A New Adventure in Art Journalling

Yesterday I started Hali Karla's 7 Directions Art Journalling Workshop. Hali Karla is one of the 'new' artists that I've discovered recently; much of her art-journal work really resonates with me.

The course is free and go-at-your-own-pace, which is perfect for me as I'm not normally able to set aside big chunks of time. I was home sick this week though, and looking for something to do in between coughing and sleeping, I remembered I'd saved the course to my links a few weeks ago.

Lesson 1 is beginnings. For this lesson, we used only mark-making tools, not paint. (e.g. pens, textas, pencils.) This is the page I created:

Some parts I really loved, and others I didn't like so much. But I suppose that's always the case when you're trying something new. I experimented with making all sorts of marks, both familiar and different to what I've done before.
The Familiar: borders; patterns and symbols; backgrounds.
The New: starting with markers rather than paint; larger elements; beginning to add creatures; going over the same spot several times; using whiteout as an accent.

In the reflection section at the end, I realised that when I'm art journalling (as with many other things in my life, I guess) I tend to skirt around the edges. I'll create a beautiful elaborate border with collage, patterns, etc., and then I'm not sure what to do next. Below are two unfinished pages that illustrate this. I have many! Aside from a coloured and lightly textured background, the centre is always left bare. With this new page though, I deliberately tried to fill in the centre with larger motifs and even some creature sketches. So for me, the beginning is to stop dwelling on the edges and begin moving into the centre.