The answer is one of personal preference. I'm not a professional artist but I have created at least 100 Bible pages. I don't prep my pages. At. All. And I'm going to explain why. (I'm also including the fronts & backs of some pages so you can see what non-prepped pages look like!)
Reason #1: this Mama just ain't got the time! Seriously. It adds several steps with applying, waiting for the medium to dry, and cleaning your application tool. When I'm spending some precious time worshiping creatively, I just want to dive right in & spend as much time interacting with the Word as possible.
Reason #1: this Mama just ain't got the time! Seriously. It adds several steps with applying, waiting for the medium to dry, and cleaning your application tool. When I'm spending some precious time worshiping creatively, I just want to dive right in & spend as much time interacting with the Word as possible.
Reason #2: After using a matte gel medium to prep about a half a dozen pages, I found that it was more trouble than it's worth. It did prevent bleed through, I'll grant that. It left a slightly slick surface that was *not* friendly to erasing whatsoever. (And this girl knows how to work an eraser!) It would smear my black journaling pen too. That was the most frustrating part that after all my heart went into this page now the words were smeared. (I know other people have experienced the same.)
And as for bleed through? I just deal with it. Paints (the ones I use) do NOT bleed through. When a pen or stamp happens to, then I just use paint or an embellishment or a cardstock journaling spot to cover that up.
And if YOUR pen does bleed through? If YOU make a mess of the backside of page? Don't let this trip you up. Satan is looking for ways to deter you from enjoying your time with God and this is the perfect way for Him to do it. We all want to create something beautiful, but ultimately the goal is *worship* and for our hearts to grow in faith, not a museum-worthy work of art.
Again, it's really just personal preference and this is just what I do! Your mileage may vary. ;-)
Great points, Rebecca! Thanks for sharing your perspective!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I want to wish you the best with this new blog! God bless you all!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I want to wish you the best with this new blog! God bless you all!
ReplyDeletethank you. I was going to use clear gesso. I will try just watercolor paints and pencils and go with it.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of Journaling in my bible, I write notes all the time, but it seems like some mediums used are coving up portions of the word. Can you see them or is the camera making it look darker than it actually is?
ReplyDeleteCovering up not coving
DeleteI like the idea of Journaling in my bible, I write notes all the time, but it seems like some mediums used are coving up portions of the word. Can you see them or is the camera making it look darker than it actually is?
ReplyDeleteEvery medium I have tried I have been able to use it without blocking out the words completely. The only thing that I found that completely makes the words unreadable is black marker or pen.
DeleteGreat question! Most of the time I create my pages so you can still read the words. Even when I have colored over a lot of the page with a black colored pencil, you can still read the words through it. Some people use their journaling Bible is more of a piece of worship arts and don't mind painting over the scripture. It's somewhat of a personal preference!
ReplyDelete