Saturday, December 29, 2018

Year of the Dragon


By now, I'm sure everyone is probably aware that Bleubeard and I are hosting Art Journal Journey this month.  I chose 'Tis the Season for this spread.  Today we honor the biggest holiday in the Chinese culture.  It is their New Year.

I guess you can tell I painted this on the left side of the hearts I showed yesterday. 

Yes, this is the Year of the Dragon.


Actually, the last Year of the Dragon was 2012 and the next one is 2024.  That's why I was so confused when the USPS (postal service) issued Year of the Dragon postage stamps.


For this page, I began by swiping a used file folder with reds and yellows using a faux gift card.   I found the dragon in an obviously old magazine that used very thin paper.  Thus, the image had a tendency to buckle, even though I used a very dry glue stick.  I added the torn joss paper with its gold my camera hated, then the words over another piece of joss paper, and the wonderful "German scrap" lanterns my friend Cindy sent me years ago.

Thank you for joining Bleubeard and me today and we also hope to see you at Art Journal Journey.

19 thoughtful remarks:

Valerie-Jael said...

Wonderful page, colourful and fun. Have a great day, Valerie

chrissie said...

An amazing page Elizabeth with the Chinesse celebration colours.

Have a great day

Love Chrissie xx

RO said...

What a great page, and I love the gold so much! Hugs...RO

froebelsternchen said...

This is a simply AMAZING page - I love the gold so much ... beautiful details Elizabeth!
Wishing you a happy last Saturday in 2018 !
You really made this month at AJJ UNIQUE!
Thank you so very much !
Big hugs, Susi

CJ Kennedy said...

A really beautiful page. It would make great gift wrap

Let's Art Journal said...

What a bright and happy page! I love your Year of the Dragon design and how you have layered together the elements, they look perfect and so opulent with the gold and red - beautiful 😁. Happy weekend and sending happy and creative wishes for the New Year! J 😊 x

Jeanie said...

I was wondering but hadn't looked up the new year yet. Very perfect!

My name is Erika. said...

This is a really cool page. I love the gold Joss (?) paper piece and the lanterns. And the dragon. One of these days I would love to go to a New Years parade and see the big paper dragons. Oh someday. And to clarify, my kitchen cabinet (from my last post) is still full of mismatched pieces. I only got rid of the ones I never used and were taking up space-like the melamine plates my daughter had in college that somehow ended up in my cabinet. I actually like mismatched things on the table. Just so you don't think you'd be the only one eating off paper plates. Smile. Happy Saturday. Hugs-Erika

Sami said...

Beautiful page Elizabeth, love the gold touches.
Have a wonderful New Year.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Wow, this is just fantastic. Love this dragon.

Divers and Sundry said...

I love your composition and the color you used in this page. I remember when Mother's birth year was too long ago to appear on the list on placements in Chinese restaurants. That was such a strange feeling for us. I guess people just associate the Chinese Zodiac more with dragons, so maybe that was why they used it. We're in the year of the dog right now, aren't we? That's just not as striking a figure for those stamps as a dragon, I guess.

Cindy McMath said...

Wow this is gorgeous! I love the colours and the gold - it’s perfect for the subject you chose.

sheila 77 said...

Another of your great original ideas, Elizabeth. The gold show up just fine.
I wonder why we like dragons so much? - as they are supposed to be be fierce and blow fire at us. Maybe we are fascinated by their beauty and never see a live one right in front of us.
Hope you are having a great in-between Christmas and New Year time.

Meggymay said...

Wow, this looks awesome. I love the opulence of the gold papers and all the other details. It's a great festive celebration page for Chinese New Year.
Yvonne xx

pearshapedcrafting said...

I love this tribute to Chinese New Year! The colours are perfect for your page...even the camera hating gold! Hugs, Chrisx

aussie aNNie said...

So beautiful, the pages, the colours and the tribute for all to see...lovely.xxx
Happy New Year my lovely .xxx

craftytrog said...

Wow! It's a fabulous Chinese new year spread, wonderful colours and images!
Alison xox

Eileen Bergen said...

Wonderful page, Elizabeth! Every piece is so appropriate. I love the gold accents. Happy Year of the Dragon! Hugs, Eileen

2amscrapper said...

what a wonderful page!