Get Messy is an art journal challenge where a gang of crafty vixens are sharing art journal pages we have created to practice our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. We share our pages without restraint every week, and once a month we create around a prompt. Go check out these crazy talented ladies who are creating pages who each have a unique perspective and style. We will be sharing our work around social media so follow the hashtag #getmessyartjournal.
Journaling Challenge: Live your adventurous dreams on paper. What would you love to do, or at least try, if you had the courage to live more adventurously? I would, for example, like to live on a houseboat or a train wagon.
Art Challenge: Try a method or material you’ve never worked with before. Be adventurous
The journaling challenge: For me, it’s all about continuing the adventure I started when I began writing my blog almost two months ago. I’m focusing on changes and goals for my life.
The art challenge: No paint, using paper I’ve been saving forever because I didn’t want to mess it up or use it up, and keeping it very simple.
Now……….for the hard part. As I’m typing this I’m trying to decide how much to share and whether to share at all. We’ll know if this gets posted or not. One of the things I wrote was “bravery” and I’m not feeling very brave at the moment. The posted photos are actually my second attempt at this challenge.
My first attempt was not successful from an artistic standpoint. I tried to do a photo transfer with gel medium. I’m okay with art mistakes or failure. Most of my work is built on that…that’s why so many layers. After I finished the pages though, I totally lost it emotionally. I got angry and snapped at my husband, and deleted the posted photos. Racing heart, light headed, chest pressure…classic anxiety attack. Worst I’ve had in a long time. I don’t know what in particular caused the reaction and I started to throw them away. As I type this, hours later, the anxiety is returning.
But, the point of journaling is more than practicing our art skills and trying out new stuff. And, I said I would share without restraint each week. So, I’m not going to post the black & whites on instagram, but I am going to post them here and on our facebook page.
Like I said, I don’t know what was so emotionally upsetting about these pages. I’m gonna have to deal with that. And I will deal with it. That fits in with the challenge of “what I would do if I had the courage to live more adventurously”. So, here’s the photos and I’m going to hit publish. And it’s all going to be okay. Growth and change are difficult. I am brave.
FaithAcre Studio | Kelly Barrow 
Mom, these are beautiful, and so are you.
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You are brave! And bravo for sharing despite how hard it must have been. I think your pages are wonderful and I encourage you to keep going, don’t stop. Anxiety attacks are terrible things, scary things. I’ve had a few, and the loss of total control is just terrorizing. But keep creating, keep going back, digging up the pages and posting them. It helps even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment.
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I think both of your pages are great. I am glad that you kept them. I think in a few years you’ll look back and be glad you kept them too. I am sorry about your anxiety.
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I, for one, am glad you’re sharing yourself with the world. Very brave! Grace and peace to you, Kelly. 🙂
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Thank you.
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I’m very glad you posted both answers to the prompt. I think one of the best things about this group is the fact that we are ‘safe’. There is no trolling no judgemental small minded comments. this is a space where you can share and be better and stronger for it. Like I said on IG, I love the negative space on those glittering papers.
But I am having a big reaction to those gel medium transfers. The images you used and the symbolism of the butterfly and the bird. They are very telling to me. I am very glad you shared them. As for your reaction, you may have touched upon something real. I need art journaling to help me process and sort through emotions and I often cry when I’m arting it out. It means it’s working.
When I snap at my hubby, he tells me to go work in my journal 😀
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I just want to give you the biggest hug! I deal with anxiety too, and I want you to know that you are immensely brave. Brave for making the pages, brave for sharing them, and brave for telling the story about being triggered. It’s ok to freak out about something you’ve created, even if you don’t know why it happened. The pages that upset you are perfectly fine! Perhaps their boldness and honesty felt unsafe, but you’re not gonna run into any negativity from the Get Messy ladies! Take care, and thank you for sharing so openly this week! I love your work!
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Thank you.
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This is so brave of you to post anyway, although these pages triggered such a heavy emotion. And I find them beautiful, especially the small child with the butterfly wings – magical, like the glitter tree. So grateful you shared them anyway.
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…that small child is me, both of them are. I think that might have had something to do with the emotion. just not sure why. Thank you.
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Image transfers aren’t easy the first time. Sometimes even the second and third time. You have to press really hard for them to transfer and the more ink used in the image the better chance you’ll have. Your images turned out really well.
And I love your purple tree pages. How did you get the leaves to punch out of the tape? If I tried that the tape would probably get jammed in the cutter or make it all sticky.
Great pages, and great presentation of the prompt.
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