Words Are My Weakness

30 Journals 30 Days

2010-07-31T17:58:00.000-07:00

So I've been following the blog of Dirty Footprints Studio. And she's been featuring art journalers over the past month. One a day. And they've all been amazing. She's calling it 30 Journals 30 Days. But there are 31 days in July - so she's added an extra feature where everyone features themselves in their own blog on the 31st. And adds a link to her page.

It's just been so wonderful to watch that now Iwant to participate.

So... here goes -

1. How long have you been Art Journaling? The first Art Journal I ever started was on Jan. 29th. at 8:45pm. (Back in the day when I use to date and time pages.) It was before I ever knew what "art journaling" was. I was given a sketchbook and I tried my hardest to JUST sketch in them, but leaving them "unfinished" really bothered me. I've kept diaries ever since about the 2nd grade. (The spelling is comical.)

This is the first page in the first book.

2. How has Art Journaling impacted, changed, or enhanced your life? For a long time working in my journal was my cure. It gave me a safe place to work through some difficult things. It gave me a place to thoughts that I didn't know what to dowith and things I was ashamed of. It worked better than any therapy. Better than any drug.

3. What are a few of your favorite Art Journaling materials to use? I've always considered myself a recorder more than an artist. I have a compulsive need to keep record whether that be by keeping an art journal, diary, or taking a TON of pictures. So - I really love ANY kind of image transfer. Gel medium, winter green oil, packing tape. I also love just using photos.

4. Who are your favorite Art Journalers? I love them all. I seriously have not come across an artist that has worked in a book that I have not immediately felt some kind of bond to. But there's one specific artist that I adore. Dan Eldon. Not only did he keep an art journal but he's tak

en that step to make a difference in the world. It's a beautiful reminder to me of what art is capable of.

5. What kinds of words of encouragement would you say to an Art Journal newbie? Hm. Never been one to give out advice, but I guess just from my experience with it. Don't be afraid. Try everything. This is your safe place. To do, say, write, paint - whatever however you want. And if you don't like it - turn the page. You don't have to show it to anyone. You don't have to ever look at it again. Just by doing - I think there's growth and that's worth the work.

6. Where can we contact you? Ha! Everywhere.

Deviantart. Twitter. Tumblr. I think I've tried out every social networking platform out there...

The Joy of Six

2010-03-02T06:56:00.000-08:00

It's been busy.
You'll have to excuse my absence. I decided that I REALLY want to go back to school in the Fall, so I've been working my butt off to get a portfolio ready. (I turned it in yesterday.) So this post is long over due. I have a few things that might be fun to share!

First - I had my very first exhibition. It's still up currently until April. If you're in Buford, GA before then you should check it out. <3 These are mine.

So far my New Years resolution of working larger has been a success. I have ideas running in my head for new pieces that I'd like to work on soon.

I also received my copy of "In Our Own Words" the other day. For those of you who don't already know this book is the project of a non-profit in the UK called, Harmless. They specialize in assisting those that deal with self-injury. And they do an amazing job at it. The book will raise funds for them. And I contributed a painting.

You can pick up a copy here. That's the form you have to download and fill out and send it. I'm not yet sure if it's available to people outside of the UK.

I think that's about it for now.
I find out the results of my portfolio sometime in the next 3 weeks via e-mail. Yay!

Commissions and Gifts

2010-01-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

I did a few commissioned pieces during the holidays.
Then I decided to do a few smaller paintings as gifts.

Also knitted two scarves. But I forgot to snap some photos of them before I gave them away.

Film

2009-12-07T22:33:00.000-08:00

I busted out the old old old Canon AE-1 and after hunting for some time for a battery replacement, I finally shot a roll of film. I was surprised to find that the camera still works.

There's more of this to come. I'm sure.

Love is the Movement!

2009-11-13T07:28:00.001-08:00

Today is "To Write Love On Her Arms" Day.

For those of you that don't know what TWLOHA's is...

twloha.com

Today is basically about writing the word love on your arm. Writing it to promote awareness about things such as self injury, addiction, depression, and suicide - specifically within the teenage years. (As I think this is where it is most often not taken very lightly. - you know, hormones.) But also acknowledging that these are things people won't grow out of. That people much older than their teens suffer. They fight these things ever single day.

So writing love on your arm not only promotes awareness and conversation about difficult subjects. It's also there as a sign of support. A sign that someone cares about you when depression, addiction, self injury, and thoughts of suicide make it so difficult to believe that could be true.

Love is the movement.
Rescue is possible.

You are never alone.

Art and Meditation

2009-11-12T06:37:00.000-08:00

“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanely sensitive. to them… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off… they must create, must pour out creation. by some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating… I must create.”

-Pearl Buck

This is me. Hands down. Overly sensitive and what might seem to others as overly dramatic. I had a difficult time watching The Day After Tomorrow yesterday because watching all of those people die made my stomach feel really heavy.

I've joined a prayer and meditation group that meets on Tues. It's been going really well, and I'm really enjoying it. I was raised Catholic and so I've always had a religious prayer oriented lifestyle. But I've always been one of the more "open" Catholics if that doesn't seem like too much of a contradiction. (I personally wouldn't say it is... as I know plenty.)

And while I was living in Germany, my yoga teacher was my best friend. She was still in yoga classes at her local ashram and sometimes I would go there with her. It was a very interesting experience in Hinduism. And a bit of Buddhism. Meditation classes. Yoga practices. Prayers to the gods and "gifts" of fruit.

But I've never had the two cross over until this group I've joined. It's been wonderful.

We're reading and discussing this book - Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening by Cynthia Bourgeault.
I'm adoring it because it's bringing together my faiths? Ha. Things that I already knew were tied, but there's something to be said about validation in printed form, even if it is just someone else's opinion.

Which brings me to the next topic. Chapter 5. The main point of chapter 5 is to reinforce the fact that while meditating in centering prayer you're not suppose to look for anything divine. You're not suppose to look or even have any miraculous events happen. As the entire practice is about letting go.

But it goes into a part about how imagination and the devil are linked. And how monks use to fill their days with meditation and prayers so that the devil could not sneak in through the imagination.

For some reason this has bothered me more than it should.

Perhaps they speak of "imagination" in a different way than I do. I've never in my entire life viewed my imagination, my creativity as a bad thing. So it's been a bit unnerving to know that others might. I'm getting more use to the idea. I don't need approval from everyone. (but wouldn't it be nice if that were a possibility.) The more I think about it the more I realize there have always been people against the arts. Harry Potter, for example. I suppose the people who oppose Harry Potter and think that the imagination that led it is the devil's work are the same people that would denounce creativity all together.

It's been a difficult pill for me to swallow. Which is also silly because the prayer and meditation group is all about letting go. Instead I find myself throwing up walls and being defensive.

Silly.

November 10th, 2009

2009-11-11T18:31:00.001-08:00

Art Every Day Month

Note to self - colored pencils in a collage journal = ick.
I may go back through with some acrylic.

Unfinished.

November 7th, 2009

2009-11-08T17:00:00.001-08:00

Art Every Day Month

Novemeber 6th, 2009

2009-11-08T16:56:00.001-08:00

Art Every Month Day.

Another unfinished sketchbook page.

Excuse the bad photo, for some reason the computer our scanner is connected to isn't working.

November 4th, 2009

2009-11-05T19:02:00.000-08:00

Art Every Day Month - It was a beautiful Day to play outside and take pictures.

November 3rd, 2009

2009-11-05T18:42:00.001-08:00

Art Every Day Month, Black Butterflies Book Pg. 53 & 54 - Unfinished.

(I already skipped a day - November 2nd. but I had creative thoughts...)

"You know that I could use somebody..."

2009-11-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

So the plan is to send around a traveling journal. Having different artist doing different pages. And then when it's completed, posted - some how, some where.

(I've always wanted a website where there was a bookcase sort of thing, and you could select the "book" you wanted and the pages would turn, ect... As close as you could get to actually looking through my books on the computer. So maybe I'll put that in motion once with is finished so that I have a place worthy enough to share the work of others. I just know nothing about website design. Maybe I'll make an art trade with someone who's willing to help in that department.)

Anyway - I'm looking for people who are willing to participate. I say willing because unfortunately there are a few requirements.

1. I want you to be honest with yourself that you'll have the time, motivation or inspiration to do a page. I'm thinking a two week max in any one place. If nothing happens in a 2 week span - that's completely okay. Things come up, but I'll ask that you pass the book along so that others have a shot.

2. There's a bit of a financial factor, as I won't be able to provide funds to mail it each and every time. So when you're finished I'll need you to mail it on to the next person on the list. I'm going to collect addresses ahead of time and move it around in a way that hopefully the financial burden won't be great, but there is a chance that you might be asked to mail it to a different country.

Other than those two things -

The idea behind the book is a game of telephone. Have you ever played that game as a child? You sit in a circle and one person starts by whispering something in the ear of the person sitting next to them, and that person whispers what they heard to the next person and so on.

The last person in the circle says what they think they heard out loud and most of the time - it comes out completely different than the original phrase.

The book will work in the same way. I'm starting by doing a page. The next person will get the book and create something "inspired" by what I did. And so on. THERE ARE NO REQUIREMENTS ON WHAT YOU DO.

Writing a story, poetry, drawing something, collage, music... (I would LOVE it if someone that was into music joined this. They could write something inspired by whatever the person before them did - and then record it, burn it to a CD - it wouldn't have to be CD quality or anything... then the next person would create something inspired by the music. It would be lovely.) ANYTHING.

The only restriction is that it fit on a two page spread of a 8x10 spiral bound journal.

If you want to participate... send me an e-mail at JFordham84@gmail.com your name and address. Depending on how many people are interested I'm going to get this going pretty soon here. Any questions, feel free to ask!

Thanks for reading. <3

"I've been roaming around
Always looking down at all I see
Painted faces, fill the places I can't reach"

A little rant on boobs...

2009-11-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

Liberty Leading the People, 1830,
Eugene Delacroix, (1798-1863), French

This is just going to be a small little rant regarding censorship on breasts.

I briefly thought about putting a maturity filter warning on my last submission to Deviantart. (It was Page 58.) After all there *is* nudity in the piece. But I dismissed the idea because I thought that was silly. It was just boobs. With no sexual content. Nothing obscene and nothing unnatural - just a pair of boobs.

But - to my surprise I did get reported and the setting was changed.

And I'm not upset or disappointed about that. I'm on the site and I will willing follow their rules because that's what I agreed to when I made the page.

I guess I'm just saddened by the idea that it's not okay for breasts to be exposed.

I think it takes me back to my breastfeeding in public days.

I was one of those women that was going to breastfeed where ever I was. I was not going to make my child scream and cry and wait until we got home. And I CERTAINLY wasn't going to go to some disgustingly dirty bathroom to feed my child.

The only exceptions I made were for male friends and family.

But if you were a stranger... I didn't care.
At that point breasts were not a sexual thing. They were a functional thing. And I was relatively discrete not that I felt I should have to be.

I fed on planes, restaurants, malls, and parks...

And I actually did run into people that asked me to stop. Or go somewhere else.
Once I was in a mall women's bathroom - they had a nice little sitting area with couches and a table... you know the type? I had a lady who worked there come in and ask me to use a stall.

How horrible is that?

I guess I just don't understand where this fear comes from? If you happen to sit on the opposite side of this view, please... explain this to me. I promise I'm a very open person and I will do my best to understand where you are coming from with nothing but respect for your opinion and views.

So...
Yeah...
Go boobs!

Novemeber 1, 2009

2009-11-01T18:53:00.001-08:00

Black Butterflies, Page 55

Art Every Day Month!

2009-11-01T05:28:00.000-08:00

So I've decided to see if I can keep up with "Art Every Day Month".

I should be putting something up everyday.
Ideally, I'd love to be able to complete a sketchbook page a day, but that's not realistic for where I am at the moment. So it might be unfinished work that progressively gets finished as the days go by. It might be writing. It might be a bigger piece. (I'd like to start doing those more often.)

So we'll see what happens. And if I can keep up.

Luck, Love, and a Lonely Soul

2009-10-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

Art is the Cure!

2009-10-11T20:31:00.001-07:00

Art is the Cure!

(I know I've spoken of hem before but I wanted to do a piece on them for a while now. They/He shares some of the core beliefs of what I would like to be able to do with my art.)

Started by a guy in the UK by the name of Rich about 2 years ago. AITC aims to help people use their creativity as a cure for mental health issues. Basically promoting art therapy in it's many forms.

His story and the story behind AITC can be found on the page.

It proves that art is powerful. It can help. And it can change the world.

<3

Invisible Children

2009-10-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

This is the second page in the Aware book -

This one highlights the group known as Invisible Children.

"Our approach to humanitarian work is founded in the strength and intelligence of the Ugandan community. We learned early on it was not only important but essential to heed the wisdom of people that had not only lived in the war, but were surviving it. People who would know better than anyone what the greatest needs were and the best ways to meet them. What we came to find is that while there have been many efforts to address the issues that stem from living and fighting in such a long-lasting war, the people of Uganda are asking for a future beyond the conflict."
-Taken from the site.

Invisible Children is pretty big. They started in Uganda with child soldiers but their work is pretty wide spread these days. They have a film coming out. They've been on Oprah and have held several nation (US) wide events involving hundreds of people.

They are about to launch something they are calling "Mend". I think it launches Nov. 2nd. (This explains the woman and sewing machine on the right.)

Mend will be a business launched in Northern Uganda that employs former abducted child solders. (mainly women) Each bag will have the name of the woman who made it stitched inside. From their site you can read about the person who made your bag and see how she is "on the mend."

AWARE

2009-10-08T08:57:00.001-07:00

I started a project at the beginning of September, but it's taken quite a good deal longer to do than I anticipated.

The plan was to do an altered book.
One page a week.
Each page highlighting a non-profit.
Thus spreading awareness about that specific organization and whatever their cause is.

I haven't managed a page a week. More like 2 pages a month.
But I like where it's going...

Here's the cover:I'm pretty excited about it because I get the opportunity to research non-profits and groups I've been interested in for a while now, but haven't really had the "excuse" to find out more about them.

Love Yourself 2009

2009-10-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

So the Love Yourself For Art contest came to an end at the beginning of September. Most of the prizes have been mailed out. I have a few stragglers that will be mailed out this coming week and that will be the end of it.

I really enjoyed doing this and the feedback has all been positive. So I am definitely planning on doing this again. I'm thinking March 2010. (As March 1st is Self Injury Awareness Day.)

This time I think I'll expand the project beyond DeviantArt. I'd like to make it available to more people. So you'll see more of it on my blog and perhaps other places if you follow me in those places...

The photo above is of all of the finished prizes. Mine and the ones that were donated. About 44 cards total. It doesn't look like a lot, but it felt like a lot.

Thank you to everyone who donated cards. I really appreciate all of the help.
Kelsey
Laura
Margaret
Megan
James
Aoife
Lisa
Vera
Victoria

"She could take your life with one good kiss."

2009-09-11T05:24:00.000-07:00

Page 49
Page 50
Page 46

Love Yourself

2009-08-28T22:09:00.001-07:00

The text is taken from The Awakening by Kate Chopin.

Lace

2009-08-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

Recently, I submitted this piece to be considered for publication in a book called, "In Our Own Words". The book is to be published by a non-profit in the UK called Harmless. Harmless is an organization that brings information to the masses about self injury. They even go as far as to include training for those dealing with people who self injure. I think it's a lovely group and an incredible site. You should check it out.

http://www.harmless.org.uk/

Anyway... the submission was accepted. So YAY! I'll have published art work in the UK at least. I'm pretty excited.

"What is REAL?"

2009-08-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

-Margery Williams, "The Velveteen Rabbit"

* * * * *

So - counting all of the donation cards I've received so far and the ones I've completed, I have a total of 20 cards! Which is wonderful! I should have no trouble at all getting to the 40 goal.

I'm so confident that after I received some cards from a friend on DA that looked stunning in ATC sleeves - I decided to make some of my own from old photo sleeves I had lying around. They look so much nicer now.

So the contest is moving right along.

Here's a few of the cards I've made so far:

"Oh, the Places You'll Go"

2009-08-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

"I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get tired
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike.
And I know you'll hike far
and face up your problems
whatever they are."

-Dr. Seuss, "Oh, the Places You'll Go"

I am of a firm belief that the secret to life and happiness can all be found in Dr. Seuss books.

Love Yourself for Art!

2009-07-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

So I've been keeping myself a little busy. Probably too busy. But as long as I'm getting the things done that I need to get done I'll consider it a success.

I've started my first ever contest on DeviantArt. Actually, it's something a little bigger than a contest. Here I'll share:

“So I’d like to do a contest.

WHO: This is a contest for people who currently self injure or have self injured in the past. Self injuring is any time you do something knowing it will deliberately cause you harm. This can be any number of things.

I want to trade you a mini piece of art (about the size of a playing card) for one month of you going self injury free.

As you can imagine this contest will run completely on the honor system. I’ll have no way of knowing whether or not you’ve actually kept your word. But of course, I ask you to do so. This contest will be run again in October. So there will always be another chance for you to try again. It’s not a contest of who can go the longest, more of a contest against yourself.

PRIZE: A small 64 mm × 89 mm piece of art work. Something small enough to keep with you. In your pocket, or maybe where you keep your blades, or whatever it is you use, where ever it is you go, to self injure. Something that will remind you you’re not alone. That you’re loved. That you’re strong. And that you have other options. Each piece will be hand made and unique. Some may have similar looks or messages, but each one will be different.

DATES: The contest will start August 1st and will go until the 31st.
You have until the 1st of August to notify me in some way that you wish to participate. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this in a public way – feel free to note me. No one else will know. I want to know everyone that’s participating before the 1st, because the entire month of August I will be making the prizes.”

So that's the gist of it. If anyone that reads my blog is interested... feel free to write me on here and I'll gladly accept you. Or if you have a DA account you can find me there.

I hope everyone is well.

Artist Trading Cards

2009-07-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

Cards 5 and 6 are still up for trade.

Unfinished Pages

2009-06-23T10:38:00.001-07:00

Artist Trading Cards

2009-06-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

So I'm planning on giving these artist trading cards a shot for a little while.

There are a few friends from DeviantArt that are going to give it a shot and I'd like to try it with them. So here's the post - copied from hogret's journal :

"Let's go ATC trading, guys ...

There seem to be only two basic rules:
(1) Size is 6cm by 9cm (either portrait or landscape orientation)
(2) Cards are never sold, but always traded

And two guidelines:
(1) Each card is ideally a one-off original - ie preferably no multiple reproductions
(2) Back of the card has the artist's name, contact detail, name of the card, and date created.

Otherwise, it seems the sky's the limit - any medium (watercolor, photo-manip, fabric, metal, collage, lithograph, etc etc) and any message.

(I'm sure you all know about ATCs, but a useful starting point for resources and links is at [link] )

~KysPerspective suggested the idea to me, and she and I will be trading, and both of us would be delighted to trade with anyone else who's interested."

* * * * *

I want to try something new. And I'm all for getting original art in the mail - no matter how small. <3

I would love to do them aimed at a specific person... so if you'd like to do a trade with me, let me know here. Or somewhere - and I'll get working on them soon.

Yay! I'm so excited.

"At times I am so self destructive"

2009-06-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

"With no intent or motive
But behind this emotion,
There lies a sensible heart
A sensible heart"

May 30th

There's only one thing I hate about you.

You make me feel like I'm not good enough. I know that I'm not ever going to change - at least not in the areas that are so obviously annoying to you, SO I feel as if I'm never going to be good enough. I'll never be that person.

May 31st

I ask who she is
We both feign disinterest. Make it casual curiosity. But we both hold in our secret breaths, wondering how this will play out. Will you call my bluff? Will I call yours? Do I want to?

June 6th

Female objectification

Saint? Naked? Red back with dried glue. Too sexual? Too gross?

June 8th

Death and decay is beautiful when it's natural.

I found a baby bird that had fallen from the nest. It had maggots moving beneath the skin, I thought it was still breathing.

Road kill is the worst. For months now I've watched the death of an animal become something more... flat. Pressed into the concrete over and over. Rained on. Just a pelt of something that at one time wasn't flat. Something that was breathing

Escapism. Fantasy as a parallel for everything we're too afraid to face.

June 17th

My crimes are written on your body.

June 18th

On rare occassions, I think two wrongs do make everything right again. Are we even now?

Dear me,
I'm taking over. Holding your love ransom until you're able to handle it yourself again. Love is a strong emotion, one I'm beginning to doubt all are capable of, and you're just too weak.

Love is for the brave.

STOP BEING A COWARD!

Words connecting and words tearing apart. Writing people together.

Rule one for a conversation.
There is no right answer. No one wins a conversation.
Two. When someone is talking to you - stop thinking about what you're going to say in response. Do your best to put yourself in their place. Do your best to really understand what they are saying, and what they aren't saying.
Three. Choose better words.

June 22nd

With these words I whisper, I will guard your heart.

New Orleans

2009-06-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

The hubby and I spent the weekend in New Orleans with our friends for a wedding.
I took 245 pictures total.

"We can eclipse all that came before us."

2009-06-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

"We can control the medium.
We can control the context of presentation.
Is there anybody on the receiving end?
Reaching out for some kind of connection.

Come on and wash these shores away.
Come on and wash these shores away.
I am looking for the crest,
I am looking for the crest of a new wave.

We can be the bands we want to hear.
We can define our own generation.
Is there anybody on the receiving end?
Are you ready to brave new directions.

Come on and wash these shores away.
Come on and wash these shores away.
I am looking for the crest,
I am looking for the crest of a new wave.

Let breathe new dawn this art is dead!
No signs of original thought in the mainstream.
Is there anybody on the receiving end?
We can eclipse all that came before us.

Come on and wash these shores away.
Come on and wash these shores away.
I am looking for the crest,
I am looking for the crest of a new wave."

-Against Me!, New Wave

I hate the word "kitsch".

Here's a brief summary brought to you by wikipedia...

"denoting art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art. The term kitsch was a response to the 19th century art whose aesthetics convey exaggerated sentimentality and melodrama, hence, kitsch art is closely associated with sentimental art. Moreover, kitsch (art) also denotes the types of art that are like-wise æsthetically deficient (whether or not it is sentimental, glamorous, theatrical, or creative) making it a creative gesture that merely imitates the superficial appearances of art (via repeated conventions and formulae), thus, it is uncreative and unoriginal; it is not Art. Contemporaneously, kitsch also (loosely) denotes art that is æsthetically pretentious to the degree of being in poor taste, and industrially-produced art-items that are considered trite and crass."

Who can judge art like this?
Who could say this about someone else's art?

We are all products of our surroundings. Things we are exposed to, things we've chosen to expose ourselves to. But we are not original. Not really. An original mix of things maybe... and our creations, whether music, art or otherwise, will be the same. Combinations of things that have already been. We take what we've seen... mix it with something else and try to do it better. But is there ever anything new?

Bleach and Photos

2009-06-06T09:54:00.001-07:00

I had a little fun this morning with some old photos and some bleach. Completely inspired by mikimessedup on DeviantArt. I'm sure you will see some of these popping up in my journal pages soon. Maybe some new ones. I'm liking it.

The Saint and The Snake

2009-05-30T20:06:00.001-07:00

Social He(art)

2009-05-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

Page 25

I know I've mentioned them before, but I wanted to re-mention them, because the lovely lady there featured me and I wanted to share it with you!

Social He(art)

I'm in shock really. I don't think I've earned it yet - but this only fuels me more.

In the feature I mentioned an art therapy video that I had come across and so I went to find it to share.

Morning Walks

2009-05-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Every morning I go on a walk with my daughter. It lasts usually 30min to an hour, and consists of us walking the sidewalks, listening to my headphones, and waving/chatting with the local old people. I always have my phone on me so I can use the note pad to jot down ideas, words, phrases, ect. I get some of my best ideas on walks.

And since part of the reason I started this blog was to show some process. I thought I would share where I start.

April 26 -

I want to write something honest,
but everything that comes out is just perception.

That's as close to truth as I'll ever get.

Back to opinion again.

April 27 -

We are dreamers, you and I.
Dreamers have to stick together.
And never never never stop dreaming.

I think we'll spend our entire lives learning how to really love one another.
Making mistakes as we go.
And I'm okay with that.

April 28 -

Sometimes I just want to be something different.
Something free.

April 30 -

I think you can tell a good deal about a person by what's in their car. But I don't have a car. I wonder what that says about me...

The hopeless romantic in me is dying and slowly becoming just hopeless.

May 3 -

Surprise! I'm human.

I will not break you.

May 4 -

I can't stand it.
I wish you'd never entered my life. I want you out. Like a tumor. I want to slice it open, cut you out and stitch my life back up. But you're a cancer. And you've spread. You're no longer just an affliction of the heart. You've invaded other areas. You're inoperable. And I think I'm going to die of you. (the product of this is below.)
I'm trying so hard to erase you, that I'm burning you into my skin.

May 13 -

If I thought it would make you happy and change the way you see the world. If I thought it would make it better. I would give all of my good luck to you.

I love.

May 20 -

Confessional page.

Goodbye old me. With letter to myself in see-through envelope.

Forever's Not So Long

2009-05-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing short film shared with me recently by an art friend. Enjoy!

Forever's Not So Long from garrettmurray on Vimeo.

Rise Against and Social Vibe

2009-05-16T05:51:00.000-07:00

WordsRMy Weakness invites you to SocialVibe.com

Confess.

2009-05-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

Page 22

Ever since I was little my biggest dream was to make a difference in the world. Not to be famous. Not to be wealthy... I just wanted to be somebody that helped someone. I would pretend I was a super hero - of course, I couldn't tell anyone. It would jeopardize my life. (This probably went on for far too long in my life... I dreamed of being a super hero long after I stopped believing they existed. Maybe I was the only one.)

As I got older, I started looking for other ways to help. Feeding the homeless. Volunteering places. Mission trips. But none of it has ever felt like enough for me. I've never really really connected. I'm not as outgoing as I'd like to be. It takes me a really long time to warm up to people. Especially in situations where I'm am so humbled.

Art has always been... "my thing". And it wasn't until recently that I considered doing something with art to benefit others.

The hardest part about making a difference is really knowing where to start.

Once I realized I wanted to help - I realized I was afraid to do something on my own. What if my project had the reverse effect. What if I ended up giving the wrong idea. What if I ended up hurting instead of helping.

I have been doing tons of research on non profits and other helpful organizations. And I've stumbled upon The Love Alliance. And I think they have it right. It starts with Education.
They give helpful bits of education on different social situations. Then they list what you can do to help. Definitely a step in the right direction for people that just don't know where to start.

I've also stumbled across this lovely lady's blog and site, Social He(art)
For anyone involved in art that would like to get involved in social issues... this is the place.
I'm so excited about seeing other artists helping. I hope one day my name will be on her site somewhere.

And lastly...

What I'm watching:

Want to see it desperately. It looks absolutely beautiful.

Glitter Guts

2009-05-10T21:10:00.001-07:00

A quick art to-do list:

*Dreamers painting, both for a DA contest due May 30th and the Art Walk June 1st.
*The Saint and the Snake painting - for the art walk in June.
*Will and Quinn - also, June 1st.
*Lace - June 1st. (Those 4 combined with an older self portrait will be the five on display. I hope.)
*Finish up my proposal for Chronicle Books and mail it in.
*Edit my story - TPoK. (I've been reading some Stephenie Meyers lately, and for some reason she makes me want to write. It's like I get so frustrated at her endings, or just the way the book goes in general that I want to stop reading and write my own story - the way I want it.)
*I'd love to actually write "The Owl Queen" down. It's just in my head mainly for now. Maybe NaNoWriMo this year?
*Continue on with my art journal, which shouldn't be difficult as I can't seem to help myself with it. If anything it will be blocking my progress with these other works.

I know there's more to this. Maybe I'll add more as it comes to my brain. It always seems to help me if I have a list to cross things off of. And so I don't lose things in this brain of mine.

Happy Mother's Day!

I've always liked it in blogs when they do a "what I'm reading" and "what I'm listening to"... so I'm thinking I might start adding this in at the end of mine.

What I'm Reading: (or actually just finished...)

The Host, by Stephenie Meyer.

She definitely has a way of creating relationships between her characters that makes you want to read on. I think that's what draws me to her work. If you're a Twilight fan... you'll like it. As long as you like Twilight for a reason other than Edward - he's not in this one. :)

What I'm Listening To: (thanks to a DA friend...)

Truth

2009-05-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

"Then again the great artist, besides aiming at perfection of form searches for truth. He never, in any of his works, allows what he knows to be false to remain. If he believes a work to be false in any part he will change, destroy or abandon it. The longer he works the more exacting he becomes in the demand for what is true. This insistence upon truth is of great importance today. The invention of atomic weapons is a far less sinister threat to human happiness than the discovery of the power of untruth. The realization this it is possible to influence millions by the deliberately told lie is one of the most dreadful threats that civilization has ever been compelled to face. The atomic bomb in itself is harmless. But the untruth, or the deliberately fostered ignorance, that inflame a nation may, at any moment, cause it to be dropped. Only truth can combat falsehood, and the artist is a champion of truth".

"Without truth there can be no freedom. Art honors the spirit of man, his intellect and his feelings, and would have them free".

Chapter XI "Art And Education"
Page 154, Paragraph 2
H.Caudwell
The Creative Impulse
London
Macmillan & Co. Ltd
1951

Seeing Ourselves

2009-05-01T16:41:00.001-07:00

I went with my husband to his band practice the other evening. It was nice. I packed a small bag of art supplies and worked in my art journal while he made music with his friends. It's almost enough to make me wish that I had some kind of musical talent so that I could create with him, but I suppose I'll settle for creating near him.

This is the latest. I'm thinking of expanding on this idea. And doing torn/see through stitched back together pieces, but larger and then stretching them over a canvas frame. It sounds time consuming but enjoyable.

I'm working on 3 larger pieces at the moment, outside of my art journal. All of them are at different stages... but all three are coming along. I'm hoping to finish them by June 1st to display them at the Art Walk in Marietta.

I also read about a new art exhibit in Nashville at the Frist Center for Community Arts. ( -look under exhibits.) It's called "Seeing Ourselves" It's presented by the Safe Haven Family Shelter. The Safe Haven Family Shelter is one of the only shelters in TN that provides interim housing and job training for displaced families.

With the economy as frightening as it is. And watching people lose their jobs one after another. This sort of assistance is exactly what we need.

The last line in the article I read about it says, "thereby brining a face to homelessness." And I can't help thinking about that same quote from Faceless International.

Creative Activism!

2009-04-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

Creative Activists:
individuals who use the power of media and the arts
to create positive change in the world.

A page in my sketchbook inspired by a trip I took to Kenya a couple years back. As well as the organization Faceless International. I love the way they put it... giving a face to the faceless. It's so true that we live in a place where we're spared seeing these kinds of things on a day to day basis, but that does not mean they don't exist. This organization has given me some rather big dreams. Things that I'd love to make a reality eventually...

I also signed up to follow this group, Creative Visions. It's headed by Kathy Eldon, Dan Eldon's mother, and Amy Eldon, his sister. (See a few posts down...) I really like where they're headed and would not mind getting involved with that sometime in the future.

Just a few more pictures that I love from my trip to Africa and I'll leave you alone...
I hope all is well. <3 style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SdFSlIzSG6E/SffNz0MyvcI/AAAAAAAAADk/eOYFXwpAdEY/s320/Africa+2006+014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329954974085594562" border="0">

"Art is Hard"

2009-04-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

"Cut it out, your self-inflicted pain is getting too routine
The crowds are catching on to the self-afflicted song
Well, here we go again, the art of acting weak
Fall in love to fail, to boost your CD sales
and that CD sells. Yeah what a hit. You got to repeat it
You gotta sink to swim

First you don't, you don't succeed
You gotta recreate your misery
Cause we all know art is hard
Young artists have gotta starve
Try and fail and try again
The comforts of repetition
Keep churnin' out those hits
Till its all the same old shit

Oh, a second verse
Well color me fatigued
I'm hiding in the leaves
In the CD jacket sleeves
Tired of entertaining
Some double-dipped meaning
A soft served analogy
Those drunken angry slur
In 31 flavors
You gotta sink gotta sink gotta sink to swim
Immerse yourself in rejection
Regurgitate some sorry tale
About a boy who sells his love affairs

Gotta fake (fake) fake (fake) fake the pain
Gotta make (make) make (make) make a scene
Gotta break (break) break (break) break a leg
When you get on stage and they scream your name
Oh cursive is so cool!

You gotta sink gotta sink gotta sink to swim
Impersonate greater persons
Cause we all know art is hard
When we don't know who we are"

-Cursive, Art is Hard ([link] )

* * * * *

I love that...
"We all know art is hard, when we don't know who we are."

I worry about that... when I'm happy again - will my art stop. It has before. There are HUGE gaps. I guess that's the difference between an artist and someone who uses art as a cure. A crutch. I don't think I could make it in the art field - doing art on demand for money. At least, I don't think I could rely on my art to support myself.

Honest art is always better than pretty art.

"You've got to sink to swim" (Cursive)
"Nobody gets to where they are without a fight" (The Hedrons)

Destinations are nice, but detours are exciting!

2009-04-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

This is the work of Dan Eldon.

I was in high school when a friend of mine introduced me to his work. She said she had found my soul mate, but that he was already dead. : /

But his work has definitely inspired me to be more proactive. Art can change the work. We just have to figure out how to use it properly.

[link]

I can only dream of the things he would accomplish if he were still alive today.

He passed at 22 - had done amazing social work in Africa as well as other countries, and finished 17 sketchbooks.

(I'm 24 with 4 and a half. heh.)
Anyway - I'm smitten.

Art is the Cure!

2009-04-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

I've come across a couple non-profits that are interesting to me.

1. [link] Love Your Body! I'll be doing a page inspired by them shortly.

2. [link] and Art is the Cure! - I'm loving this. (not sure yet if they're an actual factual non-prof, but I'm liking the message.) I e-mailed the guy a few questions I had. I wouldn't mind getting involved with this. It especially calls to the part of me that wants to go into Art Therapy.

Also doing a bit of copyright research. (being a collage artist and all this probably should have come a good deal sooner.)

First - lots of research on copyright. And most of it depressing for someone who's used so many images that aren't mine. I'm in the process of going through and giving proper credit and listing materials and also - giving the pages titles as well as numbers.

For any questions on copyright check this out: [link]

She's an artist - not a lawyer, so while she's not the "law" she puts things in terms that are actually understandable.

What I've pulled from it - Basically, don't use anything that's not yours.
I still have a few questionable things... (ex. stamps (are the designs copy righted?), fonts, the wrappers from packages, using certain images as references to draw from, bible verses - any advice on these I'd appreciate.)

I'd always heard the... as long as you change the images enough... but I think that's bull now. I've resorted to public domain images (like this site: [link] ) for things now, as well as using more of my own and taking my own. Needless to say, things are moving much slower now.

It's weird. I'm having to change the way I work entirely. I'm so spontaneous... now I have to actually plan what I want. It's weird... not sure if I'm a fan. I guess we'll see how the art turns out and go from there.

I secretly want a job at Kinko's so I can hang out there all day and photo copy images to use in my books. I think I might look into it. Seriously.
And a new page...

Something for me to remember...

2009-04-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

Just something to remember, and a new page.

"Change will never happen when people lack the ability and courage to see themselves for who they are."

1000 Journals

2009-04-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to the 1000 journals project by someone on DeviantArt.

And while I was visiting my friend in CT, she just happened to own the book. So I read it. And it was lovely. But the amazing part is it's not over!

You can go to www.1001journals.com and request to have a journal sent to you. OR make your own journal to release into the world. OR go to a place where a stationary journal is and work in it. It's a pretty amazing project that I'll definitely be taking an interest in. I'm thinking of maybe releasing a journal of my own into the world. Maybe like a long distance game of telephone... except with art, and music, and writing, ... Now to find the free time to get it started and get people interested. heh.

Art Journals

2009-04-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

This is the second page of the new book. And a bit of a theme for it.

Also - I've been doing a bit of research on what it is I do, these sketchbook things, and apparently they are actually called "Art Journals". And... the best part, there are TONS of people that do them.

I've spent a good deal of the last couple days going through other people's journals mainly on youtube:

SuziBlu - she's amazing! Wonderfully crazy if you will and I highly recommend her if you wish to start art journaling and are having difficulty finding inspiration. She gives lovely little prompts.

[link]

And this lady... SamanthaKira who is wonderful at sharing fun things to do in your journal, as well as a pretty epic supply list. For the most part I'd say she's right on with what I use. (I really need to check out those pens she talks about.)

[link]

It's kind of nice to have an art category to fit into. I'm a mixed media collage artist who likes to do art journals. It's funny because I never really thought anything would come of my journals. They have always been something I just did, because I had to, because I needed to.

New Moleskine: Little Black Butterflies.

2009-04-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

So I started a new journal. The Cross Book was getting to difficult to open, despite the numerous empty pages in the back. (I ended up gluing these together and making a box in the back. Not sure what to stash in it yet...) And I'm trying out a moleskine for the first time. I can't believe it's taken me so long to try one out. (So far, I'm pretty pleased.) I accidentally bought the lined one for a writing journal, but I'm going to give it a shot. Maybe spend a few pages just writing. We'll see. So here's the first page.

I think that the secret to wonderful art is giving just enough information. And I believe this goes for all forms. (Fine art, preforming, writing, music...)

Giving enough information that the view can relate. But not too many details or specifics - too many reminds the view that it's your story. You have to leave some holes. Some openings so that your audience can fill in the blanks and read their story in your work.

It's all about communication and relating to others. In the end, I think we all just want to be comforted and told that we're not alone.