Doodle Journal

Shakti's sumptuous Doodle Journal arrived last week. This is my contribution. I'm actually surprised to see that the gold and silver swirls show up in the photo, but I'm very glad they do.

I've been doodling a lot lately. I've almost completed an entire (thin) doodle AB of my own. I carried the book and a bag of felt pens everywhere I went, which didn't go entirely unnoticed. In the process, I managed to start a friend (58) off doing doodles. She was absolutely and very positively amazed at what she was able to create. Her pleasure (and flow) while working and her sense of achievement when she completed various doodles were a joy to watch.

So far, her craft medium of choice has always been window color, and she's always done the usual style of window color motifs. Now she's planning to try doodles in window color, which I think is a fantastic leap forward!

The thing about doodling is that is so accessible. There is no way anyone can doodle wrongly or poorly. I guess it all goes to show that a little bit of doodling goes a long, long way....

Serendipity Paper

Only another programmer will understand the joy I feel right now, because I finally got the blessed email form on the site I'm working on to function this morning! Oh bliss!

Anyway... to celebrate, I've taken a few minutes time out to upload these (as yet uncut) sheets of serendipity paper.

I dare say everyone and her pet dragon knows how to make serendipity paper by now, but just in case... Simply slap any scraps of paper, magazine pictures, lamp fleece, and the like you have lying around willy nilly onto a sheet of paper and glue them down. When the glue is dry, either glaze the sheet with a thin layer of acrylic paint or stamp randomly all over to unify the elements. Cut the sheet as desired to make ATC backgrounds, AB covers, tip-in backgrounds, and so on.

When you see the sheets in one piece, like those shown here, it can be hard to believe that serendipity is worth the trouble, but when the sheets are cut to size for a project, they pop!

Journal Notelets

I know... I know... I've been negligent about posting lately. I am doing what I can to remedy that.

I'm signed up for a doodle journal RR, and while I wait for the journal to reach me, decided to practice. Actually, I've been doodling rather a lot lately, and one thing I can tell you about it is that it's addictive. Another thing I can tell you is that it helps produce a lot of arty things in a relaxed way.

I made these journal notelets last night while (half) watching CSI on TV. (It was CSI Miami, which I don't really enjoy. I prefer CSI New York, but I art as I watch that, too, so there'S not much of a difference, really.) All you need to make these are standard shipping tags (any size) and a pack of very basic felt pens.

I use these as journal pages, then I thread yarn or ribbon through and tie them closed. Gosh, for a moment I could almost see myself alongside Klee and Hundertwasser...

Library Project - 3 March

At last! I finally got around to taking photos of the showcase. This is the first selection of articles I intend to display in the library. I intend to change the display two or three times over the course of the project and, if possible, to fill a larger wall-mounted display case with participant works, if participants are willing to play along.

I think the biggest surprise I've experienced recently is the reminder that so many people feel intimidated by art. I've been talking to a lot of people about art recently, and when I do, I start out by describing the kind of art we do as "art with a small 'a'", to differentiate between it and, say, Turner landscapes. I do that not to make less of our art, but in the hope of making it seem more accessible. It is, after all, the kind of art that almost anyone can do once they have had a little help and instruction to get them on the road. What I've found, though, is that people are awestruck and feel they would never be able to achieve the kind of outcome they see on display... but my point is that they can achieve exactly that type of outcome if they come along to (free!) classes. Sigh...

Does anyone have ideas or experience about encouraging adults "off the street" to develop a "perhaps I can..." view of our style(s) of art? I don't really want to have to do a LOT of persuasion work, but if there are do-able tips and tricks I can employ without investing a lot of time and effort, I'm open to them, especially if you've tried them and they've worked for you.

(The teachers among us have probably all learned the lesson that the more we have to persuade and cajole people to participate, the less likely they are to stay the course, and they rarely develop motivation just because they are placed in a situation.)

It's not in the least that I can't imagine how others might feel, I guess the "problem" is simply that my inner world has always been a little different, as in looking for ways to develop new skills and rise to new personal challenges. Heavens, I'd be bored to bits otherwise! Maybe it's also a cultural thing... (?)

Ok. I'm off to take some budding writers on a walk.