journal ADD

I have finally figured out why I’ve gone through so many journals in the last two months.

You know how it goes; you find one, fall in love with it, and after doing a few entries, find it’s flaws; the soft cover’s beautiful, but you can only work in it on a table. The notebook’s easy to use, but things fall out easily. The small spiral works great, but the pages aren’t big enough.

But the true quest is much deeper: finding or creating perfection on the outside will help create “perfection” on the pages. We believe the journal itself has magical qualities, ones that, when you’re matched with your paper soul-mate, your true artistic self will appear and every journal page you create will be beautiful, true, and loved.

It’s much like our lives. We look in the mirror and think, “If only I were thinner or prettier, life would be so much easier.” We hide our flaws under loose clothing or dark eyeliner, hoping to distract the eye from the flaws you believe your body to posses. If only you had money to get the better clothes, or the nice haircut, or maybe the time to diet…

We look to these outside things instead of working on our souls. Deep inside, that is where the real work and growth can and will happen. Your outsides, your body, is only a vessel to help you move and work in the physical world – why do we give it so much sway over our minds and hearts? Does it truly matter if you LOOK a certain way, or KNOW your own truth?

Have you ever noticed how some people just seem to glow? It doesn’t matter what they’re wearing or how they look; the world is attracted to them. It is because their soul is shining through their skin, radiant and beautiful in its truth and growth.

It is the same with our journals. Have you ever seen a page or pages you love and thought, “If I had a journal like that, maybe my pages will look better.” I know I have. Instead of focusing on the insides, we’re worrying about the type and kind of journal we use!

Pour all that energy onto the page! Focus not on the vessel, but on the pages. THAT is where your soul will sing and learn and soon, you, too, will begin to glow…. Soon, you won’t worry about how you look or what your circumstances are, but live in love. Because God, or whomever you believe in, WANTS you to create, to be happy, and to learn who you really are deep inside.

Tomorrow, I plan to sit down with myself, meditate, and listen to the goals my soul wants to achieve in the coming year. Only on the cusp of the new one can we really know what we’d like to do with the blessing of another year of life on this beautiful world. But I can tell you what one of mine will be:

The journal I have right now, TODAY, is the one I will use until every page is full.

It’s going to be hard – really hard – as I have journal ADD….I really DO switch ‘em all the time! In 2008, however, I want to find myself, really find myself, and focusing on that instead of where that’s happening can only help.

I challenge you all to do the same. 

Starting the 1st, I’ll be posting weekly prompts designed to help you, too, find your own truth through visual journaling. Those entries will be accompanied by an essay – my thoughts on the topic. I encourage you to keep up, post your own entries, and share your stories – I’ll be posting them here as well! So if you’ve got a thought, prompt, or story to share, send it in and it just might get up as a guest post.

And now, some business:

• There WON’T be a Winter 2008 issue of Page by Page. As it’s taken so long to get the Fall 2007 issue finished and out, I’d like to stay to schedule and spend a little extra time on the Spring 2008 issue. I can tell you the next journal artist is amazing and I can’t wait to interview her! That also gives you a little more time to get those journal pages in to be featured in the Gallery section.
• The Journal Girl mailing list will be starting a rolling journal page swap on the 1st, so c’mon over if you’d like to be involved!
• Other than the 'zine, mailing list swap, and a Flickr project, I won't be doing anything else until I get things figured out. The whole getting things out late has been a major source of unhappiness and shame in my life, and I don't want that to happen again. I've even hired an intern to help in assembly and distribution, and will be creating a home office (until now, I've been working on my laptop in various cafes and assembling things on the kitchen table). I think having a space dedicated to the 'zine will help streamline the process, as well as give me a space to store back stock...right now, things are so scattered, I have to search for things!

I wish you all a safe and happy New Year's!

<3,
Kira

Baaaaaaa -- like the new duds? Read on!

Why yes, I AM a complete skitzo when it comes to blog layouts!

*G* Tried to clean things up a bit; I'm taking a cue from Lia and working on better-organizing things around here to gear-up for my mailing list re-launch tomorrow. New content, hopefully daily, that I'll be compiling for more-frequent posts.

I'll also be posting a vid this week that will correspond with some new items in my etsy shop.

But first, I must tell you about my new love affair with Apple Barrel Gloss paints.

I *heart* them.

I've been eeeehhhh about background lately, wanting more transparent colors over items...you know, a nice glaze of color. And while I get the general effect from my watercolor crayons, I can't mix those, which means I have to either settle or try layering colors....have you tried that? Yeah...it doesn't work very well!

When over at Red's, I tried one of hers, and yeah, liked it, but didn't think about it again until the other day, when I was feeling horribly fat, down, and ucky and had a bit of extra money to burn a hole in my pocket. I was wandering around Michael's (which was probably ill-advised), grabbing things off the shelf in that oh-that's-cool anti-climatic kind of way...totally emo and such, and was looking at all the paints and BAM -- a row of gloss paints in these awesome bright colors and WHEEE -- I had to grab a bucket from a nearby display to carry 'em all.

Upon getting home, I had to spill my paint and mmmmmm make some journal pages! It'd been awhile, and my meal break at work is JUST loooooong enough to eat and pen a journal entry or doodle some, so I've been journaling more (that, and I keep forgetting my book!). I had a TON of fun and you can see all my pretty pages below.

I've settled into a new style I'm LOVING. A mix of hand-drawn characters (whee!) and magazine people (and now at a discount!) with my new funking handwriting and lots of fun colors. And they don't take a TON of supplies or time to make, which is a plus since I have a lot on my plate! In fact, all my supplies fit in a nice big tote I got from work that's next to my chair right now. My room's freeeeeeezing....I snuggle under blankets to sleep and read but won't be sitting up there to journal. BRRRR! I need to clean it so I can move my space heater in.

OH! New thing! I've decided to give y'all a peek into my journal as I work in it -- I'll be taking shots every time I work in it so you can see how pages progress, as I don't do 'em all at once or in order or anything. So, I hope this helps some of you who are stuck or don't know how things get made. I've got captions on the photos thus-far to help explain things. It's all in a photo album here; I won't be posting pages until they're "done" on flickr. So it's a Kira-blog exclusive!!

GO! Journal In-Progress Gallery

Is a cluttered desk the sign of a cluttered mind?

I try; I really do, to keep my worktable clean. Every few weeks, I’ll finally succumb to the order of neatness and clean everything up. A place for everything and everything in its place. My paints go in my tool bin, pens and pencils in the drawer organizer, paper in it’s magazine holder. And when I’m finished, I can sit back, take a deep breath, and smile at my perfect, neat, orderly table.

It last through my first project; I clutter it up while in the whims of creating.

But here’s what I’ve noticed – I am more creative when my desk is covered with the pieces and tools from other projects.

Case in point: I was working on a journal page and was searching for something to use as a flower stem; I found wonderful clear acrylic stamps on clearance at Target and wanted to play with them. While digging under scraps, paints, paper, and other detritus of art, I found a length of thread already attached to a needle, left over from when I was going to try a copic binding with some thick cardboard. Smirking, I picked it up and stitched stems of various lengths.

Understand, such stitching wouldn’t be possible if I weren’t flexible about my pages – every addition is just that, an addition. Adds to the page. Yes, the purple stitch stems look wonderful on the page with the flowers, but what about the content on the other side of the

piece of paper? Would you pick up the thread if you worried about ruining the other journal page?

Don’t see your journal entries as static – they are, like life, time, and the world, in flux. They change each time you open that journal and start slapping on some paint. You might get some on the edges of previous pages. Glue might make things stick together. A fixitif method might peel. Two weeks from now, you may get something that would just look awesome on a page you though was “finished.” Use it!

Continue adding to pages. Add more than just marks or words – add paint or gesso or scraps or photos. Layer them over what’s already on the page. Try working on a page over time instead of all at once. Work on several at once! Be open to hidden meaning.

My art journal mailing list has moved, finally, to yahoo groups. Come visit over there:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/journalgirl

I am STILL behind on emails. I should be caught up by tonight. *crosses fingers*

Achieving the Perfect Balance

There is a certain excitement to creating a journal entry you just LOVE, isn't there? :D

I love ALL your lovely emails and comments; I'm sorry I can't answer them all -- please don't think I don't appreciate you! There is only one of me and many of you. I do try to answer all your questions, though, and it might take me a little bit to do so!

I've been neck-deep in InDesign doing layouts and such as well as working on a project that shall soon be finished, but I've made an awesome discovery in the down time I have at my worktable -- my perfect balance.

The Perfect Balance

It's something we, as artistic souls, seek from the first moment we spread paint or paste something down -- that elusive balance of all the ideas and emotions in our heads and hearts and souls on the page. At first, we compare ourselves to the pages we love, shaking our heads....how do they show such emotion? Balance of colors? The mixture of paint and collage and words that sings?

Personally, I've struggled with representation in my art. Let me explain. I love collaging people from old photos and magazines, etc, together in order to make a complex, possibly puzzling figure in my journal entries. My method is to grab what catches my attention without thinking about where it should go or if it should go on the page. I use permanent tape so once something goes down, it's down! These elements end up meaning something to me, each one a facet of the feeling I was trying to capture in my journal.

But I love drawing. I never really thought I was any good at it until I practiced by drawing something daily from my life (a la Danny Gregory) for a year, and when I got into collage, the drawing fell to the wayside.

When on a journal play date with Red last week, I found myself dissatisfied with what I was making, to the point where I covered the pages with gesso, let it dry while I tried to figure out what was out of whack, and turned the page. This feeling continued for a few days, and then, while sitting at my desk full of gratitude, humbleness, and joy, I had a breakthrough.

It's all Lia's fault, really. *G* Well, her and those on flickr and such who saw my most recent painting and gave such wonderful comments and words of encouragement. The painting itself is hanging on my wall right in front of my desk, and I found myself staring at it, wondering....could I draw how I was feeling?

Yes! I sketched out "myself" how I was feeling. Then, I made a copy, and collaged over it with those bits I love so much! How's that for a balance! I brought together all the elements I love and found myself creating a journal entry that felt more like me than many I've done before. I could feel the emotion pouring from me into what I was creating, and when I finished, I couldn't believe how much joy I had from simply making it!

Now, I want to make more and more! I already have one in my head -- it's amazing how easy it is for me to think in terms of images instead of words -- and have all my supplies ready and waiting.

NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. For those uninitiated, it's a month where you have the goal of writing a 50,000 word novel in one month. I've been participating for six years, now, this being my sixth. The atmosphere during this time is AMAZING...creatively charged, full of inspiration and dedication and support!

This year, I'll be working on a novel idea I've had in my head for the last few months, ever since reading Foolsgold. I've learned a lot about creativity, inspiration, and art over the last few years, and miss the essay format. The novel's tenitively called Artistic Alchemy.

I'm letting you all know this because I'll be posting essays from it as I work on it here on my blog! I'll also be v. busy with it, along with my seasonal stint at B&N, so there might not be much art posted until December. I hope to see you around here, still, as you're my "test audience" for my first real non-fiction venture.

Last but not least...

This weekend's the deadline for the printer, so I'm off to finish the 'zine, work on getting the ordering up and ready, and read a good book. Because of said deadline, I won't be able to post a video for you all tomorrow; I'll try to get one up next week! It's a pajama weekend in Kira Land!

from the page to the purse!

Sorry I haven't been around as much; I've been out and about all week (talk about no rest for the wicked!). I'm actually updating from a friend's place as, yes, I'm out again!

What I really wanted to show you all (and hi to everyone new!) my newest journaled purse! I designed this one myself and did all the sewing by hand (as my sewing machine is still dead). *G* I was inspired by this journal page of mine...I love when stuff randomly leaks from my head to the page and then turns into something bigger. Have you ever had something like that happen to you?

Being as that I've been out a LOT this week, I haven't been journaling as much as usual...then again, I DO have a handy travel bag. I also grabbed a new mini-binder from R+H and am using that to plan out the next issue of Page by Page, as it goes to design and layout on Monday. I've also just been making random notes and doodles of things I want to try out in my journal when I finally find myself with a little bit of time to sneak away to my desk.

The biggest thing is, I have to get to that desk! You can have all the time in the world but if you wait for inspiration to strike and send you running to your art area, you're not going to get much done. Remember -- art is made by those who show up! Get to your desk or art area and do SOMETHING! Start cleaning up scraps. Throw random paint on the page. SOMETHING. ANYTHING! I implore you to do so! You'll be amazed with how many pages or pieces you start getting done.

And please! Remember: in order to make good art, you have to be willing to make lots of bad art. Every page you create has value! Whether you learn something new, like that even with a coat of paint, Sharpies will die because of the oil pastels underneath, or find a new border or lettering you like....don't shy away from those pages you don't like because then you'll miss out on what they're trying to tell you.

I shall be working on Kira's Amazing Supply list and have it here for download. And, since I've discovered how to record and share video entries, I might just make a short vlog entry for it.

There are more new journal pages up at flickr!

I hope you all have an amazing weekend and create something!

on journals: choosing one {paper, binding, & size}

Photos from my “play-date” with Retro Girl. We sat and gabbed and journaled in her wonderfully red retro kitchen, back door open to capture the late summer air as it brushed across the tops of corn stalks and came through the open back door.

Random stuff. The state of the planet, likes, dislikes, other artists we admire, those sorts of things. And journaling. I must admit, I’m not a very good teacher, though I did arrive a bit unprepared. I couldn’t instruct methods, give clear direction, but I could talk, inspire, encourage, and while I spoke and Retro Girl responded, she found herself un-blocked, working subconsciously on her journal page, letting it create itself as she focused on the spoken word.

It’s something I whole-heartedly suggest, working intuitively, not over thinking the scraps or images you’re using while creating the visual base for a journal entry (or the imagery of a wordless entry).

As I’m planning ahead and ahead for future issues of Page by Page, as well as an online class (at Lia’s gentle urging…several times!), I asked Retro Girl what sorts of things someone still finding their way as an art journaler is looking to learn. What is it that those seeking instruction hope to be, well, instructed on?

There were a few things, and I think my gab-fest has fueled a few articles, and several blog entries. Today, I’m going to give you the most basic of basics, how to select a journal.

Some books gloss over this, give you the types of paper in a language you don’t completely understand, brush over binding styles, and move on. At that point, you’re supposed to have intuitively found your journal and are eagerly waiting to get started.

Those who know me know my…indecisive past. I have a drawer full of started journals that, after just a few entries, were abandoned for a variety of reasons – paper, size, binding. Let my years of experimentation benefit you; here’s the skinny on journal choices.

Paper:

There are tons of papers out there. Thick. Thin. Every color of the rainbow. But what does it all mean?

Lb/gsm – this is the “weight” of the paper. The higher the number, the thicker the paper. For example, regular white paper you have in your printer is around 20-26lb. That cardstock you have is about 60-90lb. This includes scrapbooking cardstock, by the way.

When you look at the papers in the sketchbook aisle at your local art store, there’s a whole new set of vocabulary words.

Paper there can go up to 140lb! This is usually reserved for the thicker watercolor papers; this heavy stock can take a lot of what altered artists throw at it, retain the paint well, and doesn’t fall apart after a few good scrubbings.

So, the higher the weight, the thicker the paper. You can have a perfectly good journal made with printer paper, granted you gesso the pages first. Adding gesso thickens and adds strength, but it’s not a fix-all. I recommend using at least a 90lb cardstock for a journal, as it is strong enough to handle what you throw, but isn’t overly expensive.

gsm is the European measurement.

Press – this usually only applies to watercolor paper. Basically, cold press means rougher, textured, toothed. Hot press is a smooth, flat surface.

Calendared – You probably won’t see this a lot, but it’s worth mentioning for any printing you’ll be doing. If a paper is Calendared, it means it doesn’t let inks bleed. Your photo paper’s calendared. Watercolor paper isn’t; it’s made to absorb a lot, and inevitably bleeds.   

Binding:

Sewn, or Case Bound – you can tell one of these by looking at the top of the spine, where the paper meets it. Hardcover novels are sewn, as well as Moleskines. These have signatures, groupings of paper that are folded and sewn together with the others. These bindings lay flat when opened, and are the best for journal/art work.

Glue Bound – these are cheaper, but not better. The spine is a bunch of pages simply glued together and then glued to the spine. These WON’T lie flat unless you crack the spine. Think of your paperback books…you crack the spine too much, pages begin falling out. I DON’T recommend using these!

Spiral, or Wire Bound – pretty self-explanatory. Used for notebooks and art pads, as it’s the best for serious art work. I like these only because I can find my own paper and bind it together.

Note – If you bind your own journal, you need paper that’s TWICE as wide as your target width.

Size:

Just some general notes on size. This is a personal thing, and I think it comes down to preference. I’ve used all sorts of sizes, and for various reasons. I carry my journal with me everywhere, so I don’t use something that’s too big. But small journals don’t give you much room to work with.

I keep a larger journal at home for when I want to use larger images, etc. My main journal is the size of a composition book; I’ve found this to be the perfect one!

Hopefully, some of these notes will help you the next time you go looking for, or making a journal. The best way is to use your sense of touch – touch a paper, see how it feels under your fingers. Smooth, rough, what does your heart say? Smooth works for writing, rough for cost and texture. Sit down, think about what you’ll be using your journal for, about your style and goals and budget, and go from there.

My current journal is a wire-bound collection of paper – 18 sheets of children’s watercolor paper (advertised as perfect for markers, poster paint, and watercolors) and another 15 of 90lb white cardstock (for notes, drawings, and such). Its covers are manila folders – 140lb paper in manila. The cover is really a fabric one with book boards in it to give it a more…hardbound feel. The entire thing is cut down to a little under a composition book’s size. Total cost? $10.

Next week, I’ll post my ultimate supply list – and don’t think it’s like all the others you’ve read and seen; this one’s dictated by cost and experience, and has some wacky stuff on it! 

watercolor crayons are cooler than I thought!

There's nothing like finding supplies you forgot you had; last week, while looking for something else, I happened upon a pack of watercolor crayons I'd bought about three years ago, used for about twenty seconds, and tossed aside.

On Friday, I stopped by Borders to check out Mixed-Media Collage: An Exploration of Contemporary Artists, Methods, and Materials by Holly Harrison. It's a fantastic book, and I really want to buy it (and recommend y'all do the same!) but shall have to wait. ANYWAY, while reading the interview with Teesha Moore, I saw she loves watercolor crayons.

I was skeptical. How were crayons different than watercolor pencils, something I've tried and dislike? What was it about these that so many artists raved about? Seeing as that I had a set (mine are from Fabre Castell's children's line), I decided to try 'em out.

The red at the bottom of the page at the left was done with the crayons. Wow! I'd always wondered how people got that shading done just right on their journal pages...and now I know! Use the crayons! They work a lot like my water-soluble oil pastels, but don't present the problems of not finding anything to write over them and transfering to the facing page. A definite plus for me!

In that same interview, Teesha says to go past where you think you'll like the page...to keep going. With this one, I decided to try that, using a metallic copper pen to doodle, tried to use the crayons on the girl's dress (which didn't work as it's a photo-inkjet copy), and added to the circle behind her head. And gave her blue hair! I just kept going, and going, and finally felt it was time to stop -- and am VERY happy with the page!

I just can't bring myself to write on it! I might just leave it as it is.

It's amazing that this came out of a page I randomly glued a piece of vintage text to and painted blue. Can't tell, can you? Other than the line I let show through -- "the war for independence." The circle behind her head started as a transparency transfer onto the page. I LOVE this method -- it provides the BEST QUALITY transfers I've ever seen!

Guah! It's a truly yucky day outside today; I have the lamp on next to me and it's not even 3:30! I'm curled up in a recliner with my laptop and new journal and paint...I've gotten good at painting and not getting it on the furniture. I might turn in for a nap later, read a bit, and prep some more pages for tomorrow's journaling play-date with Retro Girl.

New pictures at flickr. 

Art as Inspiration: Growth Through a Mixing of Yourself and Another

Lots of stuff happening in KiraLand lately! My "bum" mood and lack of inspiration has completely disappeared as of the end of the holiday weekend. I took a little miniVacation into the backyard and sat on the grass under the warm summer sun, and made a mess. *laughs* I love working outside for just that reason -- the freedom of being able to spill paint, play with spray paint, leave things all over the place -- it's so liberating and child-like.

My two best friends just moved into their first apartment, and I've been spending time over there keeping them company and generally hanging out. I've also been hanging out with Retro Girl, giggling over cool supplies and pretty papers.

I've also been playing A LOT! Lately, I've been in this state of flux regarding my art, trying out new things and grabbing elements I've used before, selecting small parts or tiny techniques and inserting them into my experiments. It's been interesting, and with each piece, I feel myself getting closer and closer to my true artistic voice, the sing-song words a soft echo in my ears getting closer with each passing day.

It's a natural progression. Go look at my Flickr stream, about two years ago, and you'll see my novice journal pages. When I began, I had no idea what the difference between watercolors and acrylics were or how to think in the language of image and color. But, like they say, you need to make a lot of bad art in order to make good art. Push forward. Continue working in your journal, playing with color and image, learning new things, and never, ever think your work looks "bad." That you aren't good. Because this is only a piece of who you will become.

One thing that's helped me greatly is reading about other artists. Yeah, it can be boring at first, but learning about what was going on in the artist's life at the time they created something gives insight into the symbols they used. Here's an example of how exposing yourself to art can help you create and grow.

This piece is by Frieda Kahlo, an artist I've become interested in because of our kinship of pain and passion intersecting, and the new ways we have to attempt things because of physical limitations. It was painted around the time of her second marriage to Diego Rivera, a man who loved her traditional Mexican dress, thus, she is depicted wearing such an outfit.

I love the image, the lacy look of her headpiece, the way you see just her face. And I've never been very good at drawing hair, so there's an attraction to being able to avoid doing so. After seeing this painting, I created this journal entry:

True, it's not a copy, but that's not the point; it is inspired by the painting, made into my own piece through interpretation. I love this journal page -- I combined my new love of crafting small collages with an image from a magazine painted a la Freida.

Another entry was created after seeing paintings in the most recent issue of Cloth, Scissors, Paper.

I combined the article on glazing with the paintings of another artist who wrote about inspiration and such (I don't have the magazine handy to give names, etc.). Into that mix I added my love of collaged clothing and put in some of my own photographs (the flowers in her hair). The backgound's also a collage. By taking elements I liked and mixing them with personal elements, I was able to create something new and pleasing -- the crafting of it was exciting, fun, and gave me such a rush!

I've posted all sorts of new journal pages, with explanations, over on my flickr page. My pro account expires in a few days, and I don't have the funds to renew it, so this might be my last update for awhile (or many photos will disappear). I do love the community over there and will be sad that I won't be able to participate the way I do now for awhile.

As Dawn has been overwhelmed by 1,000 Artists' Journal Pages and doesn't have a prompt this week, I'll give y'all one.

As artists, we all have those we admire, be them famous or otherwise. Find a painting or image of theirs you love and use it as a base for an art journal entry. Pluck from it what you love, mix in your own voice, and see what happens. Don't worry about copying -- that is the point! No matter how hard you try to copy, you'll always be yourself, an original. Use my entries above as an example and go create!