LifeBook Week01: choosing a word and symbol for 2015

This is the first assignment I completed for LifeBook 2015, a year long mixed media/art journalling class organized by Willowing Arts.

This page represents a key word, which I'm going to focus on this year. The word I chose is PROGRESS, which is particularly relevant to me this year, as my life seems to be in a limbo and I don't seem to be moving anywhere. This is not necessarily bad, but I find the uncertainty more than a little frustrating. I have been in this temporary state for a couple of years now and I'm yearning for a positive change that would take me and my family in the right direction, so we can have a better quality of life. This word is also meaningful to me in terms of my art. I would like to progress as an artist and I'm hoping LifeBook will help me achieve this intention.

My symbol is closely related to my word. I chose the chevron sign >>>>> to help me along the way this year. I've always been drawn to this shape because it symbolizes purpose, direction and guidance.

Here's the page I created, along with some close-up photos to show the different layers and textures. I used dictionary paper and gelli prints as the initial layer and Caran Dache Neocolor II crayons to add some colour. The little envelope contains my goals and intentions for the year.

(Clicking on the first page will launch the photo gallery)

The gelli prints have some golden tones along with purple/violet

I chose an  analogous colour scheme

I added some number stamps and washi tapes

I tore the word 'progress' from the dictionary

The word has been stamped and outlined

This envelope contains my intentions this year to help achieve progress

You can see the gelli prints peek through the layers

I used some white acrylics paint to distress the page