Clare Davis Etheridge

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My year of art journaling

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All of the journals I filled in 2017 including my daily Moleskine planner.

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Books I used solely for art journaling.

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Books I filled as daily challenges, travel journal (Cape Cod Folks), general Moleskine sketchbooks and my daily Moleskine.

I was looking back at my art journals from last year and I was surprised at what I found. Even though the years seem to fly by, a year ago can seem so much in the past and some of the pages and even the sketchbooks seemed so distant to me.

When I was pulling out journals, I concentrated on the handmade ones because that is what I thought I had used all year. I didn’t realize that I had spent the first three or four months using random sketchbooks including a Moleskine and a Dylusions book. I like these sketchbooks a lot and what I made in them, but I really enjoy the handmade books I made for each Get Messy season and for some of the monthly challenges I played along with via Instagram and Creative Bug.

I pulled out books I thought were from last year and they were actually from 2016 and I ignored books I had filled last year. I am not sure if this is because I can’t keep track of time (which is why I keep a diary!) or because I am simply losing my mind, maybe a combination of the two! Ha.

What I did notice was how I seem to have found myself a little niche in my art journaling practice which I am happy about. I am not sure I could pick my ‘style’ out of a crowd but I have allowed myself to develop in my own way this year instead of creating what I think I should.

I find that when I start something new to me I try to follow the flock, do what I think is the ‘correct’ method. This didn’t work for me when I started art journaling and even pages I made a few months ago are not at all ‘me’, they are just me ‘doing as I am told’, or doing what I think is ‘art journaling’.

My turning point was a book called Make your own Ideabook with Arne and Carlos which is full of ideas for what to put in your book as well as how to make the book from scratch. I borrowed it from the library a ton of times and eventually bought it because it was useful to me in terms of inspiration and instruction. When I took the book binding class through Get Messy, that was revolutionary! I felt as though someone had opened the door, making sketchbooks of my own was the best thing (still is!).

As I started to make my own books with papers I had chosen and covers I had retrieved from thrift shops and library sale carts, the art I was making inside became more my own. I stopped jamming in magazine images and trying to find quotes and I started to make my own images (I rarely use quotes or any writing). My mindset shifted to make these books more art journals and less art journals as I don’t journal in them, I use them to experiment, record and practice my art making.

The focus for my journals is practice and technique discovery. I love that they are a place to try new paper, ephemera and media, stick stuff in when I want to – yes, I do still jam magazine cuttings in but not because I think I should because I know I love the image and I want to keep it as a record in my journal.

Sometimes I will strive towards a complete page or spread, or I will also happily make some sketches to practice faces or plants to get some ideas.

What I am saying is that I love my art journal deeply and more so now I am starting to find a way with a style and method of my own. Also practice, and more practice!

Do you make art? Where? Handmade books? Sketchbooks? Big or small books? I want to know it all!

Happy happy Wednesday!

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Daily Moleskine 2017. December pages.

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

I made it! A whole year of making some kind of art (I use the term very loosely for some days) in my daily Moleskine planner. Yes, some days turned out a bit rubbish, but at least I had a go at something.

The days I like far outnumber the days which I feel didn’t work, so I would call my 2017 project a success! My 2018 planner is underway which makes me happy!

For these December pages I painted a watercolour cactus, collaged and painted, gelli printed an old doily, practiced my ink painting, made some bauble strings, more collage, printed flowers, doodled, sketched biscuits and sketched a face with my new inks.

I wonder what I will be posting at this time next year? Another book full of art I hope!

Happy Monday x

Get Messy Art Journal. Season of Nature Week 5.

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

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I have been busy with my gelli plate this season, I just keep wanting to print flowers! No bloom is safe when I get my paints out!

Some of the pages were printed before I bound this book and some I have printed over collage elements, like the last page shown here where I stuck down the periodic table and butterfly and then printed some flowers on top.

Nearly as popular as my gelli plate has been my sumi brush and black sumi ink which I have used to make patterns over pages. I love the depth of the deep black ink when applied with a nice thick sumi brush.

I have been enjoying using the Jane Davenport Inkredible inks which smell as good as they look! I used ‘Limeade’ on the page with the butterfly and gave it a little spray with my water bottle.

I am ashamed to say that I have not followed any prompts this season, I have just been jollying along in my journal filling it up a little each day.

For more information about the Get Messy community, go here.

Happy Thursday x

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The diaries I use through the year and why I love them all!

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

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Each year I keep a diary, not a ‘dear diary’ type thing but more a record of what we have done as a family, where we went, who we went with, celebrations and details of them along with presents received for birthdays and Christmas.

I have kept this type of diary in a day per view layout since my first son was born 16 years ago. It started as a baby feeding log and branched out from there as I added what we did and things he said day to day.

Prior to this I was always a diary keeper (more along the dear diary lines this time) and I have a wooden box full of diaries I have kept since I was 13. To be honest I rarely look back on the old diaries as they are a little bit cringe worthy even the more ‘recent’ ones.

However the ones I have kept since we had a family have been invaluable from just browsing when my sons were young to checking to see what recipe I used for a Christmas item. I tend to write things like recipe page numbers and the book or magazine it was from for future use. Looking to see what presents I bought people is also helpful when trying not to buy a repeat!

I don’t remember all that we did and it is always a joy to look back and remember an event especially one I had forgotten all about.

This year I have my ‘Peanuts’ Limited Edition Moleskine large daily planner all ready to go, with January 1st and 2nd already started.

Alongside this book, I started two more planners last year and I am continuing with them both this year as they are both fabulous in very different ways.

I have a small day per view planner simply to write down what I need to do that day. Yes, a book of ‘to do’ lists. This is so helpful for me to keep to deadlines and buy birthday presents on time as well as the mundane jobs like vacuuming and cleaning the bathroom. I don’t plan to keep this one as I do the aforementioned diary but I will be happy I used it to keep me on track and keep the floor clean!

Finally my beloved creative diary in which I use each page to create a piece of art every day. It is a small piece of art and it is created on thin lined paper but look how full my book from 2017 is! It is so lovely to see them all neat and compact at the beginning of the year and then watch them get fat with writing and art as the year goes on.

I decided in 2018 to make a sketch a day in my art diary to improve my drawing skills. I am motivated purely by the fact that I want to see my book full of little drawings and sketches!

In addition to these I have decided to make a colour a day using watercolour paints. Each colour will be mixed and recorded in a small sketchbook then the final mix will go onto a mini watercolour sheet with the name of the colour with the actual colour. I was inspired to do this as a yearly project by Courtney Cerruti who is one of the amazing instructors over at Creative Bug. So far my colours are ‘vintage yoyo’ and ‘library leak’!

Are you doing a yearly project? I wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew, I hope not!

Happy Tuesday x

Weekly Photos 2017. 52/52

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

1. Soldiers for Christmas.

2-3. We made a gingerbread cabin, thanks Martha Stewart!

4. Of course I have been making prints with flowers.

5. Home made cinnamon buns for New Year’s Eve breakfast.

Happy New Year!

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‘I like’ Friday – Books I Read in 2017.

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

I never go for a record breaker in the amount of books I read in a year. I have no loyalty to a book just because I have started it, if I don’t like it 50 pages in, it goes back to the library and I start on the next title on my list. All of the books I have read are from the library unless I am on holiday and I never never take library books on holiday, so those I buy!

This is all the books I finished over the year, I started many which I didn’t finish but these are the ones I made it from beginning to end.

Britt Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman Another great read from the author of ‘A Man Called Ove’. Britt Marie is an equally good character in my opinion.

We are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly A fast, dramatic read.

The Girl with the Glass Feet by Ali Shaw Not at all the usual book I would pick up but it is a magical and intriguing book which I would recommend.

The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood This is a satisfying book but not an amazing read.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson A delight from beginning to end!

Harmless like you by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan Another ‘good but not amazing’ book.

The Woman next Door by Yewande Omotoso I didn’t love the characters but the twists and turns kept this book interesting.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman Loved this book, very strong characters and twisty enough to be interesting but not overly dramatic.

Tornado Weather by Deborah Kennedy Great characters and story.

The Book of Polly by Kathy Hepinstall The women in this book along with their co stars are all fabulous! Well worth a read.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng A little predicable but a good read. Some fabulous ideas alongside some dull characters!

Artemis by Andy Weir I am currently reading this on a deadline as it is due back at the library. It is a quick read with drama and likable characters so far.

Did you meet your reading goals this year? Did you have any goals? I don’t set goals to read as I am always reading a book. I have to read to go to sleep at night so I just hope for a good book!

What were your favorite reads this year?

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Weekly Photos 2017. 51/52

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

1. Puff mushrooms in the woods.

2. Made some collage materials.

3. Printing with a flower.

4. Pretty!

5. Bean pods to sketch.

6. It snowed!

Happy Tuesday x

My ‘Create Daily’ Project (the one that made it through the year) 2017.

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

I started 2017 with lofty ambitions to do two 365 projects which you can read about here if you like. This continued until about April when one fell off the wagon and wandered off by itself. As I went through the year I did many monthly daily challenges which were made more possible once I decided to stick with the one 365 creation.

The project which stayed on the wagon with me and I have nearly finished is creating daily in my Moleskine planner.

This planner is not at all the ideal medium for an art project of any sort, it has terrible paper, lines on each page and is not very big. I am using the ‘large’ planner which is 8.5×5.5 inches. Having said that I think it is the fact that it is not an ‘arty’ item to start with is one of the reasons I have continued with the daily arting in it. There can be no pressure to create something amazing just the opportunity to create something, anything. I have drawn, printed, stuck stuff down, stitched, painted, collaged and just found pictures I liked and stuck them in.

It is a joy to look back on now and it is so fat it is fantastic! It is a diary/journal full of ideas and creations and I am so proud that I carried on with it.

I have purchased another Moleskine daily planner for next year and it is ready to go. I chose a limited edition Alice in Wonderland 8.5×5.5inch planner as you can see above and below.

How on earth did I manage to create something everyday? I took the pressure off enough to do it and keep doing it. Some days I didn’t create on time and was a day behind, some days I was so prolific I created for a day or two ahead. I was and am fine with this, as long as I didn’t allow myself to get more than a couple of days ahead or behind, all was well and relevant to the period I was in at the time.

Some days were just a mess and some were a creative triumph, nothing was torn out or thrown away, just turn the page ready for the next day.

Once I was two or three months in, I could really see that the planner was filling nicely and that alone was encouragement to keep going.

Without even thinking about it, the book is now a visual diary of the year, including sketches of stuff I bought, stickers people send on envelopes, experiments with various media, often using natural objects which were specific to the season we were in. Unwittingly I created a time capsule of the year and I loved doing it.

Some days were a 20 min sketch and some were a 1 minute stick down. All were totally worth it.

The monthly round ups can be found here – January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December I will write when we are done with the year!

Are you doing a 365 next year? Did you complete one this year? If you are even thinking about it, I would recommend it. The diary layout is good to keep you going on a day to day basis. Don’t let the paper quality put you off, if you want to make a watercolour masterpiece one day, go for it and stick it in your planner on the day you created it.

Happy creating and happy Thursday x

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Get Messy Season of Nature Week 2.

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

It is the second week of the Season of Nature in the Get Messy community and I have got started in my hand made sketchbook. I have been gelli plate printing seed pods and leaves and dipping pages in hand made ink from black walnuts and red cabbage.

The page I enjoyed making the most is the sketches of the dried seed pods and I like it next to the printed same seed pods.

So far, a lot of the pages are just started, a print or a colour added. I like to do this just to be rid of the dreaded blank page, then I can come back and add to the page or spread later.

If you want to see more Season of Nature art, go to #getmessyartjournal on Instagram and if you want to see what I have been making I use #catseatdogsgetmessy.

Happy creating and happy Thursday x