Go for it! PLAY!

I was thinking how a child's work is really to play. They have a sense of wonder, enthusiasm. They tend to turn everything into some sort of game. Our grandson at three-years-old would say, "I have an idea…" He said it often when he wanted us to do something with him that he thought was fun. It also meant he was open to our ideas and was definitely up for negotiation (He got that trait from his Grandpa and Daddy). It was a good opening for conversation and fun. Win/win… i love that. I wanted that kind of enthusiasm for what I do.

As Picasso said, "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." 

My hope for art journaling this year was to give myself the freedom to play, more like a child. I've noticed that during this year that when I have more openness and less of an agenda, when I consider the possibilities for my process instead of planning my product, my journals turned out more playful, creative and engaging. So I decided to be intentional and carry the goal of "PLAY" over into the Summer Art Journaling Workshops. It's been a wonderful experience! Last week I got to watch people play and explore creative possibilities outside the box, accompanied by lots of laughter. And the bonus was that people were encouraging each other, which built up the creative energy and confidence instead of competition. AND the art was amazing!

These are some of my pages I finished up after the workshop. The center "PLAY" portion and the flip side "Be like a child" is a separate page in-between the two full size pages. The full size pages began with a painted paper technique background. But I wasn't very happy with at least half of it so I painted gesso in the negative spaces of shapes I had loosely drawn with chalk. I used the same technique I used on the cover shown in the June 18th post: "A Summer Weekend Art Journal Cover". Then I glued on more painted papers shapes, added color and texture to the background, and outlined many of the shapes with permant pen and paint. Then I added the text. 

I got the Albert Einstein quote "Creativity is intelligence having fun." from Pinterest and added one from Ralph Waldo Emerson, "It is a happy talent to know how to play." I wrote the "Be like a Child. Discover, Wonder, Play, Learn, Laugh, Live Love." And continually reminded myself, "It's okay not to be perfect." as the quote on the left says.

Here's the weekend journal "PLAY" standing up