Hello Oddies! 

Patti here today to share a recent art journal layout using multiple Octee’s . I have been creating a piece of art in my journal weekly… Documenting the Highs and the Lows in my creative journey… Truth be told this week’s layout was a bit on the Low side, but I want to turn it into a learning experience and to keep on moving forward. 

So I present 5 things I learned while making this layout! (I hope it helps anyone struggling with learning a new art form) 

1.  This is all new– I have never art journaled before… But at one time I had never picked up Copics… Now I am a lot more comfortable using my markers. We are all going to have hiccups when we start something new but isn’t that the case when learning any new skill… It takes practice! 

     2.  Make mistakes– The art journaling is supposed to be for me to make mistakes and to work out the kinks before doing the same thing on a project I would otherwise give to someone, or display for everyone to look at….. so I am trying to let my perfectionist ways go!   

    3.  Repeat mistakes to make it look intentional- I am going to let you in on a little secret… These Octopi were supposed to be in a fun candy colour coating… I wanted them to look like they were cut out of a cartoon or comic… I then decided wouldn’t it be fun to add a little bit of pearl and shine to them… Turns out that the pearlescent paint I used was not translucent but opaque! so it coverd and muted the colours… I didn’t want to toss out the whole project so I repeated it on all the Octopi so it looks more intentional… Fake it til you make it!

    4.   Just have fun– Once I realized that this layout was not going to turn out the way I imagined, I decided to go with the flow and just have fun playing with the paints, the distress inks, and the journaling… It was rather therapeutic at the end of the day adding lots of layers of paint until I decided that the paper had enough… By the time I was done  I had decided that it was better to document the feelings I had when making it and just let go! 

   5.  Be Proud– My cousin told me the other day that she  cannot wait until I can flip through this journal and say, “Wow I actually created 1 project a week for 52 days”.  I am proud that I am on week 4 and want to continue trying… I think the day I flip through this journal and stumble across this layout I will have a little giggle at myself for not liking it and to really make note of how much I improve with each week. So that is why I will Just keep on swimming instead of treading water in one spot! (Ooooh Cheesy I know!) 

I hope you find this inspirational. Please note that when you are feeling frustrated, take a moment to breathe deeply and just keep pushing yourself forward. At the end of the day, art is supposed to be fun! and not perfect because it is made by hand. 

Lots of hugs,

~Patti