In the words of Tammy at Daisy Yellow, the originator of the ICAD Project, this project really has "rocked my world". Loyal followers of my blog will know that I have about a dozen journals on the go at any one time. I always seem to need another type or size of paper and so I start a new one.
Some of these journals are handmade with stitched bindings, some made with my Bind-It-All, and some are purchased. I've tried journaling in old books and I have one journal with black paper. I have small ones to take travelling and larger ones for home use. I have several that are 5 1/2" x 8" as I often drift back to that size. I have journals with watercolor paper, mixed media paper, lined paper, graph paper, scrapbook paper and acrylic painted paper. You get the idea LOL.
This plethora of journals bothers me. I'd love to have a neat, clean journalling practice that chronicals my life. Once in awhile I do actually finish a journal, but with so many on the go, it takes awhile!
Over the last year, I have toyed with the idea of journaling on loose paper, and then binding as I gather a stack. I thought that this approach would address my various paper requirements as well as get them bound in chronological order. It was size that threw this plan off-track. I couldn't decide what size to use and so I cut up some paper in four sizes. None of them got used and I continued working in the journals I had on the go. And of course, I started a few more.
Enter Index Card a Day, courtesy of Tammy at Daisy Yellow. I had a near-new package of 5" x 8" index cards I was dying to use up (yay!). They're a little bigger than Tammy recommends but I didn't think she'd mind.
Many times as I did my daily index card, I'd get frustrated by the paper quality. They curled and wrinkled when I got them wet. But there were so many advantages that I kept at it. I wasn't afraid of ruining a "good" journal and I didn't worry that my cards had to be "finished". This was incredibly freeing. I found myself doing all the experiments I had always read an art journal should contain. I even got out my sewing machine! And I loved writing about the media I used on the back for later reference. How nice that I didn't have to squeeze it on the front somewhere!
One thing that didn't frustrate me was size. I found that being restricted by the size of the index card gave me one less thing to think about. Some restrictions, I learned, are a good thing. Too many decisions and I get paralyzed.
Over the two months of the project, I found that my index cards could be grouped into two distinct types: experiments with all the media I read about, and drawing, mostly from real life. So I think that the project has resolved my journalling dilemna. For experiments and multi-media artwork I will work on loose pages of 5 1/2" x 8", and I'll pick the appropriate paper for the project. If I decide to use some of them to cut into cards, ATC's or bookmarks I can do that, and maybe even frame them if I want them on my wall! I'll probably use my Bind-It-All to bind the rest up into a journal when I have a stack of them.
For drawing, I will work in a stitched journal, likely on watercolor paper so that I can add watercolor. (The stitching will allow me to do a more seamless double spread.) This book will be in chronilogical order, of course.
Just one BIG question remains: Do I have to use up all of those journals I have on the go?
1 comment:
Obviously….the answer is NO!
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