Favourite Art Supplies
July 10, 2008 by Heather Goldsmith
Filed under Home & Living
Since I’ve started creating visual journal entries I’ve come to really like certain supplies. There’s the trusty glue stick. I’ve been wearing my new one out. I also love how portable my swirlie crayons are. I only need to carry one at a time, really, though the gorgeous mix of colours is very tempting. I usually end up bringing three with me. With one stroke I get a changing line of colour, which gives loads of unexpected results. I like that. I do carry scissors, but prefer the look of torn edges. Besides it doesn’t take anywhere near as long as cutting, too.
If I’m in the mood I like to use my watercolour pencils. I carry only primary colours, but in warm and cool tones, so I can achieve whatever effect I’m after. There are also the images I love to use for collage. I tend to pick up whatever freebie junk the library offers and flick through these later looking for the images I want to use right now. There are also piles of old magazines to go through, as well.
Of course, there’s a good bold marker, like the Sharpie brand ones. They write beautifully over painted pages and magazine cuttings, too. I have a deep pink one that is also on my key ring and a black one, which I do use more than the other. These items seem to be the ones I use most at the moment. What about you? What art supplies can you not live without when it comes to creating art in your journal? Please share in the comments section below.
Heather
Image used with permission from Morguefile
I also really enjoy using water soluble pencil crayons, especially when I’m travelling. They are easy enough to carry and don’t raise any alarms going through airport security. Even when I have them in my carry on luggage!
What are ’swirlie crayons’? I’m not sure I’ve heard of them, unless I know them by another name. Could you perhaps, please show a photo of the and examples of what they do?
Thanks so much for sharing such a wonderful Blog! I’m new to art journalling and I’ve learned so much from you already!
Hi Bonny,
Yes, the watercolour are great for travelling, too. I didn’t think of that, though. Lol. I will be sure to show you either a sample or something online, if I can, about my swirlie crayons, probably tomorrow, though. Thanks so much for leaving a comment.
I am a black pen hog, Heather! I never met a black pen that I didn’t want to own
I like your supply list and may have to implement it. I just got home from a trip where I tried my hardest to take everything but the kitchen sink (and then found no time to use any of it). It would have been much more enjoyable to have had your simple kit with me – maybe I’d have actually pulled it out and used it.
I find the Sharpie’s bleed through my paper too often so it’s not my pen of choice. Lately I’ve been using Pitt pens.
Just art supplies for my journals, hmmm?
glue stick, different colored fine tip markers, mechanical pencil and Post-it notes to mark pages
nothing too exciting. I want one of those swirly crayons, but don’t know where to find them.
I want to see a swirly pen too! I have had a love affair with the glue stick for years, I use about one a week! Plus scissors, scarp and thin. And anything laying around that I grab before going!
Hi Cyndi,
Yeah, I love using the black Sharpie, it’s just so lovely to use. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Timaree,
Yes, I’ve found it’s easier just to keep it down to a minimum, so you don’t get overloaded. I like that the Sharpie ink doesn’t seep through painted pages (I use acrylic most often), but it does often seep through on an ordinary pages, yes. I’ll see if I can find the brand you suggested, though. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Eileen,
Thanks for letting me know. I’m looking online to find the swirlie crayons, but might just have to do my own photo and samples so I can show everyone.
Hi Hanna,
Yes, a glue stick is really handy. I’m working on sharing about the swirlie crayons, probably tomorrow. Thanks for joining in.
I have been experimenting with doing visual things to go into my diary/journal, not setting out to draw something but a visual idea comes to me and I get out the felt tip pens or pencils and I write the date, time and what inspired it or what I was thinking at the time.Sometimes its recognisable other times I actually surprise myself – a small red box and just a blob of the colour purple, not sure what prompted them. This was inspired by a book I read years ago just re-read, A Life of My Own by a woman in the 1930’s Marion Milner, the book has her real name and “pen” name and I can’t remember the other name, it was published by Virago. She did sketches and word associations to see what she was thinking subconsciously and wrote down things like: Things I like- Things I hate. In those days people conformed a lot more and she was trying to see if her real self was different. She went on to be a Physcologist I think (?) when it was not trendy/ cool to do so. I used to write on A4 student type paper and put a little drawing at the top. Easter – an egg, Autumn a brown leaf etc sometimes something cut out from the newspaper like today a photo of Nelson Mandela on his 90th birthday, its all history and it breaks up pages of text.
Hi Christina,
I’m glad you’re using visual things in your journal. I agree, it does break up the text and adds some interest to the page. I’ve heard of the book you’ve mentioned, too, but haven’t read it. I’ve been meaning to, so thanks for the reminder. Thanks so much for your thoughts.