Just wanted to share with you some of my art journal pages. This is a fairly new thing for me. I’m such a perfectionist that I have rested on my haunches for quite a while, afraid that it wouldn’t be “good enough.” Of course the point of an art journal is to experiment and make it for no one but yourself. Now that I’m through earning degrees, this perfectionism thing is really getting in my way (and not just for art!).
So, here we go. I rather like these, but to me, the expression of the personal elements of my life is the best part – and it’s not so straightforward as scrapbooking. It’s a lot more subversive, and you can pour out your negative feelings as well as the happy, happy, joy, joy stuff that you want to show all your relatives.
Yasu was really amused by this – I made it from a toy she gave me from her son Hero. You know how kid’s toys multiply like mold? If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you either live in a third-world country or you don’t have kids. Every now and then, Yasu throws some interesting stuff my way. Okay, it’s more often than “every now and then.” Almost every time she visits, she hands me a grocery bag and says, “Japanese garbage for you.” You wouldn’t believe the wonderful paper they wrap their food in! And the magazines… well, some of you will no doubt see some of it in future kits.
Anyway, this was a doctor’s kit with a popular Japanese kid’s character on it. It looked like a little doctor’s bag. I tore the top off the box and used it for this page. The funniest part to me was that the speech bubble (which I left because I think the characters look cool), actually says, “What’s wrong with you?” Of course, I had no idea until Yasu told me, but it’s SO appropriate for the page. 
I used Pink’s song, Just Like A Pill, as inspiration for this page. (I used another part of the doctor’s kit – see the pills?)
What do these pages demonstrate? They demonstrate that no matter how crappy the picture, there’s always a use for it. 
This last one was an exercise in expressing my angst over my mother’s rapidly advancing disability, some of the tough decisions we’ve had to make recently, and different family member’s reactions to it. I hid most of the journaling because, frankly, it’s too painful to leave out there, bald. But that’s okay – it’s out of my head (mostly) and onto paper. Much better that way. Leaves more brain waves to live life. The baby in the photo is my mother.
These photos are a sign of good things to come. Yasu was recently in Japan, and I asked her to bring me back a few things that are difficult to get ahold of here in the states. You know there is so much cool Asian stuff out there (I covet a lot of Korean stuff, too – they make some damn cute stuff). Anyway, she brought me back a bag of stuff she got from the 100 Yen (dollar) store. It put my heart aflutter. Don’t I look like a kid in a candy store? Some of this stuff is going directly into the color kits. You never know where they might pop up. I’m not going to show them in detail – because, well, who doesn’t love a good surprise?
Yasu also got Heather and me some Kanji characters that are approximations of our names.
Perhaps because I haven’t posted photos of myself in quite a while, you won’t notice, but I am gradually shifting my image. Yes, I’m making my image less fat with longer hair. Wish me luck!
group!
