Something's Fishy?

With this Friday comes the final 'edition' of the Lockport Preparations.  I made four new hardcover journals for this weekend's market event and hopefully with the fish theme someone who wins the $20 000 will step into the art tent.  Of course this journal won't take up much of that; but perhaps the winner would like to record the event.  Even if the winner isn't into journal keeping, there's a lot of use for a book like this.  It measures about four and one half  inches high and is not quite that wide.  I may make a simple little cloth cover for it, just in case, so that the fronds don't get tangled with other things if one is carrying it in a fishing creel or other carrier.


I am really enjoying my art journal activities.  I used my sample book at last weekend's Victoria Beach Festival, and had a lot of interest.  Someone actually inquired about purchasing the partially finished book... Of course that book wasn't intended for sale, but the person said it would help her 'get started' on a book.  I agree that getting a journal going is one of the most difficult tasks, but if you make it a daily thing for a specified amount of time over your morning cup of tea or coffee, it can be quite an engaging experience.  I have been a follower of several magazines that encourage this type of activity, so I can imagine how difficult it would be for someone who is a complete novice who has never seen those publications to know how to begin.  After seeing the collages, the cut outs, the drawings, the 'scribbles' and other elements, a lot of the folks seemed to want to do some art journalling on their own. 


I also chatted with an English teacher who thinks she may use the idea in her classes.  When I taught, I never minded if kids 'doodled' on their pages and encouraged it if it helped to bring home a concept...As a matter of fact, it was mandatory in several of the subjects that I taught that kids incorporate drawings, colored and not, in their notes.  I especially remember doing French vocab in this way, as well as more intricate features like illustrating the  logs being positioned at right angles to each other as an example of how the early settlers built their log homes for Social Studies.  For the kids who said they "couldn't draw" it didn't matter.
Any and all attempts were worthwhile.  


That is how I feel about  doing the art journals.  I am no great artist, and have a good deal of trouble with perspective etc. Once the line drawing gets done,  some careful positioning of dropped leaves, or snippets of phrases strategically placed, lots of obvious 'mistakes' can be skilfully masked.  And there are so many acceptable things to go into journals...My box of journal ephemera keeps getting larger and larger and soon may engulf my polymer clay workspace.  But no...that would not do!!!