New Journal Line by Strathmore

I got home the other day to find a package of samples from a new product line to be released this summer by Stratmore Artists Paper. Strathmore is set to release a line of visual journal spiral bound books in three different sizes. More on that in a bit, but first the story.

Several weeks ago, I was contacted by Jeanette from Strathmore asking if she could use some of my journal page images as a way to show how people use the visual journal. In exchange, she would send me some free samples of new products and mention the book. I said, "yes," and sent her some images. So, I got a whole variety of Visual Journals, and couldn't wait to experiment with them and share with everyone.

So, here's the scoop. Apparently Strathmore realized that visual journaling is becoming big and that many visual journalists are not satisfied with the quality of paper in traditional sketchbooks - too much bleed through, tearing, and broken bindings. So, they are releasing a line of blank books featuring a number paper qualities to satisfy the rigors of the mixed-media nature of the visual journal.

Paper types that will be available:
Drawing - 100 lb
Mixed Media
Bristol - Vellum and Smooth
Watercolor - 90 lb and 140 lb

Of course with the thicker paper, each journal will contain fewer pages. The Drawing Visual Journal will contain 84 pages (42 sheets) and the 14o lb Watercolor Visual Journal will contain 44 pages (22 sheets). But all journals will be spiral bound on the side with heavy-duty wire and heavy-duty front and back covers. All Visual Journals will be available in three sizes: 3.5"x5", 5.5"x8", and 9"x12".

So, I've been experimenting in the small Drawing Visual Journal and the medium 140 lb Watercolor Visual journal (both of which are open in the photo above). I'm loving the thicker paper quality, and permanent marker does not bleed through the drawing paper - great for those Sharpie lovers. The small journal makes an excellent pocket journal, and the medium journal will be a great travel journal to use when visiting museums and galleries.

I'm just not a fan of spiral bound journals. I know that they offer benefits - they lay flat and the offer expandibility. But the spiral gets in the way of a two page spread. I'm hoping that they will offer a hardbound 11"x14" version, and after emailing Jeanette, Strathmore may be considering it. But in the meantime, I will be getting some of the small journals when they are released in June or July.

It's Here!!!!!!

Without much fanfare or hype, it seems like our book has been released - at least in the online world. We haven't received any "official" notice, but it seems like overnight most online vendors dropped the pre-order feature and are outright selling it to be shipped ASAP. Amazon sent an email notifying it's pre-orders that a May 6th shipping date is expected, and Dave and I have received our first shipments and have started hawking it to willing friends and associates. We are expecting to place signed copies for sale on the JFJ website by the end of the month. We wish it could be sooner, but since we live 360 miles apart, it's difficult to get together casually and sign a bunch of copies.

I'm not certain if the book has dropped in bookstores, but if hasn't yet, it should soon. I'll make certain to have the camera ready for the next time I go into a bookstore just to snap proof that our book is indeed there. I think that's when it will really hit me - when I can see it in person for sale in a store. It's one thing to see it online and to see the stack above sitting on my coffee table, but to walk into a store and say, "Hey, that's my book!" will be beyond words.

We thank all of those who have pre-ordered it and who plan on buying it, and if you ever see us at a conference, convention, presentation, workshop or on the street, we will be more than happy to sign your copy.

We think that the book looks awesome, and the folks at North Light/ F+W have done a great job. We think it's a great resource, and we would appreciate any reviews anyone and everyone could offer on blogs and on online vendor sites like Amazon.

Fodder On!

Loss

My dog Rudy lost his battle with cancer and congestive heart failure today. It's a great loss, and the house is rather empty without him. He was a wonderful boy even in the midst of all his treatments, medications, pokings, and proddings. My wife and I will sorely miss our beautiful boy.

The above picture was taken by my wife. Rudy was known for jumping up in his favorite tree trying to get closer to the squirrels and birds who seemed to tease him so much, and Joanne was able to capture one of those moments.

NAEA and Baltimore

Dave and I just got back from the National Art Education Association's convention in Baltimore where we presented two presentations and went to many other presentations. It was a great time - lots of good information, good companionship, good food, and good discussions. One of our presentations was titled the Educator and the Artist: the Journey Continues. Organized by our friend Brooke from Ohio, the presentation focused on how we all pursue our own art while teaching art. We shared the stage with Brooke, Sam, and Heather while examining our habits and our stategies. Our other presentation was just the two of us and was about our forthcoming book and was titled after the book - The Journal Junkies Workshop: Visual Ammunition for the Art Addict. Dave an I talked of our journey to the visual journal and how all of our experiences with the journal and presenting about the journal have led to the book.

Both presentations went extremely well, and we had very positive feedback. It was great to see so many people excited about what we do and about our book. I only wish that we had had the book to sell. We could have easily sold a couple hundred copies. But we passed out a lot of postcards promoting the book, so hopefully many will pre-order it or buy it once it comes out.

So, we thank all those that came out to our presentations, talked with us between sessions, and shared a part of our journey in Baltimore. We appreciated seeing old friends and meeting new ones, and we just know that we are really onto something huge and powerful.

Compassion

Two things recently have touched me profoundly and have taught me much about compassion.

The first lesson was from my dog. Rudy is a nine year old boxer, pit bull mix, and about a year ago he was diagnosed with cancer. He had surgery to remove a tumor, he underwent chemo, and we placed him on a special, home-cooked diet. He was doing quite well. But he wasn’t really expected to survive this long, and he recently began to show signs that the cancer was worsening, and it has become quite evident that he may not be with us much longer. He is such a sweet boy, and my heart aches to think of the pain and discomfort that he is going through as he goes through more treatments. I make certain to tell him goodbye every morning as I leave for work not knowing how many mornings he has left. And so, Rudy has me thinking.

It’s very easy to feel compassion for those that are closest to us – spouses, parents, siblings, children, best friends, and pets. When they suffer, we suffer. We wish that we could take on their pain and ease their suffering. It’s difficult for us when we are unable to do that – when we can only watch as they ache and suffer. We would literally leap in front of flying bullets for those closest to us. Because we love and care for them, it is easy to arouse feelings of great compassion.

We even find it pretty easy to feel compassion for those people we simple know – the people at work, at church, or down the street. When we hear of a misfortune befalling one of our acquaintances, we feel their pain slightly, offer our sympathy and understanding, and see if we can be aid in some small way. But, what about those that are not so close to us? What of the strangers that we pass in the routine of each day – the bus driver, the grocery clerk, or the bank teller? These are people who have nominal roles in our lives and who have little or no connection to our lives. Many of us may simply feel indifference toward these people. It may be very difficult to feel deep compassion for those we have very little connection to. And what about those we consider enemies or just bad people? How can we feel compassion toward people we barely know or those that we can seriously hate?

And so the second of my compassion lessons came as I watched an update one morning on the story of Jaycee Dugard. Jaycee was eleven when she was kidnapped, and for eighteen years, she was held captive by a husband and wife. She suffered unimaginable torment and abuse, and miraculously, she was found alive and reunited with her family. Of course my heart went out to her and her family as I thought of the horrors they had suffered. Then images of her kidnappers were flashed on the TV screen. My first reaction was one of revulsion and disgust as I wished death and torture on these evil people. But I caught myself in the midst of this reaction as I remembered much of the reading that I have done recently on Christian and Buddhist spirituality. The main lesson of all this reading has been about loving kindness and compassion. So, I stopped myself in the middle of revulsion for these two people and what they had done, and I let the energy of my feelings linger for a moment as I began trying to understand.

I wondered what could twist a human being so much to do such unspeakable things. I thought about what this man and woman had gone through as children, teens, and adults to cause so much fear, pain, aggression, and suffering to manifest in such a despicable act. Then I wondered if I could have turned out the same way if I had those same experiences. What if I had lived their lives? Would I have been just as vile and corrupted? In a matter of minute or two, these completely evil, wretched individuals were transformed in my mind to very human people who had childhoods, who had hopes and dreams, who had loved, and who had been hurt. But some how they had been bent and twisted by unimaginable things into the “monsters” that would hurt an innocent child. I didn’t feel pity. I felt compassion to these two people who at one time, long ago held such promise. I was able to connect to their humanity and to connect with my compassion.

So, it’s easy to feel compassion for those we love, but it takes great courage to feel compassion for those we do not know or understand. I encourage people to look closely at how they dole out kindness and compassion, to examine how they react to strangers and enemies, and to see if they can attempt to understand and feel genuine compassion for all living beings.

Sneak Peek

I found a nice surprise when I got home today. Two advance copies of our book were waiting for me. What a thrill. I must say, that I am very pleased and excited with the design, look, and feel. I can't wait for it to hit retail outlets.

It's such a high to see MY book on the coffee table. I couldn't wait to show it off, so my dog Poi got one of the first sneak peeks. I can't wait to share it with friends and family.

Thanks to all who have pre-ordered it. As soon as it's released, we'll have signed copies available for sale on the JFJ website.

Doubt

Doubt, fear, and insecurity are such a part of human existence, and the existence of the artist is no different. Again and again I have seen myself, my students, and my fellow artists give into doubt and freeze with anxiety. As children we were truly fearless in our reckless creating as we drew, painted, and made with certainty and purpose. But something happened along the way as we grew up. Maybe it has to do with having a criticizing authority in our lives who made us feel like our art was never good enough whether it was a parent, teacher, or older sibling. Maybe we began to compare our work with that of our peers, our teachers, and all those famous artists in those dusty old books, and we just felt like we could never live up. Perhaps it’s a matter of projecting our ideals onto others and down playing our own creative skills as we “see” how easy it is for others to create and how much more creative they are than we. Perhaps the same insecurities from other parts of our lives plague our creative efforts. Maybe it’s a combination of any or all of these things, but whatever the reason, doubt and fear can immobilize us and make us stare at the blank page, canvas, block of clay, or ball of yarn trying desperately to come up with a worthy idea.
Like many of you, I am an expert at doubt, but not always the greatest at overcoming it. But I have come up with five pieces of advice that seem to work for me. I hope that you find value and encouragement in them as well.

1. Be Present: When doubt, fear, and uncertainty arise, acknowledge the way that you feel and stay with the discomfort for a while. Try to see what is behind those feelings, and ask yourself why you are feeling that way. Look for objective reasons, and don’t make judgmental assessments. Saying that the reason for your doubt is that you are a lousy artist is negative, judgmental, and probably just plain false. Try to image the worst case scenario. What is the worst thing that could happen if you made a mistake or were not as skilled as someone else? Acknowledge the fear, and see if you can get at the real cause for it by being real with yourself.

2. Regress: Try to make art like a child again. Scribble on a page. Make paper airplanes, and see how far they will fly. Break out the crayons and the Crayola markers. Find the joy and freedom in making art. These simple acts are effective in loosening you up, quelling anxiety, and allowing you to touch your creative energy.
3. Give Yourself Permission: In the Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron wrote, “By being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one.” Give yourself permission to make mistakes, to mess up, to not be perfect. We learn the most from our mistakes, not our success. When responding to the idea that he had had 10,000 failures while pursuing a particular invention, Thomas Edison remarked that he had not failed, but that he had just found 10,000 ways that didn’t work. Give yourself the freedom to make mistakes, and be forgiving and understanding when you do make them.

4. Work: Many people have the misconception that artists simply pull great ideas out of the air or that the ideas strike them like lightning. The truth is the only way to make good art is to make art constantly – the good art, the bad art, and the ugly art. Rule 7 of composer John Cage’s Some Rules and Hints for Students and Teachers states, “The only rule is work. If you work, it will lead to something. It is the people who work all of the time who eventually catch onto things.”

5. Surround Yourself: You need a space, you need artistic accomplices, and you need inspiration. Create an environment where you can create – a spare room studio or your coffee table. Make it a good and inviting space. That dark, noisy space behind the furnace in the basement is not an ideal space. Find artist friends and have artist dates where you make art, explore museums and galleries, and talk about art. So many artists have many of the same fears, doubts, and uncertainties as you. When you have accomplices, they are more likely to inspire you, encourage you, and hold you accountable. Surround yourself with books, art, furniture, food and drink that will inspire you. These items bring you comfort, but can be immense resources as you work.

Dealing with doubt is a constant struggle, but learning to accept it, finding ways to deal with it, and allowing yourself to be human, can all quiet the inner critic.

Happy arting!

(All images are details of journal pages from my current journal.)

Book

I've been meaning to share this ever since I saw that Amazon.com not only had our book up for pre-order, but also posted an image of the book cover. We've known for quite some time what the cover would look like, and we've reviewed a design copy of the book. And we must say that it looks awesome. The designer at F+W, Kelly O'Dell, did an amazing job making the book feel like it is a journal. She used one of Dave's journals for the cover, and converted one of the stickers into the title, and added little bits and pieces of digital fodder - including pictures of the two of us - to give the cover the feel of one of our journals. The inside is just as well designed, and she used many of our journal pages as the backdrop to the text. I can't wait to get a copy of the actual book in my hands.

If you would like to pre-order it, you can go to Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. If you would like to wait for a signed copy, Dave and I will be selling those directly from our website once the book drops in May. It's still unbelievable that soon our book will be in bookstores across the country. Very, very cool.

Excavations: Artwork by Eric M. Scott

This past weekend I hung my first one-man show at the Elliott University Center Gallery at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The opening reception will be Friday, January 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, and the work will be up until the end of February.

This wall contains newer pieces from the Excavation Series that I have been most recently working on.


This wall contains the older Vortex Series which could be said to be the forerunner of the Excavation pieces.



This wall contains some older and newer mixed media pieces. A different view of the same wall is below.


This small wall contains more Excavation pieces.

It was a lot of work getting the work ready, but the show looks great, and it's exciting to see my work hanging.

Art Show

I've been working like a mad man to complete artwork for an upcoming one-man show at the EUC Gallery at UNC@Greensboro. Thanks to my buddy Sam, who put in a good word, my work will be hanging there for about a month. I'll have some old and some new work, and I hang the show this Saturday, January 16. The reception is still to be determined, but I'll post the date as soon as I know.

The piece above is the finished Excavation piece - acrylic on paper relief - that I posted about months ago, and the piece below is a small graphite drawing exploring some of the same visual and conceptual issues. I can't wait to see the work hanging.

So if you are in Greensboro, NC some time within the next month, stop to see my art.