This layout serves as the introduction to the “Shrine” prompt. I think we all found this one difficult to work with because it could be interpreted so many different ways.
I chose to make two layouts, both somewhat related, for this prompt.
This is the first one, which in addition to being the introduction, is also a shrine to the past. It is about my childhood and events and people I remember fondly.
Flipping over Judy’s smaller page to the left creates a new layout.
While the first one, yesterday, appeared more green and pink, this one appears to be more turquoise and purple. The gold leaf, with it’s varied tones just adds a wonderful, rich effect to the overall design.
I chose the paper on the right-hand side to contrast with Judy’s page when it was turned this way, and to compliment it in the previous position.
As I mentioned previously, Judy didn’t give any particular direction as to which, if any, prompts she followed for her pages. So I chose two of her submission that, to me, seemed to fall into the Princess category because of their beautiful colors and gold leafing and the feelings they evoked in the viewer.
I mounted her pages back to back, with metallic foiled paper underneath the square cut edges.
Madeline’s interpretation of the Princess prompt has a bit more of a regal tone because she’s created the Queen of Her Kitchen!
This is a fabulous layout with lots of interactive pieces including tags and things tucked into pockets!
I love the dimensional quality her pages have, inviting you to reach out and touch them!
p.s. The S&H green stamps brought back great memories. Many a kitchen royal collected them when grocery shopping and redeemed them for everything from new pots and pans to tableware!
This is my interpretation of the Princess prompt, The Princess of Baths. One of my favorite things in the whole world is being able to soak a relaxing bath. I think it is a fabulous way to pamper oneself and a great addition to a self-care routine.
I knew, right away what I wanted it to look like: pink, girly, bubbly and both the duck and the princess would need to have crowns!
This layout is the transition to the Princess prompt. My thinking was, when I chose this as a possible theme, that even though we’re not “Rich and Famous”, each of us is deserving of being treated like royalty. I was also thinking that for each person, there is some aspect of our personality is regal or some way in which we treat ourselves as royalty.
On the left side, in the pocket, the sheet of paper has the words to “We’ll Never Be Royals” by Lorde.
The left side was contributed by Judy Wood. Here her black and white, graphic pseudo journaling stands in strong contrast with the bright colors she chose for her center piece. The black motif in that piece ties both together.
I made the simplest possible addition here… I chose the paper for the right side. I liked the ink wash over old book pages in combination and contrast to the bright colors of Judy’s work.
The page on the left was created by me.
I chose this paper because it seemed to almost continue the theme from the previous layout. I also liked it in contrast to Judy’s beautiful black and white design.
The words are really simple, with “found poetry” created from pre-printed phrases from a Tim Holtz sticker book.
VANISHING VISITORS
chronicled from time to time
sometime in the middle of the night
This is my contribution for the Inner Spirit prompt.
This mixed-media layout was created using several different materials and techniques. Caran D’Ache and Inktense for the background, craft paint used for stamping and colored pencil for shading and emphasis.
The words on the pages say:
Shaman - Stone Guardian - Symbol Keeper Symbols are miracles we have recorded into language. - S. Kelley Harrell We don't heal in isolation, but in community.
This is the other side, with the page flipped over to the left. Again, I chose to put these similar pages (yesterday’s and today’s) back to back and use them together because of the similar colors, icons and theme. I also added the metallic paper, between the two pages, that shows through the square holes along one edge of each layout.
The tag in this pocket says “LIVE WITH PASSION” and features wooden butterfly wings and a tiny key.
From Patron Saint, the book moves into the contributions for Inner Spirit. This layout is from Judy Wood, with my contribution being the background paper.
When Judy gave me her pages for inclusion, she made no specification for which prompt she followed, if any. So I made the choice to include these here, as an introduction to this section. I did this, because to me, they just “felt” like they belonged here.
The fourth layout introduces the third and final artist of the book, Madeline Hill Kasian!
She has created the Patron Saint of the Stars based on the Saint prompt.
Madeline has a wonderful, dimensional style. She also journals quite a bit so there is hidden information that you can only see when you view the book in person.
Because of the raised elements on this layout, I chose to put a sheet of clear plastic between the two pages.
If you’ll recall, I mentioned that we had prompts that we could follow, if wished. This third spread in the book is my response to the Patron Saint suggestion. She is Saint Leah of Biloxi, Patron Saint of Astral Travelers.
The words on the side are:
The last time I went on a road trip, I left my body at home. I didn't want any restrictions on where I could go"
The is the second layout, created by turning Judy’s smaller page over against the other side of the layout.
I chose to make the additional papers on each side different to better showcase each of Judy’s pages. Then she added her own magic to each of the new papers.
Left: Judy Wood
Right: Judy Wood
We started out with a list of prompts that each artist could follow, or ignore. There were six categories:
Patron Saint Inner Spirit Princess Shrine Element Self Portrait Each artist could follow all, some or none of these. The general hope was to have 12 “pages” from each artist. These would then be mounted, back to back, in the order of my choice.
This first layout is by Judy Wood.