“A Book of the Night: Extreme Journalism “ Workbook
INSTANT DOWNLOAD! This is a black & white, printable PDF version of one of my workbooks!
PLEASE NOTE - This workbook was designed as a handout for my live workshop (see complete description & supply list below) - though it is very detailed, I am not there to guide you. I encourage you to trust your intuition & go for it!
This workbook is an excellent introduction to the Extreme Visual Journaling process.
****
Though this workbook is intended for the fall- you can use these techniques to create cool visual journal pages or other artwork any time of the year!
(A tribute to the Dark side of Halloween and all things spooky & mysterious by
working on black pages in an Extreme Journal)
( no prior experience necessary but a certain level of self awareness is expected)
(Official Warning: This workshop can be emotionally intense and psychologically challenging for some. Please read the following description carefully. These courses are life altering and not recommended for those not interested in doing deep inner work.)
Welcome Princes of Darkness and Queens of the Underworld: it is October, the time when the veil between this world and the next is thinnest. Let us experiment with various techniques and textures to prepare black pages in a Book of the Night. This is a magical and wounded book of blackened pages and dark nights of the soul reaching out for the light by combining cryptic tales with potent imagery - valuable tools for self expression. In these frightfully beautiful and haunted pages, your Book will reflect a night of the dead, of spirits calling, of witchery, mysterious dark cloaked figures beneath a full moon, voodoo. Imagine a haunted gothic mansion beside an old cemetery where we are told of an old manuscript in a moth eaten velvet lined trunk: A Book of the Night. The raven, a messenger from the spirit world, has powerful information for you that can only be scribbled, painted, written, drawn or glued in the safety of these tender dark pages. Spirits of the dead and long forgotten tales of you begin to clang chains and moan and reach out for an authentic life. Bring your creatures of the night to light in the pages of your Extreme Journal. Like the Bride of Frankenstein, we’ll piece ourselves together from the long discarded remnants of self. You call that darkness? It’s beautiful.
Supply List:
(scroll down for detailed descriptions of items listed)
Book
Gluesticks ( 2 big ones)
scissors
Acrylic paints: one light, one dark, 1 black, 1 white.
brushes in at least three different thicknesses (crappy is fine but no sponge brushes)
1 quarter inch brush ( relative high quality)
rubberstamp letters ( any size) & stamp pad
2 brush markers in any color
1 black permanent marker
1 white poster paint marker
1 graphite pencil, 6B, Ebony, or graphite stick, no charcoal.
1 white pencil (get a good brand- not crayola)
1 pastel colored pencil (same)
1 metallic pencil ( gold, copper, silver)
1 gel pen any color (white, pastel or metallic)
black masking tape or artist tape in at least 1 inch thickness
1 white china marker
1 watercolor crayon in any color (no black)
theme related and random collage material
Book of The Night: Please find, make, or purchase a Blank Book, journal, sketchbook, handmade book, or altered book as your visual journal. The book, as container for self, is important to the process, so please do not come to class with separate pages to bind together later. ( Your book can be odd shaped- I have a book I made out of coffin shapes!) I found a great old Dracula book for kids at a library sale. It’s thin enough that I could almost finish the whole book in a workshop! I Love the cover! Thick old books that resemble a Witches Grimoire would be fun or you could bring a visual journal you are currently working on. Whatever feels right for you. We will prepare the pages in class. If you have time, feel free to get started by blackening or darkening your pages in any way you can think of. If you have any questions on choosing your book, please contact me.
Materials List Descriptions: Bring your favorite gluesticks, (glue sticks are great for the VJ process because they are not wet like a medium - we work quickly and need our pages to dry fast! UHU is my favorite) scissors, some brushes for your paints, a rag or two, and a jar for water. All Visual Journalist’s should have a set of rubber stamp letters. And I highly recommend Staz On stamp pads because we work so quickly ( black is good and some other light color to use on dark surfaces - the little “chalks” are good and kind of opaque - your favorite rubber stamp store will have the best info on what pads work on what surfaces!).) You will need acrylic paint- any brand, any color in at least two colors, one light one & one dark. You will need black acrylic (you might want to try other dark colors for texture: Ultramarine Blue, Pthalo blue, Payne‘s Grey, or any other dark color that seems interesting, even an Aliziron Crimson or similar color will be beautiful on black. Red is great too. Don’t bring or try everything: you’ll only end up bringing too much and you wont be able to use it all. Limit your self to 2 extra colors. You will need at least two brush markers in different colors. A graphite pencil- regular old number two is fine, but if you can get to an art store get an ebony pencil, or a 6B, or a graphite stick ( not charcoal.) You will need black masking tape or artist tape - 1 inch thickness will be best.
Darkside Materials: Most of these are optional- so choose whatever you have around. You will need items that will work on top of dark surfaces: gel pens, any color- pastels will show up best or metallics. Watercolor crayons will show up well, (portfolio or water based oil sticks will be too messy) china markers in any color, light colored pencils or metallics. You might want light or metallic stamp pads for your rubber stamps or letters, you might want metallic inks/paints.
Theme: It’s important to set the stage: our visual journal is like a theater- and the more we act out, the more we can discover. It’s a time to play: like little kids at Halloween. Brainstorm for images & themes by looking at spooky books or movies and brainstorming scary stuff like: the Changeling, Brotherhood of the Wolf, The 6th Sense, The Other, Harry Potter movies, brainstorm witches, mummy, wolfman, vampire, Bride of Frankenstein, fortune telling, gypsys, familiars, mediums, Haunted Houses, candlelight, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Edward ScissorsHands, even Grmm’s Fairy Tales. This will help you come up with collage material.
Collage: 1 magazine to cut up and one poetry book to cut up. Half the fun of creating is the research and collecting of images! You may want to gather images that feel potent to you or seem dark/shadowlike in nature. Stickers, gold stuff, silver tape, press on type in white- spooky stuff, magical stuff, stuff that will work on dark paper...
Each student will be required to bring an “Alchemy Bag.” A plastic grocery bag or smaller will do. Some suggestions are collage items, an old paintbrush that is all glued together, that orange paint you hate, stickers from when you were 14, Artist tools and supplies you no longer use or never liked, torn up pieces of your artwork that didn’t work out (no recognizable artwork, please) books to cut up, magazines, sticks, markers, 2 inch chewed up pencils, you get the picture-sort of a grab bag. What, and how much to bring, is up to you. Don’t worry about trying to include nice things- we’re looking more for garbage items. We all ready have our own nice supplies-we want your cast offs to really make us think!
Contact Juliana Coles at meandpete [!at] msn.com with any questions or concerns.
