Art Journal Using Autumn Foliage
Mixing Book Arts with Artist Dates
It seems no matter what part of the country (or world) people live in, some aspects of autumn are experienced. Some people are able to enjoy the changing of the colors in fall foliage more than others, and there are some who are able to enjoy seasonal plantings in their garden. No matter how autumn is enjoyed, it is an opportunity for art. Mother Nature has swept her paintbrush, so embrace the moment in your art journal.
Materials:
- Basket or plastic container (large enough to hold leaves, twigs, and other autumn collections
- Sharp scissors
- Pieces of waxed paper
- Very thick and heavy book
Instructions:
- Go on a nature walk and collect as many “flat” items as you can. These items can be anything from leaves, pieces of moss, wild flowers depicting “fall” colors, bark rubbings, photography, or acorn caps. Do not be afraid to get really creative with your collections and think outside the box. Is there a very thin rock that you have come across? Add it to your collection! What about that piece of mica? This can be added to your collection as well!
- Once all the items have been collected, place them between pieces of waxed paper and close them into the very heavy book. Use very sharp scissors to trim any stems or leggy branches off twigs. Keep these items pressed into the book (if possible, place the book under another heavy stack of books) for at least 24 hours.
The next phase of this project involves use of your art journal. Consider working on your pages outdoors so nature will continue to inspire your creations.
Materials:
- Art journal
- Tweezers
- Items collected on nature walk
- Glue stick
- Decoupage or gel medium
- Watercolor paints, autumn colors
- Small containers of water
- Sponge brushes
- Sharpies
Instructions:
- Open your art journal to the first blank page spread.
- Create a color wash as muted or vibrant as desired. Consider working darker along the edges, and creating a vibrant wash in the center. Work in light layers of paint to prevent the pages from curling too much when drying. Allow the pages to dry completely before moving on the next step. (You can speed up drying time through use of a heat gun or hair dryer.)
- Using the tweezers, carefully remove each autumn collection item from the waxed paper. Place these items on to the page spread where desired. Apply a thin layer of gel or decoupage medium to seal the item to the page spread, be sure to add medium to the page and to the back of the item. Repeat this step until all the elements have been used.
- Fill in the blank areas of the page spread with text using the sharpie. Consider taking quotations or phrases from the Internet about autumn themes.
Variations:
- Use clippings from gardening or seasonal travel magazines for collage work.
- Use Halloween themed elements to create a sort of scrapbook appearance.
- Use Thanksgiving themed elements to create another opportunity for a scrapbook appearance.
This art journal idea can also be easily incorporated into altered book projects, greeting card projects, and art card projects. You may also wish to explore use of wild flowers in mixed media paintings, shadow boxes, and altered objects. Because decoupage medium or gel medium is being used to seal the project as well as an adhesive, it is very important to allow the piece to dry thoroughly before closing the books or, if another project is being created, allowing the tacky pieces to touch anything else.
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