Today: Get Messy Thursdays | Adventure, Week 4

On Wednesdays, we wear pink.  And on Thursdays, we get messy.

I tried to tackle, in some form or fashion, each of this week’s prompts from the Get Messy Art Journal program (it’s never too late to join!) while limiting the supplies I used– a couple pens, some watercolors, a few stamps and some old magazines.

After last week’s go at a new sketchbook, it’s clear the pages weren’t holding up to all that paint and water.  I decided to use up the last few pages in my original sketchbook… and then light a candle or sprinkle some crystals or maybe just search Amazon for an hour in search of a thick bound book of watercolor paper that can lay flat– preferably one that doesn’t have a spiral binding and isn’t ugly.  I’m putting that out into the Universe and will report back on whether or not the so-called Law of Attraction applies to paper.  On to this week’s pages (and… this week’s jams!).

Get Messy Thursdays | Adventure, Week 4

Materials used: Watercolor paper, Sakura watercolor paints, Sakura white gel pen (my favorite thing, like, ever), magazine tear-outs, a map from a recent Audubon sanctuary visit, tracing paper, glue stick 

So one of this week’s prompts called for writing a poem about wanderlust.  The last time I wrote a poem, it was in memory of my parents’ deceased parrot.  It was sort of a morbid joke, and it was really funny.  (I am the sort of person who ruins being funny, though, by being all… I’m so funny, right? Right?!)  Needless to say, my poetry skills are rusty, at best.  And I can’t say I’ve been feeling especially wanderlusty (not a word, going to use it regardless) lately.  So I wrote about that.  

If I end up growing very serious, wearing a beret and performing this piece of crap at the world championship poetry slam… you can say you knew me when.  Or whatever.  The accompanying page was in response for the prompt that called for no scissors + at least 5 piece of paper.  I started out by following the rules, and then carefully cut out a Taj Mahal and tucked it in between the rip-outs.  I sort of love how it turned out.

Materials used: Magazine clippings, washi tape, letter stamps (small letters are from the Dollar Spot at Target, larger letters are from a Studio Calico set), Micron pen (black, size 01), tracing paper, Sakura watercolors, 3M self-laminating pouch

I was sort of on a roll when it came to ripping pages out of magazines and quickly threw together this collage.  The stamped words are lyrics from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Teach Your Children.”  I read somewhere that Graham Nash wrote the song after seeing a photo of a child holding a toy grenade, and thinking about how susceptible children are to messages about violence and war.  And so as happy as this page feels, I wasn’t feeling especially happy when I made it.  Earlier this month, a sixteen-year-old in Dorchester was shot and killed while riding his bike — a sixteen-year-old and a fourteen-year-old have been charged with his murder.  These are children.  Even if we disagree about the need for gun control, I hope we can at least agree that enough is enough.  Our children deserve so much better.

When I think about what I want to teach Grace, I think about how I could be a better role model for her.  I think a lot about how I hope she will view and treat other people.  Above all, I want her to be compassionate.  I want her to have a generous spirit.  And I don’t want her to be afraid.

I tried to find a good photo of figures to trace for one of this week’s art prompts, but um… why are most magazine photos of people so awkward or provocative or weird?  There was a spread on bathing suits in Marie Claire that should have been perfect… but the models all looked mad.  And I got distracted by that.  And then I ate a bowl of popcorn.  After that, I quickly traced these eyes (from an article about adult acne products, of all things) and filled them in with some watercolors.  I didn’t really have any place to stick ’em, so (I am sure you know where this is going), I laminated them and made a bookmark.

Materials used: Gold vinyl stickers, green watercolor paint, magazine clipping, glue stick

My last page was fast and simple (and not fueled by any underlying rage against America’s gun lobby).  I’ve been making a running list of things I want to do this summer, places I want to visit, and projects I want to take on.  This was a little (metallic) note to self.  Just go.

This week’s jams

Oh, and because music is a key part of my creative process (alongside giant bowls of popcorn), I though you might like a peek at what I was listening to while making a mess:

If you’d like to see what my fellow Get Messy Thursday ladies are working on this week, you can find their links here.

Also On Tap for Today:

• As always, fantastic ideas from Alisa Burke: Coping with creative burnout 
• Counting down to the 4th on the Cape!
• Homegrown summer adventures via the Whole Foods Market blog

Where do you most want to wander these days?