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I kind of regret not having taken many (if any at all) visual arts classes growing up. I went to an art school, and focused primarily on the performing arts -- theater, dance, vocal performance. I wrote a lot of prose, however it wasn't my main squeeze, much less any 2D/3D courses.
Fast forward seven years and my fascination with papercraft has been sparked, and I am pretty bummed that I never took a Mixed Media course when I had it available (free) to me. However, I can't sit and resent my high school self for not knowing that when she was 25, believe it or not, she'd actually really like glue and pretty paper and other flat, adherable things.
That being said, better late than never. These endeavors of mine often have a tendency to go to the wayside; my interest gets sparked and I put my proverbial "balls" into it, then once it loses it's immediate fascination factor and even remotely starts to feel like work, I kick it to the curb. I don't think this will happen this time, since my desire to have some method of documenting my life has remained consistent for years and years and years...
So I don't know if this is just a journal, an art journal, a scrapbook (probably not quite that), a smashbook, or whatever -- but I'm having fun with it and plan to continue having fun with it for as long as possible. I may or may not move on to a different medium, but for now...
I purchased the Art Journal All Year e-course from the girls over at A Beautiful Mess (at a discount - wootwoot!), and will be participating in 30 Days of Lists in an effort to keep the inspiration rolling... but will not be restricted to just these prompts and projects!
So many pages to be filled, so many ideas and options.
Do you keep a journal? What motivates you? What is your favorite thing to write about?
I started my blog greatly because I had stopped journaling and I wanted to chronicle the things I love and things I'm doing. I haven't written in a physical journal since my early uni days. Sometimes I miss it. But I'm not very good at committing to it. So I have journals with one or two entries in them and the rest blank. And it always feels weird to pick those up and write in them a year later, so they generally remain blank. Silly, I know.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way... I finally donated my stacks of notebooks that I'd written only a few pages in, just to get rid of the visual reminder that I start things I don't finish way too often (of course I removed those embarrassing journal pages before donation!). It's discouraging. This time, I refuse to buy another notebook unless absolutely necessary, like for an entirely different project.
DeleteI look at this blog and how I've kept this going, and it gives me hope that maybe I have some follow-through. ;) It feels good to not have anything to look back at and be like, "Well, that failed."
On an unrelated note, your blog comments are my favourites! Seriously, I want all of my high-fives and pronto! :)
ReplyDeleteAw, likewise! I've got an ever-growing pile of high fives on reserve for you. ;)
DeleteI absolutely love your journal! I always tend to start one with a specific goal in mind and somehow run out of steam, either with a certain 'project' being over, or running out of inspiration, so I think not really knowing what it is yet - journal, smashbook, etc. - will help keep you going. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks!! Yeah, as long as I try not to limit myself, I should be fine. However, if I keep going the way I'm going with this one, I'm not sure the spine of my moleskine will be able to handle the pressure! I guess at that point I'll just have to figure out a crafty way to keep it together. ;)
DeleteThese are really cool! I've always struggled with blending my journaling with my sketching/art-ing, so you should be really proud. This is a really cool start :-)
ReplyDeleteAlso, iheartrunwithscissors.blogspot.com did a really fun 30 Day Journal Prompt challenge a while back. I was crap at keeping up with it (I'll have mine done at the 90 day mark, not the 30) but it's great inspiration and helped me get into blending the elements. It's something to check out if you need more inspiration.
Aw, thanks! I appreciate it! I'm not very good at drawing, but I'm looking forward to developing my 2D skills!
DeleteThat blog address didn't come up with anything... would you be able to check the web address? I'm really looking forward to checking it out! Is there such a thing as too much inspiration? ;)