Good Morning Creatives! In the words of Avril Lavigne..."why we gotta make things so complicated?" Am I the only one who feels this pressure to create something BIG every time I sit down to Bible Journal? To find a technique no one has ever thought of? To come up with a world altering take on a scripture? To use a product in a NEW and AMAZING way? It's exhausting sometimes and creatively draining to try to answer all those questions. Sometimes you just need to keep things simple. Simple can still be profound. Simple can still speak to you. Simple can still speak to others.
Simple Techniques...Focused Thought
When I sat down this week, I wanted to truly focus on the words and less on the art. I know...that seems a little crazy (especially since you are currently reading an ART blog! LOL) BUT I wanted to show you that, yes, Bible Journaling is about art, but first and foremost it is about the words on the page speaking to you. And it applies to HOWEVER you journal. Whether it's in a bible or an art journal or however you create. There are times when the Words/feelings/experiences you are documenting are more important than the art techniques you use.
One Word: Who?
This week I was reading in Mark about the women with the issue of blood and one word stuck out to me: "WHO?" Jesus asked "WHO?" touched him and the woman stepped up in faith and said "it was me." That was the word I wanted to focus on. And when I say I kept it simple...I mean SIMPLE!
The only supplies I used:
- Clear Gesso (to prep page)
- Distress Ink by Tim Holtz
- A black pen 4-pointed star from my Faith Impressions Line
- Black acrylic paint foam alphabet stamps (you could easily substitute letter stickers for stamps/paint!)
TIP: Use an acrylic block makes the mini plates easier to use!
Mix up your colors to create a fun border in the margins of your Bible. The colors I used are: Pickled Raspberry, Peacock Feathers, and Blueprint Sketch. Lastly, I added letters using foam stamps and black ink and some scribbles with a black pen (oh...and a little white paint for some accents.)
Here is the finished page:
Other ways to keep it simple
Need a little more simple inspiration? (simple-spiration? LOL) How about keeping your background super simple by just brayering 2 colors on your Faith Impressions border plate and using a simple drawing to illustrate your page.
Don't like all the white space left by "keeping it simple?" Distress Ink is transparent, so you can add more shapes to your page without compromising your words. You can also reinforce your image by using a smaller stamp in the same shape. For this page, I used the heart shape from my Faith Impressions line (with Distress Ink) and then repeated the heart shape with a smaller rubber stamp in a heart shape.
Final Thoughts
Simple can sometimes be hailed as a "bad" word. We are programmed for MORE. More money. More clothes. More cars. More stuff. More food. More supplies. More. More. More. For some reason we see MORE as better. But is that really the case? I hope this week challenges you to look at your art through different eyes. Take some time to reach for LESS supplies and create something more focused on words/feelings/experiences.
Until next time...
XOXO, Keri Sallee
