Today I want to introduce you to the muli-talented artist Caryl Park. She is from South Africa and we both share the same passion for Art Journals. I met Caryl on a South African craft website: in2crafts and fell in love with her work.
Hi Caryl and welcome. It is great to have you as my guest today!
Tell us about yourself.
My passion for art started from birth, and I always expressed myself through making and drawing things. I used to love gathering my younger cousins around me to ‘teach’ them how to draw faces or arrange flowers, early signs that I should have been an art teacher. But when I left school in Zimbabwe and wanted to go to Art School I was told to think about a ‘real job’ and so I went nursing. But this knawing desire to do art has never left me and in between anything else that I have ever done I have always done something creative.
In between various jobs I have taught everything from embroidery, decoupage, candle wicking, wall hangings, pewter, journal making, card making, stamping... you name it I have taught it.
Where did your love for art journaling start?
My passion for journals started in primary school. The silent generation forced me to find a place to express myself and that was in my diary. But as time went by my diaries became scrapbooks. Collecting all the things that made my heart sing then my journals became travel journals, when I started to travel around the world. Meeting different people collecting slips from restaurants, bus tickets, wine labels, writing on serviettes etc etc. I have so many travel journals and really enjoy them more than photos. Art Journals capture everything about an event where as in my opinion a photo is a snap shot. Painting pages without journaling, started in 1995 when I didn’t want anyone to read what I had written, I would express my emotions with pictures and paintings.
What are your favorite art materials to work with in your art journal?
Wow.... favourites... that’s a tough one. At home when I journal.. acrylics, stencils, Tombows and Prismacolor crayons. If I travel, Adel watercolours and Peerless watercolours.
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How would you describe your creative style and has it changed since your first art journal?
My creative style is Caryl. Yes it has changed a lot. My oil painting artwork tends to be impressionist sometimes realism, but I am going through a phase of loving contemporary art work which is coming through in everything I do. My paintings, encaustic work, pewter, and my journals. Right now with the internet being such a source of inspiration for so many, and we are inspired a lot by America artists, I really want to create something more earthy in my art journals and bring art journals back to Africa.
What does creativity mean to you?
Creativity – my whole life is about being creative. I don’t have a left brain at all. I am not a logical person everything about my life, is in the possibilities, the what if.
Are you a clean or messy art journaler?
Depends – in the past especially during my recovery from CPTS – complex post traumatic stress – my journals were a real mess but as my healing came so my art in every way calmed down and became more orderly. My colour palette changed, my handwriting changed, the content changed... I changed.
You recently launched Eezy Peezy Journals. Please tell us about it?
So many people have admired my journals over the years and drooled through the pages, making comments... ‘you are so incredibly talented, I wish I could to this’. So what was EASY PEASY for me wasn’t for other people. It has taken me over a year to design this product EEZY PEEZY JOURNALS to encourage anyone from 6 – 60 to keep an art journal. The kit contains 16 pages, 32 designs to colour with either crayons, watercolour crayons, watercolours, Tombows whatever is available. When the pages are all finished they are bound together into a journal with all the instructions in the kit. Also in the kit are journal prompts for children, teenagers and for adults, just to kick start the journaling process. If someone wants to use the journal for quotes there are two pages of quotes in the kit as well.
There will also be some new designs for sale in the new year which can be down loaded.
Where can we find you?
Where can you find me.... in my house ;o).... I work full time from home which is in Lonehill Johannesburg. I teach at Herbert Evans on a Thursday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. I do corporate workshops around the country and travel where ever the wind takes me. I am busy with a company in the Eastern Cape who want me to go down there to teach two workshops to their staff, team building. That’s going to be fun. I have to drive for 2 hours into the mountains somewhere!!!
My philosophy ... SHARE WHAT YOU LOVE, you can’t use it all, eat it all, or take it all !
Thank you so much Caryl! It was lovely to have you as a guest and I am sure you have inspired and will inspire many aspiring artists and art journalers all around the world!
Here are a few links to visit.
