Wednesday 1 June 2011

Art?


Another early attempt at art for art's sake, rather than a card or a scrapbook page. I finally stopped procrastinating and decided to us my old Papermania mini album as a test Art Journal. The 6x6 size is about as large as I can cope with to start with.
So, the big question:  Does this count as art?

I had in mind the illuminated letters of medieval monks, but they spent months on one word, and that's not my style! So it ended up more like a combination of doodling and calligraphy. The background is chalked, you can't see it very well in the photo but take my word for it. The silver outlines are corner peel-offs that I've had since 2 Christmasses ago and they are coloured in with gel pens.
It was fun. I can see why you all enjoy art journalling. Maybe I'll get the hang of it if I keep going.

I've also made up my mind to prepare a version of the SMASHBook I discovered yesterday (the real ones are sold out everywhere anyway, so it'll have to be counterfeit) ready for our summer holiday. I really like the idea of a family journal which everyone can add to: P can paint (he really can, but only does so on holiday), M can stamp and stick, I can do some art journalling and, if I'm lucky, R might write or stick something in too.

Thanks for helping me decide. I needed your encouragement to pick up a paintbrush for the first time since primary school.

7 comments:

donnalouiserodgers said...

oh you did make me laugh -

is it art? (it's the eternal unanswered question)

Your 'test' journal IS YOUR ART

and no 'test' about it you will learn all about you, and making images and having a voice through pictures and colour and texture,

the simple answer is yes and no, the truth is no one knows but you.

Art is a concept not a thing ...so it's hard to define

please don't feel you cannot call your work Art. I would.

Unknown said...

No one can answer what is art and everyone has a different definition or attitude towards it. I tend to an all encompassing viewpoint (eg everyone's work but mine! :D) I think the important thing is to enjoy what we do, and to do it often.
Love your journal btw.

humel said...

Hi Kirsty, lots of busy and a few Blogger problems mean I missed your first art journaling posts, but speaking as someone who's pretty new to art journaling myself I'd say that this *totally* counts, and that the main thing for me when I do it is to have fun and experiment :) I've seen some amazing examples but I'm not after amazing myself (because if I aim for that I'll be disappointed); I'm after enjoying the process and exploring ideas :) Which seems to be what you're doing, so yay! xx

Melissa said...

My theory is that in art journaling, it ALL counts. There are a lot of great examples on the Internet and many are starting to look the same, but it's typically been that art is so varied. I count a collage page that I created with words from a magazine pasted on a page as an art journal page. Have fun!!

okienurse said...

I think that your test journal is your art! Do you like? Does it make you feel good? Do you want to do more? Yep! you do art! Keep journaling I think you are on the right track. Happy #104-2nd Anniversary of WOYWW Thanks for sharing. Vickie #55

Sian said...

It definitely counts as art. Anything you lay down on a page just because you want to see how it looks can be art I think.

Jennifer Grace said...

I agree that anything can be art - as long as the process is thinking about how to do something creatively, how to make it look 'just right' aesthetically, then it's art! I love this letter, it looks beautiful, would be good on a canvas too I think!

I've also been thinking about counterfeiting a smash book, they look so fun! x

P.S. have you seen my giveaway?: http://bit.ly/j3YSwi