I am still trying to figure out what media works best in my Journaling Bible. The pages have some sort of slick coating that makes working in it very interesting. With clear gesso applied to the page first, watercolor and watercolor pencils are good. That is, if I don’t use too much water. Sheer Heaven transfers are nearly impossible to use. That is a major bummer. I have tried using the Sheer Heaven transfers on the plain Bible page, on a gessoed page and even on a page sprayed with workable fixative. The plain page works best, the spindle on the left is a transfer of a sketch I made years ago. In the transfer the colors are dulled and tiny bits, almost like stippling of the design are missing. Transferring onto a gessoed page is an absolute disaster!!! The alcohol spritz to the Sheer Heaven paper interacts with the gesso (even if several days old and dried thoroughly) to create a slimy gooey mess. Luckily, I was able to spray the page with more alcohol and wipe the mess off. Transferring onto a Bible page sprayed with fixative is almost the same as plain, although not quite as much of the design transferred. Plus, fixative needs to be sprayed in a well ventilated space, inhaling it is bad for you, and it makes my Bible smell!! I think I am going to have to give up on moving previous artwork into my Bible using Sheer Heaven. Too bad, it’s a really great product that works wonders to transfer photos and scans of ephemera into my travel journals. On the bright side, Cheap Joe’s clear gesso, metallic ink pens, watercolor pencils and even a Wink of Stella brush pen played well together in the spread on the right margin. I love the sparkly metallic pens and the glittery Wink of Stella!!
Remember, faith works!
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