Back

Art Journal Freedom
by Dina Wakley
Northlight Books
ISBN 978-1-59963-615-3
Published 2013 - Softcover - 128 pages - $26.99

Dina Wakley is well known in the mixed media world and I came across this book at the exact moment I needed to.  I was just starting to art journal but I couldn't wrap my head around the "chaos" I kept finding.  Busy, busy, busy art journal pages that threw my essentially minimalistic self into a tizzy.  Her book really spoke to me and I read through everything Dina had to say, and basically, it alleviated much of the pressure I was putting on myself to create.  She covers Symmetry and Asymmetry; White Space, Continuance and Closure; Color Basics; Contrast with Color; The Power of Black and White, and more.  Her style is messy and I was a little intimidated but I copied a few pages and I felt so much better.  There are so many styles to make your own, and I particularly liked her Page Challenge with each chapter.  There are over 100 beautiful color photos of her journal pages, some multi-layered and some pretty basic, and everything in between.  Whether you like using stencils, writing with ink, painting with acrylics or watercolor, using ephemera, splattering, making dots or other mark making techniques, sewing on your pages, or doodling, anything goes.  I was happy to hear her say, "When I start a page, I never have an end result in mind.  I just play."  Confirmation that you don't need to know where you're going, just go!  I know I will be using this book as inspiration for a very long time, and have committed to reproducing each and every journal page when I need to practice or need inspiration.
You can catch her videos on YouTube or even visit her website at www.dinawakley.com.
A very easy 5 stars for this beautiful book!