Inspired by the wildly popular PBS series, Downton Abbey, Garden Pages is a journal compiled of contemporary and Edwardian Era imagery. Butterfly wings for a gentleman, teabag flower motifs, copies of journal pages transformed into blossoms, and yesteryear images grace the pages. By repurposing a children’s board book, sanding down and coating pages with gesso, texture is at the forefront of taking this book back in time.
We have a fascination with this bygone era. A time when women wore fancy plumed hats, flowing gowns, and carried parasols. Good bye heavy wools, stiff silks, all things Victorian, and hello corsets, Louie Tiffany, and Art Nouveaux! Well, two out of three isn’t bad. Motifs were inspired by nature, and patterns reflected vibrant color with unique design. The French owned this era and referred to it as “The Belle Epoche”, the beautiful era. Leave it to the French, their words sound as lovely as the translation.
I just happened to have on my bookshelf Edith Holden’s “The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady”; a treasured keepsake from my mother who passed away many years ago. I remember looking through the pages after mom died, reading Edith’s observations about nature and admiring her botanical style of drawing. Here it was poetic words for written expression, and Edwardian era imagery, the perfect ingredients for my Garden Pages journal.
Something magical happens when we say yes to the signals of creative inspiration. Whether it is imagery, words, experiences, or a feeling, by allowing our creative intuition to sort it out and reflect it with mixed media on a journal page, true” mojo” happens….the French aren’t the only ones with cool words, we have ours too.
As the teabags transformed into blossoms, bakers twine into swirls, splashes of acrylic inks and paints, and phrases from Edith’s poetry landed on each page, I realized the power of art journaling. It is a journey unlike any other, one of heart and soul proportions as a page becomes expression. I caught a glimpse of my creative intuition making Garden Pages and thought of my dear sweet mother along the way. These are the mojo moments in the life of yours truly, an artist looking for the “belle epoche”….today. May you find those moments in your creative life when the signals blossom and the flower bud opens to fuel your expression. Grab your art journal and let the magic begin.
Responses welcome...