Ode to a Grapefruit in Mixed Media

Yesterday morning, in the kitchen, I encountered a group of round, plump, beautiful grapefruits, I simply could not ignore these colors and decided to make them the topic of my journal . . . .

and of course my intent is to share a bit of the process, so here goes:
First - some photography.  Photoshop helps make multiples, so I can cut out parts and repeated patterns for borders:

Next, a watercolor of a sliced open fruit, then a scan and once again, photoshop magic to make multiples of the painting:

 

Then to the journal, the pages are already painted, so I chose the green pages, in order to contrast with the orange colors of the fruit:

 

I add some stenciling, I like the sectional theme of this one:

I gather my supplies, and play with the arrangement of papers I have made.  I will glue it all down using spray mount and a spray box outside -- okay, here's the paper is all attached:

Then I carve an eraser to use as a stamp to make some more patterning:

I like the flower it makes, even though I was thinking of the sections of the grapefruit when I carved it:

A little sewing never hurts either.  To get the journal through the machine, I often have to sew backwards.  I tie the ends of the thread on each side of the paper. 

Then I add some watercolor to hold the images down, shadowing the fruit and just make the elements hold together.  Finally, marker time!  Words, doodles, dots, playing with some lettering:

and the finished page -- photographed, painted, stenciled, stamped, marked, sewn, and written on: Mixed Media!  Hope this gave you some ideas for your journaling.

"And yet the artist will go on with his work without knowing in some way if any of his representations are sound or unsound. The artist knows nothing worth mentioning about the subjects he represents, and that art is a form of play, not to be taken seriously." --Plato