I created this piece in honor of our 300th week. I am basing it on F4A9 - Take a Virtual Vacation. I was inspired by Wendy’s invitation to “make a card that evokes memories of some fantastic vacation you HAVE been on.”
I recently returned from the trip of a lifetime – DH and I went on a river cruise in Europe during October. (We were in Paris, and I am grateful for us that it was before the attacks. But my heart really goes out to the victims and the whole country.)
We were in Paris for a few days. We took a river cruise across Germany. And then we spent the last few days in Prague.
My “art journal page” is a tribute to that whole amazing vacation experience. The particular river cruise we were on was a “Castle Cruise.” We traveled along the Mainz river and saw SO many amazing castles. There were vineyards for miles and miles and miles – and because it was October, there was a lovely changing of the season.
The girl is from an old Mary Engelbreit (ME) magazine – ME used to publish a paper doll every month. I saved all of the paper dolls, and I am just starting to collage with them. The 8.5x11” backdrop is from a Dover coloring book about castles. The words in the skyline are a personal affirmation that I wrote and meditate on often. To the universe… “let me be your paintbrush, let me be your canvas.”
This piece took a total of about 5 hours to create. I really got “into the zone.”
I saw art everywhere – evident in the buildings themselves, the paintings, the architecture, even the food. I cried at the beauty of Monet’s Giverney garden (where he painted the waterlilies). The castles were as though they were lifted directly from a fairy tale (inside and out). In France, the Monte Marte district had impressionist painters on the street. In Prague, there were street painters on the famous bridge.
I went to the John Lennon wall where at one time “freedom of expression” was actually not so free. Not to derail, but here is a little bit about that from Wikipedia [sic]…. “Once a normal wall, since the 1980’s The John Lennon Wall, has been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti… In 1988, the wall was a source of irritation for the communist regime. Young Czechs would write grievances on the wall and in a report of the time this led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police. The wall continuously undergoes change and the original portrait of Lennon is long lost under layers of new paint. Even when the wall was repainted by some authorities, on the second day it was again full of poems and flowers. Today, the wall represents a symbol of global ideals such as love and peace.”
I learned this on a guided tour. At one point, I HAD to walk away from the group and make my own mark on the wall
I hope you make your mark in a great way today.
Shine on!
Supplies:
Colored pencils
SU! Blending pen
Ranger distress markers
Faber-Castell large pitt pens
Dover coloring book (Castles)
Mary Engelbreit paper doll
SU! Dimensionals
Date: Thursday, November 19, 2015 GMT Views: 1291
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