Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Lyrical Space Angst Art Journal Spread

 Hello! I sure hope everyone is doing well. I'm managing to live with my constant neck and hip pain, considering it's a crap shoot each day upon waking what I aggravated while I slept, not to mention what I aggravate while awake, LOL. My diet and exercising are going well and Honey continues his love affair with his air fryer. His chicken wings are da bomb! :-)
 Today I'm sharing a spread in my Little Book of Wisdom journal that focuses on two now-classic rock songs about space exploration and the human angst of it: David Bowie's Space Oddity and Elton John/Bernie Taupin's Rocket Man. I've been planning this spread for a while and with the recent Jeff Bezos rocket launch I was motivated to work on it when I had moments of time here and there. It's my opinion that these 2 song lyrics are very special, because after researching the songs and interviews with the songwriters, I learned that both songs are based on past works of art, yet also describe the human costs of the (then) Space Race as well as make insights about the future of space exploration. That's amazing! Past, Present AND Future? Yes, when taken together, their cumulative effect does just that for me. So I wanted to document and remember these songs along with what I learned about them. 
The spread closed. I made hinges on each outer side to hold fold-outs so I'd have room for the song lyrics and hidden journaling. American Craft stickers for the titles and the years were cut with Lawn Fawn Quinn's 123's dies on Lavinia patterned paper. I used washi tapes liberally to border and cover the hinging.
   
Close-ups, click on to see larger. The hinged shutter layers are smooth black card stock on which I ink blended Opalite reinkers with a sponge and then splatter-sprayed liberally with Heidi Swapp white Color Shine spray ink.
The spread opened up. Lyrics for each song were printed on Lavinia patterned papers and then adhered with washi tape to form pockets for tags with hidden journaling. The base pages of the spread's center were painted with black gesso and then sprayed with Heidi Swapp white Color Shine spray ink.
   
Left hand hinge and tag pulled out. Prima star stenciling with Versamark and white embossing powder, then Distress inks blending over that.
   
Right hand hinge and tag, same stencil and ink technique as left hand tag. My journaling is on the backs of the tags.
Space Oddity side... I learned that Bowie wrote this song after coming out of the movie theater having just watched 2001: A Space Odyssey, a movie largely based on Arthur C. Clarke's 1951 short story The Sentinel. Bowie's Major Tom is so poignant: a major celebrity on Earth, but once out in Space, just another particle of matter whose fate we never really know. Fame and it's effects were often Bowie's subject matter. This song was the first to hint at the human cost of leaving the bonds of Earth.
Rocket Man side... My HUGE respect for Bernie Taupin's lyrics began when I read that he wrote them right after reading Ray Bradbury's 1951 short story, The Rocket Man (which you can also read for free by clicking on the link). Taupin has said in multiple interviews it was his attempt to put that story into song. I've known the lyrics for decades, but until I read Bradbury's story, I never really understood them. I urge you to read it! It's short and hauntingly poignant. And Taupin's lyrics are genius!
The main art journal spread. Teesha Moore collage sheet images and images found on internet and printed, Moodtape, Altenew and Deep Red Stamp stamps, some of the planets die cut with Altenew and Spellbinder dies that fit them.
Close-up of middle left...
Close-up of middle right...
And a final view of the front closed again. Thanks so much for visiting and being patient with this photo-laden post. Until next time, Stay Well and Craft On! XOX

MY CHALLENGES PLAYLIST:
2.   Cut It Up #232: Space -- #1/1 Dies used: numbers (Lawn Fawn) planets (Altenew & Spellbinders); tags (Sizzix)
3.   Lost Coast Portal to Creativity #128: (Human) Face On -- #1/xx I hand-stamped and included human faces.  
5.   TTCRD 8/24-8/31: AAG -- #1/2
7.   Scrapping4Fun #199: More than 2 Layers -- #1/1 other than a card  

17 comments:

CA Scrapper said...

Wow, that is very cool. Thanks for joining our Space challenge at Cut It Up.

Leslie

craftytrog said...

Fantastic pages Aimeslee! I will check out that link, thanks.
Alison

ahlers5 said...

What a cool project. You certainly have saved up a lot of space images. I hope you feel better soon. I'm having hip problems now and I have no idea what started that up.

Neet said...

There's nothing better than a photo laden post for me. This is fantastic. - a real work of art, it must have taken ages to complete.
I love the engineering aspect of it particularly. Anything that opens up like this is a win win in my book.
Thanks for a fantastic and most interesting post that you have linked to my theme at Art Journal Journey.
Hugs, Neet xx

craftycreationsbydebbie said...

This is just amazing, the amount of work that you have put into this! Thank you for joining in with our challenge at TTCRD. Debbie DT

My name is Erika. said...

I love how you combined songs and space. What a fabulous spread. Thanks for sharing this with us Aimeslee. I really like what you created. hugs-Erika

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I was blown away by the artwork, the songs, and spaceflight, a dream of mine. I also love how you created the hinged spread in this book. It is wonderful. I can tell you put a lot of thought and research into this.

I was mentioning today to another blogger that although I grew up in the 80s, my friends told me I was born a decade too late, because I love all the classic rock music for the late 60s and 70s. I love both of these songs you highlighted in the journal. And I had already read the Bradbury's Rocket Man, so was aware of the connection between the song and the short story.

This was a brilliant entry you gave us at Art Journal Journey using Neet's theme. It's as bright and bold as the sun itself.

Cut It Up Challenge Blog said...

What a fantastic post and an amazing project! I'm glad you got to put your thoughts down into such a creative outlet. Thanks for sharing the story and your process. I'll be off to read Bradbury's The Rocket Man right now.

Thanks for sharing your Space project with us at Cut it Up!

Evelyn
http://mylittlecraftblog.wordpress.com

Scrapping4funChallenges said...

Fabulous art journal pages and layers! Hope you feel well soon! I had some back pain for a while and 4 weeks ago I hardly could walk! Take care!
Thank you for your entry at Scrapping4funChallenges
Hugs
Rachelle DT
https://scrapping4funchallenges.blogspot.com
https://rachellescreations.blogspot.com

Kinjal Trivedi said...

This is magnificent work! I have never seen anything like this and it's truly amazing how you took the inspiration and turned them into art. Thank you for playing in our challenge and excited to see you again. Hugs, Kinjal Trivedi - Crafter's cafe challenge blog

Monica C. said...

I love journal pages and your artwork here is beautiful. I love how you have depicted the songs and thank you for sharing the details about them.
Hugs Monica

Sue said...

This is fabulous Aimeslee, beautifully done!I love both of these songs as they were part of my youth lol. Thanks so much for joining in with our challenge at Lost Coast Designs and have a very happy weekend, Sue xx

Laurie said...

This is truly an amazing little work of art you have created, honoring two fantastic songs. Loved reading about how and why the songs were written. Wonderful layout, colors, and images. Really so imaginative. Thanks for joining the Lost Coast Design Challenge

Meggymay said...

Fantastic pages Aimeslee. I have enjoyed reading your post and seeing all the photos you posted to go with your art. Sorry I haven't been calling in so much lately, its enough to face each day. Thank you for linking your inspiring art with Neet's theme at AJJ.
I hope you are feeling a loy less pain soon.
Yvonne xx

Elkes Lebensglück said...

Fantastic pages!Great idea!
Have a happy weekend, Elke

candio said...

Great book project! Thanks for playing along with the challenge at Lil Patch of Crafty Friends! DT Candace

ionabunny said...

Wow, awesome layouts. So cool. Thanks for joining the fun at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity Challenge! Hugz