Next my installment in Deborah Parkes journal...'Natura.'

                       I wanted to show the Yin and Yang of Nature and man made....

Natura entry by Sharon Williams

"This is where I live"

Waiting for the arrival of my first journal was excruciating.  With the exception of anticipating the birth of my children, it was the longest wait ever.  I checked the post every day and finally went home on the Friday with this little beauty.  It took a lot of will power not to rip it open in the car.  

Natura arrives!

What I love most of all is watching the page develop.  I went in with a vague idea that there should be a hill in the middle with a house on top and my home environment surrounding it.  That was it!  It took several false starts to get further than gesso on the page, then all of a sudden I was off.

I have a 'go-to' book that I often use for image transfers in the background of my pages.  I found it on a art retreat that I did with my friend a few years ago in New Norcia.  It is Australia's only monastic town.  On our last day we found the library and it was fantastic but most wonderful of all was they were selling off some of their old stock for very little.  I came home with two old text books.  One from 1915 in Latin and this one from 1910.  It is a textbook on botany and the image I have chosen is a cross section of the cell structure of a fern.  It seemed appropriate some how as everything is essentially made up from the same elements and that seemed to resonate with this spread.  

I wanted to portray how much the environment is apart of my life.  I am surrounded by the most beautiful landscapes.  I have a quiet beach on one side and a RAMSAR wetland and national park on the other.  All of it is topped off by the vast West Australian sky.

I love using Derwent Inktense blocks.  It gives me the opportunity to put down a background colour - fast!  And because I gesso the paper before I start, it allows me to spread, smudge and play with the colour blends.  

 left hand page

I decided against being too figurative and used my wooden stamps to label the areas instead.  Then I added some sprayed circles using the packaging from some cup cakes I was given for christmas.  The final touches went in in text and white pen.  I think It gives a bit of an idea of where I'm living.  I hope you enjoy it. 

Sharon Williams  

centre

Deb "Natura"

My layout done so my journal is ready to post and go on it's journey....yippee.

Deb Parkes here with "Natura"
In the last week we have been threatened with a cyclone which turned out to be a fizzler for Townsville, but not so for further south unfortunatley. In the lead up to this event it has been very muggy and revolting so i have been confined to the house pretty much. What has been taking up my time in a lovely way is the making of my journal for "the Australian Art Jaournal Swap" (AAJS). I had a great time painting and sewing my soft spine journal, using freemotion stitching, bit s of lace, material, paper and splashing around paint in bright colours. All that is left to do is my 2 page spread and my intro.

 front n back cover's

 inside front cover

inside back cover the stitch scrawl at the top say's "dear journaler" there's a card in that there pocket with a thankyou note to all our lovely artist's.