Illustrated Journals

Gabriel Campanario sketch Feb 12, 2009
Gabriel Campanario sketch Feb 12, 2009

Words are important to me. I like to use the correct word for the correct item, thought or feeling. “The quilt on the back of the couch,” for example, is much better than “the thing on the back of the other thing.”

TFQ and I had a discussion about visual journals a week or so ago. A lot of stuff had been rattling around in my brain. She was obviously thinking about these issues as well, because she clearly and cleverly articulated what I was thinking. There were some of the central points of our discussion:

  • Both of us have writing journals, which we use to rant and rave and explain and digest.
  • Neither of us wanted to try to express our feelings in art in addition to doing it in the journals mentioned above.
  • We agreed that we both wanted more of a daily art practice.
  • Both of us want to try different techniques that we read about in blogs and magazines. We don’t always know how to do these techniques.
  • We are both having trouble getting started.

The conversation, a subsequent letter to TFQ as well as a variety of comments I have made in my journal have all been working towards getting myself started and clearly articulating the issue. It has all been the product of stuff floating around in my mind as I try and resolve this issue for myself. I have decided that what I want is not to do visual journaling, which for me means explaining or working out my feelings and commenting on my life using media other than words. I want to illustrate my journal – or a journal. By illustrated journal, I mean that I want to sketch little vignettes or paint scenes that have nothing to do with my words. I want to do this to inform my quiltmaking and to inject more creativity into my life.

I use the sketch above from Gabi Campanario as an example of my idea. He sketches what is around him. His sketches don’t seem to have anything to do with how he is feeling. He obviously has taken it to an art form, which I am not planning on doing. I want to test ideas and sketch for myself. My quilts are really for others.

My biggest issue is starting. I need someone to hold my hand. I thought that decorating the box would kick start me into shape. No dice. It was hard, it took a long time and didn’t dry very fast. I did enjoy making it, though.

I thought getting some creative prompts, like from the Creative Mom podcast, would jumpstart the process.
No dice.

Finally I told Julie that I needed her to hold my hand. We haven’t set a date yet, but I am hoping we will both have time soon.

In the process of this hand wringing, I have identified a couple of issues:

  • My stuff for non-quilt creativity is everywhere. I have to haul it out in order to do anything.
  • I have supplies that I don’t know how to use.
  • I don’t have a messy space in which to work (and it is Feb and raining outside).
  • I still want to focus on quiltmaking and fiber. I want this endeavor to be a little extra.

I did some sketching in 2008, but stopped for some reason, so I guess I could consider this small amount of work the start, which means my real problem is continuing….

SFMOMA and the 1000 Journals Project

I have been slack about posting my various holiday adventures, but, with this post, will try and redeem myself. One of the great things I did on my break over the holidays was go to the SFMOMA with friend Julie. My goal was to see the actual journals from the 1000 journals project in person. Julie has posted a great set of narrated photos about our adventures.

The 1000 Journals project has, for some reason, captured my imagination. Faithful readers will know that I have posted about it, gone to see the film and have been trying to get my hot little hands on one of the journals. The film depicted a lot of back and forth with the SFMOMA about this exhibit because Someguy wanted to allow people to add to the journals. A great idea, but the curators aren’t used to allowing people to touch the art. I was really happy that they finally were able to work everything out.

They ended up putting the project in the Koret Education Center. There are people there to watch you, somewhat, working on the journals, so it probably made them feel ok about touching.

Stupidly I didn’t plan ahead and bring an art kit like I had planned, so I rummaged through my purse to see what I had:

  • an old temporary drivers’ license
  • breast health center “how to get your results” sheet
  • pink pen
  • Golden Gate Ferry schedule from 1997

With the pencils, glue sticks, pens, etc that the SFMOMA provided my theme turned into bureaucracy. I was able to make a page with which I was pretty satisfied. As Julie said, it was hard to make art standing up. Not very comfy. Other viewers of the exhibit also have a different sense of personal space than I do, so I had to glare at some people who were just too close, and ask them to step back.

I was disappointed to see that some contributors had basically defaced the books with a message of anger and hate of their own. If I had had colored paper, I would have glued it over those messages, which, I guess, is defacing the books as well, in a way. There was a lot of 13 year old boy potty humor as well. Sad to think that people aren’t enlightened enough to think up something that they would be proud to have endure through the ages. Perhaps I am just being a snob because what they wrote doesn’t fit my idea of ‘good’.

I had fun. I found that I actually can do a visual journaling piece. It made me think that, perhaps, I have too many options at home.

I am happy that I got to spend the day with Julie (no children/young adults=freedom) and that I got see and write in the journals. I feel like I made a contribution. The journal I wrote in was number 754.

1000 Journals Project Visits SF Weekend of August 1, 2008

You are probably wondering why it took me so long to get to this post.

Life.
Travel.
Back to School.

You know how it goes.

Still, I wanted to post some photos from the actual journals. The Roxie in SF showed the 1000 Journals movie. It was the first commercial showing in the country.

The 1000 Journals project is coming to the SFMOMA as an exhibit starting in November and the exhibit will be open through ~ April 2009.

I think that the images I was able to snap are from the most photographed journals (because they are in possession of Someguy), but I thought I would post some images anyway.


Some entries are homages. Some entries look like a mess, but that is one of the beauties of the project: everyone can express themselves anyway they want regardless of age or ability.

The artistry of some of the pages is remarkable.


I like the way these entries were created in landscape format.

WARNING: Political images next. Stop reading if you may be offended.

I am not exactly sure what these images are saying (remember the journals went out right around the time of 9/11 so there is a lot of 9/11 imagery included), but I admire the creativity and thoughtfulness (especially the double entendre) regardless of whether you think it is positive or not.

1000 Journals Project Visits SF

You Tube Video of 1000 Journals Project

I have never been to a film festival that I can remember (my parents took us to a lot of strange and culturally significant places), but I went to the San Francisco Film Festival last night to see the 1000 Journals film. It made me really excited to go and to see an indie film.

I am so lame about celebrities, never knowing who they are and who is sleeping with whom, but at the film festival I felt how other people must feel about TV and movie stars. The director, Andrea Kreuzhage and Someguy were both there. After the movie, there was a Q&A and people asked thoughtful and good questions. Of course, everyone wanted to know where the journals are, but people also asked about whether they kept journals (both do to some extent), the exhibit that Someguy is working on getting together.

Today I went out and bought the book. I haven’t read it yet, of course, but I glanced through it and am already more excited than I was.


There is something about this project that is so great. First of all journals are close to my heart. It isn’t just that I have been stumbling along trying make visual journals for the past little while, but I have kept a journal since high school. They can be really powerful and helpful. It means a lot to me have somewhere that I can just blather on about the stupidities and irritations as well as the triumphs of daily life without worrying about my handwriting, grammar or vocabulary and spelling.

I was excited to be at the movie and see the celebs, because it is a collaborative project that Someguy started in his living room. Someguy works. He is just a regular guy. He looked the same *at* the movie as he did *in* the movie. No tux or entourage. It shows that one person can REALLY touch other people’s lives. It is inspiring. It also showed that people are really creative and can take a project and help. It also showed that people cared about the journals and the project. You can see a lot of other footage about the project on YouTube, including interviews with Someguy (above with Andrea Kreuzhage) and Andrea Kreuzhage.

I think people just want to be part of something greater than themselves.

Towards the end of the Q&A, a woman stood up and said she had one of the journals! She said she had had it, I think, since 2003. She had been giving it to people, but it had continually returned to her. As soon as people started leaving I jumped up and asked Someguy if I could have it. Sadly, someone had beat me to it! She, kindly, offered to send it to me when she was done, so I gave her my address. Life happens so we will see if I ever get one.

Here are some photos from the event.
This is Erin with journal #270 right after she told Someguy that she had the journal to give back to him.


Andrea and Erin with journal #270.Someguy, Erin and Andrea.

Someone was there with a Flat Stanley and wanted to take a picture of Stanley with Someguy and a journal.

Another One Night Stand

Today I made fast art again, which, on this blog, is called a One Night Stand. Start to finish is all one session. A One Night Stand here has nothing to do with sex.

EBHQ, the East Bay Heritage Quilters, had a workshop with with Nance O’Banion. She is the head of the printmaking department at CCA (formerly the California College of Arts & Crafts) and teaches, among other classes, book making. I mentioned, earlier in the week, that I thought this class would be interesting in the visual journaling department. I was correct.

Nance O’ Banion doesn’t teach many workshops, as she is a full time faculty member at CCA and doesn’t really have the time. She taught this workshop for EBHQ as a special favor and it was fantastic!!! First, of all, we worked quickly. I finished two books today.

Second, we worked with a limited “palette.” It wasn’t a palette in the sense of colors, but a palette in the sense of materials. She gave a us a group of materials and our job was to make something out of the materials she gave us and what we brought. Since I couldn’t bring my entire sewing room, this limited what I had to work with, but it was fine. It was actually great. I think working with rules, even if they are self imposed, makes for more interesting projects/pieces.

Third, Nance was a very nurturing instructor. Not in a gooby, “I want to be your best friend forever” kind of way, but in a “you can do great work and I will support you” kind of way. I would love to take a semester long class with her. She normally teaches bookmaking with paper and I don’t think I would mind taking that with her.

Fourth, she was really organized. She had a packet of stuff that she had prepared for us (magazine pictures, pages ripped from books, blank paper, etc. She also had a schedule, let us k now what it was and stuck to it. I really enjoy working in that kind of environment. I am good with deadlines. I am not bothered by deadlines unless I don’t know what they are.

Cover. My book came out a little big for the first exercise, but I used it anyway. I wanted to play a bit with the double meaning of One Night Stand. Remember, I didn’t have much time, so I did what I could. I could always add more to the piece. I think I will shore up the pages with some interfacing as they are very floopy.

Page 1 (left) and page 2 (right): The red and white motifs on page 1 are on the back of the fortune card (Nance’s words) that was in my prepared packet. I didn’t want to lose them by gluing the card onto the page, so I sewed it on with Laura Wasilowski hand-dyed Perl cotton and cut the back out so the motfs would show through. Page 2 just plays more with the meaning of One Night Stand.

Page 3: Here I wanted to get the reader’s mind out of the gutter and tell them that a One Night Stand is about creating quickly. It allows things to happen with my work that wouldn’t happen if I thought too much about it. I also tried to incorporate a piece of the motif of the iron grille with the shadows I saw in Seattle. I was a also trying to reintroduce the woman shape I used for Desiree. This was the first attempt of the day and she looks a bit wonky. This page had a bit of a problem, because I had cut a piece out of the yardage and didn’t realize it was in the middle of my book until I was well into. I had planned to have the camera peek through, but I didn’t line it up properly. I may leave it but I may fix it somehow (door? sewed on ‘patch’?) . We’ll see.

Page 4: At this point, things started to pop into my head and I would write them down. I was feeling like the piece was a bit word heavy, but just went with the flow. The pink card with the compass came in my prepared packet.

Page 5: Here I am back to a little bit of wordplay with the double meaning.

Page 6: The ‘think,’ ‘try,’ ‘do’ are relevant to creativity, I think, but they are also a take off on something that Yoda says to Luke in Star Wars, Episode 6: Return of the Jedi.

Page 7: While you see this page in the same orientation as the other pages it is actually oriented 90 degrees to the right, so you have to turn the book. This is one of my favorite pages, because it just told me what to put on it and I like the layering of the leaves.

Page 8: I wanted to have a closing credit, so I started on a “The End” page. They I thought of the phoenix rising from the ashes and new beginnings came to mind.

I’ll write about the second book later.

I stopped at New Pieces to see if they had interfacing for the bags and bought, in addition to the interfacing, the following:


The turquoise dots on the bottom will be a bag outside and the pink flowers with the black will be a bag inside for the white dots that I bought from fabric.com.