"JournalFest" Journal

I made a journal specifically for JournalFest. Before I had a source for the chipboard binders I made this journal by striping a vinyl binder and recovering it. Below is a portion of the collage material that came with my confirmation packet. Each instructor was ask to send some material that could be included.

I rarely use any copyrighted material in my journals, however much of what is included in this journal came in my confirmation packet or was given to me at JournalFest. The purpose of this material is for journaling and I have no intention of selling it and don't claim it as my own, I am merely incorporating it into my journal. I have almost filled up this journal and still have so many wonderful images left over, not to mention photograghs. I'm thinking I might have to make a "Part 2" Journal just to include everything!

Tunnel Book - "Through the Rabbit-Hole"

This is one of two tunnel books I am working on. This one is 10" X 10" and will be primarily black and White. The other is 8" X 8" and will be in vintage colors. This is still very much in the beginning stages but I wanted to share a few photos of it at this point. I always like to see how a project progresses and thought I would share it.

"JournalFest" a few more photos of Fort Worden

Behind that white split rail fence is the entrance to Fort Worden. This tiny little house across the street is for sale ... hmm an option .... sure would be convenient for future trips to The Fort and I did say I wanted a smaller house. Some reason I am having difficulty talking my husband into it. And admittedly, the sign below makes me a little nervous.

"JournalFest" at Fort Worden

I have to admit I am a VERY happy Vegemite (yeah, I don't get it either, but my sister always uses the term). My camera was turned in by a very kind soul (Thank you Kathy!) and Teesha Moore promptly mailed it back to me. Grant it, my photos are not the greatest, but I am non-the-less very happy to have them. Fort Worden is absolutely beautiful and even though many of my pictures were taken in the rain and a bit dark, they are wonderful to me. I plan to share many more photos within the next few days.

Graffiti style book

The ATC group I meet with once a month is in the final stages of a Round Robin. This books theme is Graffiti. This is my first attempt at anything in a somewhat Graffiti style, but I have to admit I had fun with it. The lettering is just done with markers verses spray paint, but I did a bit of spraying around the sides to give the feeling it was spray painted.

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While at JournalFest I played around a lot with spraying and stencils and really enjoyed it .... might have to explore that further. Still no word on my lost camera, so I am using my daughters for now. Next week I'll be shopping for a new one if it doesn't turn up. This really doesn't please me. Yet ANOTHER high tech gizmo I'll have to spend far too much time trying to figure out how to use.

Home from "JournalFest"

I'm home from JournalFest and I'm exhausted and happy. It was held at Fort Worden at the tip of Port Townsend, Washington. It is amazingly beautiful out there. Wish I had planned to spend more time there to explore. The trip was long, but went well. LOVED teaching "Over the Edge" and "An Octopus's Garden". It all went better than I could have dreamed. I left my camera at Journal Jam the last night and am hoping a kind soul will turn it in. So, unfortunately I have no photos to share, which makes me rather sad.

"Party Animal" auction has gone live!

The link to the EBay auction is here. Make sure to check out all the other wonderful original pieces also being auctioned off. This is a great opportunity to own the original art shown in the book "Party Animals" and help out a great cause at the same time. All proceeds go to "A Place to Bark", Bernie Berlin's no kill pet shelter.

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The above 2 images are my contribution to the project. The auction listing description for them is as follows-

This is for TWO 8" x 8" x 1/8" (should actually read 1/4") acrylic and collage pieces by Ingrid Dijkers. These need to be auctioned off together because they tell a story of polar opposites....the party animal and the wallflower. They were created using acrylic paint and collage materials on art board and they are wonderful!

"An Octopus's Garden"

I have spent the day making some additions to my Journal "An Octopus's Garden". It's a SteamPunk influenced Journal that I have been having a lot of fun with. I will be teaching several techniques from this journal at JournalFest which is coming up very quickly. More of this journal can be viewed on my website here.
Both the cover of this journal and this spread are not quite done yet. They still need several details. The Journal is 8" X 11 1/2", not including attachments. Photos enlarge to show detail.

Party Animals Art Auction

The Party Animals auction is going live October 15th thru the 19th. All the original work shown in the book "Party Animals" is being auctioned off on EBay. I will provide a link when available. 100 % of the proceeds go to "A Place to Bark", Bernie Berlin's no kill pet shelter. The book is available for purchase here. Below are my 2 contributions to the book and auction.

"Evidence" JournalFest

All the instructors for JournalFest were ask to come up with "Evidence" for everyone taking their classes. I made both ATCs and stamp style tickets, both of which can be incorporated into Journals. The classes I will be teaching are "Over the Edge" and "An Octopus's Garden". There is still room in a few of the JournalFest classes, so check them all out at TeeshaMoore.com.

"Belly Dancer" Journal page

Even though there is a week left of Festival, I am done making stock. I am now finishing up a few loose ends and I will focus strictly on preparations for the upcoming JournalFest, which begins October 21st.

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The above Journal page is for a Round Robin book. The theme is dance and I choose Belly Dancing. The image of the Belly Dancer is one of my all time favorite photos. I love both the design and the colors of the photo ... in fact so much so that I designed the master bath around this photo .... including the ceramic tile. The background of this page is made using left over paint from the bathroom redo.

My lovely children ... continued

Awe yes, there's Tricia ...the epitome of grace and beauty. The years and years of dance lessons and pageants have not gone to waste ... she's as graceful and beautiful as a swan. Then there is Kiersten ... She's ... well, let's say a little different ... perhaps quirky is a good way of putting it.

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Kiersten was in need of a summer job, so she has been helping me at the Renaissance Festival. It's been a good arrangement, she's down stairs tending shop and I am able to be upstairs working. Sunday we were having an unexpected large increase in sales of little fairies (scroll down a few posts to see the Fairies I am referring to). She was selling an abnormal amount ... but only when I wasn't there with her . It's loud out at festival with a lot of background noise, so it's hard to hear EXACTLY what is going on downstairs when I am upstairs. Admittedly I was curious, so I started paying close attention. I couldn't hear WHAT was being said, but I did hear gasps of horror from people down stairs. Turns out Kiersten has been talking people into buying the fairies by telling them that the ones that aren't sold have to be euthanized .... that she has to do it herself ... and that some REALLY fight back. Yes, ONLY Kirry could come up with such a plan to increase sales.

"Nudes" ATCs

The Michigan ATC group that I meet with once a month has the theme "Nudes" for this months ATC exchange. I added a message in braille with dyno tape to each of mine. More of my ATCs can be viewed here.

"The Secret Life of Bees" collage

This is a mostly digital collage in the style of faux stamps I did after reading the book "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. Last night I watched the movie on DVD. The movie is amazingly true to the book. Both are excellent ... I highly recommend them.

Fairy Release

I have spent months doing what seems like nothing but making fairies. A few breaks in between just to keep my sanity. Admittedly, the first thousand or so were lots of fun, but after making these for 17 years, the thrill has somewhat faded. For a few years I have been truly passionate about Art Journaling, but find there isn't enough time to pursue it as deeply as I'd like. I have too many other interests and something has to give. After much thought and trepidation (and slumping sales due to the economy)

I have decide to take a year off from the Renaissance Festival to regroup and decide what direction I want to take my work. The plan is to lease out my building for next year and in this time I will also decide if I want to sell the building and call it quits altogether. It's a very hard decision ... one I have been considering for quite some time. Until that time, I release these fairies into the world. These fairies are approximately 4.5" X 6.5". Photos enlarge to show detail.

Zentangles

I am taking out a little breathing time from the fairy making. I have decided to do a little "Zentangling" as it is very meditative and relaxing. My inspiration for the hands are from seeing some of the beautiful henna patterns done on peoples hands out at the Renaissance Festival.

The two spreads below are still in progress. I almost hate to journal on these pages as I already like them as they are. Perhaps I won't.

My Zentangle Journal to this point can be seen here. ... Now back to making Fairies.

"Selling my Child to the Traveling Circus" Journal page

I have just uploaded a bunch of new journal pages to my "Altered Notebook #2" journal. The page above is one of them.

A not so bad journal page

As I was doing this page I was so totally convinced it was the worst spread I had ever done. Now that I look at it a day later, I don't think it's that bad at all ... quite different from how I normally work, but that's OK. Funny how these things happen.

Michigan Renaissance Festival

I just wanted to share a few photos I took out at festival over the weekend. This is a photo of the shop on Labor day morning with all the fog. The entire village had an eerie glow to it, it looked wonderful!

Later that same morning as the fog begins to lift.

This is the Fairy Egg display case with all the trimmings. I'm pleased with the final look.
My inventory is frightfully sparse this year. We are having a hard time making the shop look full. I have been working frantically on stock, but am unfortunately not getting anywhere fast.
And finally a photo of my lovely assistant (hanging out at the puppet shop next door instead of tending her Mother's shop).

"Color" journal page

I have to admit this is not one of my favorite journal pages. It is done in a composition book for a round robin I am participating in. The theme of this particular book is "Color my World". I did this spread at the Renaissance Festival with very limited supplies. So, with what little I had to work with, I am somewhat pleased with what I came up with ... this was quite a challenge. I find it very difficult to do this kind of work away from all my supplies. As I rarely plan out my work and it is done in a very spontaneous manner, it's very difficult to anticipate what I will need.