Monday, August 12, 2013

my Daily Visual Journal, minus a few days...

I have another blog called Daily Visual Journal. The idea started in 2009 when I was having a lot of trouble finding time to work on my art and not knowing what direction to take. Like many artists, I have a lot of interests and not a lot of time. I've always liked the idea of a journal, or diary, but recording the events of the day seemed like a waste of time to me until I realized I could record things visually. I decided to start creating a small piece of art everyday to record a part of the day or a feeling from the day. Sometimes, the journal pages were a quick scribble because I was tired and didn't have time to make anything better. Sometimes, I would take an hour or more working on a multilayer collage with meaningful images and elements. I did this everyday for a year and a half. The intention was to get myself back into the habit of making art. And it worked. I have been much more dedicated to my art practice and it feels like a great accomplishment. I've been consistent with producing work and showing at galleries, although I would like to produce work more quickly but I can only stitch so fast.


So, after a while my Daily Visual Journal started to feel like a chore. I needed all the extra time in my studio to work on fiber pieces, and making a journal piece just so I wouldn't miss a day felt inauthentic and wasn't enjoyable. I even tried to create videos of the process, which ended up taking more time and completely took away the fun. So I stopped making those. I have decided that even though I really like the process of creating the journal pages every day, I'm not going to worry about a few days, weeks, or months that I miss. It's not a big deal.



In the beginning of this year, 2013, I created (actually finished it since I had been working on on and off all 2012) my first Daily Visual Journal ebook of 5 techniques that I have used in my journal. I made a version of that ebook that is just the .pdf, images without videos. I also started a new website to showcase other artists working on daily projects. My intention is to interview and show the work of artists - I haven't started that yet. So, if you have suggestions of artists you'd like to see featured there, please let me know. Daily projects are so great for setting the habit of creating without waiting for inspiration, but if you're busy making other art, don't worry about missing a few days.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...