Through The Keyhole

California Travel Journal & The Inexpansiveness of Time

The Summer 2012 California Vacation is coming to a close.  I'm realizing I have an unrealistic sense of time, or perhaps more accurately, what I can accomplish in a finite period of time.  With each trip, I vow to spend more time relaxing, reading, blogging, journaling but I always, always, end up spending most of my time seeing what there is to see, doing what there is to do. 

That brings me to today.  We arrived home last night after a two week road trip to California.  Lots to share about that but today I was craving creative time.  So I got started on the travel journal I expected to mostly complete on the road.  Yea, I was optimisitic.  On the upside, I get to relive the joys of our travels in the evenings and weekends to come as I put what I hope will be a delicious gathering of memories together.  So really, it's a beginning tucked into the end of a fabulous trip. 

 

Sleeping in the Forest

I'll be camping in the Redwoods and on the beach in California for nearly two weeks later this month.  I'll need to bind a new journal for the trip.  Wondering what form it will take.  With a cover or without?  Big or small?  Pre-painted or not?  Delicious decisions!  The planning is one of my favorite parts.  That and you know, actually vacating.  This sweet little number was made in a Misty Mawn class at the last Artfest.

Sleeping in the Forest

by Mary Oliver

I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.

The Deedle Story

I began making my own journals this year using a binding technique that I learned from LK Ludwig at the first Journalfest, one of the retreats that Teesha and Tracy Moore used to put on.  I believe this binding is based on a Keith Smith.  It is so easy to copy by just looking at it that it's become my go to binding.

Every three months or so I get together with a group of women from around the Northwest for a long weekend of art journaling.  I painted the canvas boards and bound this journal during one of those weekends.

I had a spare text block bound that I'd decided not to use in another journal I made for a trip last summer.  I happened upon a set of garden encyclopedias at the flower and garden show last month that looked like the perfect size so I brought one home with me.  Turns out it in fact was perfect. 

I'm getting ready for the last Artfest 2012.  I hadn't planned on attending until I heard it was the last one.  There was no way I could miss the party it is sure to be.  I was fortunate enough to get into amazing classes.  Two are journal making, one with Orly Avineri and the second with Misty Mawn.  LK's teaching a different journal making class there as well.  I think Teesha is still accepting registrations for a bit longer.

Journalfest Part 2

I'm finally back to finish posting about Journalfest.  The energy at Journalfest was quieter and more intimate than Artfest.  I think due to the limited number of attendees and the efforts of Tracey and Teesha to create an atmosphere conducive to journaling.  It was all so fluid. The journal parties were especially wonderful. Visit with friends, journal, meet new folks, listen to groovy music (Surrealize and Teesha's journaling mix), try new techniques, look at the work others made in classes, peruse journals. It was all just perfect.

The Journal Parties

Tracey and Teesha

Jonna Barnett and Lisa Cheney-Jorgensen

 

Karen Michel

That's Dan Essig back in the corner.

Tara Finley and Jonna

Tracey and Traci Bunkers Dawn showed up for the party.
Karen O'Brien
Lisa working in Tracey's journal.
Tracey had set up a space to airbrush with copic markers.
Jonna and me

Teesha's journals. Be sure to visit her blog for her latest videos on making these snazzy little journals.
I made it into Port Townsend on the last night. The Halloween window displays were over the top. Apologies in advance for window glare.






Alrighty, this post has grown to ridiculous proportions. I'll post about my last two classes (LK Ludwig and Daniel Essig again) tomorrow.

White on White

Not much to say tonight. I'm glad the day is done and I have something to post. I've been wanting to explore white on white. These pages were a great starting place.

she dreams of far away places (green)

I feel an internal shift happening as I make the time daily to work in this journal. I'm finding myself eager to get to these pages each day. The making is becoming the practice I'd hope it would become. With the daily practice, I'm finding I'm able to create something from nothing. Just two weeks ago, I had to have an idea of the end before I could start. These last two days, I've started without an end in mind. I'm finding my style, the one that's been in my head for years. I'm learning to push past the point of worrying about ruining it to make it really mine. Pick a starting place, and then react to it, and then react to that, over and over until it feels finished.

It's a good exercise to have to finish something, anything, each day. There's no time for anything to become too precious. I'm thinking of this journal as I do my regular journal. It's a place to gather my thoughts, my idea, notes to myself, quick sketches of things I want to dig deeper into, plans, dreams, records. While each page has to be finished, it's part of a larger whole, that is ultimately just a record for myself. I'm committed to myself to post photos daily so that I am accountable but I'm not creating to please anybody. I do greatly appreciate the encouragement that I'm receiving via comments and emails! Thanks for that. I hope I can keep making like this until I'm no longer deeply attached to the outcome.

Trying Something New

Tonight I decided to try sketching on the ungessoed book pages. I like the look of a dark line against a printed page.

Trying to do a page a day is helping me see where my time goes and it's very interesting. Most days I'm able to take some time that doesn't feel stolen from something else important but it can be a struggle. The competing interests are becoming more apparent, reading, knitting, jewelry, painting, journaling. The time wasters are starting to really stand out. I appreciate being more conscious.

Crazy Weather

I've begun to think about the preparations necessary for Artfest and getting excited. I'm taking a class that requires several self-portraits be sent to the instructor in advance. I have trades to prepare and undoubtedly supplies to gather. I'm enjoying the anticipation now that the holidays have passed and I can focus.

The weather has been crazy here. Three inches of snow on Sunday, winds started then and haven't really stopped, and now it's been raining buckets the last two days. There's flooding all around. My parents house on the North Cascades Hwy has been cut off by mudslides and flooding. They're safe but it's strange. I don't think this has ever happened. I'm hearing I-5 is closed south of us. So many people hadn't recovered from the floods last year and here we are again. Sending up my prayers for everybody's safe keeping.

New journal pages.

More Journaling

I've been a bit ill since New Years Day. Today I was worse and had to stay home, laying about. Being ill is so frustrating. If I have to stay home, I feel I should be able to do something enjoyable and make great lists of the things I'll do once the decision is made. The reality is always the same. I'm too wiped out to move let alone do much of anything. Thankfully, I'm feeling greatly improved this evening, just exhausted.

I was able to finish this spread tonight. Grateful not to have to skip a day so soon.

A Holy Yes!

"Our task is to say a holy yes to the real things of our life as they exist." Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down The Bones

Often that's the challenge, saying yes to what is so I can get on with the business of expressing it.

I don't know why the full page photo isn't showing up but if you click on it you can see it.

I meant to choose a winner on New Years Day for the Somerset Life Magazine that I'd posted about. Ah well, better than forgetting entirely. Jonna won the magazine but Lori, if you send me your address I'd love to send you a bar of soap. My email is tmabbott63 at msn dot com. Thanks for playing!