Art journal 9, a sensory exercise

Too often, we forget how to FEEL, with our whole body, the experiences we are having.

 Try: Close your eyes and think of when you were small.  Imagine yourself, walking in the sand toward the monkey bars.  The sand under your feet makes your ankles turn a funny way, makes walking difficult.  You trudge. Then, the sensation of the cold metal bar hits your hands as you grip the one at chest height.  Up you go, one foot at at time, hand over hand, straining and pulling, feeling each cool bar as you go. Feeling strong.  Determination to get to the top.  Stop.  Pant.  Steady yourself.  Think.  How do I get myself to the position where I can hang, feet down?  Still gripping.  Hands getting a little sweaty at the thought of letting go.  Wiggle. Try one foot.  DEEP BREATH, and.... I know I can do this.  OK, go!  I did it! I'm hanging! Really, really high!  Looking down.  Light headed. Now I have to drop. DEEP BREATH, and....  

Those brave actions are the same actions that we can take in making a page in an art journal now.  Giving permission to take action, and to feel what we feel in the moment.  The process is what it's about, baby.  Not the outcome, not the kudos (or blank stares of disinterest) from others, not pride in what we did, but the simple DEEP BREATH, and....

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Here, I used acrylic to paint the back ground.  Gessoed first, then had-atter with some yummy colours.  Red and green are on the opposite sides of the  colour wheel, so they are "complimentary colours"; colours that will stand out when put side by side.  I drew the left hand (Avatar hand) and traced my right.  Cut magazine pictures out and collaged them w/o attaching them to the page yet, then cut them to the shape of my right hand and glued them onto the page.  With a little watered down white paint on the right, I then proceeded to play with pattern.  Wasn't happy with some of what I'd done around the hands so played with different colours and textures using different brush strokes. I LOVE acrylics for this.  I labled this one "i", and played with words around the Avatar-looking left hand.  Appropriate, altho not blue, since we had just seen the movie 2X. 

Oh yeah, and this page was completed with my good friend, who is very very brave.