Earth Rhythms & Morphscapes

I absolutely love how this spread in Su's "Earth Rhythms & Morphscapes" came out! Again, focusing on new techniques, I went with Scratch Art which I had never tried before. I had the scratch art special paper--shiny black gloss, but when you scratch the surface, holographic paper is revealed. What fun!

My first ideas centered around making a scratch art spirit animal, but alas, I can't draw--even if it is just scratching. So, I began to journal about things that are "me"--where I was born, significant people, places and events in my life as I grew up. In no time, I had enough words to fill several pages. then I started by simply writing the words in free-form swirl patterns across the pages. The technique is so simple and I really like the way the flow of the curves played right into Su's theme of Earth Rhythms.

By the way, you can actually make your own scratch art paper by coloring a piece of cardstock with crayons (no white showing). Press hard to get a good layer of color. Then paint the entire sheet of cardstock with black tempera paint mixed with a drop of liquid dish soap (2 tablespoons paint to 1/4 teaspoon dish soap). Allow the paper to dry completely, then use toothpicks to scratch. Give it a try!