{Journal Thursday: new is defiantly in here in the studio}

 

the center part of the canvas bit I was working on during Tuesday's vlog.

Yes, tis late, but it is also still Thursday, at least from where I'm sitting, which means I'm still on-time.

Does that make sense? My brain's a bit muddled -- I've been working on images and Yudu stuff since I woke up, and I'm a bit tired and fuzzy on...things.

Thank you ALL for your birthday wishes, whether through a comment here, on the Facebook page, or Twitter -- I got them ALL and they made me feel all warm and fuzzy and special and shiny. You all are truly a community of loving people!

Sometime last week, when I was sitting at my table, something amazing happened:

My style took a large change.

Which was surprising and pleasing to me, as I'd gotten a bit bored and needed something new to pop up. I don't exactly know WHAT changed, rather, I can tell you small bits, the changes in technique I've noticed, but as to what exactly, well, I have no idea. Or why. Those are two of those W words that I can't answer.

And, honestly, don't want to answer. That'd be delving too far into something I'd rather remain intuitive and mysterious. Like if I do get the answers to those questions, it'd ruin the fun. Yes, I'd like to know, but I want to discover them by continuing on down the vein and seeing what pops up.

I can tell you what I do like. I like the layering of paper. I like the little bits and pieces that have made their way into the page. I like the layering. I like working with paint through the entire process, and not just at certain points. I like adding drawn imagery. I like the dreamy white.

The way I usually create journal pages is this:

Layer of color.
Layer of collage.
Second layer of color, usually spread with my hands.
Second layer of collage.
Bits & words.

But now, paint has become just as important as the paper I'm putting down, and I'm having tons of fun mixing all sorts of colors to use just as I would a scrap of paper. There's a bit more order, I think, but more fun as I try new things. I'm in-love with die-cuts, as you can see, and they're getting their fair share of page-time (like face-time, yet this is fame for paper. they love it.).

I'm just giddy with excitement as I make new things! There are so many ideas bubbling up in my head, I hardly have time for it all. Like now. I have a journal page to make, but there's cake waiting downstairs. Also, the Yudu screen beeped while I was writing this, so I know the screen's ready for me to use. I want to play with that, too!

And yet, there's only a few hours until bed time. Because someone has a class sample to make and an entire store to make it in. Which is exciting, too! So much to make, so little time. But only because I'm constantly changing, evolving, and going with the flow.

But I did scrap my to-do list on Tuesday, which may be why I'm running so late...

{points of two week #4: kindness mission}

 

Points of Two is an experiment in journaling with myself and Roben Marie! Check out our archives to see the previous weeks' pages.

This week was based on the following quote:

"I learned long ago that those who are the happiest are those who do the most for others."

Booker T Washington

And what's funny is we both brought someone cookies!

This week, I've been focused on setting the groundwork for a more consistent blog, starting stock for etsy, working on custom projects, doing samples for classes -- anything BUT journaling. So when the opportunity arose to make this page, I just sat down to play...and how nice it was!

I often go between randomly-spread paint and using a brush; for this page, I wanted chunks of color that I then wrote on or layered with papers. And I found my labler!

Part of getting ready for classes is using photos, which means I've been taking many, many more. I took this shot of my friend J (also seen up there in the banner!) while she was concentrating on beading her necklace; I loved how into it she was and her hair was really cute, so I snapped a pic. I then went on to take tons of super macro shots of beads because they looked pretty. What can I say? I do what's fun.

Blues and golds and stripes! All things I did to relax into my art. And stamping, because they were there. Nothing too deep; I kinda just went with what I liked and somehow pulled it all together.

Roben-Marie's Page:

Next week: Around the House. Take a pic of something in the house that's meaningful and journal about it. Won't you join us?

{Journal Thursday: What to do if your critic gets too drunk and starts yelling}

There’s really nothing like starting a new journal. The page is there, and you’re super excited that -- look! shiny and new! -- you just start working from a place of joy. And when you finish, it’s amazing and awesome and you hug your new journal to your chest and sigh, “Ah, a new pretty journal for my adventures.”

That’s totally a sign for your critic to come out. He’s (I say he because mine’s a he, seeing as I’m NOT a he, and therefore, my arguments with him are more amusing) the complete opposite of your muse; picture him as the big guy who comes in and always causes trouble because he had a bad childhood and no mommy and finds it fun to make others feel little.

So this critic comes bumbling in already drunk so he knocks over a few chairs on his way across the room and your muse, bless her (because my talks with her are more amusing), stands up and is totally the bouncer in this situation when she pokes the critic in the chest and tells him to get out.

“Dude,” says the critic, “all your pages are the same colors. Can’t you, you vary things up or something?” He shouts all this over his shoulder as your muse pushes him out the door.

“Don’t listen to him, sweetie,” your muse soothes. “Use your favorite colors all you want.”

But the damn critic’s gotten to you, and all you see when you page through your journals are the same colors used together over and over and over again and gah could there be something to the stupid critic’s comment? Not that you make a practice of listening to the advice of drunk people -- most of the time, it doesn’t even make sense (which is why this is in your headspace; do you think a drunk critic could form a coherent criticism when drunk in reality?).

the good page, full of awesome colors

So I’ve got this drunk critic (yes, this is my headspace because I am not psychic or a vampire or whatever can see into your mind; your secrets are safe)  running around spreading rumors about how I only use certain colors and it’s kinda pissing me off.

“Fine! I will use different colors.”

I shall be honest with you: the page? It SUCKED.

The colors got all muddy because I wasn’t used to blending them. And then, it just looks off because it’s full of stuff I usually don’t like.

See, we’re all drawn to art we like, and we like it all for different reasons. It may be the imagery. Or the composition. Or, yes, the colors. And then when we sit down to create, we replicate what we like. That is the point. The fun of it all. And in a journal, who’s to say we can’t other than a belligerent, tilting inner critic?

Oh.

Anyway, I created this next page with colors I usually don’t ever use and tried to make it work, tried to bring color variety to my journal, my work, and it totally backfired. I really, really hate the page I made. I’m sure there’s something there I like, but overall, not a fan.

uck. what a mess

And this is what happens when you stop listening to yourself and try something you don’t like. Okay. Yes, you have to branch out and create and experiment -- how else will you find something new you like if you don’t try? -- but if you’ve already done that and know you don’t like it, don’t do it just because your critic can’t hold his liquor. Your journal is for you, so make sure he can’t get it. I’m sure simple locks will do (at least in my case. but I don’t give my critic much to go on most of the time.).

Use your favorite color on every page. I’m pretty sure each one will look different even if you have the same three colors. THAT is experimenting, is using your limits to find something new. It’s like this: if you don’t like Thai food, you’re not going to go into a Thai restaurant AND order something completely foreign. That’s just a waste of money because it’ll have peanut in it and you hate peanut in anything but your sandwiches so you make a funny face and wonder why the hell you agreed to this dinner in the first place. Oh, right. That stupid critic again.

So I’m giving you permission to use whatever colors you want all the time no matter what anyone else says. Take that, critic!

{journal #12, test prints, & artful journals}

Inspired by the beautiful stitched journals by Traci Bautista and all the yummy posts of journals created in Mary Ann's most recent class, I decided to do something a little different for Journal #12.

Despite my deep love for spiral journals, making my WISH journal reminded me of the distinct feel of a hard-bound journal...those wonderful pages that turn like an old, loved book, the way you can run your hands clear across two pages....those wonderful attributes that distinguish a hard-bound journal from a spiral.

Don't get me wrong, I love my spirals. They're great for curling up with in a comfy chair or in smaller spaces; I often draw up my knees, fold back the journal, and work on a single page. But I wanted to play with something different.

I am in love with vinyl. I adore those cute Asian journals with the nice vinyl covers, how it feels under your fingers when you hold them. So, after playing with thinner vinyl for the WISH journal, I decided to use a bit of the thicker stuff bought to make another WISH one on #12.

And then, of course, there was the canvas.

Play is the best way to create art. After two failed attempts to screen print on canvas tote bags, my father and I decided to grab some canvas to test out a. the new squeegee we bought, and b. the amount of pressure and ink needed to successfully print each image (I'll go into everything I've learned about Yudu printing in another post.).

So we squirted ink and pulled images and mixed things together. Each panel was a beautiful rainbow of subtle color printing my own artwork and ink writing. There's defiantly a difference between painting directly on canvas and printing on it, just the feel and new realm of possibility. All the colors and places and repetitions.

Combining the test print canvas panels, a hard-cover journal, and a temperamental sewing machine, I created Journal #12, the test print journal. I've never really done anything like this before; as I mentioned, my sewing machine is temperamental and the bobbin doesn't really work right. Let's say you sew a straight stitch. Turn the fabric over, and you'll find a huge mess of twisted, looped fabric. I wouldn't sew any clothing or, well, anything that defiantly NEEDS to stay together with it, but playing with fabric for a journal? Sure.

This is what you get for $60 at Walmart.

There are several theories as to why this happens, the most prevalent being that, not knowing how to load it at first, I took the entire thing out instead of the small bobbin cover. This news taught me how to do it right and earned the machine a few whacks that successfully realigned it...kinda.

Suffice to say, whenever I want to sew with the thing, I need to do a few test stitches before using it on my actual piece.

Even after stitching for awhile (as it seems to be like my old car in the winter – you've gotta let it warm up a bit before it runs nicely), the thing would skip stitches when using the zig-zag. Which is okay, as this was an artful piece and not perfection.

A side note on perfection: it is very hard to let go of this need to make everything perfect, even with meditative art. Sometimes, you just need to let go.

I guess I'm like the old car or cheap sewing machine, too, because after working for a bit, I finally warmed up and started to lose myself in the creation of a fabric piece. Much like when I work on collage pieces, I just GO. Grab random pieces, cut strips and blocks, put things together oddly. I somehow bypass that part of my brain that thinks and let creativity flow through me.

These last two journal-making experiments have really shown me something new. I find I'm looking at creating journals, that, instead of being vehicles of art contained solely between the covers, I'm seeing the journals as pieces of art in their own right, beautiful creations that only increase their beauty by what I put inside them. I never put much thought into the journals I worked in; now, I find creating beautiful journals on their own is a grand new adventure.

I may put some up for sale soon, as I did before the holidays. But long ago I learned that I have to enjoy the pieces I'm making or else, well, I'll never make 'em. I can't just roll out a bunch because I need inventory...I need to let it happen naturally. Then again, with all the fun I'm having, that may happen sooner than I thought.

{The Many Moods of the Journal (pt. 2)}

The thrilling conclusion to the many moods of the journal! Here are three more "moods" I've found in Journal #11 I felt you may encounter in your own travels.

( Click here to read part one )

The Vent

We all have those days. Work or life throws us a bit too much, and we feel the brunt of bad fortune. Things stack up. Tasks become impossible. We may run home and vent to our loved ones or a close friend, but what if you're stuck in the thick of it, unable to get away?

Your journal is there, ready to listen. And it doesn't say stupid things – in fact, you're always right where your journal's concerned. So grab a pen from the collective pen jar, sit down on a break or at a stoplight, and just go at it. Pour your heart out! Tell your journal all those things you've been meaning to say, want to say, need to say.

The page doesn't need to be pretty or thought-out. Here, I had a simple watercolor-like background I worked on top of. The drawing was a doodle during the Great VIA Taste Test (note the tallies on the top....my official notes as I asked people to taste coffee) at Starbucks in October. Was she colored in when I wrote the page? No! Just a bic pen drawing I stapled in with the store stapler and some writing with a pen I grabbed. (Note: it's a two column layout, I was being “clever.”)

Go back and add some color later, but don't feel as though you need to add a ton. These pages are lovely in their simplicity, and later on, you can have a laugh at how upset you became over something as small as, say, running out of grande/venti lids at a Starbucks during a morning rush.

The Last-Minute

A shorter version of The Vent usually takes place over a messy page meant for something greater (though what that could be, we'll never know). Sometimes, we get interrupted when journaling in the studio, and end up with this great collaged and painted page we totally meant to go back to and never did (time to cook dinner, an appointment you forgot, etc). So it sits in the journal and waits for us to come back to it.

And, of course, distracted, we forget about it until some thought, some sharp emotion, grabs us and brings us to our knees. Searching for a friend, we write messy words on the forgotten page, maybe adding some doomsday illustration (my fearful raindrops, anyone?). Since there's all this space, we can write as large or as small as we want, and usually come back to this page several times over the day (or however long the emotion lasts).

I love the look of these pages, because there's nothing there but raw, true emotion. Beautiful, indeed.

The Semi-Scrapbook

There's no reason your journal shouldn't be like a scrapbook. There are just some events you really want to remember, but your thoughts are bit too personal to put in a scrapbook. Enter the journal! She'll love whatever you have to say, and gets giddy when you show her new friends.

A pre-done page houses this Semi-Scrapbook page. Laid down collage bits act as a natural frame. One thing you'll need to learn when journaling is that sometimes, the content requires you to cover up something you don't want to! On this page, I didn't want to cover the paper behind the photo, but found it was the best place for it. Over the paper it went, and I'm happier for it.

Don't be afraid to write on your photos! They're begging for some alterations themselves, and writing names or pointing to details on the image itself can make it feel way more personal! Here, I point out who is in the picture – my friends and myself – and actually chose this shot for the extra space it afforded me at the top.

But the writing, I think, is what distinguishes it from a scrapbook page. I write about long-held emotions, deeper thoughts, and some personal stuff I wouldn't want to show friends paging through beautiful, clean layouts. There are scribbles and arrows, doodles and mistakes. This is how I want to remember that day – and my art journal offers the perfect hybrid between writing about the day in a social diary and laying out the picture for a visual record.

--

And now, I am off to read more magical adventures in Victorian England before an early night (as I work at 4:30am tomorrow!). Check back in the next two days for the next installment of the bookbinding video!

{The Many Moods of the Journal (pt. 1) }

Journal #11 wanted to come out to play. Leafing through the pages in search of a few to post, I noticed there were different "kinds" of pages; while they all feel like mine, have that cohesiveness that I used to fear would never come, they certainly have different moods. I think a lot of this has to do with a few key factors:

• location (working, on the couch, in the studio)
• aim (regular page, escape, sketching)
• materials (again, look at location)

And then this idea was born. A way to show you that a journal isn't something you create in a studio, with a singular aim in mind. It is a chronicle of your life, and goes with you on the ups and downs, through the fog, and to the bank. There will be slow days and frenzied days. You will want to discover something or figure things out. So here are a few of the moods found in my journal; I hope they help you out on your own journey.

Check back tomorrow for the other half!

The To-Do List

Need to get things done? Have groceries or errands you need to run? Why not throw your to-do list into your journal?

Whether you carry your journal everywhere with you or keep it in the studio, you're pretty sure to look at it at least once a day. Flipping through the pages, you're sure to see your to-do list now and then, and putting it in your journal makes sure you'll never lose it. And why carry a journal AND notepad when you can combine everything into one important book?

Placing the list in your journal also gives it greater importance; this list won't be thrown away or forgotten....it is there whenever you look back through your pages, through completed journals, constantly reminding you of what you did (or didn't) accomplish. And writing it on a beautiful journal page helps nudge you in the right direction, almost taunting you to get things done!

The Mess

Sometimes, life becomes chaotic, a whirlwind you cannot escape. Trapped in a sandstorm of obligation, daily demands, work, home, and emotion, it can become hard to find your True North. Unable to find yourcompass, you wander through life in a half-alive state, using your hands to feel your way around. It can become completely overwhelming, and your journal may be the only thing your blinded eyes can trust.

Sitting down to figure things out, the chaos may migrate from your mind to the page. Working from instinct, everything's fair game. You grab scraps, paint palettes, fabric, whatever you can reach! Things get ripped, torn apart, randomly scribbled. Colors aren't thought out or "complimentary." An idea that seemed perfect when you beganmay change halfway through. Your internal struggle is reflected on the page.

When you finish, you notice you're stuck in a sandstorm and have a map in front of you to guide you through it. Whereas before, things may have been too confusing, uneasy emotions unexplainable, now, you know where you are, where things are coming from, and how to find your center.

Messy pages are great to look back on, as the chaos is terribly beautiful.

The Sketchbook

Not every page is prepped and ready to go when the urge strikes. Sometimes, you just want to DRAW. Play around. Sketch random things -- girls, monsters, cuteness,your dog. So, you turn to a blank page in your journal, pull out a pen or pencil, and just GO. The page may become cluttered with tiny wings, delicatefaeries , or practiced handwriting. Mine are filled with practiced girl faces and eyes as I try to find my style. While many come out to my satisfaction, they aren't repeatable -- they aren't naturally replicable.

What happens next, though? Do you gesso over it and make a page?

NO!

Tis just another mood of the journal. Here are a few things you can do:

1. I like to color in my images! Use watercolors, crayons, colored pencils....something that helps preserve the original pencil/pen/sketchy nature of the page.

2. Collage around the edges.

3. Write over it.

These unfinished, raw pages are a welcome change from the painted, prepped pages.

The Couch Potato

Ugh. You've worked/run errands/been out all day. The last thing you want to do is sit at your art table and work. Why not gather some supplies and sit down in that night, comfortable chair or -- even better -- snuggle up under a blanket on the couch? The urge to journal doesn't always coincide with your body's ability to sit at a desk with "proper" supplies.

With some pens, scissors, and scraps, it is easy to create an alluring, authentic page over a prepped page. Doodle and write where you'd normally worry about what colors to use, techniques to make your page "right." This kind of journaling can be the most relaxing....comfortable, near others, working while enjoying a movie, your mind can wander farther than normal, going to new places with your creativity.

It doesn't matter what's under the words and doodles, just WHAT you create. Let loose. Take an hour to play with blending or draw mandalas all over the page. This mood of the journal and be combined with The Sketchbook, but is usually more writing-based. There are no even edges, no bright colors. Just words and lines and cut circles while you truly communicate with yourself.

{journal-making fun}

How long has it taken me to start this? *laughs* The journal I'm using for this series is actually for darling Beth, one of my long-time readers and friends (who heartily supports me and makes me feel like a "real artist" sometimes, even though she doesn't know it; the smallest things can have huge impacts!).

Days here haven't provided very good light, so I've had to put-off making vids until I can get a sunny day! Unfortunatly, today I am booked until 5 or so, and by then, the sun's gone down. I'll try filiming with the overhead light on, though, just for you!

Thank you SO MUCH for your feedback on the last post. I adore your honesty in telling me things that may be hard to hear. I LOVE having others there to give me different perspectives, and I may be changing things. And doing rounded corners -- they won! Tomorrow, I'm working on the journal pages sets, as well as a new look and logo (and hopefully moving the blog up to the main domain) for the blog, along with some more new features. I've neglected things here for too long!

Anyway, vid time! I'm off to get my eyebrows waxed for the first time....wish me luck? *nervous!*

I've created a playlist on YouTube you can follow to get a "class" of journal-making fun...and all for free! There's also time to order a journal or two before the holidays!

{i need a little help, a bit of feedback, and some new focus}

I have always dreamed of developing a postcard set from my artwork. The hardest part, my friends, is picking out what to use! Above is a preview of the new Girls Postcard Set I hope to have available soon. But I need your help -- I already KNOW I love it -- and your opinion. What do you think? Does this seem like a good set? Would you rather see another image here instead? Straight or rounded corners?

(The upper left one is a journal page I recently created after an uplifting email from my dear friend Roben-Marie. She keeps me sane and grounded!)

Soon, I'll show you the first Journal Pages Postcard Set that will be printed at the same time as the Girls one.

I've been thinking a lot about this blog, and what I mean to do with it. I created this blog to fill a gap I found on the internet -- the lack of blogs about art journaling -- but have found the gap has really, really shrunk. So I'm trying to revise my original vision and aim not only for blogging, but in everything I present. I want to teach! I want to show you all new things! I want to foster budding relationships with journals and this intimiate art form!

In revising things, I hope to narrow my focus and bring more captivating and helpful content. I've gotten feedback so far asking for more pages, which I can totally do! But my artistic yearnings are also growing into paintings and printed matter and such, and I'll need to adapt things to fit that.

One of the great things that's come from this new postcard project has been sitting down and looking through my Flickr achieves. I originally got the account to post photos from my trip to Japan, and soon put up artwork, so my beginnings can be seen there!

1. moleskine-1, 2. DSC07002, 3. DSC08194, 4. queen faerie, 5. squares, 6. memory, 7. Bird, 8. Tiny King, 9. Which Path?, 10. free yourself, 11. Doodle Page, 12. Fun!, 13. Uncertainty, 14. lessons, 15. kira and the terrible, horrible day, 16. De-Vine Mystery, 17. flower child, 18. new journal!, 19. a better version of me, 20. pink and red, 21. why do I need feet?, 22. I am..., 23. Happy Fall, 24. inner peace, 25. divinity, 26. broken places, 27. 27/365: fractured reality/grace under pain, 28. moments, 29. :: life vs. love ::, 30. half-wing, 31. green and red, 32. lighthouse, 33. title page, 34. girltodo, 35. betterinmonths, 36. birds

Four and a half years of journals. Yes, I've only been doing this that long! And I feel I've only just come out of my shell and created art I love in the last two or three journals. I wanted to show you my journey so you can chart your own and see we all have to start somewhere!

I'm back at twitter and will be using the account to get your feedback and send out words of encouragement. 

More journal pages coming right up, along with a bookbinding video! I have three commissions I'm finishing up and will be filming the process. As one is a gift, I still have three slots left for your own custom-made art journal, perfect for the upcoming new year!