Diana Trout's blog

Monkey Mind II

I'm sure that I have a prior post entitled Monkey Mind and since I was born in the year of the monkey, it could be the 3rd time. I've ignored all of the Blogging for Dummies tips and given my post a stupid title. Again.

Not only do I have absolutely nothing to say but something inside of me is urgently whispering that you probably don't want to hear about the trazillion ideas, fleeting thoughts, whims, plans, ephermeral images (ad nauseum) that are flitting through my head these days. 

which door?

For instance, (just one, I swear) nearly-weds and I went to the craft store to find teeny frames for the table numbers for the wedding. Nevermind the fact that we had decided months ago that the tables won't have numbers, they'll have COLORS!!!!! Somehow we managed to arrive back home with no frames but lovely little birdhouses that we painted. I still don't know where the table numbers are going. Apparently we do need them because our colors are very complicated (eg.: grayed purple with a touch of gold) and someone may be color-blind.

*****SIGH****. 

I can't seem to let a single whim go these days. 

A bit of fun

There are at least 14 pieces of stitching that I'm working on. I need at least two (or three) complete for a deadline.

I am writing in the morning pages again. Spilling, as they say.

And so it goes. It may be spotty over here for the next month. My mind is full. Here's where I want to be:

Empty Head, Full Heart

I love you guys! You are all awesome. And PS? Typepad is making some mysterious changes.  My responses to your comments are sometimes going into my spam folder over there. Whatever that means. Off to chase my own tail. Posted in Unruly Posts category because I've whimsically decided to put it there. 

One of those days

Stacks

If I sewed and glued all of these pieces of paper together, how big would the resulting paper be? 

From the Graphic Arts room at MoMA

Well, here's one that I finished

The Moon

Manhatten: watercolor, heavily crayoned and scratched through, silver paint.

Art Journal Mojo

Which of these things is not like the other?

I've been hitting the journal pretty hard lately. I go from lull to excess without skipping a beat. When I'm in an overwhelmed* state, it feels really good to journal it out. How about you?

 

Circling the Grid

 

Making art in a book is so much less stressful than making Art. And there is Brenda Ueland again with one of my favorite quotes - feel free to use it. It's a great reminder.

 

Dawdling and Puttering

 

Everyone needs a dawdle and a putter sometimes. Watercolors, stencils, stamps, pen and a bit of collage.

 

If you paint them, they will come

 

And now the tulips, daffodils and flowering trees have come. As I write, I wear one cozy slipper and one Birkenstock. Such is the nature of April and art journaling.

And a question. Who wants a very beginner art journal class. Crayons, simple collage, kid's watercolors and a pen? Which of you, lovely readers, are simply reading and wanting to work in a journal but feeling overwhelmed?

*All is on schedule with The Wedding, however, the MOB is feeling a bit stressy. This is strictly emotional and not logistical. 

Perfectionism and Craftsmanship

Perfectionism and Craftsmanship is a topic I've been wanting to bring up for awhile now. I've given this a lot of thought over the years. Shall we discuss? This will be posted in the Taming the Critic category.

From Anthem, by Leonard Cohen

A perfectionist, as I define it, constantly criticizes her work. The notion that the work is not perfect inhibits the individual's ability to show her work or take any pride in it. This harsh attitude brings the creative process to an abrupt halt, you can't progress in your craft. I'm not sure about this, but I think it's a confidence issue. 

A devotion to craftsmanship is the artist's ability to look critically at her work and and see what could be improved and how. I take great pride in my craftsmanship and deeply respect it in others. The craft in everything from writing, to dance, to music to painting inspires me to better my craftsmanship. Craftsmanship = practice.

Here is the link to the original post on Taming the Critic. If you click on Taming the Critic under Categories in the sidebar, you'll have all of the posts in this topic. 

This post just touches the surface of my thoughts on this. I have more posts planned delving a bit further. And I'm sure many of you will have lots to say :)

In the meantime, the chorus of Anthem by Leonard Cohen is quite thought-provoking

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in anything
That's how the light gets in

 

21 Secrets = WOW

I was stickybeaking around the 21 Secrets Ning site and it is amazing this year. Definitely the best yet.

Tammy Garcia of DaisyYellow

There is an outpouring of inspiration, techniques and you-can-do-it attitude. Connie has done a fabulous job of pulling together artists that have a very similar attitude toward teaching and I'm proud to be one of them. 

Kate Crane

Here's some of what you'll find

Doodling
Textile art so that you can wear your art
Good old-fashioned "make it messy" art
Lettering with stitch (oh my)
A playful approach to painting flowers 
Card games to get your mojo goin' (moi) 
Watercolor (!) 
and 14 more 

Ro Bruhn

There is a ton of video - much more than last year. And you have 9 months to play around and incubate. Some of the artists are familiar (Jodi Ohl, Tammy Garcia, Tracy Verdugo and Joanne Sharp - to name a few. And there are some very creative workshops from artists that you may not be familiar to you and, after my poking around, I want to get to know them all better. It is truly fabulous to see new faces emerging. 

Tracy Verdugo

Please note: the artwork pictured here is not necessarily from the workshop projects. 

21 Secrets is 21 mini-workshops on art journaling (and related) from 21 artists. The class is hosted on Ning.com (free membership after your tuition). You can come and go in the workshops as you please, at 2 am or 2 pm (or anytime in between). You can visit all of the classes as often as you like for nine delicious months. This is the best deal in town: $59 for all this? You couldn't make a better investment. 

Sign up on my sidebar. Yeah, now. Do it for you.

Setting up a Journal Kit

Here's a little video showing what's in my journal kit. Including my small journal-from-a-sheet. I'll be sharing that how to soon.

I recently set up my kit again because it really does make it easier for me to journal or sketch anywhere, anytime. Your kit could be a shoebox, a backpack or any kind of bag. The trick is to think carefully about what you want in there and take a minimalist approach. 

Happy Journaling!

 

 

 

 

Flying Lessons

I possibly should have worked over the weekend: 3 deadlines loom. Monday, Wednesday & Friday.

But I cleaned up my studio (mid-deadline rush!) and cleared out and re-outfitted my journaling kit.

I made a new small journal for myself and did some art journaling. I read (Life Among Giants) and watched a couple of movies (Midnight in Paris and Snowflower and the Secret Fan). 

I stitched some and worked on the clutch bag project a little. Stayed in my PJ's till 4 pm on Sunday when I took a shower and changed into sweats. I needed the down time to take care and fill my well. 

I'll post on the journaling kit later this week or next? And also, I'll be sharing the little book I made. Let's see how those deadlines go. In the meantime, let me know via the comments what you have in your journaling kit.  

What you did for yourself this weekend. 

Day Off

After a fantastic day teaching at The Ink Pad on Sunday, I treated myself to a couple of days off and after some nice time with my sis in Princeton (Paper Source!), some "must do's" and a nap, I put in some play time with my journal.

One of my students told me about the ghosting technique using Dylusions ink, water spray and a stencil and I was playing around with it. Here is the video.

A lotta bang for your buck with this technique.I tried (briefly in class) with watercolors and technically it should work since both watercolors and Dylusions inks are liftable. We'll see. 

I felt an urge to paint some stripes with watercolors. It was a colorful messy afternoon. The overspray and drips made for a lovely "drip catcher" paper. I'm using nicer paper for that these days. Dividend. 

Now that the house is dusted, the laundry done, bring on the rest of the week! Why is it that cleaning the house and fresh sheets feels like self-care? Is that pathetic? And here's another question. I have plenty of art supplies but have been lusting after some of these Dylusions since I saw them last year at Ink Pad. I bought a bunch. Self-indulgence? I'm calling it a treat. 

Pics from my class on Friday!

Self Care: Just Do It

 

Something small. The question is what? What little bit of time can you carve out of your day and what would you do with that time? That is the question that needs a practical answer. So make a list. In your journal. Make a list of everything that you can think of from a trip around the world to 30 consecutive minutes with a good book or your journal.

Then whittle down the list to what works for you. Don't steal a minute here and there and think it's self-care. That's what my dad used to call "nickel and dime-in' it." Give yourself the whole danged dollar. And please! share your ideas in the comments. No idea too big or too small. Make a bunch of photocopies of your hand and glue them in your journal What message will you put there? 

And I apologize for my slow response in replying to comments. Today is the day!

In other news and under the label "self-care," I made four cloth napkins using Moda's toweling by the yard which I tripped over here about four months ago whilst drooling over the Cosmo embroidery thread. The toweling fabric is soft and heavy. Hemmed on two sides, all you need do is cut it and hem the other two sides.  The whole project took about 40 minutes. These would make dandy shower gifts, house-warming gifts or hostess gifts wrapped around your potluck entry.

More here and here (lots more!). I'll let you know about service when I place an order. And I will do that. My kitchen towels are a big disgrace and I'm disgruntled at the prices for the cr*p at stores. Getting crotchety, aren't I?

Ahem. Go make your list and I will too.  

PS - this is posted in Taming the Critic. It is the critic we are addressing when we ignore ourselves and nurture all those around us. IMHO, natch.

Related articles

Making it Work: Working From Home With Kids

Self Care; Finish This Journal Page

A journal page for you to print out and finish. 

After reading your responses to the Self-Care post, I wonder... how do you think we can slowly change our ways and give better messages to our daughters?

So for your journaling enjoyment, here is a journal page for you to download and print.  There is space to write and finish in anyway that you'd like. Perhaps on the topic of self-care? Write, color with markers, tear into pieces and glue back together. 

PS: the word "bloom" at the side is from one of Keri Smith's books. 

Download Bloom, Printable, DianaTrout