all saints

Calendar-wise I think I missed All Saints day by a month or so, but journal-wise its today.

a fine line

I've struggled with this question before, and have not come up with a satisfactory answer. What makes certain pages feel more "crafty" than others? Where is that fine line between art and craft? And, does it matter? Today's pages felt somewhat "scrapbook-y" to me and I can't put my finger on what the difference is.

living things

Maybe I was drawn to these images of bugs, plants, fish, flowers because of the seeming lack of life in my environment right now. I know its there, it is just more difficult to find and appreciate under inches of snow and breathtaking cold.

still life

I had forgotten how much I was enjoying this journal. Working on it is almost meditative. I keep saying it is directing its own course, but the reality is I'm just getting out of my own way.

the path

those are the words that found their way onto the new page in my current journal. I'm back to it after a long break for travel and the travel journal. My mind was wandering as I was working, getting very philosophical about paths and journeys and journals--how those two words are from the same root meaning how far you can travel in one day. Suddenly I realized that I only had about twenty minutes left to get my butt out the door on my dog walking "path" if I wanted to complete that "journey" in one day's light! Nothing like reality to bring you screeching back to the straight and narrow path.

finishing touches

I stitched all the sections of my St. Petersburg journal together this weekend, added a map of the city to the inside cover and the final piece de resistance--the fur lining.

scary baby chocolate

I love going in grocery stores when I'm in a foreign country (why is that? I hate it here at home!) I like looking at the labels and seeing what is and isn't available, foodwise. These were the labels from some of the chocolate bars we bought. The "scary baby" chocolate was the best.

putting it together

I wasn't sure how it would work out to try and put the travel journal together after the fact, but once I jumped in, it turned out to be alot of fun. Reliving the trip, picking out favorite photos to include. And I love the way the pieces just fit together--the happy coincidences that so often happen when you're working on a project like this.

back from the USSR

Yeah, I know its not the USSR anymore, but I've got that Beatles song in my head. As has been known to happen, trying to keep up with a journal while traveling is tough. St. Petersburg in November is definitely not the place to sit on a bench and sketch the architecture! But, I'm working on putting all my little saved bits and pieces together now that I'm home.

neglect

this journal has suffered some neglect the last few days while I've been busy with other projects. I thought I should give it a little attention before it gets put aside again for a week while I'm gone. Hopefully I'll have plenty of full travel journal pages to share when I get back. Dosvidania!

New journal

I haven't really been slacking off, just not posting for a few days. I got inspired this weekend to make a journal to take on my trip to Russia next week. My inspiration came from Mary Ann Moss who makes the most wonderful, wild journals when she travels (and everyday) and shares them on her blog "Dispatch From LA". Here are just a few pages. I'm going to wait to bind the sections into a book when I get home, hoping I might find some fun paper or fabric while I'm there. I do plan to make it fur-lined. C'mon, its November in St. Petersburg!

blue chair, green leaf

this is starting to sound like some sort of Dr. Suess book.....

blue chair

Digging through some old papers, I found this blue chair from a printmaking class I took awhile ago and so into the journal it went next to the back side of the Matisse quilt. I didn't notice till later that it is very much like the blue chair that the woman is sitting on in the Matisse painting. This book just keeps finding its own way forward.

matisse quilting

Matisse card pulls out of the pocket

I needed a little infusion of color after the somber November snow pages. Matisse is just the thing. Of course, there are few situations in life that can't be improved by a little Matisse!

a cool frosty evening

flap folded out showing caption "a cool frosty evening
among the closing days of November"

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself with this peaceful snowy scene and the caption, "a cool frosty evening among the closing days of November". Must be I have Russia on my mind, where I will be among the closing days of November.

hearts and camels

How did they end up together? I've got no explanation, but I like it.

visiting the pyramids

Somehow the page with three little holes punched in it became the great pyramids of Egypt complete with camels. Wonder where the caravan of camels will lead me tomorrow.....

orange dots

the flap folds out, the words underneath say "you are here"

the orange fruit is a flap that opens--see above

So far in this journal, each page has bled over to the next in some way forming the starting point for that page. Its a bit of a stretch, but the best I could come up with for this page was the paper punch holes up in the corner.

possumus

Possumus is latin for we can

Possumus is latin for "we can". That is what the little words say on the dark background. They were there when that page went into the journal, so they stayed.

map of the world

the map at the bottom forms a pocket

cards in the pocket

the map at the bottom of yesterday's page got folded up to form a pocket--that was my starting point today. I found myself overthinking the direction the pages were headed and made myself stop and go with the flow.

possesed

the strips are loose and fold over the picture

each strip of paper has a few words glued onto it

the stripes at the far right fold over to the following page

I just finished reading a book in which the main character writes a book that takes on powers of its own. Maybe its just the power of suggestion, but I know the feeling. This current journal seems to be directing the progress and telling its own story and I'm just the conduit. (if it starts directing me to write page after page of "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" ala The Shining it will be time to retire this particular book!)

playing along

(rectangle on the right hand page is a cellophane window that opens to the next page)

So far, this journal seems to be taking on a life of its own and I'm just along for the ride. And I'm
OK with that. I'll just keep playing along and see where it takes me.

inspiration

"Inspiration is 99% perspiration"--I do believe the old saying. You gotta do the work. But sometimes it feels easier than that. I started out with a scrap of purple paper with a practice pomegranate print on it (say that 3 times fast) and the rest just fell into place. Maybe today was the karmic pay-off for the "perspiration" that went into yesterday's leaf mounting extravaganza!

turn over a new leaf

I had this vague plan of starting the new journal with fall leaves in some sort of open overlapping way (think wax paper placemats). It turned out to be way more fussing than I expected, but its a nice beginning.

start all over again

I finished off the red, dog-chewed journal yesterday and it is time to start a new one. I spent some time looking through the three I have filled since starting this daily process. Its seems like a good time to take a measure of where I am, how far I've come, where I'm headed, etc.

-choosing a journal to work in has been a bit of a Goldilocks process. Too big, too small, seeking "just right". Or maybe, continuing to change sizes is a good thing, a way to keep the process fresh.

-I started with the idea of wanting to improve my comfort with drawing because I've been frustrated in the past when trying to keep a journal while traveling. I had hoped daily practice would improve that. Instead, I've done some drawing, but lots of other stuff as well. So going forward I'll recommit to the drawing, but keep enjoying all the other stuff too.

-Looking through the first book I worked in, I noticed that I did a lot more experimenting and just trying out new ideas. I'll try to aim for more of that again. I really enjoyed it and it keeps the creative juices flowing.

So, here I go on #4!

studio table

True to the blog name, this is a "table of contents". And I even did some selective editing of contents while I was drawing. Maybe this dreary, rainy day should be studio clean-up day........NAH.

autumnal delights

My daily horoscope this morning encouraged me to "sample the cornucopia of autumnal delights". Seriously, how do you respond to such a statement while eating your cheerios?! It sets a tone for the day ahead.

Center for Book Arts

Tonight was a meeting of the journal collective which is held at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. I like to go early enough that I can sit and have a bite to eat in the cafe before the meeting--they always have good, out-of-the-ordinary soups. I did this sketch of two women sitting at a table right next to the open staircase--it made a nice backdrop.

sunshine

My dog, Bonnie, came into the studio and circled around til she found a spot in the patch of October sunshine coming in the window. I didn't even give her a hard time about acting like a cat--I think she has been missing the sun as much as I have.

future applesauce

These fat, red Macintosh apples might not be looking quite so shiny and cheerful if they knew the fate awaiting them in the very near future!

apropos of nothing

Its a phrase from a song--maybe Sheryl Crow?-- and it came to mind when I did this piece today. No particular context or inspiration. Just using the colors at hand.

dipchycks

I was so taken with the idea of diptychs using images from two people that it evolved beyond just a post on my blog into one all its own. Check out the newly minted "Dipchycks", a combined effort between my sister and myself. It promises to be lots of fun......