30 November 2010

Life's Topography

Have you heard that you can tell a great deal about a person based on their hands? I imagine that certain hands can tell you everything from a person's job to socioeconomic status to marriage status to pets owned. What do your hands say about you?

THIS PAGE:

Draw your hand-- all of the lines, creases, and wrinkles.
Turn it into a map of your life.

In progress...

29 November 2010

Manic Monday


Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong, will.

From oversleeping to frost on the windshield to no gas... this Monday morning was definitely a manic one for me.

Which is why, as I am convincing myself not to sweat the small stuff (you're just 10 minutes late for work, there are WAY worse things that could happen!), I am also thinking about what I believe to be most important. For instance, not to sweat the small stuff, like that I am late, that my hair looks crazy today, that I don't really like my outfit, or that the cat knocked my alarm clock over... again. And instead be glad you're going to work, to a job that you love, that you HAVE a car to be frosty and a kitten who knocks things over, that you are in good health.

So today we take a page from the "thankful" book, and again think about the things that we truly think are most important. 

THIS I BELIEVE
I don't know if you've ever caught one of these essays when they air on All Things Considered on NPR, but they almost always bring tears to my eyes. Started by Edward R. Murrow, essays on the topic "This I Believe" are written and submitted by people--some famous, some not--and collected and sometimes recorded. 
A Public Dialogue About Belief:  http://thisibelieve.org/

I highly recommend checking out these essays, listening to a few, and seeing what comes to your mind. What are the things that you believe to be most important? What rules of the road do YOU live by?


THIS PAGE:

"This I Believe"

Create a page based around this closure. 

For example... "Chocolate is great. Yes, this I believe whole-heartedly." It can be that simple. But it can also be as complex as you like, a comment on your faith and beliefs, or possibly a dialogue about something you DON'T believe. How do you know what you believe without knowing what you do not believe?

Relax. Listen to yourself. Believe.

23 November 2010

Tuesday already!

That means I missed 2 days!

This will probably be my last posts until after Thanksgiving, so here is some food for thought-- maybe enough to balance out the food for the belly that will be consumed over the next couple days.

  • Thankful...

be thankful. what things are you thankful for?
I heard Oprah's Favorite Things episode was on yesterday and that it was sickening what they got. Those people have some things to be thankful for, like being chosen to be in THAT audience!
Seriously, though, I know I have an infinite number of things to be thankful for... including but not limited to my family and friends, my work, my kittens...

THIS PAGE:
Create a brainstorm-- perhaps a brain deluge-- of the things that you are thankful for.




  • Fantastic Voyage...

tomorrow I will be on the roads with everyone and their whole family, probably. First time travelling on the day BEFORE Thanksgiving. Here's to a safe ride... and not sitting in complete traffic the whole way up the NY Thruway.
I love love love road trips, though. I love car rides, I love driving, I love listening to NPR, I love the random conversations that inevitably start in the car. I love doodling about license plate words, and road signs, and bridges... change of scenery, I guess. Poughkeepsie and New Paltz, the Adirondacks, it is so pretty this time of year, as well. Though I hear it's supposed to be raining tomorrow.

THIS PAGE:
Be inspired by travel. Maybe it's a previous vacation, a dream vacation, or the highway drive to relatives' homes, but create a travelin' page.

21 November 2010

Eye Candy

If you just do a search on Google ["art journaling" or "visual journaling"] you'll get a fabulous array of images... sure to inspire.

19 November 2010

Day 5: Your Stash

Call me a hoarder, but I collect. From quotes, to images, to art supplies, to books, I like to hold on to things that I like.

Still along the lines of getting to know WHO you are is knowing what you like. There are certain colors, textures, images, words, and moods that you will consistently be drawn to, consciously or unconsciously. Whether it has to do with clothing, music, books or movies, artwork, magazines, or anything else that you deal with on a regular basis-- there is a tie that binds. The question is, what ties it all together?

TODAY:
Begin scavenging. (Scavengering?) Be a scavenger. Look through any sort of print media for things that appeal to you. Any thing. Tear it out. Ticket stubs, train schedules, stickers, labels, stamps...You may not even want to be critical, you can always choose not to use it later.
When creating your stash, look for patterns in the things that you collect. Did you tear out a hundred pictures of birds? Is everything you tore out green? Notice these things.

Keep your stash in your journal somewhere, with an envelope or paper clip (or my favorite, the binder clip). You never know when a page might just scream for that perfect green bird picture to be glued to it.

SIDE PROJECT:
While gathering your stash, find the letters that make up your name (like a ransom note). Set them aside for now.

18 November 2010

100 Things I Love

Defining love, what an abstract and difficult idea and task. So come up with a list of 100 things (people, places, songs, colors... etc.) you love. Do you find yourself smiling, laughing, being surprised as you list things?
Once you can list things you love, you can begin to define love and what it means to love, to be in love. The importance of smiles, laughs, and surprises that love brings.

THIS PAGE:

Grid out a 2-page spread. Depending on the size of your pages, your need for order, and your skill with a ruler, this grid can be set up in a million ways. Don't feel pressured to make all of the boxes the same size, or having the same number across and down. But get at least 100 boxes. 

In each box, place something you love. It could be the words. Sketches. A color. A tiny picture. A combination of all of these things. You may or may not want to label them. 

I really love coffee, so there's a little coffee cup drawn in about 5 of my 100 boxes. The combination of blue and orange--something I love-- is a few adjacent boxes colored in, combined with a plus sign. 

Break your own rules. Go outside your comfort zone. Group like Loves. Or don't!


Just enjoy spending some time thinking about the things you truly love.








  

17 November 2010

Day 3

It is layers that make things interesting. From outfits, to people, to cakes, to houses, and yes, to journals-- it's being able to see the foundation as a jumping-off point, and the endless possibilities that foundation can start.

When it comes to your visual journal pages, there should be some sort of foundation--whether it's a texture, a color, a mood, a feeling, or an image-- to add depth and interest to the page.
Also, the foundation can serve a real purpose, such as adding a little strength to an otherwise flimsy page. You wouldn't build sheetrock walls right on the grassy lot you purchased, you need to clear the lot, lay the foundation, put up some supports... you get the idea!

Foundation ideas:
  • An image you want to cover all or part of
  • Scrap paper
  • Gesso [primer for canvasses, available in most art supply stores] (white acrylic paint works pretty well, too), tinted with acrylic paint or bright white.
  • Tapes (masking, packing, duct)
And those are just a couple.

THESE PAGES:
 Lay the foundation for several pages. Try to do this for most pages in your book. Not only will it make the paper a little heartier, it will add that layer of interest to your designs.

TIPS:
  • keep wet pages from sticking together by placing little cardboard tents between the pages.
  • use a scrap paper under your page to protect your table surface and the rest of your journal from your paint or glue. Especially when using [permanent] gesso!
  • when gluing things together, think thick to thin. It's much easier to glue tissue paper TO cardboard than vice versa.
  • keep textures in mind. packing tape's slick surface is going to mean you won't be able to draw directly on it without a permanent marker or gessoing the surface first.

Days 1 and 2

I'm a little behind. We're figuring this out as we go along here in D-201. So far, we've spent time with what I think are the 5 most important things to keep in mind as you work in your journal.
They are:

  • Play
  • Experiment
  • Perfection
  • Mess
  • Feel
You have to have an understanding of what these words mean to YOU, and be willing to at least give them a try.
Experimentation (flying blindly!) can be wildly uncomfortable for some people... but hopefully you can find a freedom and a judgement-free place in those experiments. Maybe you haven't "played" since you were 12. Allow yourself to laugh, to smile, to pretend, to imagine, and to do what feels good, just because it feels good!


  • THIS PAGE:

Take one of those 5 words and create a page around it.
Say the word, live with the word, write the word.
Express your feelings about this word on this page, with writing, with images, with colors, with marks.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Visual Learning blog!

Hopefully, this will be a place where you can gain inspiration for your visual journal, sketchbook, or whatever creative outlet you keep!

Remember the vow*:
"I solemnly promise, that from this day forward, I shall never be caught without a journal, and I will make use of it every day."
*borrowed