Out and About: Travel and Journaling

The other day, Lia asked me about travel and art journaling; what do you bring outside your "comfort zone," as she called it. You certainly don't want to tote around your entire stash of supplies when you're off on a trip! Instead of answering in an email, I thought I'd write a post, as I'm sure others are wondering the same thing!

You certainly have to think about what you use the most, and then pare it down a bit into a small collection of supplies that can be easily thrown into a small case or bag.

Personally, I use a Bible case I grabbed at Tuesday Morning for about $5. I think it must be a deluxe one or something like that because of the outside pocket and purse strap (that broke, but the hooks are still there), but anyway. These cases are great because they're a good size and have at least two pockets inside for stashing supplies. You can get them at Barnes and Noble or...probably online or something.

Here are the supplies I carry in my Travel Case:

Children's Scissors: These are smaller but no less effective at cutting. :) Plus, they have the rounded tips, which are usually easier to get through any sort of security than regular scissors.

Double-Sided Tape: I love my Towboy tape. The case is small but the tape is mighty -- seriously. I've taped fabric and ribbon and such with this stuff!

Ink Pad: Now, I have a tan chalk pad in mine, but that's just personal preference. Ink pads are useful for edging/painting papers and allow you to use found things as stamps while away from home.

Art Eraser: Because you always need one.

Paint Pens: I have a few double-ended Permapaque pens in mine because they're fun to doodle with, cover well, and can paint a page in a pinch. They're great for adding detail and fun!

Gel Pens: I adore the 207 gel pens. I bought the pack that has all the colors and use them for writing journal entires in like-colors on collages. I used to write all my entries in black, but matching the background to the pen just...adds to it, I think. Anyway, have a few gel pens in there.

Pencil & Pen: Doesn't matter what kinds. Just have a pencil and a black pen for sketching. Sitting or standing and spending time on a sketch -- no matter how good or bad -- captures MANY MORE memories than just snapping a photo and moving on. It adds a personal touch to your journal and trip.

Assorted Papers: Under the zipper pouch, I have random papers from home. The kinds that I use a LOT -- found papers that I collage with. They're my favorite ones and are good starting points for a collage with stuff you pick up along the way.

Colored Pencils/Watercolor Pencils/Crayons: COLOR! Something to paint/color your backgrounds with since you're without your paint. Watercolor pencils/crayons are practically no-mess and you can find some water to spread the colors wherever you are. Pretty backgrounds are fun to collage over.

Masking Tape: Gotta work quick? Pull out the masking tape and tape that thing down!

There are other supplies you could put in your Travel Case, depending on what you use often. Before packing, work on a journal page and leave out all those things you find yourself reaching for over and over; this will help you recognize what you truly need and don't need. Don't over pack! The worst thing is to be carrying around a bunch of stuff you never use. Remember: you're journaling your trip -- your most important materials are found along the way and aren't found inside your case.

Don't think you have to go AWAY to use a Travel Case! I often tote mine outside or to friends' houses to journal and play away from my desk. Give yourself a mini-vacation and chronicle your journey! Sketch or collage while stuck waiting for a train. Waiting for your child at an after-school activity. Journaling doesn't have to happen where you have all your materials and can make the perfect page. You'd be surprised at what you can create with simple materials out and about in the world!

What would you carry that I haven't listed here?

two girls on the page

Looking through my entries, I noticed I haven't posted any journal pages recently. Here are a few from my new journal, a simple spiral bound collection of papers; I've been doing one page entries lately, so the spiral doesn't bother me as it would have as soon as a month ago.

I'm going through buckets of gesso. And I found a whole box of oil pastels in the basement. Instead of focusing on collage, I'm giving more time/space to doodles and hand-done embellishments.

This journal's become more letters to myself than a journal of my surroundings (though there are pages with sketches of a few events I've gone to). I feel more connected with this journal and find myself talking with myself on its pages. There's all sorts of stuff in here, and nothing's too "small" to go on a page.

It all started when I did the entry on soul conversing. Ever since then, my inside self has been wanting to talk, and I, being a silly girl, gave her a pen...

Artistic Alchemy

*blushes* My self-imposed internet/computer break has been dotted with wonderful little emails from Page by Page readers giving me amazing feedback and psyching me up for the next issue (despite me saying I was taking August off!). Reading about how the articles and artwork has inspired others to dive into their journals makes me grin and feel like a glowing teacher watching over busy and excited students. So much so that I'm researching some space near my home in which to hold my own, independent workshop sometime this fall. It'll be hard, not being connected to an established organization, but I remember this one piece of advice from an article in Somerset Studio; "Even if no one shows up to the first workshop, keep going!"

Lia traded me a copy of Teesha Moore's Play; what a fantastic visual treat! This one had a piece on the different types of journals; it felt like a permission slip to carry various notebooks/journals with me instead of limiting myself to just one or another. I've three, now, if my planner counts as one.

My Moleskine's become a valuable tool. When bored or needing something distracting, I clip images from magazines and tape them onto the pages at random. Want to draw something? I sketch. Ideas work their way up from there. Lists. It's become my repository, just as my first visual journal did. Yes, longer entries and pretty things go in my art journal, but this one's more relaxed. I've missed working in a Moleskine!

I've been thinking, lately, that my artistic self is divided in two. On one side is the older me, the one that started drawing what I saw, writing and doodling in a Moleskine, using only a pen as my tool. The other is younger, more colorful and playful, hands grabbing for pretty paints and papers. Last night, I attempted to pull the two together.

The background is a collage of found papers and fabric, atop it is an illustration I sketched out earlier in the week in my Moleskine. The combination didn't work as I imagined, but I'm determined to figure this out through a series of experiments in my art journal. When something doesn't work, I'll move onto another. The journal entry around the girl speaks of all this, of my plans to truly sit with my journal and play, to experiment, to make marks with purpose.

This is a new, welcome surprise in my art. I remember when I started, I wondered how people thought in visual terms -- my brain couldn't do the translation. Now, I feel more comfortable expressing myself through art than words, and the translation comes as second nature. Now, instead of sitting down with my journal and just playing around, I have real ideas. True ideas that need to come out.

It's amazing! By persevering with my art, wow...I can actually see the growth, the expansion. Feel it.  I'm loving it!

My two sides. While the paint was drying on the illustration, I played on the left-hand page. When finished, I liked that one more. Maybe if I combined the background technique from the left with some sort of illustration on the right....?

Summertime Musings

I had some centering issues with the 'zine cover, so they'll be sent out Monday; I'm spending the weekend painting, stamping, and collaging the envelopes, as well as addressing them. ;) Hopefully, it won't be as sweltering tomorrow!

I'm slowly returning to the land of the two-armed. It doesn't hurt as much to type, paint, or write, so I've been taking small spaces of time to work on things...small little projects that can be completed in short amounts of time so I feel accomplished. My journal has a few new entries, and a few more pages in-progress, and my book for Michelle's just about finished.

My journal entries have become more personal lately, in that the imagery isn't just there to be pretty, but has meaning. I love how I've progressed as an artist to this point, where I can see an image and apply it to how I'm feeling. My mother asked me to explain my pages, and I actually could. That amazed and thrilled me. It's taken awhile, but I've finally found my voice -- and made it strong.

Lately, I've been itching to make altered art pendants. I'd buy Sally Jeans' "Pretty Little Things" if I weren't so poor right now (being off work for two weeks does that to you, or rather, your bank account!), so I'm kinda going it on my own. There were some in a cute shop I visited a few weeks ago that ended up being $25 each, to which I said, "I could make my own."

Well...I don't have much experience with jewelry. My mother beads, making fantastic belts and headbands with Navajo beads collected in her youth, but me? Not so much. Remember...I'm relatively new to this art thing.

I THINK I got the right materials. And when I got home, I made these two beautiful mirror pendants. Yes, they're tiny mirrors with vintage roses in them. They're delicate, as they're prototypes, but they're so fun and pretty....I have MANY more images to throw in there. And wire and glitter and all sorts of things. I knew I'd gotten it right when I went to take a picture from above with flash and got a huge lens flare.

*grins* I'm planning for my first class in my new mini-binder, going through all the techniques and such I use in order to journal and trying to work them out into teachable chunks.

Next up, the empty cigar boxes in the garage. I can't wait to get my hands on them and transform them into pretty purses or storage boxes. Being as I can't do much, I've spent waaay too much time online looking at photos...I found fantastic ones of interiors and now want to re-do my entire room with lace and afghans and wallpaper scraps. There are already pieces of art all over the place....now I need to do something pretty with the empty space! Or paint!

And last weekend, my sister-in-law commissioned a HUGE painting for her bedroom! She saw this piece of mine sitting in the foyer and loved it; she said she'd love to have something like it in her bedroom, then said she'd like it about 22"x32". I'm going to have to get some new paint; perhaps I can find the colors I need at Home Depot, in the oops! paint. They sell those for $1 a quart -- that'd be more than enough! I can just imagine standing outside, bare feet brushing a drop cloth as I swish paint across a canvas in the sunlight.

Hey -- a girl can dream, right? And if recent events have proven anything, it's that they can come true.

On Journals

I go through a LOT of journals. I think I’ve only gone through and filled two journals out of the ten I have in my bottom drawer (where my journals go to hide; letting people online read them is different than, say, the people in my life). Of all, only the first wasn’t blank – it was a lined Moleskine originally used for writing and poetry (the end of the teenage years) that slowly but surely began to be filled with magazine clippings and movie stubs. And then watercolors and drawings.

So when I finished that one, I decided to go to plain paper. Who wants to follow the lines, anyway?

I have hand-made journals, spiral notebooks, bound sketchbooks. Some contain five entries, others, twenty. I think there’s one on my desk that doesn’t have any – I just felt like making a journal, and when I finished, didn’t feel like working in it.

For me, a journal has to fit me, or who I perceive myself as, when I’m working in it. It’s the same with whatever bag/purse I’m carrying (I am a HORRIBLE bag whore, with a collection well over 50 and nearing 100). This works off the same principle as clothes influencing your mood – wear nice, sharp, well-fitting clothes, and you’ll feel more confidant.

My journals change with my moods and styles. When I grew sick of vintage images, I changed journals as I didn’t want to page back to see what I was leaving behind. Yes, it is important to remember and review past work, but changing journals does nothing to prohibit that. I can pull them off a shelf. Or, as I’ve begun snapping photos of all my entries, scroll through the folders in iPhoto.

A new journal is like a new beginning. New techniques and compositions beg for a new, more-fitting container. When I began using chalk pastels, I needed rougher, textured paper for them to spread better on. With acrylics, I needed to shelve the watercolor paper. Things change. Ebb and flow.

New, left-handed Kira art is different than oil pastels and layers Kira; despite just finishing a new journal a few weeks ago, I needed something different. This one, though, wasn’t chosen for the paper. It was chosen for the binding, for the number of pages, but mostly, the cover. And it was cheap.

But lined.

I did a stint in an altered children’s chapter book. The cover was adorable, the illustrations magical. But I couldn’t stand the fact that I’d have to gesso every page I wanted to work on; it took away from the spontaneity I was experiencing at the time. So it lasted a week, I think, before I shelved it and started using the pages as collage fodder.

Now, I prime every page, even those in blank journals. I can’t stand the stark white page and prefer to work on beige-tinted pages, something I picked up from Sabrina Ward Harrison’s spilled colors and collaged papers. Random, childish pencil marks look better to me on something less…bright and blank. I even started throwing in pinks and blues, giving subtle pastel hues to my pages. Of course, this came from using oil pastels, as mine don’t dissolve on regular paper very well.

But times change, you see? So now I have a cute lined journal I adore, a return to my roots, so to say, with about four spreads primed and ready (I would have done more, but a. my first batch revealed how thin the paper is and came out of the book, and b. my shoulder was an inferno after that and the next batch, and c. I am officially out of gesso). 

Here are the key things I look for when choosing a journal:

+ Sewn Binding. This means the book lies flat. If you look at the top of the spine, you can see the folded signatures. If the book is glue bound, like paperbacks, you just see the glue and no folds. These books annoy me to no end; they don’t lie flat unless you crack the spine, and the page on the left of your spread will have a big hump.

+ Sturdy Cover. Not a huge fan of floppy covers. I’m usually working on my lap, so I need a hard surface.

+ Size. I discovered what size I like through tons and tons of experimentation. I started with a 5” x 7” journal, but always did two page spreads. I went to 8.5” x 11” but it’s too big to really carry everywhere. I’m a bit under, now, about 10” x 7” or something (I haven’t measured). No little ones for me anymore!

When looking for a journal, think about what you’ll use in it, what you like, but mostly, when you pick it up off the shelf, close your eyes, hug it closely to your chest, and pay attention to how it feels, how it connects to your heart. THAT’S the real way to find your journal.

Speaking of journals, here’s the one I made. It’s up for the taking, as the pages are too narrow for me. Coptic bound by hand with a vintage book cover (the inscription inside said it was a Christmas present from 1892). The paper’s perfect…nothing leaks through it, it’s smooth and thick and wonderful. Up on Etsy.

Born from Necessity...and happy happenings!

I think there comes a time in every creative's life when they must go with the flow and acclimate or simply stop.

The first time I came to one of these forks in the road was back at the beginning of high school, when I was first diagnosed with FMS and had stomach problems so severe, I was popping prescription-strength anti-nausea pills three times a day (and always worried, being as I like to follow the rules, that they'd discover I was carrying prescription medication in my bag). Several changes had to take place in my life, and I could either make them and life around my problems, or refuse and stop living.

Perhaps my current injury isn't as bad as back then (as things came on as result of an injury; I sprained my entire leg and was in a immobilizer and walking with crutches for weeks), but I wasn't painting and collaging and such. I'm right handed and enjoy writing by hand, painting, cutting things out, those sorts of things. Constructing these blog entries takes awhile as I need to rest every so often.

A quick non sequitur to say thank you, oh so much, for all your kind well-wishes! I cherish all the positive energy! I went to see the doctor again; she's put me on another batch of steroids. She thinks there's an pinched nerve in my shoulder caused by inflammation, and if this new batch doesn't relieve the pain, I have to get an MRI and see an orthopedic surgeon. Yipes! MRI's are nothing -- I've had 'em before -- but I might have to get surgery and THAT'S scary. At least insurance is paying for it. And did you know they don't sell slings at Walgreen's anymore?

Ahem. Anyway, because of all this, I can't really paint with a brush. I've begun cutting things out (of my new issue of Martha Stewart Weddings, cause I LOVE the beautiful dresses and flowers!) and have some double-sided tape so I don't have to brush on any sort of glue -- I've forgotten how much I LOVE double-sided tape. And some colored pencils.

And painting with my left hand! I drip acrylics on the page and smear them around with my left hand until they "dry." I'm LOVING this new discovery, this new method -- I love how it looks and the messy backgrounds I can create over collaged pages or just atop my tinted gesso pages. I mix a little of color with gesso and spread it all over my pages....it makes it easy to work on and takes away that White Page Fright.

Yesterday, I was looking through the cards in my mom's copy of The Art Box and came upon Frida Kahlo's. Her painting spoke to me; I first became interested in Frida's work after reading the card on her in Randi's "Wide Open." I was intrigued by the art she did based on Frida's and always wanted to seek out more.

The card mentioned at the bottom that Frida suffered from spinal problems later in life and was bedridden. But she continued to paint despite extreme pain. I stopped and reflected, inspired. Frida's didn't let pain stop her, so why was I? Yes, my mother had been hounding me to take it easy, but weren't there other ways I could use to create? Wasn't a little shoulder burning okay as long as I paced myself?

I hope to explore more themes around Frida and her art, as well as my new methods born from necessity.

And now for some exciting news!

Look! That's me, after getting out of the pool, holding up the master copy of Page by Page! It's SO AMAZING to hold it in my hands after the last month! I learned InDesign by fire; I had to teach myself as I created the spreads and can't BELIEVE I did it! I am so proud of this publication, I'm giddy! Here are some sample spreads.

There are still 3 pre-order slots left over at my etsy shop.

Remember when I talked about  creating Inspiration Packs?  Page by Page started as a little hand-out to go with the packs of collage materials and kinda grew...but I wasn't going to abandon the Inspiration Packs! Here's a photo of the Large Size's contents:

There's fabric, papers, graffiti paper, transparent vellum, ephemera, foreign papers, punchella, random bits, doodle labels, and more! It all comes in a pretty, spray-painted plastic envelope. I currently have 4 available for $14 plus shipping. Let me know if you're interested!

And now, I'm off to read my copy of Artful Blogging, pet my own 'zine, and watch me some "Monk" and "Psych."

Have a fantastic, creative weekend!!!

<3 Kira

New, new, new! I like NEW DISCOVERIES!

Oh! Have you ever been working on so much, your brain just boils over? AIEEE! I received an email today from someone who requested a file from me WEEKS ago wondering where I went -- I have been so overrun by projects and such, I completely forgot! And here I thought my email filtering system was good enough to keep stuff like that from happening!

*waves* to all my new visitors! Feel free to look around and pester me with all sorts of questions -- I'm now checking my email & flickr comments more carefully and promise to not miss much! *laughs*

A bit of business. Tomorrow is the LAST DAY FOR PRE-ORDERS. The 'zine's off to the printer next week, and honestly, I don't know how I'll ever decorate this many envelopes for all the pre-orders -- I suspect a weekend spent outside on a drop cloth with spay paint and my new stencils. ;) I cannot WAIT to get all of them pretty and stamped and ready to go!

And yes, the 'zine is accepting submissions for our fall issue. If you've anything art-journal related, email me!

Uggg! I went to get my x-rays done (yes, still with this shoulder/neck thing from LAST MONTH), and THIS time, they wanted me to wait because my registration from Monday expired. It wasn't my fault they wouldn't let me get them then! They wanted me to wait 40 MINUTES!! ARG! I'm SO going in before work tomorrow to GET THEM DONE because I WANT this shoulder to get better because I can't paint for long! *laughs* Of course, I could use this as a time to experiment with doing art with my non-dominant hand. You know, I was ambidextrous when I was little?

Look what my dad found in the print shop today!

Isn't it COOL? They're lead letters from an old press (his print shop is closing). There are at LEAST three fonts in there -- I found an & that is TOTALLY FUN! He found some rubber-based ink, too, and this weekend, I am having tons of fun stamping them. I was also thinking about drilling through the lead and making charms out of them. Wouldn't they be CUTE? Now I just need to get my own press. OMG I would DIE if I got a letterpress. That stuff is AWESOME.

Nancy's cracker-box tutorial yesterday reminded me that I've ALWAYS wanted to bind a journal that way, so I got out some book board and FANTASTIC paper I found -- OMG, let me tell you! It's 90lb. card stock that's SMOOTH and everything writes on it perfectly and my Sharpies -- I cannot LIVE without my Sharpies! -- DON'T LEAK THROUGH THE PAPER! Do you know how RARE that is?!

So, I totally had to make my own. I covered the board with wallpaper and then played with some stencils I got at Michael's this afternoon. Half my colors are missing, though, and my purple wouldn't work! I really have to get NEW paint because some of mine have been out there for YEARS. I really want to get rose and a pretty green....I figured out how to make two-colored stuff...it is SO fun! *G* I need to get an apron, though, because last time I got spray paint on me, it didn't wash off for a WEEK!

Here is the journal I made! I added pretty reddish end papers to it. I don't like how far apart the signatures are, but it seems like the journal will grow into it's cover.

Here's a tip for working with bookboard: you ALWAYS want to cut WITH the grain. How do you figure that out? Try "bending" it. Whichever way bends easier, that's what you want to cut AGAINST. If you've made a journal and the covers bow out all funny, that's why -- keep this in mind. It was news to me when I first learned bookbinding.

I totally had to SPILL yesterday. My brain's FRIED from all the tiny details I've had to go back and fix -- Dawn, how do you design books without going insane?! -- so I took a break and just went all CRAZY on the page. My desk ALWAYS suffers after this, though, because I can't SPILL without making a MESS. Then again, I LOVE that kind of CHAOS! I want to keep my work area messy for a bit longer so I can SPILL in my new journal with it's pretty paper.

This week, I got an idea to make my OWN PLANNER. Like, design the pages and get it bound and such. I am TOO CRAZY sometimes -- just when things are slightly slowing, I think up something new!

And next week, I have an interview to be an assistant producer for an educational series. WHEE! I'm SO STOKED! Wish me luck!

*waves* Love you ALL!

<3 Kira

adventures in print-making

I haven’t been working in my journal as much as usual this week as my ‘zine’s eaten my brain…I’ve been teaching myself InDesign while laying out the ‘zine, and, well, it’s trial by fire. Thankfully, I’ve got the design down and am to the point where I’m doing little tweeks here and there in order to get it ready. Because the printing equipment I’ll be using is being swapped out next week, the ‘zine will be printed not this Monday, but next Monday and in the mail by that Wednesday. We just heard today that this was happening, and I’m sorry for the delay.

I did decide to include a few cut-out sheets at the back to help facilitate the journal prompts I have in there, part to make the ‘zine more fun, part to say I’m sorry for the delay!

And I must say, I am OVERWHELMED and so FLATTERED by how many pre-orders I’ve gotten! I never expected such a response and love each and every one of them! I have a stack of envelopes that I’ll be decorating for mail art this week for each one of you!

Onto business! Or play, I should say!

I’ve been experimenting with different materials and methods lately, feeling a little closed in by established practices. And I’ve always wanted to try the printing tutorial in Claudine Helmuth’s second book.

Gum Arabic is expensive, but on my last trip to Carolina Moon, I found some in powdered form for less than $4 dollars and couldn’t put it down. Today, I caved and got the linseed oil and a tube of dark grey oil paint and got to work.

I decided to start with something simple, so I used the silhouette image I’m in love with since it’s solid black.

I don’t have a spray bottle, real brayer, or any of the paper she said to use in the book, so I made do with my hands, my hand made brayer, and freezer paper. It worked out very well when I transferred it to some vellum bristol paper, so I wanted to use a more complicated image.

This is my niece from a few years ago. I edited it with Photoshop (just desaturate your image, boost the contrast and lower the brightness…you can do this in iPhoto and Elements, too) and printed it on a laser printer. I transferred it the same way and look how well it came out! Now THIS is something I’ll be doing a lot more of in the future. Next, I want to transfer to some canvas I colored and striped.

Phew! I’m looking forward to the weekend! I’m going to spend it relaxing and taking a bit of a break from my projects!

Oh! The art journal mailing list is organizing a supply/journal page/act of kindness mail art package swap thingy. If you’re interested, click the link up over there on the right and join the list. We don’t bite!