Page One

I've written before about how hard it is for me to make a mark on the first page of an art journal. I usually get to it after I've already made friends with the book. This new journal was different. Took a deep breath and plunged in - started on the first page. Pushing past the critical voices and resistance. Here is what I ended up with. I like it.

New Journal

It is that time again - time for a new journal. I find myself resisting it. Why? After sitting with that question, this is what I've come up with - a new journal is a stranger. We are not yet intimate or even friendly with each other. I am loathe to leave behind the last journal that feels like a a part of me. An intimate. But I push myself. Cherish the old one, but let it go. Embrace beginnings. Start again. A good life philosophy too. So here is the cover to my new journal - one I bound with colors of the fall.

Fruitlands

You know me you know I am a huge Louisa May Alcott fan. So I loved our little excursion to Fruitlands yesterday. I had no idea that Louisa's father had moved the family out here to Harvard to start an Utopian society that lived off the land and oppress neither people nor animals. The experiment lasted about 7 months and they moved to Concord. The docent was full of fascinating facts and clearly loved the topic. Yes, there were other cool things to explore as well, but I was most fascinated walking in the Alcott house and hearing about this story. Fascinating.

You can see pics of the excursion here.

Quote of the day

Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.
-Elie Wiesel

Happy Deepavali

Happy Deepavali/Divali. May you be the light that chases away the darkness.

Taking a time out from cleaning, painting, sorting, etc for a fun play excursion. Details when I return.

This page captures the fun I had reading The Hunger Games trilogy. Dark, dark world, but a fun read.

Snippets of time

Click on image to see larger.

While browsing through 21 Secrets was delighted to find the Get Carded workshop by Dawn DeVries Sokol.

I love scraping paint on pages with credit cards, gift cards, etc. Many of my backgrounds are created in just this way.

I also believe that a little art every day goes a long way. These pages are a good example of what I mean.

• It took about 10 minutes to scrape several shades of acrylic blue paint on the un-prepped pages (no gesso).
  
• A different day I brushed gesso on some leaves I had collected on my walk and stamped the pages - 10 minutes. I love the texture the gesso created.
• I colored the leaves with water soluble oil pastels and wrote the text with a sharpie paint pen - 15 minutes.
  

If I had waited to find time to do the entire layout, I would still be waiting. I snatch a little time when I can, and I find that the process of leaving the page and coming back later changes what I end up doing - different ideas come to me. Instead of waiting for that perfect (read not gonna happen) time to create, why not try creating using little snippets of time?

Journal pages

Here is another page inspired by a magazine I was flipping through. Created just before Halloween using pen, ink and watercolors.

Reading with kids

1. Duck, Duck, Moose
Had Jonah on a solo visit yesterday and after homework we got out books to read. I read him this story and he loved it - a cute story of migration.

2. Alphabeasties
We both loved this book. So cool how kids are introduced to different fonts and the graphics are fab.

Ephemera

Continue to love how these pages capture a place and time.

I am not a witch

Only in Nevada could a candidate use that as the intro to her TV ad and still expect to get elected. Thankfully the good people of Nevada proved her wrong. Incredible!

I love flipping through magazines looking for inspiration - drew this one at the store and added color at home - made it my own.

Hands

Am starting to realize how much hands are a part of my lexicon. They speak volumes without a single word.

This page was created while I was reading The Big Short, and getting mad. Seems to me that the stop the insanity motto holds up just as well today on election day.

Election Day

Am headed out to vote right now. Please vote today.

Random Musings

And just like that it is November. Where the heck does the time go?

• Been hard at work cleaning out and re-arranging my study. Found a changing table - the one used for little ones when they are still in diapers - and guess what? They are an excellent addition to my study. No, no diapers on the horizon - but great storage and the perfect height to create while standing - which I tend to do most of the time. Decided that rather than simply stuff it in, to take this opportunity to clean, re-organize and purge. Has taken me days - but so worth it. Love the new space - much better wa.

• Watched a good football game yesterday between the Vikings and the Patriots. I'm a huge Farve fan - gotta love the guy who plays with a broken ankle AND broken heel. Who does that? Especially at 41. When he got hit and was helped off towards the end of the game, the wind went out of my sails - it is no fun watching games where players get bloodied. Guess stitches are better than a broken jaw and concussion. Wonder if he'll start next week.

• Did not get as many trick-or-treaters as usual. The little ones are so adorable. And they take only one piece of candy. The gangs of older kids are not as fun and are greedy to boot. Well, I'm surprised that there was any candy left for the kids after my candy spree this past week. Asked Susan to hide the rest someplace I cannot get to without a shovel. Stay tuned.
  

Home Ownership

There are times I really want a condo. Home ownership is a lot of work - but I do love our home - so that evens things out.

Lately, I am feeling quite accomplished. Fixed three things:

• opened up the Honda manual and figured out how to fix my car
• got out the ladder and roof patch and crawled around on the shingles in preparation for winter
• wrestled a slimy snake through the trap to unclog the bathroom drains

Who knew I was so handy with tools?

Recent Reads

1. Creative Wildfire
Fun colors, good ideas and fun ways to bind books that I will certainly play with.

2. Nature Inspired
The ideas are fun, but the pages are too frilly for my taste.

3. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
Quite enjoyed this book. Sedaris explores human traits using animal characters in short vignette form. Loved the drawings - but be warned, the subject matter is rather dark.

It Gets Better

Take a zero-tolerance attitude to bullying. You could save a kid's life.
To learn more, click here.

Recent Reads

1. The Big Short
My book club selection this month rocked my world. It changed my mental models and helped me connect dots I had not understood before. I have always heard about how the middle class adds stability to a country and while reading this book, I finally understood what that means - the real reason why we did not have a bloody revolution after this latest financial market fiasco. The fact that much of what went on was not understood even by the principal players, does not explain to me why it was actually not illegal. Much to ponder and marinate on. Loved this book.

2. Sh*t My Father Says
This funny little book was the prefect antidote to reading the one above. When I took a break from arm waving, was able to read and laugh out loud at some of these funny pieces. I hear that William Shatner will play the Dad on a new TV show based on the book. He would be prefect.

3. Nine Dragons
Listened to this book on the road trip to A2. While I really like Harry Bosch, this series is losing steam. This was not a good book - convoluted plot and the action made Jack Bauer look like a wuss.

4. My Life So Far
I've always liked Jane Fonda. Listened to about half of this on the ride back from A2. Interesting parts, but not compelling enough to finish it.

5. Swimming Lessons
You know that nagging feeling that you've read a book before? Well, had it for this one. Chick lit with a nature twist. Found the turtle info interesting, but the story itself was a little juvie for my tastes.

Pumpkin

My photo group theme for the month is Pumpkin. Here are my photos.

Dry Dock

The USS Cassin Young is being worked on. So very cool to be able to see what she looks like below the water line.

Inspiration

The prompt I had given my local art journal group was to create pages inspired by the works of famous/or not-so-famous artists. What is it about their work that inspires us? Had a fun discussion on these topics and as always left with great ideas to try out myself.

I've already posted my pages based on Bua's work here and here.
These are ones inspired by Jackson Pollock. Have always been mesmerized by his canvases - he always has such energy to his works. Mine were created on colored card stock using a candle and a box of Crayola crayons. Cool no? Love these so much that I might create a larger canvas piece using the same idea.