scenes from an art journal

(Scenes from my seventh (full and complete) art journal).

I began working in this journal (constructed using Teesha Moore's method, which I love) on September 24, 2009 and finished it last night, March 13, 2010; it contains approximately 24 page spreads (depending on how you count - hee hee, welcome to "Jeannine Math").

I used a lot of black and white photocopies in this journal, mostly because I've been trying to draw and when I find a "look" I like, I have a hard time making another one (not an exact duplicate, but something that looks related).  The copies took the pressure off and allowed me to scatter my drawings throughout the journal.  I also love the look of black and white and wonder if I might be able to do an entire black and white journal without getting bored. Hmmmm?

Funny that though this journal covers six months in my life, it seems such a long long time in the emotional realm.  So much has changed since the first page; looking at it now that first page makes me giggle - it's not at all relevant to anything ... it's as if someone else wrote it! 

In the last few weeks much of what I was churning over at the beginning of this book has come full circle and resolved itself in surprising ways ... but that will have to wait until another post ...

My dear Mr. P tore his achilles tendon last Sunday and is (for all intents and purposes) confined to the first floor of our house, hobbling around on crutches, and unable to drive.  He will undergo surgery on Wednesday morning. He is where my heart is right now.

be you

"To be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." (ee cummings, poet)

I landed on something while skipping through the internets this afternoon that lit a bottle rocket in me and I came out here intending to offer a few of my own thoughts on a topic that means a lot to me - what it is to tend a blog.  As I was writing, the post kept growing and expanding, and it got a little, er, feisty, almost lawyerly (yikes) and I had to remind myself that all the world does not want or need to know my opinion on absolutely everything (or maybe even anything at all) and I hit the delete key. 

I then wrote a condensed version, but deleted that too (what happens when you rail against rules for blogging, is that you unintentionally - heh - end up making different rules).

So what I ended up with, was this:

If you blog (or want to), the only absolute requirement is: be you.

Be. YOU.

All the other things you might worry about (especially if you're brand new to blogging) will fall in to place if you put authenticity first.

inner states

After a too long hiatus, I've dusted off the shelves and turned the lights back on at my etsy shop!

This holy mess led to a series of collages I'm calling "inner states"; an exploration of emotions and implied stories translated into colors and shapes (inspired by Ms. O'Keefe and the joy of working abstractly).  These collages feature painted (and highly textured) papers combined with original vintage papers (no copies), found text, and pieces of maps.

My workroom is filled with many of these in progress and I'll add them to the shop as they are completed. 

The shop has been closed for such a long time ... I've missed it!  Hope you'll stop by ... etsy hearts are always appreciated and wildly celebrated (wish I could pass out cupcakes to all who stop by!)