It’s time for some art journal pop up fun . . . Pop ups are a great way to add some fun to your art journal and I will show you in this post how to make a pop up ‘booklet’ from a page in your journal. When you start thinking of pages in a 3 dimensional way it hugely expands the possibilities for creativity. You’re no longer limited to getting your feelings across in a flat image but can now employ movement, surprise and height to show your thoughts about a topic.
The quote for this page is:
If you believe you can you’re already half way there
I love the positivity of this sentence and how it speaks to a sense of achievement, even before beginning a task. It may feel very familiar to assume it is beyond you to achieve something you ‘can only dream of’ but by breaking down the ‘problem’ in to small steps you have already started to believe in the possibility that you might succeed.
Anyway for me the clearest metaphor for this sentiment was the idea of being half way up a mountain. And as luck would have it this is very effectively shown using a pop up. I keep pages for my courses simple as the main goal of those pages is to present ideas and techniques that my students can develop in their own ways. I am always amazed by what they come up with.
Breaking Down an Art Journal Pop Up Page
Basically this page is made of one page which is cut in half and one extra piece of card. The bottom half of the page is cut away and folded in the middle and along the bottom to form a tab. The remaining half of the page is folded down the middle too. The extra piece of card is also folded down the middle and at the bottom to form a tab then cut into a mountain like shape. These folds down the middle are made with the side to be painted on the outside. The folds for the tabs are made in the other direction so that the painted sides are facing each other.
After folding the pieces I add gesso and then build up layers of reverse stencilling with matt acrylic paint and stamping to add texture to the pieces. I give my ‘mountain’ a path leading to the top and then make a flag with my keyword:
BELIEVE
When sticking the folded pieces to the top half of the page I bend them slightly along their middle fold and match this up with the middle fold of the remaining page. The fold itself of the pieces is at the front. Because I used matt acrylic in my stencilling the gel medium I use to stick the pieces down sticks firmly and because it is heavy gel medium it easily holds the weight of these pop up pieces.
Art Journal Pop Up Pics
Art Journal Pop Up Page Process
Below is a short (5 mins) video of my process showing the key stages.
I hope this page inspires you to give pop ups a go in your art journal or maybe even find out more about pop up ‘technology’. This paper art form is fairly mathematically based and with precisely calculated folds you can create some amazing structures. Here are some basic mechanisms you can employ. I may look into it more in future as I enjoyed making this very simple art journal pop up. Here are some other card ideas I have made before.
Hugs, Ceri
Xx
