This Horse Isn't Dead Yet

 

I've always liked this quote that I pasted into a collaborative journal I worked on long, long ago. I think it's a good reminder that when things are no longer serving their purpose it's time to just let them go. This little blog has been sorely neglected for the last few years and I've spent a lot of time wondering if it's time to "dismount." It's not that I lost my art-making mojo. I'm still creating. Possibly more now than ever before. But I've spent a lot of time wondering about the purpose for this blog and whether it serves a purpose at all. A lot of time. Heaps of time. So much time. 

Here is what this blog is not. It's not a marketing tool since I don't sell anything here. I don't have an Etsy site or online shop. It's not a promotional tool since I'm not trying to interest anyone in my latest book or online class or workshop. I don't have any of those things. I'm not even sure I want any of those things. At this point in my life, I'm not trying to turn my passion for making things into my livelihood. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just not my purpose. 

So why am I here? What's the point?  

To share. And hopefully, in some tiny way, to inspire. To spread the love. That's it. And it's enough for me. 

In light of that conclusion, I can now say this horse isn't dead yet!  

Hop on as I gallop off to search for love, truth, and beauty in the world and to share it here with anyone who cares to travel along. 

Peace and love to you my friends.

xoxo

Good Journaling Weather

We're experiencing another arctic blast here in the Midwest. In other words--it's good journaling weather. It's the perfect opportunity to stay indoors and cut, paste, paint, and doodle to your heart's content.

I've been working in this particular journal for more than five years.

It was started in a journaling class and has continued from there. I took the class with two friends and since the instructor's name was Judith, we affectionately call these books our "Judith Journals."

It's primarily a cut and paste journal. I've also heard other people call them glue books.

The idea is to collect words and images that speak to you and then put them together in a layout that makes sense to you, or tells a story, or maybe is just visually pleasing in some way.

I collect my images from art magazines, mainstream magazines, old books, research journals, maps, wallpaper, calendars, and anything else that catches my eye. (I know there's a typo on this page but Howard Finster taught me not to worry about that.)

At one point during the 5+ years of working in this journal, I started to feel as though the work wasn't really original since the images were created by others. But then I realized that nobody else in the world but me would arrange these exact images in this exact way. Even if someone else had access to the same images, they would most likely use them to tell a different story in a completely different way.

Around year 3 or 4 of working in this journal, I really wanted it to be done. I wanted every page to be filled so that I could put it on the shelf and start a new journal.

But then something happened and I totally fell in love with the process of filling this book little by little and bit by bit. The journey really has become the destination and now I never want the journey to end.

I keep building on what's already there, and filling the few remaining blank pages. This is a journal that calls to me. And when it does, I usually drop everything else and focus on the book for a few days, or a week, or however long it takes to satisfy the need to cut, paste, arrange, and admire the view to this point. Then I'll put it away and work on other projects until the call comes again. Do you have a journal like this? One that you only work in when you hear the call or feel the pull? One that is more of a journey than a destination? One that you will be happy to never say is finished?

A Poetic New Journal

The minute I picked up this old paperback book, I knew I wanted to turn it into a new journal. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the color and pattern on the cover.

I filled it with a tan colored cover stock that I've had forever. I used a corner punch to round the corners of each page because I thought it just called for rounded corners.

I glued the book covers to another piece of card stock to give them a bit more weight and rounded those corners too. Then I glued a piece of soft black leather to the covers and bound it all together with some gifted thread using the long stitch. I made a mistake and the pattern on the back cover ended up upside down--oops.
 

I considered cutting out the title to make a window opening for my own title, but then decided to leave it as is. How could you not love that old penguin logo on a book called "The Metaphysical Poets?" Really, what does that mean? I gave myself about ten minutes to figure it out then realized I really didn't need to know in order to just appreciate the graphic beauty of this old book.

I plan to use this as a note taking journal and a place to scribble down whatever is inspiring me at the moment. Who knows--maybe I'll even manage to include a few metaphysical poems.

An Adventure So Big It Needed Its Own Journal

Last month I went on a grand adventure to visit my daughter in Bangkok, Thailand. Even though she’s been living in Thailand for over a year, it was my first trip there. (or anywhere, for that matter.) 
 

 

Before I left, I made a journal and filled it with a variety of papers and bound it with a long stitch binding.

The image on the cover came from an old book I rescued from the landfill.

I packed a small bag of art supplies that included markers, glue sticks, a travel watercolor set, a burnisher, washi tape, a ruler, and a tiny pair of kid’s scissors which was confiscated by security on the way home. 

I journaled every single day and included whatever ephemera I accumulated or found while I was there. 

 

The more I wrote, the easier it became and the more I wanted to write. 

 

I did a good job of estimating and rationing the pages because I ended up filling the book without running out or having too many empty pages.

It truly was a grand adventure, and one that I can relive over and over whenever I page through my journal.

A Peek Inside My Journal

At the beginning of the year, I wrote about the journal I made from painted paper. I use this journal as a place to record my art-related activities and have been slowly filling it up with a lot of writing and bits of this and that. I love the look and feel of the painted paper, but sometimes writing on it can be a little tricky. I've had to experiment with a variety of pens and have to give the ink time to dry to avoid smears and blurs. Although I think most of it looks OK, it doesn't allow me to be as spontaneous and write as often as I'd like. Maybe I'll use a combination of painted and plain paper when I make the next one.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

By the light of the wintery moon, January was filled with plenty of indoor fun.

Sipping tea and altering books.

Painting paper to use in a brand new journal.

Learning a new binding technique.

Journaling.

Watching movies and stitching up bits of fabric.

As I work my way through Jude Hill's Spirit Cloth 101.

And fabric piles up under the coffee table like snow drifts in the driveway.

Scribbliscious

I’ve recently discovered the fine art of scribbling. 

It’s fun. It’s easy. It’s relaxing. It’s liberating. It fills up a page rather quickly.

 

Scribbling words makes a bold statement.

 

I love including my hands in a journal. Here I’ve used a layered scribbling technique.

 

If you haven’t scribbled for a while, you should give it a whirl. Be bold. Be free. Be scribbliscious.