April is International Fake Journal Month, and I've prepared backgrounds in a new journal. My character is starting to come alive - in my brain, at least. Preparing backgrounds in advance is not normally how I approach a journal, but this isn't my journal, is it?
What is IFJM, you ask? According to Roz Stendahl, "Basically it’s a free pass to put anything in a journal that you might not otherwise put in. At least that’s one way to see it. From April first to April 30, you are encouraged to keep a fake journal different from and outside of your regular visual journal."
You can read more about IFJM here.
Why am I participating in IFJM? I've been thinking more lately about how and why I journal. I've been journalling in various forms since 2001, when I began by gluing an image from a clothing catalogue into a 9 x 12 coil-bound sketchbook. Over the years I've used many sizes and shapes of purchased books, with different kinds of paper. I've glued, drawn, and painted my way through the years, sometimes adding a little or a lot of writing. I've bound my own journals as well as using store-bought books.
At some point over the years my single, one at a time journal morphed into many. (You can read more about that here, if you're interested.) I continue to be bothered by the lack of chronological continuity in my journals for various reasons, and following Roz Stendahl's journalling practice has got me thinking more about this. IFJM will give me an opportunity to work in a single journal for one whole month so that I can evaluate that experience again.
My Fake Journal is a lined composition book. I chose this because I also plan to do more writing about my character's life than I currently do in my visual journal. I glued every second page together and had a happy afternoon gelli printing directly into the book. The addition of the paint to the pages has already made the book "yawn" at the fore edge, so I'll have to cut a few pages out before I begin.
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