Saying Goodbye

 


Our house is a bit emptier today as we said goodbye to our sweet, sixteen year old cat, Allie. Allie came into my wife’s life nearly fifteen years ago as a rescue from the Human Society of Ventura County in Ojai, California. She was a sweet, little calico – except that is, when being pilled. I have the scars from my several attempts that led me to declare my wife the official pill popper. But mostly Allie was sweet and lovely, and she loved nothing more than to curl up in her favorite spots, especially the heater in the kitchen and the arm of the sofa. She kept me company many a morning as I ate my breakfast and drank my coffee.

Allie’s last year was a struggle. She developed hyperthyroidism and went from being pleasantly plump to rather skinny and scrawny. She ate constantly, and meowed incessantly to be fed. She received daily meds and went through three cans of wet food a day – about which she was very finicky. Then a few weeks ago, her appetite disappeared, she became rather lethargic, and rapidly lost weight. In the end it was kidney failure, and we had to make a tough but compassionate decision. Allie went to the Bridge early this morning with the assistance of our wonderful and compassionate friend Dr. Krisi Erwin, DVM.

The above photographs were taken during Dave’s recent visit, when Allie decided that Dave’s open journal was a comfortable place to lounge.

We will miss our little California girl.

Challenge #3: Steppingstones


We have all grown, evolved, and changed. At times the movement of our lives has changed direction because of the choices we have made, and at other times it has changed because the choices that others have made. These are what psychologist Ira Progoff calls Steppingstones in his Intensive Journal Workshop.

What have been your steppingstones – those significant moments of your life? What have been the moments when significant change or growth has occurred? What have these shifts meant for you and the direction of your life?

Remember to post a link to your image in the comments below.

Personal Mythology

For this week's challenge, I began to think about the stories that I have told myself throughout the years. I kept coming back to the feeling of being an outsider. Throughout my life I have been the outsider in many circumstances including my own family. I was always a little bit different - more quiet, more introspective, more to myself. This feeling was at its height during adolescence when I longed to fit in at high school. Even to this day, there are times when I feel like I'm on the outside looking in. I guess that in ways I relish the feeling.

I started off this page by applying watercolor with a paint scraper. I wrote in both pen and pencil, and added some collage. I added watercolor pencil and water-soluble pencil, and the self portrait was a stencil that I cut using a favorite photograph - the same as I used in the "I am" spread.

Challenge #2: Personal Mythologies


myth – n: 1. a legendary narrative that presents the beliefs of a people 2. an imaginary or unverifiable person or thing.

mythology – n: a body of myths.

We have all created myths about ourselves – stories that are imaginary and unverifiable. We have puffed ourselves up with stories of accomplishment and tore ourselves down with stories of lack. We have scripts and dialogues running through our heads reinforcing those myths.

What are your personal myths? What is your personal mythology? What are the stories that you have told yourself over and over to the point that you believe them and accept them?

Question your own mythology, and see if you can verify them.

Remember to post a link to your image in the comments.

I am

Here's my two-page spread for "I am". The photo on the right page is a school photo from when I was in second grade. This page uses watercolor pencil, watercolor paint, collage, and ink.


 Here's Dave's page. He used water soluble graphite to write about the prompt and painted over it with water. Once it dried, he used ink, yellow marker, and metallic paint pen.

Thanks to all who have posted links and who will post to their pages.

Challenge #1: I am


Who are you?

This seems like a very easy and straight-forward question, but when was the last time that you really tried to articulate an answer. You may have thought that you figured that out a long time ago, or perhaps you feel like you are still figuring it out. What better way to start this Challenge. No matter what type of art you make it is always a reflection of you. The journal is no different. Heck, it might even be more true of the journal.

Take some time to ponder and journal about all the aspects of your “self,” and create a response that introduces you to the world.

Who are you? What is important to you? Where do you come from? How does your inner identity compare to your outer identity? Do you have a hidden identity? If you are not who you want to be, what is stopping you?

Don’t forget to share a link to your response in Comments.

Journal Fodder Junkies Challenge

The Journal Fodder Junkies Challenge begins today!

Almost four years ago I started this blog with little idea of how I would use it, and where it would go. But for the past four years, I have tried to share ideas, techniques, and my thoughts in hopes to inspire others – in hopes to have some impact on the world. The comments, feedback, and emails that I have received have been constant encouragement, and with the release of The Journal Junkies Workshop, I have seen the impact grow and spread to a humbling degree.

Yet, I have constantly wished to do more – to share more ideas, more insight – to make this little blog a source of constant inspiration. But it can be a daunting task to keep up with taking and posting images, writing and editing posts, and in just keeping up with all of the little things that go along with such a venture. But if I want this endeavor to be a priority, I must (to paraphrase my own rules) show up, sit down, and work. I do want this endeavor to grow, and so I am making a new commitment to this space that I have carved out, and so the Journal Fodder Junkies blog is going through a transformation as I look to deepen the journey, and look to reach further out into the world.

Dave and I have recently starting working on a new book, and through the process I have been hit by the realization that our approach to the visual journal is all about the Everyday. Our journals are imbued with the ordinariness of our everyday lives, and I want to share more of that with the readers of this blog and to make this blog much more of a community.

With the encouragement of a girl nicknamed Bean, I am preparing this space to enter a new phase. Beginning today, I am posting a challenge to all the readers of this blog to actively journal along with me over the following weeks and hopefully months and to spread the power and love of the visual journal. As a result of this challenge, I am publicly committing to myself to engage this space at a much higher level.

So, it is my pleasure to announce the beginning of the official Journal Fodder Junkies Challenge. Similar to Illustration Friday and the countless sketchbook and art journal challenges out there, the Journal Fodder Junkies Challenge will be a weekly challenge to myself and readers to journal and to share. I am hoping that you will come along with me as I start this new adventure.

All weekly topics will be posted here and archived on the Challenge page. If you wish to participate, simply create a response, post an image on your blog, website, or photo sharing site and share a link in the comments of the topic post.

I will be posting the first weeks challenge later today. Please see the the Challenge page for more information.

Announcements and Changes

I received some great news today. I was notified that I was selected to be a participating artist in the Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour to be held in June. This annual two day event invites the public into the studios of artists living and working in western Loudoun County, and it has grown into quite and event over the last five years.

I have been meaning to get my act together and apply to be part of the tour ever since its first year, and this year I got the application together and submitted everything last month. The main thing holding me back was the lack of a proper studio space. My studio is in the house and doubles as the guest bedroom - not really conducive to the public popping in. But I have a nice one car garage where I house my wood shop, and I am in the process of converting it into a somewhat temporary studio. If I get heat and air conditioning in it, maybe I can move the studio out there on a permanent basis. I know my wife would love that. One day, we would like to add a second story onto the garage and build a proper studio. But in the meantime, it will work nicely for the tour.

If your in the Northern Virginia region, mark you calendars for June 11 and 12. The tour runs from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. each day, and there are a great number of artists to visit. I can't wait, but there's a lot to do before then.


On a different note, you may have noticed that I have tweaked a few things around the blog and added a few stand alone pages (see the tab under the blog title). It is all in preparation for a big announcement and change that I plan on unveiling tomorrow. I'm putting on the finishing touches, and the beginning of a new month just seems appropriate to make it public. I am hoping that this new idea will allow me to have an even greater impact. Tune in tomorrow for the grand reveal.

The Now of Artmaking


Over the years I have experienced and witnessed the paralysis that can come with the making of art. It can manifest itself as the staring at a blank page, a blank canvas, a blank whatever. We think about the future of this object, and often we cannot envision what we want this thing to be. We try to have a well thought out, very cohesive idea from the beginning wanting it to spring completely formed from our heads. We sit and stare worrying that we will not be able to think of a suitable use, purpose, or goal. Ideas do flash through our brains, but we quickly dismiss them fearful that they will not live up to the word “Art” with a capital “A”. We get stuck in our heads obsessing over the past and trying to predict the future. We mull over what we have done in the past, what others have done, what art has been, and what art should be. We get caught up in our comparisons and insecurities of the past, and we freeze. We also get caught up in the script of what our art will never be and how it will never live up to the expectations of others and of ourselves. We focus so much on the finished product – what it should be, what it should look like, what it should say, and we freeze.

We need to stop thinking of art as a product – a painting, a journal page, a doll, or a (insert your own thing here). We need to start thinking of art as a process – a line of inquiry – a journey – a series of choices where we really have no idea where we are going or how to get there. We need to focus on what is right in front of us at this very moment. Chuck Close said, “Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us show up and work.” I think he meant that artists have to put in the work. They have to do something. Waiting around for inspiration to strike like lightning, means that there is a lot of sitting, staring, and waiting, and not much making. We must take that first tentative step. We get a glimmer of an idea, or a technique or image for some random reason speaks to us. We embrace that idea, the uncertainty of it. We say to ourselves, “Let’s see where this is going,” and we follow it. Sometimes it leads to something great, often it doesn’t. But we have learned a thing or two, and grown as artists. We then find that next idea, image, or glimmer of technique that will lead our inquiry.

We must stop trying to envision the end result – the product – the project, and simply latch onto an idea and envision the step that we can take NOW. “What do I do with this idea now? Where do I go from here?” These are the only types of questions that we can ask ourselves. We take the step, then ask those questions again, and then take the next step. By focusing on the next step and allowing the accumulation of our steps to take us where the work needs to go, we are making art. By focusing on where we are NOW and not where we want to be, we can continue the journey. We can combat the paralysis, and we can get onto something. Sometimes that something is a pretty good idea. But all ideas come from working through other ideas. It's not magic, and it's not a bolt of lightning.