WTJ Update

I've been making progress in my journal, but I'm still sticking with doing the "safer" pages. I've sewn a page, made thick and thin lines, rubbed a page with dirt, tore out a page and put it through the wash cycle and glued it back in, dribbled paint on a page, glued in random items that I found on the street, glued, scribbled, pressed leaves, and dropped the journal from my second story balcony. All of that was fun, but I realized that I wasn't pushing myself to actually do something destructive. I decided that I needed to muster up the courage to take the journal into the shower. I began very cautiously by hanging it from the soap dish using string. As I showered, I noticed that the journal was getting sprayed only lightly. I really wanted to get it wetter, but on the other hand, I didn't want it to get saturated because of potential mold issues. I repositioned the journal so more spray would hit it. By this time I was really getting into the process and would purposely aim the shower head to spray on the journal. The end result was that the front and back covers, and pages closest to the covers, were fairly wet. The inner pages were more protected, so only the edges of those pages were wet. The journal is now drying, and I'm happy to say that it has taken on a somewhat warped look. All in all, I was surprised that I was able to let go and not be so protective of my work; in fact, taking it in the shower was liberating and fun.

New Journal Page

Recently, my friend Lindsay invited me to participate in a local artists group known as the Blind Faith Book Club. Members meet monthly to socialize and display their art. This month's prompt was "What I did on my Summer vacation". We were to create a project of our choice using only things we already had in our craft supplies. The project could be a scrapbook page, journal page, fiber art piece, paper sculpture, or whatever. Since circumstances have prevented me from doing anything fun this summer, I chose to create a journal page so I could write about how much I miss traveling and camping.

As you may notice, some of my words and letters in the journaling are a little darker in spots. This is the result of the gel pen I was using. The pen kept skipping so I had to go back over some letters, and I also had spots where the ink was smearing. I left things as they were; quite a change for me, since before doing Wreck This Journal I would have been really upset about how imperfect the journaling turned out. Surprise of surprises, I actually like the way the lettering looks.

Wreck This Journal Update

Well, so far I've managed to rip, chew, cut, tear, poke holes, scratch, pour coffee, drip paint, draw, burn, and generally be destructive to the pages of my journal. I've collected fruit stickers and grocery receipts to glue into the journal. I'm working on collecting things that I find on the street, in my couch, in my pocket, my purse, and anywhere else to add to the pages. While some of the instructions on the pages of the journal may seem simplistic and innocuous, I believe there is a deeper purpose in these exercises. This project is extremely therapeutic and is giving me the ability to free myself from my "things always have to be perfect" syndrome. It's quite liberating to take a sharp object in hand and poke and scratch pages, rip pages out, and generally be messy. Since beginning this project, I believe my artwork is reflecting this new attitude that imperfection is part of the work and has value. Mostly though, it's fun! More destruction updates in the future.

Wreck This Journal??????

The BIG question is...Will I really be able to wreck this journal? When it comes to my artwork, I get hung up on the "fear" that I might wreck my work by doing something that I might not like, and regret having done. I lack the courage to be free when creating. I want to be able to create, experiment, and not worry about the outcome.

When I learned about this journal by Keri Smith, I figured it might be the answer to my fear of letting go and encourage creative experimentation. I especially love Keri's statement on the title page, "to create is to destroy". She also issues a warning, "You may be asked to do things you question. You may grieve for the perfect state that you found the book in. You may begin to see creative destruction everywhere. You may begin to live more recklessly." I think this is exactly what I need. The idea of always trying to achieve perfection is a creativity killer.

Will I be able to rip, poke holes, chew, crumple and deface pages? Will I be hesitant about using a page as a napkin, taking the journal for a walk by dragging it down the road, or taking it in the shower? Let's just say that I'm working up to it by doing the "safer" pages first. My first page involved going to the grocery store and collecting fruit stickers to glue onto the page. Now, that's pretty easy and safe. It's a good thing that the pages can be done in any order.

Incidentally, my 19-year-old daughter, Shelby, wanted to play along, so she bought herself a copy. She's ahead of me on the amount of pages she's done, and she is being very fearless about wrecking her journal. She's really having fun with the process and takes her journal everywhere. Her courage is an inspiration to me. At least I will have her for creative support when we take our journals for a walk down the gravel road.

Les Petits Roi et Riene - Final Project Completed

All finished! Adding the boy doll to the layout was a challenge. I had to place him just so in order that his arm fit behind her at the right spot, and I didn't want to have his legs partially covered by her skirt. Rather than paint her dress and his jacket, I used scrapbook paper. I wanted the hair to resemble the powdered wigs worn at the time; they were pretty elaborate but I decided to keep it simple. I'm pretty happy with the way my little king and queen turned out. This class was so much fun and has really inspired me to draw more Petit Dolls. Thanks Suzi!

Petit Dolls Final Project Sketch

For the final class project, I chose to use a doll I drew that was my interpretation of Marie Antoinette. Suzi had provided us with a template of a boy doll that we could use if we chose. The style of her boy didn't exactly work out for my girl, so I redrew his face and parts of his body to make him fit my theme. He's upside down because her skirt was so full that I had to flip my sketch book in order to fit him on the same page. Unfortunately my scanner cut half of him off, but you get the idea.

Petit Doll with Kitty

Before I cut out my Petit Doll, I prepared my wood piece. I chose my color palette. Since I would be giving her a pink dress, I decided to go with pink, purple, touches of blue, and anything else I thought would work. I chose paper scraps to add to my background for interest. When I was satisfied with my preliminary background, I cut out my doll and glued her on. Once she was thoroughly dry, I painted her eyes, lips, hair, and dress. At this point, I decided to scrap the dolly she is holding and substitute a flower instead. I added more color to her face and gave her pinky cheeks. To finish, I also touches of color to the background, some stamped images, and embellishments. I also added a little friend. Here is my completed Project 1.