Dateline: Mar. 22, 2007
Journal Thoughts
My new baby giraffe! I've been wanting to draw her for a long time and finally got a bit of time the other day. I drew her with colored pencils and plan to do some collage and journaling around her.
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are visiting for 3 weeks now (staying with my mother-in-law), so we'll be pretty busy, and I imagine my entries here will be sporadic. Spring break starts for us next week. It has such loaded meaning for us here in Florida. The beaches fill up quickly and you have to leave reeeeeeeaaallllly early in the morning to get to the more popular beaches, like Siesta Key. I would stay away from the beach, actually, at this time of year, if it weren't for our company. But, it really is quite gorgeous here right now and our Gulf side beaches aren't nearly as busy as I imagine Daytona and Miami Beach would be.
Here are a couple other pieces I've done recently in my visual journal:
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are visiting for 3 weeks now (staying with my mother-in-law), so we'll be pretty busy, and I imagine my entries here will be sporadic. Spring break starts for us next week. It has such loaded meaning for us here in Florida. The beaches fill up quickly and you have to leave reeeeeeeaaallllly early in the morning to get to the more popular beaches, like Siesta Key. I would stay away from the beach, actually, at this time of year, if it weren't for our company. But, it really is quite gorgeous here right now and our Gulf side beaches aren't nearly as busy as I imagine Daytona and Miami Beach would be.
Here are a couple other pieces I've done recently in my visual journal:
I was just experimenting with prepping pages prior to my journaling. The left page got a bit muddy, but it serves a nice purpose. I had those little pages from a previous nature journal that I kept when we first moved into our house. It's a nice record of all the wonderful creatures that visit our pond out in our back yard on a regular basis. I didn't keep that journal up, and have since needed that notebook for something else, but I wanted to keep those pages, so I made the little pocket here for them.
The pink/orange page was just what I wanted, though, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm just enjoying exploring and experimenting with various mediums right now; trying new things and seeing what the materials do.
Do any of you journal other than at your blog (if you have one)? Do you have more than one journal? Currently, I have this visual/experimental sketchbook/journal and a regular, text journal.
I have kept a text journal for the last 20 years. Sometimes I find I absolutely need to write. Especially, if it's been over a week. I am not one to push myself to write every day. The method I have used for the past 20 years has been to write usually at least a few times a week - sometimes more and sometimes less, depending on what's happening in my life. My journal is primarily used as a way for me to order my thoughts. I am always amazed at where the writing will take me. Sometimes the journaling is a way to get a problem down on paper and then, once there, it usually does not seem as large. Other times, I practice writing first thing in the morning to see what my well-rested mind wants to say. I don't use my journal for every-day lists and things, but instead for more reflection on my life or my dreams and ambitions, things my children say and do or to vent. I rarely re-read what I have written, but very occasionally will take a couple of hours to sit and look over some of the things from my past. I find I really have to be in the right frame of mind in order to do this. Like old photographs, the journals are a time capsule and can therefore leave me a bit melancholy sometimes.
Last summer I read Dan Price's, How to Make a Journal of Your Life, which inspired me to begin thinking more visually in terms of my journaling. Since then, I have looked at many visual pages on Flickr album sites as well as other books. Obviously, my visual journaling is not as private as my text journal, because it is meant to be looked at, for the most part. And while even my text journal never reveals every single thing about me (there is always the perceived audience, which, of course, nowadays includes my two children!), there is definitely a different kind of thought process between the two.
I'm not sure if I'll come up with one particular way that I will work in my visual journal (a thought which the very organized part of me wants me to do and finds quite appealing) or if I will continue to let it be whimsical - a place to do and try whatever I want to do. Perhaps some day I'll have one or more of each (ie. an experimental journal, a travel journal, a collage-only journal, etc.), but for now I continue to experiment and explore with stamps, paint, pens, pencils, different collage materials, and whatever strikes my fancy, I guess! It's a lot of fun. Maybe you should try it too! If you do, I'd love to see pictures someday. Let me know!
The pink/orange page was just what I wanted, though, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm just enjoying exploring and experimenting with various mediums right now; trying new things and seeing what the materials do.
Do any of you journal other than at your blog (if you have one)? Do you have more than one journal? Currently, I have this visual/experimental sketchbook/journal and a regular, text journal.
I have kept a text journal for the last 20 years. Sometimes I find I absolutely need to write. Especially, if it's been over a week. I am not one to push myself to write every day. The method I have used for the past 20 years has been to write usually at least a few times a week - sometimes more and sometimes less, depending on what's happening in my life. My journal is primarily used as a way for me to order my thoughts. I am always amazed at where the writing will take me. Sometimes the journaling is a way to get a problem down on paper and then, once there, it usually does not seem as large. Other times, I practice writing first thing in the morning to see what my well-rested mind wants to say. I don't use my journal for every-day lists and things, but instead for more reflection on my life or my dreams and ambitions, things my children say and do or to vent. I rarely re-read what I have written, but very occasionally will take a couple of hours to sit and look over some of the things from my past. I find I really have to be in the right frame of mind in order to do this. Like old photographs, the journals are a time capsule and can therefore leave me a bit melancholy sometimes.
Last summer I read Dan Price's, How to Make a Journal of Your Life, which inspired me to begin thinking more visually in terms of my journaling. Since then, I have looked at many visual pages on Flickr album sites as well as other books. Obviously, my visual journaling is not as private as my text journal, because it is meant to be looked at, for the most part. And while even my text journal never reveals every single thing about me (there is always the perceived audience, which, of course, nowadays includes my two children!), there is definitely a different kind of thought process between the two.
I'm not sure if I'll come up with one particular way that I will work in my visual journal (a thought which the very organized part of me wants me to do and finds quite appealing) or if I will continue to let it be whimsical - a place to do and try whatever I want to do. Perhaps some day I'll have one or more of each (ie. an experimental journal, a travel journal, a collage-only journal, etc.), but for now I continue to experiment and explore with stamps, paint, pens, pencils, different collage materials, and whatever strikes my fancy, I guess! It's a lot of fun. Maybe you should try it too! If you do, I'd love to see pictures someday. Let me know!
Comments
Mar. 23, 2007 - Dan Price
Posted by SmallWorld
SmallWorld sighting! ;-) Thought you might like to read about my friend Dad2Three's visit last summer with Dan Price. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Dad2Three/128319/ and I think there is an entry after that about his son and Dan.
Mar. 26, 2007 - Hello
Posted by jenn4him
Just stopped by to see what you are up to. Love the giraffe. No other time for journals other than the blog. Hope you are well.
Jenn