What is a Willa Journal?
Willa Journals grew out of a personal need that I had for a three things.
The first is that I was troubled by the huge pile of paintings on paper that were accumulating around me as I gave in to my passion for watercolor and mixed media art. What could I do with all of them if I wasn’t exactly in the mood for the hustle of trying to sell my art when the market seemed wildly oversaturated already?
The second thing is that I’m one of those people who loves to go to vintage flea markets and sales, but I never knew exactly what to do with the things that attracted my attention. Again, another pile of things to wonder about in my home . . .
And lastly, I have a passion for paper and paper products that has been a part of my life since I started collecting stationery and trading it with my friends when I was 10 years old. That interest eventually lead to my ownership of an award winning printing company in the fine stationery industry for 15 years. When I “retired” to become a full time stay at home mother to my three children, that passion didn’t exactly go away!
Then I saw my first “junk journal.” I was totally intrigued by the concept, but I wanted the books that I made to check off my boxes. I did a ton of researching into junk journals and different types of handmade books that were being created by artists all over the world.
My books wouldn’t end up including any “junk” at all, but rather “precious” things . . . pieces of my art, vintage papers, maps, music sheets and wallpapers, both old and new fabrics, nature dyed fabrics, and plenty of pristine new mixed media papers including Arches cold and hot pressed watercolor paper and Strathmore Mixed Media Paper.
I needed special books for my art journaling and mixed media art that were highly custom for my needs. And it turned out that other people needed them and liked them too.
And this is how the concept of The WIlla Journal was born.
ARt BooKs
Willa Art Books are not available for custom pre-order, but are made available from time to time on my Instagram page. If you are interested in creating your own journals and books, please subscribe to my newsletter for information regarding a potential future online workshop.
