THIS OR THAT StencilGirl® Collaboration

Hello! Tina Walker here today with my latest Collaboration Column Post.  This collaboration is a little bit different than my past collaboration or challenges in that YOU, StencilGirl® followers and friends provided the challenge to me.

For seven (7) weeks, I shared a 'THIS or THAT' question.  These questions, and your votes, were used to create and develop an art journal spread.  Each layer (or question) built upon the previous votes (layers) to complete a finished spread.  I did not wait until each question was posed to complete my art journal page, instead creating each week and playing along.  I must admit, several of your votes really threw me, but I buckled in and gave it go.  In the end, I really enjoyed the process and it stretched my thought process and removed any doubt or hesitation on what to do next.  You made that decision for me.

I was also surprised by how both pages came together as a unified piece in the end, even though the prompts were opposites.  I'll walk you through each THIS OR THAT question, voting popularity, and a peek at the page in process.

THIS OR THAT #1 - ACRYLICS OR WATERCOLORS

The votes were close (only 2 votes separated the two), with ACRYLIC PAINT the most popular.  Here's my first layer with the results. I opted to start with similar color palettes, but we'll see where it goes.

LEFT SIDE: ACRYLICS

RIGHT SIDE: WATERCOLORS

THIS OR THAT #2 - SQUARES OR CIRCLES

CIRCLES WON, almost 2 to 1. I was actually a little surprised by the results. Personally, I am drawn to squares, the hard edges, and abrupt corners. Hmm, what does that say about me?

LEFT SIDE: CIRCLES

RIGHT SIDE: SQUARES

 

THIS OR THAT #3 - COLLAGE CHOICE: BOOK TEXT OR GELLI PRINTS

BOOK TEXT WON, but here wasn't a strong preference for either. I personally love using my vintage book papers as collage. I love the colors and the small print.  

LEFT SIDE: BOOK TEXT PAPER

RIGHT SIDE: GELLI PRINTS

THIS OR THAT #4 - FEATURE: FACES OR FLORALS

FLORALS WON, which really surprised me. I really thought as popular as faces are, and the number of artists who create whimsical faces in their art. It was overwhelmingly all about florals. Maybe my personal fave was influenced by this again.😉

My art journal spread is starting to take shape. It's really interesting how both sides 'go together, yet are entirely different'

LEFT SIDE: FLORALS

RIGHT SIDE: FACES

THIS OR THAT #5 - COLOR CHOICE: SIMILAR OR CONTRASTING

It was an extremely close vote with contrasting winning by only 2 votes. The spread really took a major change this week, and to be honest, I'm was not feeling it. There are 2 prompts left, so i will try to work some magic with those 2 prompts to bring it back to a place that makes me happy. It's all love ❤️when it comes to making stuff. 

LEFT SIDE: CONTRASTING

RIGHT SIDE: SIMILAR

THIS OR THAT #6 - NOW WE ARE TALKING WORDS: QUOTES OR SONG LYRICS

SONG LYRICS was a huge winner, almost 2 to 1. I was a bit surprised by how many more people voted for song lyrics over quotes. I thought the vote would be that much closer. I use both in my journal pages, so either would be a winner for me. I've even been known to make an entire journal out of lyrics from one album (geez, I'm aging myself here). A few years ago I made an entire album based on Pink Floyd's "The Wall" album. It is one of my fave journals I"ve ever made. It was even published in Art Journaling magazine.

LEFT SIDE: SONG LYRICS (Lyrics from Landslide, by Fleetwood Mac)

RIGHT SIDE: QUOTE
 

THIS OR THAT #7 - FINAL QUESTION: COVER UP OR EXPOSE

 Another (almost) unanimous vote.  Expose won, with only 2 votes for cover-up.  Again, it was surprised as I was hoping for cover-up to be the most popular.  Often, I am covering up parts of an art journal page during my creative process, which is fairly normal for me.  Your votes really made me think about how to expose on the left side of the page.  I gave it a quick thought and viola - here is the finished page.  I didn't do much else to the page (which was very unusual for me), and was quite happy with the results.  So, THANK YOU for your votes and the push!

LEFT SIDE: EXPOSE 

RIGHT SIDE: COVER UP

For my exposure, I cut into the left side of the page, revealing the page underneath.  I also add a tip out tag to 'reveal' even more cutouts.

For my coverup, I covered one of the faces on the right side as well as my journaling on the right side of the page.  

Since I knew I wanted to cut into the left side of my page, to 'expose' the page underneath, I had to do something to that page.  (it was not a finished art journal page).  I collage a full stencil sheet onto the blank page, then added more watercolors and stenciled images to the right side to finish the 2nd spread.  I used the same colors and stencils since they were already on my desk.  I love the simplistic nature of the spread and that I finished two pages for this collaboration.

StencilGirl® stencils used:

Romance Face 

Boho Patterns

Color Gradient Swatch Wheel 

StencilClub March 2018

Wow - that was fun, exciting, and a bit scary at times!  But I am so thrilled with the results!

Maybe I should offer a THIS OR THAT Challenge more often?  Who is in?

Until next time!

XOXO

Tina