Anyone have any interesting hobbies?

[AmZ]

You're really going to get me in to this! Thank you for sharing the article with us, it's great. I'm going to have a look at some videos also which you posted and shared before.

I still love a good old (new!) sketchbook. The last one I got I decorated the cover of the book, I used clear PVA glue and set in it sequins , acrylic stars and glitter to it. It was cool. Maybe I can do the same with my new art journal book but set different things in the glue such as magazine cuttings and other more art journal-like materials.

Do you have an art journal make_art? Maybe you would like to share with us some of your creative talents?

 

[desiderata]

I have taken up the lapidary hobby some years ago. It's basically rock polishing. The process that the machine goes through...(rock tumbler) takes some time but the prep work and the rocks to be tumbled can be very interesting and educational. Once finished, you come out with some beautiful stones that you can create into jewelry or other craft ideas you may have.
All you need is a tumbler and some rocks. You can purchase a tumbler kit at a craft store for around $30.00 to get started. They do an o.k. job and if you like what you're doing you can always check out the internet for better equipment.
Hope this was an idea that may help.

 

[AmZ]

Here is a freehand doodle I did using a pencil about a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Retired]

AmZ!

I really like your artwork! This one reminds me of the International Space Station, one of my favorite topics. I'd like to share THIS PHOTO of the ISS; this photo is the wallpaper on my computer.

(The photo is on my hosting server and is a safe download)

 

[AmZ]

Wow, yeah, I see what you mean! It is quite similar indeed. That's what I was attempting to draw, a space station!

Thanks for the compliments.

I now just need to get down to some serious art journalling. In the 2 hours I had locked out of my room this afternoon, I watched 6 'how-to-do' videos on art journalling. Fascinating.

 

[making_art]

Desiderata, I have a small hobby tumbler I got from a second hand store but I have yet to try it. What kind of stones do you like?

Steve, you must have had a good time taking that photo.

AmZ, I like your drawing. You are going to enjoy art journaling I think. I like sketchbooks too because I use watercolour so want paper that can withstand water. But I have also used kids books with the heavy cardboard pages and just sanded and prepared them with gesso to cover the original stuff on the pages then had great fun with them. I can take a photo from one of my journals on the weekend if I don't have to go to work. Now I'm all excited about starting a new journal.

 

[desiderata]

I like stones with unique shapes so I can craft them. The main thing is to try and sort by type and hardness of the stone. But you can throw in a handful of stones without getting too technical and see how they come out. Trial and error.

 

[Retired]

Steve, you must have had a good time taking that photo

I had to stand on my roof to get a good viewpoint with my Nikon..

 

[making_art]

AmZ,

Here are a few of my journal pages which I scanned...forgot about using the scanner. And...wow, I had not thought about doing some digital manipulations until jut now and that takes art journaling to another whole new level of fun for me.

Image 1 is made with stamps, acrylic paint and fine tip felt marker.
Image 2 is made with watercolour paint, letter stamps and beet water leftover from cooking beets. :facepalm:

Image 3 is made with watercolour paint, fine tip marker and quotes I like which I used for inspiration

 

[AmZ]

Thank you so much for sharing these make_art. You inspire me to make art! I really like them.

hope to get out of the hospital next week and get a sketchbook amongst picking some other things up from my apartment that I need.

I was watching how to dos about art journaling and they advised all the time to not use water based products or water. Because it makes the pages wrinkle. Typically, what materials do you avoid? If any.

 

[making_art]

AmZ, well if the beet water is any indication I don't avoid anything. But...I did use the pretty purple water form cooking red cabbage but would avoid that one again because my poor art journal was a little stinky from that one - and still is :lol:

I use water colour because it is my favored choice of material and I do use a sketch book that specifically says for "light washes" so they are a little thicker. Because I have been experimenting with water colour for quite some time, I work fast with very little water. My pages don't wrinkle because the paper is made for paint but also because I close the book and sometimes will pile other books on top so that flattens it pretty good.

Each page is an experiment so it does not matter what happens and quite often I get accidents I like and if not I just carry on to another page or cover the page I don't like with something else.

I would stay away from oil paint because it takes so long to dry but I have used the new oil sticks in gold and silver which are pretty sweet and just left it to dry but they are also not really wet so dry quickly.

I would recommend using inexpensive acrylic paint that you can get from the dollar store like these. Acrylic paint is nice because you can cover over it easlily if you want to change something. It dries quickly and cleans up with water unless you let your brush dry with the paint. Then the brush is toast.

If watercolour is an interest to anyone I really like the brushes you can fill with water and carry with you. The little "Koi" Sakura travel kits which include this brush as seen here at this art supply store: Sakura Koi Watercolor Travel Sets are great for sitting in your favorite coffee shop or park and taking time out.

 

[AmZ]

Smelly sketchbook lol. Maybe I'll stay away from using food. Perhaps asides from chocolate

Thanks again for your insight and tips.

I'm really getting antsy to get my sketchbook and get started with it! I think today in the art room, I will start to collect magazine cuttings of images and slices for the borders of my pages. I'll see how the boarders go, at least, it was something that I saw everyone do in the how to do videos.

I really hope to get in to it - I filled half of my last sketchbook up and then left it. I used to study art at an art university in London and I loved having full up sketchbooks!

At first, I had thought that the idea of art journaling was that it's half art (collage, paint etc) and the other half was to do with journaling, so written/printed/stamped words. But from what I saw in the videos, there weren't many words and text. Mostly one word on the page or a sentence. But I guess there are no rules!

I have an idea to do my journey so far with depression and anxiety. I have a blog that I've been doing daily from Feb '11, including digital art made on photoshop, doodles and also poetry and my regular blog posts. I'm going to take parts of my blog posts and put them in the book as well as the digital art and doodles and alter the doodles too. So it's going to be like my journey through this. Hopefully I will be able to see me gradually getting better!
It's going to be a pretty personal thing so no showing anyone asides from my therapist (she really likes my art and art in general) and maybe I'll give you guys a peak too

Do you have any other hidden talents make_art? What else are you in to?

 

[gooblax]

I've really enjoyed looking at and reading about everyone's creations

I like making cardboard models, though I've only done two so far... One is supposed to be the USS Bonhomme Richard (although I just searched for "ship" and chose a random one, since I know nothing about ships, and I appropriated the flag somewhat to a different version):


And the other is a TIE Fighter:

 

[making_art]

Wow Gooblax..those are great cardboard boats! I thought they were wood until I read your post again.

---------- Post added at 07:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:51 PM ----------

AmZ,

No rules.....just do what you want and what works for you. I have used a good deal of cut out images from magazines. I also have not shown my art journals to anyone except one to a therapist I had and she had a few really good assignments for me to work on too. These journals are for me only. One that I have is an ongoing journey that is just about money and I keep adding to it. Had some good cathartic moments with that one. It is a large paper scrapbook that you use for kids. I have another one I use just for really difficult times in my life and it gets added to over the years. I have many journals with many different uses and purposes. Some pages have a lot of text or writing and others not much text at all. Whatever inspires me in the moment.

One tip that works for using cut out images from magazines is to use Mod Podge (it comes in matte or shiny, I like matte) to glue onto your pages and to also cover the cut outs with so they are extra secure and blended into the page. I also use wax paper between pages so they don't stick if I want to do another page before the other one is dry.

You asked, what other things am I into? I like to sing in the shower (you don't want to hear that though) and sewing and embroidery and ...so many things I want to do with so little time.

 

[AmZ]

Thank you for the tips and the info.

I bought my sketchbook yesterday. Today I have done the front cover. I've used clear drying glue and have set in it black sequins and orange and blue tiny acrylic stars. I've written a poem out on the first two pages using a stencil and have done it in a distressed look. It looks ok. I'll try to add color on top of the words. I guess that I should have done it the other way around. Woopsy.

 

[AmZ]

I'm in the process of doing my first 2 pages of my art journal.

So far, and I kind of did things backwards, I have written out my poem and have painted my pages yellow. But now I'm a bit stuck not knowing what to do next because I can't cover over the text. I guess that I should have done a border of some kind and painted it and then put the text on?

Anyway.. There is my poem too. I've only shared it here and with my therapist. I wrote it several months ago.

Thx.

 

[making_art]

Great poem, AmZ and I love the text with the stencil! It is usually best to add the text last if you want it to be very clear but I have done many pages with the text then just did some doodling for a border or around it.

I have used a sea sponge (because they have nice big holes) or stamps and just dabbed it around or over my text with a light colour paint. You can also just leave it as is and do more pages and come back to it when you get an idea to add more......or just leave it as it is. No rules.

Love the yellow.

 

[Retired]

I've just completed my current sculpting project made of 3/4 inch corian, bonded together to make the material 1 1/2 \" thick.

Locomotive is 8" long and the tender is 6" long. Both are 3 1/2" high.

The locomotive/tender combination is a different one from the locomotive I posted earlier. The tender for that one is to be made next.

 

[Ronda]

We have scrollart as a hobby/therapy session that is very rewarding. check out our website to see the progress: www.customscrollart.com and see how we spend our free time. It is much like a jigsaw puzzle but much more rewarding.. we have made a few bucks making our scrollart and have invested out income into supplies and framing. I find this very distracting from the depression and find myself a goal to set each day that I know I can reach.

 

[AmZ]

Very nice Steve!!