a girl and her journal

{ seemingly unconnected moments... }

Inspiration for today's Tip o' the Day over on the Journal Girl ML; it's SO much easier to just update with tiny email bursts over there than to post to the blog, that, and twitter (which you can see over there on the sidebar). I've been working almost non-stop of the next issue of Page by Page to make sure it's available by the 15th -- and no orders until then! I made a promise and I'm sticking to it! 

Ooo. Centered typing. I'm certainly having fun. Plus, it's looks so groovy on Art. Tea. Life. 

The BIGGEST thing that has happened is that I've decided, despite crippling fear and that little voice in the back of my head saying, "You MUST be a responsible adult," decided to try this starving artist thing full-time. 

Insane, right? 

It's the result of a few things and a lot of thinking, pondering, and prayer on my part. 

You see, after my article came out, a lot of people started asking me if I sold those bags. "No," I told them, "I never thought of that." And I hadn't. They were made for me -- I never thought other people would enjoy such colorfully embellished bags. I just like taking plain bags and beautifying them!

Anyway, a lot of people were like, "Make them!" And these were RL people who'd never seen my art before. Let me tell you what a glowing endorsement that was...all these people from my day-to-day life LOVING what I'd created (my "second mom," whom I've known since I was 3, read my article out loud to me and kept saying how well it was written!). All this over a tiny article!

All this got me pumped up. There's nothing I enjoy doing more than designing bags. I've been making my own for years, either from scratch or by tearing part existing ones to make new Frankenstein-like monsters of my own design! So, why not sit and design some and make them fun and colorful and not like anything else and do it inexpensively? 

And this reminded me of a chance encounter last summer, at a darling stationary shop I love. I was wearing my first collage pendant, and the owner asked me about it. I said I designed it myself, and she was all ready to help me figure out how to sell them and everything! I didn't have the funds for supplies at the time, so I never pursued it, but have always wondered, "What if?" 

And then there's all those little artist's papers I designed for fun. They're so fun to make, so why not make some more? The one above's a freebee one just for YOU! Follow the link to Flickr and click All Sizes to get the original hi-res version. I LOVE making papers and sharing them....almost as much as I love seeing what people do with them! 

And all of these decisions come from tiny moments. Those seemingly unimportant flicks of half-observed words and decisions that change your entire world. Either you let them get you down or you get back up, make another, and keep living! 

So there's me...I thought I was stuck, but I was the only one in my way. I just had to get out of my own way and jump. So what if I don't land on my feet? At least I tried!

love, kira

PS. Tomorrow's the last day to sign up for the second session of Artistic Alchemy! 

fly-by post!

*waves* I'm still here! Just been working on the 'zine...it goes to the printer on Monday!!

While working, I'm wondering...would you like the option of getting a digital copy? While I adore printing and sending out copies, it may be easier for international people and others to get a digital copy instead of paying postage. Opinions?

{ a journaled-bag article! }

Lookie! It's finally available! The most recent issue of Altered Couture features an accessory article by yours truely. Remember my journal bags? They're now on the glossy pages of this magazine, along with instructions. Oohhh...I have SUCH an urge to run out, grab some new ones to alter, and spend the night journaling. I have been itching for a new bag...

{ swimming against the tide }

Watch out! I've got my mojo back! I've still got a headache and am feeling lethargic, but I just could not stand another day of not doing art. It was beginning to really get to me!

A little over a week ago, I painted some pages, did spray paint on them, and left them alone. I've been adding little by little...a doodle here, a photo there, some wire where I can (I love the spiral binding...I've been using more 3-D elements). With me being so tired, this simply made it easier to work on stuff. But last night, I was up painting and ripping and sewing and wheee! I've even started on a mailart swap I was supposed to do AGES AGO (sorry, Randi!).

I ALSO have a short story started here. The notebook you use really DOES help! I found an adorable one on clearance at Target the other day, and it's got pages filled already.

OH! And I got GOOD video editing software. Working with iMovie was REALLY getting to me, as someone who learned video editing on an AVID system....oh, things that SHOULD have taken seconds took HOURS. The voice-synching on the Watercolor Crayons video took forever and I almost threw my computer in frustration!

Aww, the baby puppy's sleeping with my foot as a pillow. ;)

There are more pictures over on my flickr page. Sorry that they're smaller/not straight on. Still compiling pages for Anthaology vol. B, my personal 'zine full of journal pages, photos, and stories. Have you seen the first issue?

{ a lunchtime story }

On Friday, after an early viewing of The Dark Knight (have I ever told you I'm a HUGE Batman fan?), my mom and I went out for lunch. It was one of the few times I had funds enough to pay for lunch, and I was feeling a bit better (though later, I crashed hard), so we gabbed over salads.

I got to telling her of my frustration, my absolute fury over being sick for so long. "I have no energy," I told her. "I go to work, then sleep. I haven't even had time to work on my art."

We'd been talking about how my copy of Altered Couture should be coming soon, my contributor's copy, and about my new workshop, and the 'zine. She was telling me how proud she was and I was brushing it off, as I do.

And then she said, "Your art comes first."

I was so happy, I could have cried.

Her declaration came as a surprise -- I work a part-time, minimum-wage job to make ends meet. I can't pay my bills. I irresponsibly don't have health insurance when I have a physical disability. At 24, I still live at home. But I spend my time playing in my journal, drawing, painting, sewing odd stuff -- I create my art. It makes me happy. But there's a little part of me...okay, a BIG part, that thinks me a failure for having a college degree and not doing what I 'should.' Like making more money, or giving up on this flight of fancy to work full time.

But hearing her say that -- to have her recognize my joy and reorder things from my perspective -- I feel lighter. Braver. I want to write more and create more!

If only I could get better....I am SO ANGRY at my body...my new medicine is making me sick, so I've gone from no energy to energy and sick. But I'll get there - I HAVE to!

question & and answer: sticky journal pages

Sara+H asks:

I have a question...how do you keep your journal pages from sticking together?? I paint on all of mine and they get ruined from sticking to each other!! Any tips? I've tried matte varnish, gel medium...

I answered her question in an email, but felt this was a question that others would like to see the answer to.

My first experience with acrylics was a sticky one. Using full-body acrylics, I painted a page in my journal without using much water at all, and the page stuck so horribly, I wondered why anyone would use such paints. I didn't use them again for about six months, as I learned a few tricks.

Here are a few tips:

+ Gel medium is basically full-body acrylic paint without color pigment. Without watering acrylics down, they're really, really sticky. And thick, obviously. So, sealing your pages with such doesn't make much sense, now, does it? If you want to, though, make sure to water down your mediums.

+ Instead of doing one thick layer of acrylics, do three thinner ones. This will cut down on stickness (and help with writing over your paint).

+ Try putting a layer of watercolor crayons or oil pastels on top. The wax and oil create a non-sticky surface. If you're afraid of the oil pastels rubbing off on the facing page, spray on some Workable Fixatif. This stuff is awesome -- it seals in the pastels but allows you to work with them later. It's great for sealing pages that you might want to work with later. :)

+ If all else fails, gesso. A watered down layer will solve it all.

The biggest thing is to use your water! This helps cut down on the elements that make your pages stick together. Have some tips of your own? Or maybe you've got a question? Leave a comment -- I'll amend the post with your tips and answer your questions. It's a new feature I want to add to this blog. What about something you've always wanted to try but haven't? I'm mighty adventurous!

{ a trip back in time... }

This weekend, I took a break from sleep and coughing to travel back in time to the Renaissance. I'm lucky enough to live about 20 minutes from the Bristol Renaissance Faire up in Wisconsin (but only by a little bit), but haven't gone the last few years. A friend asked me to tag along, and, needing a bit of fun and fresh air, I took the trip.

 

This was BY FAR my favorite place. I didn't stay for tea time, but I just want to curl up in this garden and never leave. Can this be my home from now on?

I just adore the open spaces, the paths made of gravel or through the grass from years of wandering travelers, the shades hung in the trees....small shops and performers and the beauty of a simpler, magical time...

A few of my fellow travelers...

I want this dress! I want to marry it and make lots of art and journal page babies!!!

Make a wish!

God, just walking around the faire is like visual candy, full of inspiration!! I plan on taking another trip since I didn't have any money and there's so much I wanted to take home...

{ vid! watercolor crayons }

I filmed this MONTHS ago, but thanks to lovely orders of the Page by Page e-copies, I was able to get an external drive, clear off my hard drive, and start editing old videos. Tomorrow, look for one on Copic Binding. ;)

{ pre-orders, e-copies, and etsy shop! }

It's raining!!! Or else I'd be outside playing with spray paint and some canvases and having a grand old time. Damn! Means I'll have to wait until tomorrow...again!

I'm pleased to announce that you can now get copies of the first two issues of Page by Page as e-copies!

I have to switch printers after this issue, so getting reprints of the first two is going to be a bit difficult. Thus, e-copies.

AND! Go reserve your copy of Issue #3!!! It ships August 15th. An no, no payments until the printed copies are in hand...I've learned my lesson!

Also, remember those cute things I made while on cam a few Saurdays ago? They're now available in my Etsy shop. Go take a look!

{general vid stuff...}

 I was going to film a video on the stenciling I've been doing (I even got some new supplies!), but my cold's morphed into something a bit worse, and I've been corralled to the couch by some heavy-duty meds. Thankfully, they're starting to work, and I should be better by this weekend.

Are there any questions you'd like answered? Any stuff in specific you'd like me to cover? Let me know in the comments so I can research anything I don't know beforehand.

Also, I have a vid on Coptic binding and one on watercolor crayons waiting to be edited...still interested? I haven't worked on them because I don't have any room on my laptop for the in-progress video & timeline; I was going to delete the music off here because it's on my iPod...and then my iPod got stolen at work. Anyone have a spare external hard drive they'd like to donate? I miss making my vids!