New Journals

6x6 Handmade Journal

9x7 Handmade Journal

Both Journals are refillable and decorated with handpainted papers.

To Refill/ Change or Add Paper

To Refill/ Change or Add paper to the Refillable journals.

1. Cut 7-10 papers to size and fold in half to create a mini folio [booklet].

2.Loosen the large bead at top of the exterior spine which will create slack on the interior elastic.

The Bead loosened from spine.

3. Slide the paper under the elastic until the elastic is resting in the fold. Retighten the spine bead.

Moon Themed Journals

New Journals

4x4 Moon Journal.

I often use my journal covers as a place to experiment. On both of these new journals I was exploring texture [of course] and metallic pigments. The green one has some really cool variations in metallics using blue/green/copper pigments-- it reminds me of varigated metal leaf or foil.

12x9 Mixed Media Journal

Faux Raku Journal

12x9 Handmade Journal

back cover.

If I wasn't a mixed media artist, I would be a potter-- I have a real weakness for pottery-- especially raku-- and I particularly love raku with copper, blue and purple. I am very inspired by pottery glazes and they influence alot of my experiments, especially on my journals. On this one, I was playing with purple, blue and copper using alcohol to create resist areas and mottling. I am really happy with how it turned out. The texture on the front reminds me of those variegated metal foils. Maybe in my next life, I will be a potter... or in this one someone will donate a kiln. :)

New Journal

9x7 refillable handmade journal

with handcast paper collage and distressed metallic paints.
back cover

Using Sections: Time Management

I use my journal for everything-- and I want everything in one place so I don't have to drag around a sketchbook, daytimer, journal, poetry journal, general notebook, lists, art journal etc. All of my journals have separate signatures[sections] of folded paper so I use each section for a specific area. Once I fill that section, I archive it, and refill the section with new paper. My personal favourite journal size is 9x7 because I can use legal size 81/2x14 paper in it. I make up alot of my templates on the computer to work in my journal. I love Excel and make most of my templates using spreadsheets. Over the next while I will try to post pics of some of my templates.
This is a pic of my Week at a Glance template:

It has 8 columns-- one for each day of the week and one for general notes I need to remind myself of for that week. I mostly use my week at a glance for appointment/ committments and to block out time to fit in studio time/ shipping/ computer time and the other things I need to do to try and maintain a balanced life. So my week at glance is more about creating structure for my week. I use post-it notes for my day to day list-- so if I don't get something done one day, I can just move it forward to the next day easily.

Print Plates

I like to hand decorate my pages for my journals. These are some of the pages from my journal. I like to write poetry on them, use them as dividers for designating sections or use them as a base for art journaling.

This is a picture of some of my print plates. I use various materials to make them. I use a pencil on styrofoam trays to make an easy negative plate. On matboard, I use dimensional paint, string, dimensional wallpaper, stencils with molding paste or cut up pieces of kids craft foam and adhere them with matte acrylic gel. You can also use linocutters on plumbers rubber gasket. I often use my plates with gesso as it creates a subtle resist pattern when you put a light wash of paint over it.

Background on Making Journals

Fairly regularly I get questions about how my journals work, so I thought I would do a post on it.

I've keep a journal in one form or another for over 20 years. I've used many types [notebooks/binders/spiral bound/hardcover/coptic]-- but none of them were quite what I needed... so eventually I set out to design a journal that would meet all my needs. I use my journal as a sketchbook, art journal, notebook, daytimer & place to write poetry so I wanted one journal to accommodate all these things instead of carrying around 4-5 separate journals, so I determined it needed to have distinct sections. I also wanted it to be refillable because sometimes one section fills up faster than others & I wanted to be able to add new paper to that section or just move pages around if I needed to. My journal goes everywhere with me and spends alot of time banging around in my backpack, so it also needed to be very sturdy.
I use canvas panels for the covers and make my own cotton bookcloth for the spine. After several years of trial and error, I have developed a pulley system for the binding so it can be refilled. It takes about 10 seconds to change the paper, so it is very fast and easy. I include refilling instructions with each journal. You cut the paper to size and fold it in half then slide it into the journal. You can use any kind of paper you like [I use plain paper for most of my sections but like watercolour or printmaking paper for my art journal section] -- depending on the paper thickness-- each section holds 6-10 papers folded which means 12-20 pages per section or 24-40 sides per section. Compact journal sizes from 4x4-up to 4x6 hold 2 sections. 5x7/ 6x6 and 8x6 hold 4 sections. Journal sizes 8x8 up to 12x9 hold 6 sections of paper.

One of the other advantages of my refill system is if you were painting or using wet media, you can slip out the paper you are working on--- paint and let it dry and reinsert it into the journal without having to worry about getting paint/glue or moisture on your other pages. This is another one of the reasons I designed this journal as I tend to be a bit messy when I am art journaling lol!

Oddly enough, the journal I designed for myself has turned out to also be useful to other journal keepers!

Dialogue with Time

"Have you also learned that secret for the river; that there is no such thing as time? A bright smile spread over Vasudeva's face. "Yes, Siddhartha. Is this what you mean? That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere, and the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past, not the shadow of the future?" "That is it," said Siddhartha, "and when I learned that I reviewed my life and it was also a river, and Siddhartha the boy, Siddhartha the mature man and Siddhartha the old man were only separated by shadows, not through reality." --From Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.

Access your inner wisdom. Dialogue with your future self, your wise old self, your past--child self, or with the self you will become 5 years from now. What has changed? What has stayed the same? What goals have been achieved? How have you progressed? grown? What are you focused on now? How has your perspective changed? Can your future self provide any insight into things you are dealing with now?

Variations: Again, this is a exploration that can be used again and again. Consider other roles/ parts of the self you could dialogue with? the spirit? soul? inner child? shadow? your critic?

(The concept of Dialoguing has been adapted from Ira Progoff At a Journal Workshop.)

A Classic Writing Tool- Dialoguing

"I think the creative process is not about creating something else; It's about the process itself, creating who I am."- Mayumi Oda (Artist & Writer)

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Picasso

Dialogue with your Muse. Ask questions. Intuit responses.
Find out if s/he has a name? Ask for guidance. Find out what kind of creating s/he wants to explore? Coax her out of hiding. Find out what s/he enjoys. Strike a deal. An hour of playful exploring to start the day, then move into goal oriented artworks?

*** Dialoguing has been adapted from Ira Progoff's At a Journal Workshop. Part of his workshop process involves dialoguing with persons, the body, events, work and society. I highly recommend this book.

Dialoguing is a tool that can be used over and over again. Consider other roles/ parts of the self that you could dialogue with.

Lettering Samples

I am posting some of the lettering I did in my journal recently-- usually whatever words pop into my head or a sort of word association. Sometimes I take a photocopy of my lettering samples and reuse them in my artwork-- you can also resize them if you want them larger or smaller or add in colour with markers or gel pens.

Lettering- Create Your Own Font

Alot of people don't seem to like their own penmanship. So to get over your handwriting, create your own font. Try using a short quotation, a poetry fragment or words that inspire you to play with lettering. I like to use a black ink pen. Try adding spirals, dots, doubled lines, filling in, flourishes, elongating forms etc. Think Crazy Calligraphy! Doodling with words! Word Art! Beware, this can become addictive... even meditative...

New Refillable Journals

8x8 Golden Brown & Copper Journal

144 pages.

9x7 Green Blue & Copper Gears Journal

144 pages.

9x7 Red Violet & Copper Trebleclef
144 pages.

A Classic Writing Tool- Stream of Conscious Writing

Classic writing tools form the basis of keeping a journal. These exercises can be used over and over again.

Flow or Stream of Consciousness Writing

Just write. Put your pen on the page and keep it moving. Let the words flow from you. Don't edit, just write whatever comes, however it comes.

[This is a classic writing tool used for years by writers and poets. I learned it originally in writing classes at school. Some Modern day names include: Morning pages, writing practice, brain drain]

Variation: I like to also use this tool to write stream of conscious poetry.