From ridiculous to sublime -- My first Round Robin art journal project

When I joined my first Round Robin Art Journal project in December, I felt like I'd finally  graduated from kindergarten and entered "real" school. Real art school, that is.

In a Round Robin, a blank journal is passed from artist to artist, each one contributing a collage. My Round Robin includes 7 other artists. Sometime this month, each of us is supposed to create a blank journal and mail it to one of our fellow artists.

Just after Christmas, when I was about to start my own blank journal, I received another artist's journal (her name's Shel) in the mail. Already I was behind! Maybe I should have stayed in kindergarden! Especially since this artist's journal was a true work of art -- she painted a beautiful outdoor scene on the cover, and she added way more spreads than the measly nine I put in mine. (You can see her cover here.)

But my biggest concern was style. If you follow my blog, you know that I lean toward the surreal. Surreal with a retro-sci fi bent. Campy, even. Nothing like the beautiful illustration on the outside of the journal I received. Should I adjust my style to fit this (more grownup) journal?

I asked John, my mixed media guru. No, he said. Stick to your style. Even if it involves bugs. (Lately I've been inspired by a vintage guide to insects.) So here's the spread I made for Shel's journal:

The people come from an old kid's book. As soon as I saw the well-dressed woman hanging laundry, I knew I had to add a few bugs to her clothesline. Don't worry -- they're still alive. She's just given them their weekly bath. Ha.

About the quote: At first, I looked for something about living "in harmony" with nature (I find safety in sarcasm). But then I decided to honor the sentiment Shel put on the back cover of her journal ("The beauty of Nature's Spirit inspires my art every day"). I found the quote by early environmentalist John Muir.

The background is made out of several Gelli prints. I made the "trees" by pressing dried fern fronds and weeds onto my Gelli plate. (I was inspired by Sandra Pearce, who took her Gelli plate on vacation to record all the flora she discovered.)

To make the journal background, I made lots of Gelli prints and then cut out the shapes that looked like trees. Here's what I started with.

I had plenty left over, so I made a postcard too. I added some of the original dried weeds.

I like it, but I think it needs one more thing…a bug?