Just a quick FYI, since I've got questions:
My father was in the hospital Friday/Saturday, and then home and needing tending Sunday, so everything's backed-up. I started getting things back on track yesterday, and am working to send everything out today and tomorrow. Sorry for the delay!
{ lovely girl }
My newest thing is to draw/paint something every day outside my journal.
This is where keys, leashes, and, apparently, my one pup's HomeAgain tag hang just inside the doorway. Above, a painting I did today. I've decided I like painting faces and maybe shoulders. I can't draw feet. So that is what I'm going to paint. I prepped two vintage book covers yesterday for Monday & Tuesday's pieces.
{ etsy update }
This is the BIGGEST UPDATE of my etsy shop I've ever done!!!
As you know, I'm now doing art FULL TIME, so this is a major piece of my income.
Check out the original art journal bags, pendents, and FABRIC collage sheets!
I have a certificate for 3 FREE months of a PRO account on FLICKR. Check out the new additions to my Etsy shop, come back, and tell me what you think -- what do you like? Don't like? I'll choose someone from the comments randomly on MONDAY to receive the prize!
{in the studio}
This has been the first week since my leap to full-time artist/writer that I've been able to spend the day in my studio space (I do all the computer work for the 'zine on my laptop while binging on DVD box sets of TV shows).
First, I had to re-arrange my supplies. The shelves are on the other side of the room, and I got tired of getting up each time I needed a new color of paint or random paper scrap. My favorite supplies are now on my desk. There's my laptop and journal -- the printer's to the right of the laptop.
I thought it'd be fun to use fabric with pieces from my journal pages as embellishments on the Journal Bag I was working on today. I got some t-shirt fabric transfers from Wal-Mart and tried it out -- look at how awesome the journal pages transferred!!
I sewed the circles onto felt, then outlined the flowers. Under them is a journal page I finished a background on between layers and steps of projects (I work on several things at once to keep the juices flowing).
The felt "sticks" to the bag flap I painted this morning, so I can see the placement without having to sew anything down. To the left is another one of my bags; the underflap's painted, too! It's just waiting for some fun, swirly journaling. The flowers on the lighter bag will have stems and then will be journaled on.
So there you go! That was me, today. I also did some journal pages, and am now settling in for dinner and tonight's TV (my favorite show's on!!!) with my journal, some markers, and my laptop to work on some writing and a blog entry about the "theme" of my current journal.
{ a beautiful disaster }
It was about three weeks ago that I decided to work on art and the 'zine full-time, and in that time, I haven't blogged all that much, I know. As the deadline for the 'zine closed in, I became more and more absorbed by the work. I was suffering from that Gap, the one described in the video I posed a few days ago. I see art I love and want to re-create it, or create things that good -- and, well, I'm not there yet. So I agonized and tweaked things and, then, hit major writer's block. Big time.
You see, I forgot the one thing I'd learned a few years ago with my writing: aim to create a beautiful disaster.
It's an art in itself. I have a habit of over-thinking, over-researching, striving to write something people would think was wonderful, amazing, the best thing ever. So I'd think ahead, reading over my sentences and paragraphs, wondering if there was a better way to write what I was trying to say. You see, a little bit before this whole thing started, I'd written something for fun, a whim filled with all my favorite things that was really popular. More than my wildest dreams (okay, maybe about there). And as soon as that project was finished, I was faced with that problem of what do I do now? Feeling I'd let people down if I didn't outdo myself, I came to a halt. As of now, I've started the sequel three times and have yet to get past two chapters before I can't go any farther.
So I said to myself, "I'm going to make a mess." A total mess. Write scenes and toss 'em out. Do outlines that made no sense. Add notes in the middle of chapters. Write more than one version of scenes and such. Write things that have nothing to do with what I'm working on (right now, something that started as a writing exercise has morphed into a full project of its own!).
Funny that this philosophy took a little longer to make it into my art life. Considering the one "rule" of mixed-media and art journaling is there are no rules, a frame of mind geared towards many mistakes, messes, slips of paper, and inspiration from odd sources would seem to fit perfectly. Nope. Again, I was seeing things I loved, wishing I could create just as well, and, well, just generally over-thinking things. Afraid to "ruin" a background I'd spent a half-hour making, I'd move onto something else, hoping the "right thing" would come into my mind. I'd not use pens for fear of running out of ink.
I got over that. Sure. But I never incorporated things well. For example:
You see, I forgot the one thing I'd learned a few years ago with my writing: aim to create a beautiful disaster.
It's an art in itself. I have a habit of over-thinking, over-researching, striving to write something people would think was wonderful, amazing, the best thing ever. So I'd think ahead, reading over my sentences and paragraphs, wondering if there was a better way to write what I was trying to say. You see, a little bit before this whole thing started, I'd written something for fun, a whim filled with all my favorite things that was really popular. More than my wildest dreams (okay, maybe about there). And as soon as that project was finished, I was faced with that problem of what do I do now? Feeling I'd let people down if I didn't outdo myself, I came to a halt. As of now, I've started the sequel three times and have yet to get past two chapters before I can't go any farther.
So I said to myself, "I'm going to make a mess." A total mess. Write scenes and toss 'em out. Do outlines that made no sense. Add notes in the middle of chapters. Write more than one version of scenes and such. Write things that have nothing to do with what I'm working on (right now, something that started as a writing exercise has morphed into a full project of its own!).
Funny that this philosophy took a little longer to make it into my art life. Considering the one "rule" of mixed-media and art journaling is there are no rules, a frame of mind geared towards many mistakes, messes, slips of paper, and inspiration from odd sources would seem to fit perfectly. Nope. Again, I was seeing things I loved, wishing I could create just as well, and, well, just generally over-thinking things. Afraid to "ruin" a background I'd spent a half-hour making, I'd move onto something else, hoping the "right thing" would come into my mind. I'd not use pens for fear of running out of ink.
I got over that. Sure. But I never incorporated things well. For example:
A spread from my current journal. The page on the left was a background I loved, then just said, "What the hell?" and started working. There was a thought in my head and I started with one marker. Didn't like that. Used another. Didn't like that. Got a pencil. Bingo! Did I cry? Did I get angry and paint over the entire page? No! I just went with it. And now, I have this great page that's filled with all these attempts and colors that looks like a mess. Exactly what I was looking for!
The right-hand page is REALLY a mess. I started writing some prose in the middle (because I'm no longer afraid to write, just write, in an art journal). The next day, I was watching a movie and wanted to doodle, so I just started on this page. Then played with markers. A few days later, I got some new ink for my printer and thought the page looked cool, so ripped a piece and put it in. And finally, I had pretty new glaze I wanted to try, so I smeared it all over everything. There's not an even coat of paint, or a central image, but I love it nonetheless. It's messy. Has white space. Thrown together. And is one of my favorites.
My beautiful disaster.
So here's my challenge to you: make a disaster. The face of your journal will never be the same, if you do it right. Worse than your worst page. Throw caution to the wind. Be haphazard. Do all the things your art teacher or parents would gawk at. I promise, no one will ground you!
The right-hand page is REALLY a mess. I started writing some prose in the middle (because I'm no longer afraid to write, just write, in an art journal). The next day, I was watching a movie and wanted to doodle, so I just started on this page. Then played with markers. A few days later, I got some new ink for my printer and thought the page looked cool, so ripped a piece and put it in. And finally, I had pretty new glaze I wanted to try, so I smeared it all over everything. There's not an even coat of paint, or a central image, but I love it nonetheless. It's messy. Has white space. Thrown together. And is one of my favorites.
My beautiful disaster.
So here's my challenge to you: make a disaster. The face of your journal will never be the same, if you do it right. Worse than your worst page. Throw caution to the wind. Be haphazard. Do all the things your art teacher or parents would gawk at. I promise, no one will ground you!
{ what you're creating vs. what you like }
If you've never seen/heard Ira Glass' "This American Life," then you're missing out on some wonderful, captivating, human stories. Both are available on the website, and I wholeheartedly recommend taking even five minutes to watch or listen to something.
I found this video linked via Danny Gregory; it speaks to the fundamental frustration of all creatives, not just those in broadcasting/TV as mentioned. If you've ever been disappointed in a piece of your own creative work and constantly feel yourself falling short, watch. Please. It almost made me cry because it's so true.
{ seemingly unconnected moments... }
Inspiration for today's Tip o' the Day over on the Journal Girl ML; it's SO much easier to just update with tiny email bursts over there than to post to the blog, that, and twitter (which you can see over there on the sidebar). I've been working almost non-stop of the next issue of Page by Page to make sure it's available by the 15th -- and no orders until then! I made a promise and I'm sticking to it!
Ooo. Centered typing. I'm certainly having fun. Plus, it's looks so groovy on Art. Tea. Life.
The BIGGEST thing that has happened is that I've decided, despite crippling fear and that little voice in the back of my head saying, "You MUST be a responsible adult," decided to try this starving artist thing full-time.
Insane, right?
It's the result of a few things and a lot of thinking, pondering, and prayer on my part.
You see, after my article came out, a lot of people started asking me if I sold those bags. "No," I told them, "I never thought of that." And I hadn't. They were made for me -- I never thought other people would enjoy such colorfully embellished bags. I just like taking plain bags and beautifying them!
Anyway, a lot of people were like, "Make them!" And these were RL people who'd never seen my art before. Let me tell you what a glowing endorsement that was...all these people from my day-to-day life LOVING what I'd created (my "second mom," whom I've known since I was 3, read my article out loud to me and kept saying how well it was written!). All this over a tiny article!
All this got me pumped up. There's nothing I enjoy doing more than designing bags. I've been making my own for years, either from scratch or by tearing part existing ones to make new Frankenstein-like monsters of my own design! So, why not sit and design some and make them fun and colorful and not like anything else and do it inexpensively?
And this reminded me of a chance encounter last summer, at a darling stationary shop I love. I was wearing my first collage pendant, and the owner asked me about it. I said I designed it myself, and she was all ready to help me figure out how to sell them and everything! I didn't have the funds for supplies at the time, so I never pursued it, but have always wondered, "What if?"
And then there's all those little artist's papers I designed for fun. They're so fun to make, so why not make some more? The one above's a freebee one just for YOU! Follow the link to Flickr and click All Sizes to get the original hi-res version. I LOVE making papers and sharing them....almost as much as I love seeing what people do with them!
And all of these decisions come from tiny moments. Those seemingly unimportant flicks of half-observed words and decisions that change your entire world. Either you let them get you down or you get back up, make another, and keep living!
So there's me...I thought I was stuck, but I was the only one in my way. I just had to get out of my own way and jump. So what if I don't land on my feet? At least I tried!
love, kira