I have become engrossed, obsessed and enwrapped in creating my own art "books". After the first one was finished (see previous 2 posts) I decided to make the next one more sturdy and truly hardcover book-like (I am still working on learning technique). Once I had the book together I started working on the front and back covers as a jumping off point.....and then it hit me....it needed to have a title.....not just "my art journal". In thinking about it all I realized that while creating each page as it's own individual art work I was feeling a complete sense of calm in an almost Zen-like state - odd but true. The resulting title is also the title of this post.
For some inexplicable reason it feels different from working on a canvas or any other art form ......like each page was drawing me in (no pun intended) to find inspiration anywhere and everywhere in a whole new way. It's truly difficult to articulate all this because even as I read it back to myself it doesn't make much sense. The thing is this, it puts me in dreamy abstraction - like it's helping me to enhance my expressive capabilities. There is something that happens to me......lines converge, colors blend, characters form and there is a clear symbiosis between artist and the muse. Am I sounding too esoteric? You may just think to yourself if you're reading this "geez, it's an art journal, MANY people do art journals of one sort or the other, what's the big deal?" - I guess for me it goes beyond that in a some strange way.......as I said, I cannot properly articulate this, I just FEEL it.
Here are the front and back covers - I have not started working inside yet. There are 22 pages not including the inside of the front and back covers. The cover size is 10"x12" and pages are 9 1/2" x 11 approximately. I am using only pen and ink and various watercolor mediums.
This is the front :
This is the back cover:
I'm already seeking a better way to put the next book together (will be watching some videos on that)with more pages so I can also do some writing in it as well. Writing is another passion of mine therefore as the muse strikes with an image often times so does a backstory.
One last result of these pages will be the ability to make prints of some of them to sell in my Etsy Shoppe. Always thinking.
Until next time......
