Today, I’m thinking about spring.
It’s not far off, now. The rains will mean a brilliant greening of the hills within a few weeks time, and I can’t wait to wander among the canyons and oaks. And wildflowers! We’ll for sure have to plan an expedition to the desert to photograph wildflowers!
I’m also thinking about birds.
They’ve shown up in my current journal a few times, probably because the story I’m working is about a bird who is transformed into a woman. It was a received moderately well at my writers group on Thursday…they liked the writing, I think, but the plot has some major problems, and there are metaphysical issues to be sorted out. I like how I can use my creative journal feeds off the symbols and imagery that I’m using in my fiction. They are intertwined, growing from the same source, becoming more and more in sync all the time.
Also thinking about friends and fun and sharing the joys of art making.
Last night’s workshop in Laguna Hills was a hit. We had five new participants, for a total of nine all together. What a great time we had, cutting and gluing and coloring. I did a demo about shading, using my new chalk pastels (great product, with a fixative in the mix so that you don’t have to worry about smearing). A few people tried them out, too.
(Unfortunately, most of my shots were blurry, and I’ve become too vain about my photography to post bad photos, so I only have a few to share).
I brought a few blank journals for people to purchase, if they didn’t have one, and have some left over. If anyone is interested, I’d be happy to sell them to you via my Etsy or Artfire shop.
There are four all together. Each is 8″ x 10″, constructed in the model of Teesha Moore’s “16 Pages from one sheet” journals, which is to say there are 12 full-sized pages, and 4 interior flaps. They’re bound pamphlet style with linen thread.
Two are made of Strathmore Aquarius II watercolor paper, 80 lb (I think) cold press. This is exactly what I used on my Create Your Own Reality Journal . Ideal for watercolor backgrounds, but a little bit fussy with pens—felt and brush tips are okay, and most gel pens, but the fine tip pens (like Pitt) were a but stubborn, probably due to the porous texture of the paper. (The same reason, I think that my transfers on the Fragments of Butterflies page were so irregular.) These are $5.00 each.
One is made of Arches 90 lb hot press paper. Very smooth texture, sturdy but not heavy. I haven’t used this kind of paper in a journal myself, but it looks like it should work well for most mediums. This is $10.
The last one is made of Arches 140 lb cold press paper. The texture on this is yummy, and I am swooning over the irregular edges:
It’s substantially weightier than the other journals, and the paper will no doubt withstand most wet mediums (paint, glue, etc). I suspect that like the other cold press journals it will be fussy with pens and transfers because of it’s texture. But it is a lovely, lovely book, that will elevate whatever it is you put on the page with its substance. This one is also $10.
If you are interested in purchasing any of these journals, just leave a comment below, or send me an email and we’ll set up the sale. If there is a lot of interest, I’m perfectly willing to make more, so don’t hesitate to comment even if there are other people ahead of you!
Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to enter my One World One Heart giveaway. The deadline is February 15th!
