The Awe of Strangers and Inspiration

 

Spent Saturday morning out journaling in public with Becca. 

One of the most magical things about creating where others can see is when someone who has never seen an art journal before stops and asks to page through your journal.

A girl was walking by our table and stopped when she saw our spread-out mess of art supplies and drying journal pages. Amazed by our art, she asked if she could look through my journal. 

I’ve journaled in public long enough to be comfortable with strangers looking through my pages. This doesn’t come from a place of ego, or wanting to impress others. Instead, I want people to look through my journals because I want to inspire them with something they may have never seen before. There’s magic in that moment, a burst of possibility as they turn the pages and run their fingers over the texture and color they find. I love the smiles, the awe, the surprise that something like this exists. 

When I started playing in my journals, I was scared to share my work in public. Seeing disappointment or a lack of acceptance of my work in person would crush me, so I posted online and stayed in my art space, creating for myself. And since then, I pushed myself to work outside my comfort zone, outside the safety of my home.

I can’t tell you how many people have stopped to see what we’re doing when they spy our table full of art supplies. We live in a society where art is for Artists, and many believe they can’t do any, that they lack what is needed to express themselves visually. To see people creating for fun and out in public intrigues people long enough for them to believe, if only for a minute or two, that they might be able to do something artistic. 

It’s this environment -- creating with a friend at my side, constantly inspiring me, giggling, playing; being where people can see our art, how it’s made, and perhaps spark something in them -- that is brilliant and nourishing, and refills my well for the coming week, excited all over again to be journaling. 

So bring your favorite supplies, spread out, make a mess (just be sure to clean up after yourself!) and journal your heart out.

 

Journaling Deep Q&A

 

Hello, you marvelous darlings!

I'm hard at work on a painting, playing in my journal, and editing a new video for you guys (that will be posted tomorrow, how fun...and one of me and my brother, a newbie, journaling side-by-side...I thought that perspective, combined with his questions and my answers, would be fun!), so here's a quick little Q&A post, answering some of the questions I've gotten re: Journaling Deep from Facebook & via email. 

 

I'm really interested in your year long class but I have a couple of questions .... when is the class going to start?   Do we have to sign up for the entire year or can we go month by month?  I did take a look at your free lesson and I really liked it but I'd like to try out a month first before committing to it for an entire year.

Thanks so much, Emie

I think I used the word ‘class’ to give it some sort of structure. There is none. It is basically me sharing new discoveries, thoughts, and ideas with you, and going much more in-depth than I usually do on the blog. I love, more than anything, sharing something new with a friend, and love getting emails, so this idea was born. 

Think of it this way: it’s a mailing list. You get sent an email every week with some new bit for you to learn and think about. You pay month-to-month, $10. And if you can’t afford it come January, then you can unsubscribe. If you can afford it again in April, c’mon back and join us. If you try it for a month and decide it isn’t for you, then you can leave. No hard feelings — promise! 

Instead of shelling out a large amount of cash for an entire class all at once, you can get a lot of the material I’ll be teaching in my new series of in-person workshops or see the new sprouts of an idea that will grow into an online class later down the road for the cost of two yummy drinks at Starbucks. I wanted to be able to share with everyone — not just people who can afford the $50 or $60 for a class, but people like me, who don’t have a ton of money, but can save a little bit to have some fun. 

And, as the list grows, I’ll offer more and more content. It’s a simple trade of energy in the way our modern lives see it without asking too much of any single person — we can all pitch in and be inspired and help and such. And don’t think it isn’t interactive — I want to see what you make, what questions you have, what fears you’re facing. 

This doesn’t mean I won’t be blogging — far from it! I’ve become addicted, again, to writing and documenting my days and will continue to make videos for YouTube and write posts and share journal pages and techniques (I’m editing a new vid for y’all right now!). Instead, if you’d like to get a little more, go further with the type of content I share, then join, please. Whenever you can. I’ve said a year because I don’t know where I’ll be in my creative life next November. I may be loving the list and continue it. I may outgrow it and need to do something different. 

So, this is my year-long project. I have a good feeling about it. If you want, come along for the ride. It’s a flexible, personal, cheap way for us to have a bit of journaling fun. 

 

Samie  can I use paypal to pay for this class?  Having a hard time trying to sign up thru Amazon

I’ve set up a little way for people who are having issues with Amazon Payments to sign up and have a subscription. It requires me to manually add you, so please email me for all the details. It will operate via the honor system since you won’t automatically be taken off the mailing list when you unsubscribe via Paypal. 

 

Natalie I wondered if it was charged per month or do I have to pay for the whole year at once????

 It’s month-by-month. I gave the list a year term mostly for myself, to give me a way out if, after a year, I’ve outgrown it. Or maybe it will become something new and even more awesome! You’ll only be charged $10 a month, and you can leave or re-join at any time. 

However! If you leave, you won’t have access to the material from the months you weren’t on the list. I know most of you are amazing, honest people, but I do want to safeguard myself against someone signing up in, say, April, downloading the material from November - April, and then unsubscribing, therefor getting all those months without payment. I will have an archive of all the lessons, so if you are on the list and accidentally delete one of the emails, etc, I can always send you another copy. 

 

When I was thinking up my next venture, I thought, “What would be affordable and fun for ME?” And this is the answer I came up with! If one of my favorite artists said, “You can pay $10 a month and get all these lessons from me!” I’d jump at it in a heartbeat, knowing I’d love what I got, would be able to afford it, and if money was tight one month, I could just leave and save the money, joining up later.  

Have any more questions? Send ‘em to me! I’ll be sending out the first lesson tomorrow! What would you like to learn?

Introducing Journaling Deep

 

 

“I love where you're going with this newsletter, it's really helping me to think outside the box, and each week I can't wait to work on a page around the lesson. You're doing a fab job with these.” - Beth

“I really like this. It clearly explained a new way of adding an element to art journaling and I personally like the layered writing - never thought of that.  I find I don't want everything to be readable, especially to others.  I think this will appeal to both people who do a lot of writing and to people like me, who don't do much writing or when I do, I like it to be a bit obscured. “ - Michelle

A couple of months ago, I was sitting at a table with Connie chatting about art and life and creativity and how we go about our daily lives. Connie is a fountain of wisdom and inspiration, and we both found ourselves spilling our hearts to each other. A bit frightened to speak, I hesitated before revealing an idea that’d been growing in the back of my mind:

“I loved teaching True to You 2, especially going deeper with techniques and challenging my students with worksheets created to get them thinking about their art a bit more. I want to keep doing that, and have been toying with the idea of creating a paid mailing list.”

We’d been discussing workshops and costs and what this all means, and had both noticed that the more people pay for workshops, the more committed they are to the lessons within (we compared experiences - mine with True to You 2 and her with her Fearless Painting series). I wanted to create a list of ideas but wanted the members to want to be there.

Once I voiced this idea, it seemed to gain momentum. All the people I shared this idea with grinned and encouraged me to go for it. It just felt right, as though this was a natural metamorphosis of my creative life. Over the past few years, I’ve gained more and more confidence in myself, my art, and my talent, and have been pouring my heart out online. And while I love sharing all I can with you, I also love creating more, and being able to devote myself to said pursuits would be much easier with a little bit of cash coming in.

A month ago, I asked for beta testers, and they have been marvelous, patient women who’ve helped me take my ideas and refine them into weekly email blasts of techniques, prompts, ideas, and, soon to come -- videos, digital journal fodder, and challenge sheets. I go much further with tutorials, give support, and encourage you to expand your creativity by trying new things.

They come not as a pre-planned series of boring post, but a living, morphing diary of my own explorations and experimentation in my journal and artwork. When I become excited about something new, I share it with you.

Journaling Deep is a year-long email-based class for visual journalers. You can join at any point. And these notes will be delivered direct to your inbox, each Thursday, for $10 a month. 

 

 

On Getting in Your Own Way

 

I’m a happy little writing clam armed with tea and a rainy Sunday. 

Actually, I’m procrastinating. Big time. I’ve been writing a somewhat-steady 2,000 words a day as part of National Novel Writing Month, but this morning, I’ve done everything but write, including reading, an activity I try to avoid because I could be writing instead. 

It’s a breakneck pace, writing so fast. And I’m the kind of girl who likes to plan things out. Sure, I’ll just go with it, start a story, see what’s going on, but about 4 - 5,000 words in, I stop, see where I want it to go, begin doing research, and plot things out. 

As you can imagine, there’s really no time for that. In fact, it’s discouraged, as NaNoWriMo is more about quantity than quality. 

So why am I procrastinating this morning? 

It isn’t because I don’t like what I’m writing (in fact, it makes me giggle with glee when I re-read what I’ve written already). 

It isn’t because I’m unable to write (when I really get into the flow of things, I can actually write about 500 words in 20 min!).

It isn’t because I don’t want to (I do, I really, really do!).

 

It’s because my brain is getting in the way. 

I’m starting to think things like:

What if people don’t like this scene, or where this part is going?

What if I’m spending too much time with the characters and not enough on the plot?

What if I don’t have everything planned — is the story going to be any good without all that careful prep work? 

Why keep spending time on this — an entire month — if no one else is going to read it or I won’t make money from it?

 

I think the comment from my friend Beth summed everything up when she said (and I’m paraphrasing!): 

I’m so glad to hear you’re writing. I haven’t heard you this excited to write something in a long time. 

So the next time you’re sitting there with your journal, or a canvas, or clay, or a keyboard, or a pen in your hand, just let go and do it because it brings you joy. Because it makes you smile. Because you can pull something from your imagination and see it come into reality, even if no one else sees it. That’s the gold in life. I’d rather look back and say, “I had so much fun writing for that month!” than, “I wonder what would have happened if I had taken the risk and written a silly little story…” 

Plus, the enthusiasm from doing this one thing that brings you pure, untainted joy will spill over into other parts of your life. It’s infectious, joy is. 

I think I’m finally ready to sit down and write. 

Do Something Unexpected

 

I keep meaning to write longer posts, but have been working steady on my story for National Novel Writing Month. And as I'm still awake and at the computer at 12:30am, I think it's time for me to re-evaluate my time management as there is so much I want (and need!) to say. 

Above is the canvas you saw in yesterday's video, the one I splashed paint and water on. It wasn't a technique of any kind, rather, not one I've seen. But I've been thinking, lately, outside the box when it comes to how I approach creating art, and breaking the rules is, well, fun. 

A few years ago, I dropped my copy of Wreck This Journal in my pool. It was hard. There was, as you'd imagine, a certain amount of resistance. I had, in my hands, a book. And while I'd gotten over the bump of altering books for artwork or ripping out pages for collage fodder, throwing an entire book into a pool -- on purpose! -- frightened me. 

I remember a vacation one year, in Florida, where my mother dropped the book she'd been reading into the pool while floating along under the bright sunshine. The book, 'A is for Alibi,' was put in the microwave and tossed in the dryer for a few cycles, but was never the same. And maybe I was afraid that, by throwing my journal in the pool, it would never be the same. 

It wasn't. It was better. 

When I was sitting outside with fluid acrylics and a spray bottle, I knew I needed something more. And then the sprinklers came on. Why not put the canvas under the sprinkler? It would work much better than the little mister I have, and aren't canvases made to have wet media thrown on them, anyway? 

And so, while I was playing outside with the new camera, my brother experimenting in his own way with filming (I have taken him on as my student as a way to re-learn all the things about creating video I love), I thought throwing paint at a canvas would make for a wicked visual. And then, I eyed my water jar next to me and thought, wouldn't throwing this at the canvas be fun? 

If you can get outside, or in your garage, or an unfinished basement, or somewhere, do it. Go buy a cheap canvas from Michaels or Hobby Lobby or Big Lots. Open a tube of your favorite paint and throw it on there. Pretend your Jackson Pollock or Aelita Andre. Then, fill your water jar, position the canvas upright and throw it on there. Let it get all messy. Let it drip down and make spatters. Run your hands over it. Turn it different directions. 

Do something frightening and unexpected. 

I double-dog-dare you. 

An Armchair Art Solution

 

I'm not the only girl with physical problems, and certainly not the only who uses art and art journaling to cope with all that stems from it all. In fact, I created a small group on Facebook of creative women with FMS, as well as arthritis, chronic fatigue, & so on, where we support one-another's creativity (and give hugs on bad days). 

Living with all my various physical malidies means I can't always spend a day in the studio, no matter how much I want to. And yet, I don't let this keep me from journaling, writing, and experimenting. 

For days like today, when I'm so sore, I feel like a 5'7" purple bruise and have taken enough pain medication to, well, let's just say I'm a slightly foggy lump on my couch right now, I have an Art Box that I pull out for easy play in an armchair. It's slightly more involved than my purse/travel kit, but goes along the same lines as -- easy, low-mess, and colorful. 

The contents, of course, shift and change depending on what I'm into at the time, or want to play with. That stamp set has been in the box for awhile because I want to stamp on my pages, but never really get around to it. 

 

Cavalini & Co Alphabet set, Fabre-Castel Gel Sticks, & Caran d'Arch Neocolor IIs (they're stored in an Art Bin box, a collection I grew one at a time over five years).

My Lamy Safari fountain pen, pencil, eraser, Sharpie water-based poster paint in white, waterbrush, and set of neopastels (again, slowly growing collection one or two at a time).

My purse/travel case. For more on this, watch this video. I've added a bit of sequin waste I bought last week because HEARTS. I now have all sorts of circles, hearts, and stars! (I also have a fun new technique you can use with them that I'll be sharing later this week...)

And washi tape. It's oh-so-fun.

Lately, I've been asking myself why I hit publish on my entries, as I have several planned a week in advance (and photographed with my new camera) so I can keep up this updating-every-day-but-Sunday thing I've got going (and how is that going for YOU, dear readers?). So why this post? Because I discovered a month ago that my purpose is in alignment with my challenges, and in sharing them, and in giving tips and tricks to get around whatever may not be working for you right now. So if you're sick or disabled, or just a TV junkie, here's a system that seems to work for me. 

Journal Girl Stamp Winners!

 

It's taken me a bit longer than usual to get to announcing the winners of my uber-awesome stamp give away. Some of you may already know this, but I do live with FMS, and that's all the result of a Bad Fall I took years and years ago. Another bit of fun from said fall was the complete Messing Up of my left hip. My bursitis flared-up to Previously Unknown Levels of Pain, and I spent the past two days in a painkiller-induced haze. I may have gotten control of the computer and possibly posted on Facebook. 

Anyway! Pain levels are down about 50% from there (which is still a steady 7 on the Pain Scale That Is Totally Subjective) and I was able to not only get in the studio to make a mess (see above photo), but get all the stuff together to announce the winners!

Winner #1:

 

Winner #2:

Congrats, ladies! Send me a message so I can get your details to send out your winnings! 

Thank you to EVERYONE who entered. I really loved reading all your comments, and may just print them all off for a Bad Day Balm to perk me right up!