art journaling – Schnarr's Blog

Art Journaling With Stencils and Image Transfers

Materials (* = items that are available at Schnarr’s)
Scrap mat board or chipboard
Book binding rings* available at Schnarr’s Webster Groves Location
Clean scrap paper
Tracing paper
Clear packing tape – wider strips are the most versatile
An assortment of found papers (pages from old books, magazine pictures, catalog pictures, laserprint copies, paint samples, etc.)
Assorted papers to use as pages – can be drawing papers, art papers or found papers from various sources.
Paper towels*

Tools
Paper cutter
Art stencils* available at Schnarr’s Webster Groves Location
Permanent* and other markers
Colored pencils
Gel pens
Glue sticks*
Hole punch
Scissors*
Pencil*
Ruler*
Masking tape* or painter’s tape* for holding papers and stencils in place while tracing and stenciling
Bone folder, burnishing tool or squeegee*
Basin* filled with water
Clear packing tape*

In case you missed my in-store demo during the Webster Groves Fall Art Walk in October 2018, this art journal book is what I was working on. I chose to work with a lot of abstract designs and random images to have fun with shapes and colors and not worry too much about content. When I was working on my demo, a customer asked what I was doing and I told him. He responded by saying, “I don’t have any kids”. Kids could do a book like this, but it’s fun for a person of any age who likes to experiment with visual media. I’m 51 and I can play with this stuff for hours! Coloring and playing is healthy for anyone to do.

Instructions:

To make the cover, cut two pieces of scrap mat board or chip board into 6″ by 6″ squares.

Punch two holes in each piece along one edge and link with binding rings.

From an assortment of your found papers, cut several pages 6″ x 6″. Using the cover piece as a template, trace circles on your inner pages to indicate where to punch the holes for the binding rings.

Here is a selection of potential pages cut from old books, posters and magazine ads. You can use blank sheets of paper in your book, but it can be intimidating to start with a blank page. When you’re making altered art you can just build on what is there.

Using permanent markers, draw through some stencils to start some compositions on your pages. The stencils shown in the above sample are stencils that I cut myself. You can cut your own stencils or use pre-cut art stencils. It helps make your work more interesting if you vary the line weight of the markers. Add bits and pieces of collage papers if you are inspired to do so. Glue them down with a glue stick.

Here are a few more examples of two page spreads in progress. I added paint sample strips to some of the pages to remind me to have fun with color.

Next start making some image transfers to add to your pages from packing tape. Use masking tape to hold strips of packing tape flat on your work surface, sticky side up. Start sticking papers you like to the tape, keeping in mind that the side that connects with the sticky side and faces down is the one that will show. The recommended sources of good papers for image transfers are glossy images from catalogs and magazines, and black and white or color images from a copier or laser printer. Areas that are white on the paper may turn out to be mostly clear or translucent depending on how much ink and clays and minerals are in the paper.

When you have covered the tape with images, turn the tape over and burnish well with a bone folder or squeegee. Burnish in at least three different directions and press hard to make sure all the paper areas make contact with the sticky tape. In the image below, the tape pieces in the center have had the paper removed already, and the strips on the sides still have the paper on the back.

After the tape strips are thoroughly burnished, soak them in water. When the paper on the back gets soft, gently rub it until it peels away. You will probably have to change the water and rub multiple times to get all the paper off. When you are done, only the ink will be left on the tape. Dry the tape pieces sticky side up on paper towels.

When your tape strips are dry, you can apply a glue stick to the sticky side and paste them in your book where you think they’ll harmonize with what you’ve already started. Continue to develop your pages further with coloring implements of your choice and more stenciling and collage if you choose. These little books make a great portable art activity if you carry them around with a selection of your favorite drawing and coloring tools. Here are some of my pages in various stages of completion.

Open the binding rings to insert your pages inside the covers in any order that you like. Decorate the book cover if you want. If you ever want to add new pages, you can just open the rings and insert them where you want them. I put a date on my pages when I consider them complete, and if I am really pleased with them I upload them to my Art Journaling Pinterest board. Have fun!

Exploring Where Art and Science Meet at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

by Carolyn Hasenfratz

The Arts and the Sciences were more closely interconnected with each other at earlier times in human history than they are now. Although I’m a trained artist, not a trained scientist, I have had a layperson’s interest in science since before I even started first grade. I enjoy microscopic and close-up images of things like cells, rock crystal structures, lichens, moss, mold and more. In earth science classes, I was inspired by dendritic patterns, astronomy subjects and maps. Imagery influenced by those things has come up in my artwork from time to time for many years. Venture Cafe Night: 39N recently hosted an event at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center with the theme Science of Creativity – I had to check that out. I also submitted some of my science-inspired art journal pages for a slide show. Venture Café St. Louis is a nonprofit organization dedicated to “connecting innovators to make things happen” by sponsoring events and 39 North is a district promoting “academic and corporate AgTech research and innovation”. Venture Cafe events are kind of like a mini-convention and happy hour where you can attend activities and presentations while mingling with interesting people.

In the cafe guests were given coloring pages and blank mini canvases to color and draw science imagery. A slide show of beautiful close-ups of structures from plants and animals was there to view for inspiration.

In the theater after presentations about microscopic art and business funding, there was another slide show on view with artwork that different artists and scientists had submitted ahead of time. Organizers had prepared two slides with three of my art journal pages on each. They did a great job selecting pages that looked good together. It was pretty cool to see my images projected at such a large size!

My art journal pages were made with pencils, markers, pens and collage work. What do they mean? I like to work in my art journal as a stress-relief activity so when making some of these pages I was thinking about the effects of stress on the human body and mind. Sometimes I don’t have to think at all, just play with the colors and shapes – that is a very relaxing and restorative activity that I enjoy very much.

Here is a link to the complete slide show so you can see the other artists’ work:
Art X Science

More photos of the event are in a Venture Cafe Facebook album:
Venture Cafe Night: 39N – February 20, 2018

In 2017 I went on a tour of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center with other volunteers from the Litzinger Road Ecology Center. We toured greenhouses and areas where experiments are conducted and stored.

Of special interest to me being so into the visuals of science was a look into the microscopy lab and a gallery of images that were probably made for science reasons but double as stunning and amazing visual art.