Folk Bag with Imagination
I finished this bag in the summer but have been saving this for blogging. Now when the autumn has come to Finland, showing this feels appropriate.
When making this my goal was to create something based on my own style so I created everything myself. All the patterns and ornaments are my own designs.
This bag is inspired by nature in the way many folk style objects were. It also represents the design process where wild plants change to stiff ornaments.
I named the bag after another of my work. This is called Dancing With Imagination because it is so much alike than the art journal page that I made a while ago.
Self-Sufficiency in Art Journaling
I love the word “self-sufficiency”. I don’t know if it sounds as wonderful to native English speakers but it reminds me that I am sufficient, I am enough, nothing more is needed.
I am often asked: what materials do you use, what should I shop first when beginning art journaling? In the beginning it is all about the equipment, I understand. But this has happened for me: the more I create, the more I begin to value self-sufficiency. It means that I use what I have. I only buy when I have run out of the material. When making a page I try to find creative ways to use even the tiniest pieces of papers. It makes me happy. I feel independent and powerful.
It is great to have supplies that work for you and shopping them can be a joy too. Still, it is also true that you can make your best adverts, the greatest shop. Only you can create images that you are naturally drawn to. By examining what you like and why, you will first find your own style, and then your own happiness. Self-suffieciency is not always the absolute but in art journaling you really are enough!
Dancing with Imagination – Mermaid Illustration
The reason why I have been practising by drawing millions of circles, again and again, is this: I want to express myself through illustration. I want to put my imagination into work and make my toughts and dreams visible.
And I have more dreams. You might remember that I painted icons when I was a child. It led me to dream about painting new kind of icons: images that are not connected to any particular religion but which have the similar uplifting effect.
Now I have understood that I want to dance with the imagination, go beyond, not only religion, but also reality. I want to illustrate imaginitive stories, fairy tales, and use them to uplift myself and hopefully others too.
I have found this through art journaling. I have made many ugly pages before I have realized: I can take any direction I want with my art, with my thinking.
I want to cherish the power of imagination and welcome you to do so too!
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Finding Your Identity
I am often unable to put my thoughts into words before I see them as a visual image. When creating this art journal page spread I had a strong feeling, a specific set of colors and a visual sketch in my mind. When I transfered the image to paper it became easier to catch the words that I was chasing: The Glass Gate.
Finding what you are and what makes you happy is like traveling in the fog. You see things that you are drawn to. Often they do not seem to make sense. Once you spend enough time for searching it becomes more and more clear that all those things do have a connection. There’s something what you’ve made for. You only have to find this glass gate, standing in the fog. You pass by it, you are so close, you just don’t know it. Once you see it, it’s all so obvious. The gate is huge and the pilars are shining. You can walk through and it’s not a big task at all.
I strongly believe in this. By listening yourself and analyzing things around you, you will find your own style, your own mission and your true identity. It might be a journey that takes the whole life but once you are on a right track it feels so good.
For me one mystery has been the watercolor paper. I have always loved it but never really cared for painting watercolor landscapes or still lives. Now, when I began to used it as the foundation of my art journaling, I feel more free than ever when creating images. A very small little detail, not even very philosophical, but it has made a big difference for me.