP, and again a lot of my blogfriends joined the project. So I went back to the DLP site to see if it would be something that I could submit to, if it was interesting and fun enough to create a weekly page besides my Chronicles with (I won’t give up my personal ‘Chronicles’ journaling.) I found out that each month, The DLP team comes up with a “theme” and each week they post an art related challenge as well as a creative journal prompt. I read the prompts that were already given, and I liked the freedom it provided. The prompts give you the opportunity to interpret freely and create to your own wish and style, so I decided to join. I think it will be nice for a change to create on the basis of a given prompt, a technique or a certain material, and not worry to get my ‘weekly text’ on the page. I feel already that DLP will be a nice addition to my Chronicles!
Now that I decided to join DLP, next step was to hunt for a book to work in. The DLP team advice one of Ranger Dylusions Dyan Reaveley’s Creative Journals but, stubborn as I am, I prefer my OWN journal and not a fabric-made one. (Why? Well, besides the size of the journal and the quality and color of the paper – which isn’t always to my like, although I have heard that Dyan’s journals contain nice, sturdy paper – the fabric-made books never have the amount of pages I want. A weekly journal should contain 52 page-sides as there are 52 prompts to work with – I find that important. And more: buying a blank journal is expensive!)
For years now, I bind my books for art journaling myself but I have some lovely, old books in my closet also. For DLP I decided to take one of those out and finally use it as planned: for art journaling! I carefully removed the pages from the spine. Then, I glued together two double pages (‘spreads’) together to make it more sturdy and gessoed the page. I plan on working on the loose pages and bind it together at the end of the year. I don’t know yet what I will do with the cover so I leave it as is for now.
I made all three weeks/prompts last week, so I’m up to date when the next prompt comes online tomorrow… here’s my first three pages.
I created the first two prompts on one spread so they flow into each other a bit… I like it!
January 1
January Theme: The Blank Page and How to Face It!
Art Challenge: Book Paper
Journal Prompt: Be Your Own Goal Keeper
January 10
January Theme: The Blank Page and How to Face It!
Art Challenge: Gesso
Journal Prompt: “The beginning is always today.”- Mary Shelley
The prompt to use bookpaper on the background was easy: I work in an old book so there was bookpaper in the background already! Still, I decided to glue on some more pages from a dictionary that spell out the words goal, ambition, intention and destination. I gessoed around the words. I coloured the page using watercolour paint, oil crayons (rubbed with my fingers) and a bit of spray ink and a dotted template. I kept it transparent so the toned-down bookpage shimmers through. I outlined the words with machine stitching but didn’t cut of the loose threads. Instead, I glued them to the page so they made ‘lines’, on which I wrote my journaling.
For the second prompt (page to the right) the page was already gessoed. The given quote did nothing for my imagination, so I searched for another quote with the word “begin.” When I found this one by Lewis Carol (“Alice in Wonderland”) I knew that was it: “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end. Then stop.” Fabulous! I printed a photo of Alice (from the movie) and transfered it onto the page using mod podge. The colouring is done in the same way as the left page. I handwrote the quote using black and white markers.
January 17
January Theme: The Blank Page and How to Face It!
Art Challenge: The Color Wheel
Journal Prompt: “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way …” – Georgia O’Keeffe
For this prompt, I took a lesson about the color wheel from my own workshop “Let it Loose” – art journalers who took that online workshop will surely recognize this lesson/prompt… it’s about taking an excisting photo and coloring it in complementary (opposite) colors. Here’s the photo I worked with (taken from an tourist magazine about the city of Middelburg)
I used acrylic paint to paint over it.
I added (handwrote) a quote from Marc Chagall as the saying refers to the color wheel and to this piece: “All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.”
Tomorrow, the fourth DLP prompt will be announced, and I’m already looking forward to it!
(If you are interested in joining “The Documented Life Project”, all information and prompts can be found on Art to the 5th
I do remember the Let It Loose lesson you used in your 3rd page. It is beautiful and I love the quote. I’m doing DLP too.Looking forward to seeing more of your DLP woark as the year goes on.
love your page not there yet with doing dailys trying to get at least once a week and maybe more thanks for sharing visiting from art journal hop
Beautiful pages…I loved the idea of painting over a magazine page. I keep seeing it in different places.Maybe it is time i try this.
I LOVE your pages Marit! I’m so glad you are playing along this year! You will keep me inspired!
These are gorgeous! LOVING how you kept the scenery on the 2nd page!!
Love these pages! It’s cool how you incorporated the image in the first one and I absolutely adore your lettering in the second. I would really like to learn that! So cool and confident!