Freedoms

Continuing in Cousin Barbie's book, I opened to a page entitled "Freedoms I Hold Dear".  I confess, I inwardly rolled my eyes and thought about switching to another page -- perhaps something dealing with flowers or birds or colorful things.  :-)  I kept the page open and decided to putter around with some other projects while keeping the topic of freedoms in the back of my mind.

That's exactly what my heart needed to get my attention.  When my brain hears the word "freedom", it thinks of the 4th of July and words in the constitution (which are not bad -- just dry).  But when my heart began processing the word, it took me back to Washington, D.C. and the Holocaust Museum.  As I walked through the chronology of events in WW II Europe that were experienced by people just like me, it was impossible not to be deeply affected.  Revisiting the memory of that experience, I sensed a growing awareness of thanksgiving for the freedoms that I live with each day.  I created this page, and continued my thoughts in my journal. All week long, the lens with which I view my life has had a deeper focus as a result of this.

But wait -- there's more!  Tonight Don and I watched the movie The Book Thief, which just happens to take place in WW II Germany.  Without giving away any of the plot, I can tell you it is a powerful story about loss, redemption, trust, friendship, family, love and freedom.  Have you ever gotten to the end of a movie and you are watching the credits and not moving because you just want to hold onto what you have just experienced in the movie?  I don't experience that often, but this is one of those movies.  

Whether you watch a movie, make a list, journal, or just look at life a little differently, I hope you are moved to a place of thankfulness for the freedoms you enjoy.  

Hard Week

Waiting is hard.  And I'm trying to wait for a situation to resolve itself, and it's not happening.  There is not a yes or a no -- just wait.  It's not life-or-death, just something that I've been wanting for awhile that's still in limbo.  And although God is showing up all over the place in the waiting, I'm not exactly responding with a trusting, peaceful outlook.  (Inside I feel like a 2-year-old throwing a tantrum -- there, I said it.)

This morning I read Psalm 31 in The Message, and when I got to the last verse, I knew I needed to take it to heart.  So this is it:

God is good!

Journal Page (the first of many, I promise!)

It's the first day of Lent and, as usual, I have chosen a book to be my companion through this holy season.  This year it's Labyrinths, Walking Toward the Center by Gernot Candolini.  Actually, this book chose me.  I ordered it months ago, and I guess it was stuck in the USPS system.  I had already received a reimbursement from the seller and had given up on receiving it.  Then it showed up a few days ago, voila!  Perfect for Lent.  The first chapter shows you how to draw a simple Cretan labyrinth, so I knew it would be fun to put in my journal.  Here's the two pages I did this morning:

I'm sure you can't read the text in the labyrinth, so I'll include it here. "This is the day that lies before you. These are the hours. How will you meet them? Ask questions. Ask, what waits for me in the middle? What do I meet, deep in my soul? Do I move on? Do I follow the path? There's no right, no wrong. Just being on the way. Just keep walking. Think about what you'd like to risk in this lifetime. The path will offer everything you need. Walk, and look within." (from the foreword by Paula D'Arcy)  (I didn't plan out the spacing.  It's purely a result of divine grace that the quote ended up exactly in the center of the labyrinth!)

Visual Journaling Class

I just finished up a 4 week class with Laura Lein-Svencner that was absolutely delightful. (You can find her blog here.)  First of all, it was held in an old Victorian mansion that is being restored by the forest preserve district, which provided lots of beauty and inspiration.  And, although the winter weather kept us from going outside to enjoy the grounds, the windows let in plenty of sunshine and lovely views.

In the class, we all brought blank journals and learned lots of techniques for filling them up.  Here's a few pictures to give you a flavor of what we all learned together:

Here, Laura uses a rubber stamp she has made out of an art gum eraser to add interest to a page.  You can get the erasers at any art store, draw a design on one edge, and cut carefully around it with an exacto knife.  You can see a few more of her home-made stamps in the upper corner of the picture:

This page was created by Liz, who was great at using color and symbols to create beautiful pages.  (Sorry it's upside down).

 This was one of Joan's pages.  She used vibrant colors and images, along with text.  Can you see where she reinforced her page by stitching a red plastic mesh produce bag to it?

 A couple more (sideways, sorry!) pages from classmates.  Joan created the one with the graceful stencils.  To do this, we cut figures out of magazines and used pastels to outline them.  We sprayed them with fixative between coats so they wouldn't smear. 

 A final (sideways) page from Caroline. She has a great sense of layout and design.

I don't have any pictures of my journal pages, but I'll try to take some and post them soon!  Laura is such an amazing instructor.  You can practically feel the creative ideas flying around the room!

Fun find and new journal page

Today I drove out to visit my friend Amy who, along with her sister Cindy, owns a lovely "Green Boutique & Book Exchange" called Eclectique.  I've been wanting to see the shop for quite awhile, but it's in Plano, IL which is a bit of a drive for me.  But today the wanderlust hit, and I made the trek.  It was very worthwhile.  I've been in plenty of used book stores in my life, and none were quite as inviting as this one.  The books were tastefully displayed, and not shoved in everywhere.  There were lots of vintage items (such as the little bird pick I found) as well as homemade items by local craftswomen.  All in a lovely little shop with little places to perch and delightful things to peruse.  Just in case you're ever in Plano, it's at 300 East Main Street, open Tuesday through Saturday afternoons.

And here is my latest backyard journal page.  It seems everything is coming up in shades of yellow -- one of my favorite colors.  I had fun playing with a grid type page.  I think it was easier to be creative and add some interesting elements. 

Guess what?  I was in Hobby Lobby this afternoon and they were putting up their Christmas display!  NOOOOO!  I'm not ready!  Hope you are enjoying this season of growth and beauty!

Raining Again!

We have had more than our share of rain this season.  I can't even use the water in my rain barrel -- everything is saturated all the time.  So this morning I went out to work in the garden, and after about 5 minutes it started raining again.  This is what I picked so far:

Sugar snap peas (the first of the seaons - yay!), and the end of the lettuce and radishes.  I wanted to get all the lettuce and radishes pulled so I can plant some beans, but I really didn't want to be completely wet and muddy.  Maybe tomorrow.

Here's a page from my back-yard journal.  I did manage to squeeze a couple of drawing sessions in between the showers.  I'm taking an "Experimental Art Course" online -- it starts today.  (See the box in the right margin).  I'm hoping it helps me become braver about putting marks down in my journal!  Right now I'm still concerned about everything looking just perfect.  I need some freedom, and hopefully the class will help me.

Nature Journal Page

This is a two page spread from my back-yard nature journal.  Pretend the two pages are connected, instead of separate -- and one day I'll figure out posting pics in Blogger!  This is in my handmade coptic journal, and the paper I used isn't thick enough to put a lot of writing on each side.  So I tried to do some collage on the left page.  I think it detracts from the right side, which is really the artistic part.  It's a work in progress!  And, since I am too, that's OK. :-) 

Coptic Journal

Here's the journal I made at my class at the Arboretum.  I decided it would be where I record all the new things happening in our backyard.  And some in the front yard -- but the focus is definitely in the back.  (I also have a journal about my vegetable gardening this year -- but that's much smaller, more artsy and less informational.

Here's my title page.  I want to find a poem or quote about backyards to put on the opposite page.

And here's my latest entry.  Between putting in plants and trying to create this journal, it's pretty much a full time job.  But a very fun and rewarding one so far.  Now if everything I bought will just stay alive . . .

Garden Journal!

Life is a bit crazy lately.  Every day I've had meetings, appointments, classes or something going on -- all good stuff, but the head-ache I woke up with this morning is reminding me that it's time to slow down.  Last night, dinner was late because I had been working in the garden, and then tried to get this journal page finished.  So I took a couple of quick shots of these pages and then managed to get dinner on! 

Time to slow down!  But for now I gotta run . . .

Garden Journal!

I have been very inspired by fellow bloggers who are making some really artistic journals (like Martha Lever -- she's amazing!) And my friend Luce recently blogged about a journal that she learned to make from Teesha Moore. (Teesha has the best tutorials on her web site. I followed one of them to produce this! You can find it on http://teeshascircus.blogspot.com/2009_10_1_archive.html)

This is going to be my record of my garden this year. I do not have a green thumb -- I can produce weeds, mint and daisies (I'm pretty sure mint and daisies ARE weeds). So this year I am going to try some new approaches, one of them being from the book, Starter Vegetable Gardens, 24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens -- specifically the "easy care bag garden" from chapter one. I plan to document it all in this little journal, so if nothing grows, at least I'll have one beautiful reminder of a summer's worth of effort!

My first two pages are a record of inspiration that I have received from the Chicago Flower and Garden Show (the pictures are from there), and from some articles in the newspaper. I usually clip ideas and then forget about them until waaaay after summer's over and then I just pitch them. So now they are in one place, and I have a couple of weeks to pull my Master Plan together! Stay tuned . . .

Journal Page

This is my latest journal page. I have to give props to Martha Lever (again), who keeps encouraging her blog friends to just keep altering something that you don't like at first. I had "Wisdom" and my oval picture on my page, but it started looking very "first-graderish". So I cut out the parts I liked and collaged it to a background that seemed to fit the quote.

BTW, the quote is from Anthony Gittins. I have had the privilege of hearing him speak, and he is really good!

Journal Page

I have a love/hate relationship with snow. Yes, it can be beautiful and sparkling and lovely. But it is also wet and cold and sloppy and makes our lives in the city very complicated. I created this page after spending a couple of hours yesterday shoveling out our driveway.

Can we move on the spring now???

New project for 2010

One of my favorite blogs that I follow is "Art du Jour" by Martha Lever. She blogs every single day, and most of the time she posts these beautiful journal pages that are a combination of collage, her own artwork, lettering, etc. SO . . . I have been inspired enough that I am going to TRY to create a journal page every day -- or at least 4-5 per week. My goal is not to blog about every one -- just to make sure I'm keeping the creative juices going every day.

So here is my first -- in preparation for the new year!

New Year's Blessings to Everyone!