new art journal
wrapping up the old…
I decided to go ahead and wrap up my current art journal and start a new one. The pages were starting to get smaller and smaller as I worked towards the back of the book and the binding started to “roll”. I didn’t want to start a new journal in December, for some reason (I guess it feels like the end of the year…) so I decided to go ahead and finish the current one up and start a new one.
… and starting fresh!
Once again, I decided to go with the the Design in Orange 8.5″ square sketchbook with the fine grid. I LOVE these books. They are perfect for me- perfect size (big enough but I never feel like I have too much space to try and fill), the pages are thin but hold up to all sorts of media, and the binding (while too narrow), holds up strongly to all the heavy pages I wind up creating. I also love the grid- I love having a build in place to journal. It feels like every page is already started for me. More of than not I wind up covering it all up, but there were quite a few times I journaled first on the grid and created *around* that and I loved that process. I want to do more of that.
new art journal…
The only thing I don’t like is the color of the cover. I like orange as a color, but not *this* particular orange. And I wanted to get the book started quickly, so I decided to just cover it with strips of washi tape.
washi love…
finished front cover
Then I covered the whole thing with clear packing tape to make sure the washi edges didn’t catch and roll up as I used the book, and because it gives the cover a nice glossy thickness. Above is the front and below is the back.
back cover
And I decided to go ahead and just work with the edges of the washi on the inside cover instead of trying to clip them neatly or cover them. I glued an image from my calendar into the inside cover and called it a day.
inside front cover
New journal started and ready for filling!
I’m glad I did this. It feels like a fresh start. I feel like my journaling these past few weeks has been largely about documenting and not about creating or exploring. Not that that’s *wrong*- there was a lot I wanted to document. But I feel like I was so busy documenting that I wasn’t really doing much art. I just had no time. So I want to remember to not only make time for it, but also have lots of SPACE for it in the pages of the journal. To feel free to just flip it open and doodle or splash paint or scribble something or stamp a few images. It doesn’t have to be beautiful, or finished, or “complete”.
So my intent with this newest journal is to have it be not only a place to document but also a place to explore and create and play and dream. That means coming to terms with “unfinished” looking things and pages, and as much as that drives me crazy in my OWN work (I love seeing it in others’ work, ironically enough!) I want to work on that.
Thank you, as always, for looking!