Who Are You

  This month I'm participating in Dawn Devries Sokol's NaNoJouMo 2012 challenge.  Each day she posts a prompt.  I like the challenge because they are titles of rock songs from the 70's.  Since I always listen to music while I'm creating, this challenge appealed to me.

  I am using "Walls Notebook", by Sherwood Forlee for my backgrounds.

Airstream Dreamin'

  This drawing is a gift for my husband.  It's of our Airstream trailer that we recently bought.

Morning Pages

This morning's pages.  Out of curiosity I timed how long it took me to create them.

Colorful Time

  Sometimes when I share my journal pages, someone comments with "I'd love to see these done in color."  Well, me too.  I like color, but I like black and white too.  Honestly, the reason I don't do a lot more pages in color is because I am impatient.  It takes TIME to color in stuff.  I'm lucky to get my pages done, let alone color them.  It's that short attention span thing.
  Today I did my pages in color because I got a brand spanking new set of colored pencils.  I had fun coloring.  And just as I figured, it took a lot of time to do them.  I was getting impatient to get them DONE.

Maybe that's ME

I've always been enchanted with other people's drawings.  Mine-not so much.  Why was I so critical of my own creations?  Are all artists that way?
I had FUN doing these pages and I did them in less than an hour.
Maybe they're child-like, maybe they're whimsical.  Maybe that's ME.

Doodling

What I did before bed time:  Noodles.  Night time doodles.

Current Events

  Some days it's not easy to journal, so I fall back on some easy prompts.  And before I know it, I've created a concise picture of my day.

Journal Pages

Spreads from my drawing/collage book and my daily journal

Memory Matters

  I have a journal just for my quick drawings and collages.  I'm not always happy about my drawing, but the memory is all that really matters to me.

 

Journals Today

  I've been in a good creative place recently.  I give some credit to the fact that the temperatures here in Colorado have been "cooler".  Ironic that I call temperatures in the mid 80's "cooler" but that's what they are compared to those of Tucson.
  I have two major journals going on right now, my daily one and one devoted to drawing.  Maybe there's no real difference between them because I make collages in both.

I only wear these around the house.

I sat on our back deck and quickly drew this.  I was behind a screen, so the squirrel couldn't see me.  I really could hear it as it chittered at my dogs.  It lets my dogs think they can actually catch it.

Filling the Void

  Four hours sleep last night means I've been dragging all day.
  Somehow I managed to put these pages together.  What's unusual is that I've used magazine images in my past two spreads.  I've NEVER done this before because I believe magazine images are someone else's vision.  Then there's the huge problem of copyright issues, should I ever have my journal published. (Not that anyone's been knocking at my door to do so.)   So I don't  want to get into the habit of making magazine images a major part of my journal pages.

  I couldn't help myself though.  Because I haven't been well, I've been taking it easy by reading my favorite magazine "Vanity Fair".  Recently VF has had ads that have really appealed to me, whether it's the composition or the color or the flat out BEAUTY of the clothes being shown.  Inspiration!

Prada Day

  I'm working with aching hands and a headache today-it's overcast and threatening to rain.  I love rain.  I just wish I didn't have to hurt when it rolls in.
  Prada has the most gorgeous ads for this Fall.  They feature actors like Willem Dafoe and Gary Oldman.  My kind of men-craggy, kind of dangerous...mysterious.

  My pages may not make sense today and that's alright.

Just DO IT

I did this spread this morning, after several days away from my journal.  I was avoiding my journal.  I don't know why-I didn't have any words in me.  That's when I tend to go back to doing some drawing or collage.

I need to remember whenever I have spells like this that I need to just put a pencil mark, or a piece of paper or tape down...JUST DO IT.

Inspiration from the Ordinary

  5 Random Things about Me:
1.  For years I've collected quotes
2.  I sometimes read at least 4 books at a time.  I'm rereading "The English Patient" by MIchael Ondaatje now
3.  For years I've kept a little sketchbook of ideas, swatches, etc.  It's like the popular "smash books" people rave about
4.  Sometimes inspiration comes from just pasting things in my sketchbook.
5.  I never refer to my sketchbooks afterwards.  At the time of pasting, I just needed to do something with the bits of flotsam.  Or unload my swirling brain.

Here is today's very quick pasting of bits.  I loved the phrase I came across from "The English Patient"--"the drifting landscape of stars".

The photo is blurry because I was more in a hurry to get it taken and get to my idea!

Shifting Gears

  Lately my journals aren't "doing it" for me.  I haven't wanted to do anything in them-not even write an entry.  Instead of beating myself up about it, I know it's time to try something else.
  There are so many things I like to create with.  It was good to do something 3 dimensional, even if it was a small 6 inch square piece.

Raining Creativity

  It's been raining on and off today.  I'm enjoying the cooler temperatures and also hoping this rain finally douses the last flames of the Waldo Canyon fire.

  I finally finished a silk arrangement I'd been putting off for months.  And I did a few pages in my journal.

A Positive Message

  Two weeks ago I was headed towards my sister's house on the west side of Colorado Springs.  As I waited to make the turn onto her street I noticed huge black clouds and leaping flames in the horizon.  Something was on fire.
  Cedar Ridge, a community of beautiful, upscale homes, seemed to be engulfed in flames.  Many neighborhoods and mountain communities were threatened and evacuation was mandatory.  The fire appeared to have started in Waldo Canyon, a popular hiking trail up Highway 24.
  The fire had everything going for it.  Colorado has been in a drought for years and the mountain snowpack was non-existent.  Winds kicked up and greedy flames devoured the straw-like underbrush.  The most destructive fire in Colorado history was born.
  Two people died.  346 homes were destroyed and countless others were damaged.  18,000 acres went up in flames.  At the height of the fire 30,000 people were evacuated.  A popular local attraction, the Flying W Ranch, was totally destroyed.  It had stood for 60 years.
  Heroic efforts on the part of firefighters from all over the country have the fire at 70% containment now.  It will be at least a week before the authorities feel they have it under control.

  Watching the television coverage of the Waldo Canyon Fire paralyzed me.  I was horrified and felt helpless.  Then I realized the victims of this fire would need help now and in the months to come.  So I joined the people of this beautiful mountain city and gave what I could in time, money and resources.  A community will be rebuilt.

Wasn't Broken, Didn't Need Fixing

  After just a few minutes making marks in the "other" journal, I lost interest.  So I'm back to my good ol' favorite, the Moleskine squared journal.  There was nothing wrong with what I was creating in, so why tinker with it?
  (Because we artists get bored...)
  What is different with this moleskine is that I got the soft covered version of the journal.  I love it!  I love its flexibility and how it feels to the touch.

  And I love my grid pages...

Trying Something New

  I experimented with many kinds of journals over the years.  It wasn't until I stumbled across the Moleskines that I found a journal I could stick with.  If I had discovered moleskines before, I would have saved myself a lot of money.
  I loved the 8x5 size and the options of ruled, blank, grid (square), watercolor and sketch paper.    The stretch band enclosure came in handy and the pocket in the back cover was brilliant!
  I've been using the grid/square type of moleskine exclusively for awhile now.  With the grid on the pages I no longer had that "blank page fear" or the "first page freeze" as I like to call it.
  But I still look at blank journals.  I can't help myself.  Today when I was at Hobby Lobby I found a black journal I just might try out.  It's an inch bigger than my beloved moleskines.  It has a stretchy band and a back pocket.  It also has a place to stick your pen or pencil.  I really liked the paper-it's off white, thick like water color paper and has a nice feel to it since it's not slick.
  What else to like about it?  It cost just $7.99, compared to around $15.00 for a large moleskine.
  We all like a bargain when we can find them.  I'm willing to give this journal a try.

Finished Quote Page

  Finished finally!

Calendar Journal, May

  I've been back here in Colorado Springs since May 25th.  There is a lot we want to do to this, our second home.  I call it my biggest mixed media project, one that is always in the works.
  I'm ready to call it DONE.  I can see the end of the tunnel.  Finally I can start on the projects I want to do as opposed to the ones that needed to be done.
  Here are my pages for May in my Calendar Journal.

  Maybe I'll get June started before the month is actually over!

The Person You Are

This page took me two days, working on it off and on.  That's far more time than I usually spend on my pages.  Once I started it was as if I was in a peaceful place.  It was hard to stop.

Today's Quote

Yesterday's Page

A quote I like inspired this page in my moleskine square (grid) journal.

Destination Unknown

A page today from my journal, the lyrics just stuck with me.

Another Post? On the Same Day?

  I liked this quote when I first saw it.  I knew I wanted to do something with it.
  What I learned:
  I love lines.  I love curves.  I like to draw.
  I don't have the patience to color in things.

Busy Busy

  I'm back in Colorado Springs now for the summer.  Some day we'll come to this "vacation home" and actually "vacation".  So much to do, it's overwhelming.

  I drew this cockatoo Saturday night.  I almost threw it away as I was unhappy with it.  Then I remembered to just let it "rest" overnight.  I did and I liked it much better then.  What I'm learning is not to give in to the Inner critic that makes me do impulsive things like chuck a drawing.  What I've also learned is not to do anything when it's late at night and I'm tired.

Life Isn't Always Unicorns and Rainbows

I did these pages after I'd recovered from a heat triggered migraine that lasted two days.  Granted, writing about a headache isn't a lovely journal topic.  But life isn't always about unicorns and rainbows, fabulous adventures and romance.  I believe in journaling about the good and the bad, the big things and little events in my life.  I'm journaling my truth.

Hyacinth Macaw Drawing

  With a length (from the top of its head to the tip of its long pointed tail) of about 3 1/2 feet the hyacinth is the largest macaw in the world.   

 The hyacinth macaw is one of my favorite birds.  I love their blue feathers and the yellow that lines their eyes.  They almost have a clownish, mischievous look to them.  I really enjoy drawing them.

My Journal

  My journaling style has always been more about content, writing, doodling and experimenting with fonts. Here is one of the latest spreads in my journal.

Black Palm Cockatoo

This is my drawing of a palm cockatoo.  It's also known as a Black palm cockatoo or Goliath cockatoo.  This parrot is about 24 inches long.  It lays only one egg, but in captivity it can live to be 90 years old!  The palm is a protected species and is very uncommon to find it in captivity here in America.

Mi Frida

  Here is a drawing I did for Jane Desrosier's "Frida" challenge.  I find drawing faces very challenging, especially if I'm going for a realistic look.  So I drew Frida "my way".  Why not? Frida did everything her way.

My Recent Drawing of a Cockatoo

  According to wikipedia there are 21 species of cockatoos.  I think they are spectacular birds. It would be a great project to draw one of each species.

  Two down, nineteen to go, with this recent drawing of a blue-eyed cockatoo.

My Latest Calendar Journal Pages

  Seven months later and I'm still creating pages in my calendar journal.  Hurrah!  I like this project because once a month I play with paint, charcoal and whatever else that interests me, and create some back ground pages.  I prefer to journal quickly. I use just two things-a Uniball Vision Elite pen and my ever present moleskine squared journal.  So to throw other media around and work in a larger journal is a good exercise for me.

  I was inspired by Kate Crane's monthly calendar journal.  Her blog is www.thekathrynwheel.blogspot.com

Cockatoo

 I tend to draw when I'm supposedly watching t.v.  I just can't sit still for an hour-I have to be doing something.  I did this quick drawing of a Moluccan cockatoo today.

Letter Love 101

  When I was in high school I took a class in calligraphy.  It was a challenge but I ended up enjoying it.  I still admire beautiful handwriting and interesting fonts.
  Artist and author Kate Johnson encouraged me to share my art journal pages in her facebook group Artist's Journal Workshop.  I had my doubts that my journals belonged in that amazing group because my pages have more hand writing on them than sketches and drawings.  She assured me they belonged in the group because there are all kinds of ways to keep an art journal.
  I think it was the artist and avid journaler Danny Gregory that said in one of his books that "writing is drawing".  That phrase stuck with me.  I don't always have the time and patience to draw something.  But I'm always writing something.  (I thought of becoming a writer back in high school too.)  If I'm writing something, it doesn't take long for me to add a little flourish here or there.  Ta daaaah!  I'm writing and drawing-two things I immensely love, in my journal.
  Yesterday I saw that artist Joanne Sharpe has an on-line class called "Letter Love 101" where she teaches different forms of lettering.  During the class students will make three journals and fill them with their lessons.  I wondered how did I miss this?!
  The first lesson was to get a simple composition tablet and decorate the cover.  This was what I made this morning.  It's very simple because I don't usually make the cover for a journal first.  But I see that this has potential because as class goes on, I'll be writing on its cover.  After all, that's what I did to my tablets when I was in high school.

 

Morning Spill Pages

I used to journal in black and white with a black Uniball Vision Elite pen.  Lately if time allows, I've added color.
At a used book store I scored a book filled with different alphabets.  I'd like to experiment with more lettering.
I took a calligraphy class when I was in high school.  It was a challenge being a lefty, but I managed.
The thing with calligraphy and me is that it's also a challenge for me to slow down and letter.  I think with more practice that will change.
As time allows.
I don't know sometimes what I'm in such a hurry for!

Making Time for Art

My "Morning Spills" journal:

  If I compared myself to other artists, I'd come up woefully short in the "Productive" department. But one thing I do fairly consistently is write or draw in my journal(s). They are places I can unload my restless brain to.  Thank goodness!

  Here are my pages for my monthly calendar journal.  I'm surprised that I'm still sticking with this project since I have a hard time committing to on line projects.  Maybe I shouldn't pat myself on the back so soon, as I've only started this journal in November of 2011.

Juggling Journals

  I've never had so many journals going on at one time.  They are:

1.  my daily journal, which currently is in a Little Prince special edition moleskine.  I didn't like the thin, un-lined paper in it, so I tipped in lined papers of all kinds.  It's fat and gapes wide open.  It's my favorite journal of all so far.
2.  my calendar journal-a monthly journal in squared format.  I create the background and cut out squares for each day of the month.  It's turning out to be a quick, fun account of my monthly activity.
3.  my Smash book-I glue stuff that interests me in this one, such as articles about archaeology from the newspapers or magazines
4. my bird journal-quick drawings of birds,especially finches
5. my chameleon journal-drawings of chameleons.  I started this in memory of Peach
6. my bird clippings journal-bird ephemera I've collected and am finally putting in one book
7. a nature journal-real feathers, pods, seeds, etc. that I've collected from my back yard in Tucson

  This is a spread in my Little Prince daily journal.

Shaking Things Up

  Monday I rearranged the chameleon/sun room.  Tuesday I re-did the area where I throw paint around and cut and paste paper.  Today I feel like redoing the area where I lose beads and drop needles on.  In order to do that, there will be some switching of furniture.
  How badly I want an area rearranged adds up to creating the biggest mess possible.

  I just finished this pencil, charcoal and Panpastel drawing.  I usually draw just using black.  I'm getting more comfortable using color in my drawings.  PanPastels has a lot to do with that ease and comfort.  It's like applying makeup to the subject being drawn.

"Little Friend"

Getting Busy

  There are three sayings that I am fond of.  The first one is "No regrets."  The second is "It's a beautiful day", straight out of U2's tune.  And lastly there is "Action is the antidote to despair".
  I lost my first chameleon, Peaches, on Monday.  I've never been a person to get inside my head and myself when it comes to sadness or grief.  I have to do something.  And by doing something, that action often honors who or what I have lost.
  Yesterday I completely rearranged the sun room.  It used to be a place where all the exercise equipment was.  Then I convinced my husband, well, whined, that my chameleon cages and the 55 gallon aquarium would look GREAT in the sun room.  My husband graciously gave it up and helped me move cages and various paraphernalia into the room.
  I've rearranged the room twice now but it looks even better this second time.  I worked so hard at it that I slept like a rock last night.
  Then there's my studio.  I'm lucky to have a very large space that is dedicated to all the things I like to create with.  It has big windows all the way around it and is very sunny and inviting.  We had two "solatubes" installed, so the cave-like darkness is gone. I have a sewing area, a jewelry/bead area and a paper/journaling/paint area.
  This morning I swept my studio and arranged some storage carts.  I really like how it turned out.  I took some photos so I can remember what the table top looks like when it's not buried under various projects.
  It will probably revert back to an archaeologist's dream by tomorrow.

  My desk area.  Looking over me as I create is a very long wood staff with a raven's head carved at the end of it.  I got it at the gem show last year.  I painted the eyes red.  The staff is one of my favorite things since I respect all birds.

  Here is a photo of a make believe fish I beaded.  I think I'll probably attach it to a coral branch for decoration.

  I feel the tired good that comes from getting stuff done.  Now I'll probably work on something in my chameleon drawing journal.

Artifacts

  When I was a kid, I wanted to be an archaeologist.  I love ancient things and mythology too.
  A vendor at the recent Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil show had some very interesting things for sale.  An old necklace caught my eye.
  The necklace was made of Roman glass, each bead individually formed.  I've always loved Roman glass and had never seen beads like those.
  So I bought it. The price was far below what I thought it would cost--a real deal.  I love the beads and the various colors.  This necklace is my favorite purchase from the gem show.
  I'm going to re-string it.  And yes, I'm going to wear it.

The Quiet Times

I used to get in a tizzy when I felt like my creativity had gone on hiatus.  Now I realize that the quiet moments are very important-as important as the busy, "all over the place" times.  Everyone needs a nap or a vacation from all the buzz going on.  I especially treasure my quietude.

I call my journaling time "My Morning Spill".  I have my coffee and take my journal and let it go.  Sometimes my coffee accidentally "goes" on my journal pages, and that's all right too.

My Latest Jewelry Creations

When the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Bead Shows come to town, they always inspire me to get out some beads I've been hoarding and create with them!  That way I can make room for the next crop of beads that I know I just must have.

This necklace is made with some components from Susan Lenart Kazmer's "Industrial Chic" line.  There are also broken jewelry parts that I used and some things my art friends sent me.  My favorite things are the metal spinners that came from my late father's fishing tackle box.

I love creating with bits of things that might have ended up in a landfill somewhere.  They have a new life and story to tell when I use them in my jewelry.