I spent some time looking through my journal tonight because I felt too lazy to do anything creative. I’d never realized it before, but some of my pages look kind of empty …as if they wanted me to add something to them and I’d forgotten to. 
On the other hand, why should I add something just for the sake of adding something? In the parrot spread above, the pink flower is a transfer done on Japanese paper that Mary showed me how to do back in February. After I glued it down, I kept adding things until it looked done and then I stopped.
Is the right hand page on this lilac spread empty or spacious? Hmmm. I keep changing my mind about this. I have a feeling I won’t be adding anything to it though. Some things are just better left as a question mark.
13 comments:
I'm the wrong person to comment, even though I love your work, I cannot bring myself to collage. I still need to be able to read the page. So for me it's "spacious". Love the parrot page. Transfer on Japanese paper? hmmm
These pages look wonderful. In my experience when a page looks empty I cannot resist the urge to add something. Very very often this ruins the page. This is the same with actual writing on the page. I feel the need to write but it often isn't right for the page. Now you know why I never publish a journalling page. Yours on the other hand are great and I thank you for showing them. Maybe they will help me to let empty be spatious. :)
Let them be.
I'd say spacious. Perhaps one is meant to dream of what might be??? There is probably never enough left the the imagination in lots of things. I love them. As they are.
I do the same thing with my pieces. I leave them on the mannequin for days and go back and forth with adding/leaving alone :)
I love the buttons and the gold/purple combination, beautiful!
Oh, I'm definitely saying spacious. Room to breathe. Open and airy instead of tight and cramped and crowded. In other words :-) I like them as they are!
I like space myself -- as if you didn't know (the lilac page is perfect). It's like letting the work breathe...........
xox
The good thing about journaling is that there is not just one right answer. I think the pages look good as they are, but would be even more intriguing with writing on them. As there would be more to "discover". I am not satisfied with lots of my pages, but if I keep adding to them, adding and adding, most of the time I find they get better.
But as I said, there is no right or wrong, it´s all a matter of taste. And what mood you are in that day. Some days require space. Some days are a chaos of thoughts.
I especially like your orange parrot-page! Have you been to Chile?
I just read your article in Artful Blogging, and just have to tell you, that I absolutely adore the images you made in there! And the advice you give is great too. Thanks!
Gorgeous images. Didn't know whice one i loved the best. Very nice each one of them well done my friend! Thank you for dropping in .
Yup real butterflies.There awesome like your blog.
hugs
I tend to over-clutter... I want to fill up every little inch of everything with some detail. It tends to overwhelm people at times. Even though I am not one to create an image with much economy/or open space I appreciate people who know when to quit & not overwork it. Tho, these don't feel underworked to me. Actually sometimes when I create the ocasional journal page with open spaces you tend to find I was sad or depressed... feeling empty. Perhaps spaces have a similar sentiment to you, and that is why you feel a desire to fill them... they express a certain vulnerability? But I would encourage you celebrate all emotions, not just the positive ones... as I tell myself, "Enjoy the Pain"... transforms it into something less painful somehow.
i think it all depends on the eye of the beholder. Too they look both empty and spacious. they look perfect.
Discovered you via Artful Blogging. :) I've been wanting to get into art journaling myself but I'm still unsure how to do some things. How did you keep the pages of the book (notebook?) from curling or crumpling while adding things to it? Do you paint it with something first?
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