New Challenge at Art Journal Journey

Hi Everybody!

Hope your weekend was good!

Today we are starting a new challenge at Art Journal Journey with the theme

'Masculine and feminine'. This  gives us a very broad scope to explore all aspects of what makes the sexes  different. We are born males or females,  but we are expected to develop into masculine or feminine. Is that the same? Are the traits which we ascribe to the sexes born in them, or do we learn them? What is expected of us? How does the other sex see us? What makes a man a man or a woman a woman? Do men have to be hard and rugged, cool, calculating, and smoke camel cigarettes or smoke pipes? Do women all have to be soft, fluffy, helpless and dependent on their menfolk? Is it possible, allowed or desirable to be a bit of both? This month we want you to show us all you can about this fascinating theme, to show us your ying and yang, to journal about what you think being masculine or feminine means.... You might want to just do pages about men, or about women, or both.  Whatever, let your imagination run riot and your creativity be boundless. Susi and I are looking forward to seeing what you make of this interesting theme.

For my first piece I glued some vintage book paper onto an A3 sheet and  painted it with gesso. I stenciled various motives using fired brick DI. The images of Daniel Craig  and Audrey Hepburn are from Andy Skinner. I printed 007 onto vintage book paper. I fussy cut the images and  glued them with mod podge. When they were dry, I added the black stenciling and doodling. 007 is always stereotype for the hard, cool and fearless man, Audrey Hepburn always played very feminine roles. Are women only allowed to be decorative, or can they pack a punch, too?  The quotes are from Oscar Wilde.

And a few photos from yesterday's walk - it was so cold and windy down at the Rhine today that I didn't even take my camera out of my pocket!

Love the light and shadow created by these leafy 'tunnels'

In the hospital garden:

And this one was growing by the wayside near the stream -

deadly nightshade. The flowers are always so pretty, though, and later the fruits look just like tiny tomatoes, although they are definitely not edible.

And these are the dark clouds which soaked me with rain and hail when I was on my way home:

Have a great day you all, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!