Art Journaling... What's your take on it

I'm curious. What is your definition of art journaling?

Why am I asking? Because what I see out there (in the deep regions of cyberspace) doesn't seem to really be related to journaling. It seems to be folk art in a book. And I'm wondering if I should just work on changing what my internal definition is of journaling. At least when thinking of art journaling.

To me journaling would have something to do with daily life... what's happening in the creator's world. (the person creating the art journal) Or simply what is in the artist's world. A cup of coffee, shoes laying next to the wall, or maybe a sketch of the kitchen.

Even as I write this I find myself answering... a person can put anything they want to in their journal. Its their journal. And stop trying to put boundaries down as to what constitutes an art journal.

So... never mind. But if you'd like to respond, I would be interested in your take on it. You know, just out of curiousity. (I really shouldn't post this, but its been so long since I've done anything. Sigh.)

ATC Book

Want to make your own book of ATC art? Check out the short video at the bottom of this blog entry. It looks like a fun project.

(The blog belongs to Myrna Wacknov. I've mentioned it here before. I love her art. Its so alive. Check her out.)

Oh.. and I wanted to give a wave to Ann, a new "follower". It looks like she doesn't have a blog so I can't go leave a thank you comment... so I thought I'd just embarrass her here by the shout out.

On the sad side, I wanted to note the passing of flydragon. I didn't really know her (as much as cyber blog buddies know one another), but I have enjoyed her blog. She will be missed.

ABC Art Project

I'm late in starting, but here's my first three sketches representing the first three letters of the alphabet.

A is for Attitude. Attitude equals Bad. I drew this from imagination, but my imagination was fueled because this is how Darius behaved a few days ago. He stomped into the room, flopped his butt down on the chair, folded his arms across his chest, and stuck his lower lip out like he was an 8 months old baby. And guess what.... he recognized himself. We both smiled about it, cause you know... its been a few days. (I did these drawings sitting at a table and I can see how it distorted the perspective.)

 

B is for Barney Bear, bed mate of some mystical child who is perfect at all times. She can often be found in story books written by authors who has never had to care for a child or they have and are simply trying to make their fantasy real. (The mystical children can also be found in Disney movies. Sometimes.)

 

C is for cantalope. I know. I know. How damn clever is that! Falling back onto food when you can't think of anything else.
Darius was pretty taken by this one. He seemed to really like it, even though he couldn't remember what a cantalope looks like. I kind of swiped the method of depicting the mellon from something I have seen on the web... but I can't remember who or where. (Its been months.)

 

To find others who are participating, check out Sandy's art blog here. This link takes you to the home page and you will need to look around for her (and others') ABC entries. Like I said, I'm way behind.

To The Cowardly Spammers

To the anonyomous bullshit commenters trashing my blog with your crap.... I curse you and your family. May your house be cursed with abject poverty for three generations. And may your dogs eat from your table while you eat from the gutter. YOU COWARD!!!

And if you're going to post on English speaking blogs, my gawd, at least know the fricking language.

Where'd They Go?

The tweezers... where'd the tweezers go? That's our latest quest, to find the tweezers for gramma. Gramma REALLY needs them, or at least one of them.

I use to have three tweezers. Don't ask me how I got that many because I don't know. They just showed up. I've been hanging on to these tweezers for several years now. I got so cocky as to give one of them away. Down to two tweezers....and poof! Just that quick I was down to none.

Thankfully, one of the boys discovered where they were hiding so all is back to normal. If they had not been located I would have ended up looking like Andy Rooney's eyebrows. Not that that's any worse.

My eyebrows are grateful, as are my chin hairs. For several years now I can say I could honestly quote the following and know it applied to me:

"...not by the hairs of my chinny, chin chin."

Chin...chin... chin... ya, that's about it.

Do You Like Color? Loose Paintings?

If you like paintings done loosely and with a feeling of spontaneity... if you love rich colors... then go introduce yourself to Sarkis Antikajian.

He was featured on OPB's Art Beat this week. You can view his Oregon Art Beat episode here (around 7 minutes) and/or visit his web site here. (If you watch the episode, they show his studio for just a moment...ohmygawd he has so many paintings done!)

Friday the 13th

Its a lucky Friday the 13th for my daughter.

She's often tries to enter call-in contests on the radio but with no luck. She can't say that any more. This past week she has been trying to be the correct number calling in to a show. Today was the last day of the contest and she thought what the hell, I'll give it one last try and she was the tenth caller. Yay. But all that means is that her name gets put in with bunches of others for a random drawing. Hers was the last name to go into the barrel and as luck would have it, her name was pulled. She won a free cell phone and 6 months free service.

She's off getting her certificate for the phone now. She is always struggling to pay her phone bill and now she will have a six month rest period. Plus a little extra money for Christmas... if the money lasts that long.

Saturday was kind of a weird day. Nothing was going smoothly. It was going but its like walking upstream in a river. You get there, but it doesn't flow easily. Even the Upwords game had weird words.

We had a monsoon. Streets temporarily flooding all over the city. It was easy to spot the people who didn't have a clue as to how to drive thru standing water. (Especially the little pricks in big SUVs, god bless their little hearts. Their really tiny little hearts.) As I drove to my friend's place I saw lots of people standing in shin-deep water as they cleared away the drains. What is this.... the tropics??

My friend was a little distracted and feeling weird herself. She had an angio scheduled for this past Tuesday and it was not something she was looking forward to. Conversation was jumpy too.

She had a lovely bouquet of tulips. She buys herself flowers each week.

 

Because it was a very dark and gloomy day, my friend decided to light a candle. She had a large round 3-wick candle and she couldn't get it lit with a lighter. She needed something long. My friend grabbed some paper and twisted it. I suggested she take the candle in by the kitchen sink and light it there. Then she could toss the burning paper into the sink. "Good idea" she replied... then proceeded to light the candle where it was. As I mentioned, she was distracted.

She came back to the table and turned to look at the candle. This (below) is what she saw.

 

"Well isn't that a nice blaze" she said.

We then cracked up. A new portable fireplace.

My friend had her angio thingy and it was a walk in the park. No pain to speak of, no horrible procedure. Oh, and all is well. They will do it again later on the other leg.

Taking Turns

Mom and the boys went to a movie this afternoon. They came home early. Vyron hurled at the movies.

Darius had been sick and now it looks like its Vyron's turn. It seems to last from 24 to 48 hrs. A slight fever and throwing up if eating is attempted. Otherwise it wasn't too bad getting thru D's bout. (I'm not the one who has to clean up after them.)

The bucket is now moved to wherever Vyron lands.

Children's Illustrator

I watched Oregon Art Beat on public tv last night and they did a segment on Johanna Wright who is an illustrator, author, musician... I can't remember everything they said she did. Her illustrations are colorful and whimsical.

Check out her illustrations here.

If you wanted to watch the segment, go here. I think it is maybe 7 to 15 minutes long... not sure.

(She also keeps a blog. Ya gotta love those art bloggers.)

Mommie Hell

The apartment stinks. I mean really stinks. Well, okay then, it just doesn't smell pleasant.

We have the stomach bug or something going on here. Darius threw up early this morning when he was still in bed. He was actually sleeping when it began. He shares a bed with his mother. Fun times.

Later this morning he hurled again and just a few minutes ago, as he was trying some soup, he hurled once more.

All I have to say is THANK GOD HE MADE THE BUCKET!!

In any event, the apartment needs cleaning and when you add illness to it, it makes for some unpleasantness. Its not easy cleaning in a small spot with little bodies bumping into you all the time, tripping you, and just generally having fun. And when you do finish a spot, say the kitchen area, then its time to dirty it up again.

Its like digging a hole so you can fill it up again. Its just never ending.

And I know the details weren't necessary. I think my readers are all mothers of some sort or another, and explanations aren't necessary. I just needed to put words around it so I can... well, I'm not sure why. It doesn't end with words.

Thursday

 

From a magazine; oil pastels. Oil pastels are soft crayons.

I haven't listened to the news for about a week. Today I did and wouldn't ya know it... another "disaster" on the army base in Texas. I feel so sorry for the families and friends of those lost. Lost because of a crazy man. A crazy man who was a psychiatrist. Ironic, isn't it. Its not going to make life any easier for those here who have muslim names, either.

Two Boys in the Home. Need I Say More?

 

November 3 2009

It doesn't look good. I had decided to try to post something in the art category each day for the month of November. I'm only three days into it and its very shaky already. I'm hanging by a thread. And what a sight that is!

Here's an unfinished female from the imagination.

 

I'm even surprised that I was able to get on the pc this evening to even post this drawing. But the "group" left for the night so its all mine. Its available and I can't even think of anything to say. So typical, huh.

November 2 2009

 

 

While Waiting for Halloween Candy

I tried to doodle something while waiting for the kids to come home with their candy. Forced doodling doesn't come well.

 

And this is some wishful thinking after Mr. Contrary actually made it home:

 

Everyone was very tired and cranky from too little sleep the past two days. Mr. Contrary seemed to be begging for a spanking. At one point this cartoon is what I felt like doing. Only it seems to usually make things worse, so I was limited to some wishful thinking. Like cartoons where the coyote gets up after being hit on the head with an anvil, no one gets any worse for wear.

Halloween 2009

Candace and the boys went over to one of her friend's for Halloween. They spent the night. When they got home I asked if she had gotten pictures of the boys in their costumes. Yes. After she had uploaded them I went to check them out.

Yes, she had gotten lots of pictures on Halloween. But only one of the boys. All the rest were of her and her friends acting like overgrown teenagers. What's up with that? Maybe there are more that I didn't see. I'll ask later.

 

Not even a particularly good shot, either. I'm a little disappointed, but not surprised. (I don't care for this one particular friend. I have to bite my tongue to keep from expressing myself.)

I LOVE School

 
I love school. I especially love grade school. And all-day kindergarten is FABULOUS, darlin'!!! There is bound to be a struggle getting Mr. Contrary out the door, but once its closed, heaven visits for a while.

The picture gives you an idea of our weather today. Wet to the bone.

Another Fun Day at the Crusty Homestead

I'm currently using a different keyboard. Kids. Need I say more?

But if I don't say more then I won't have anything to post.

We've been taking turns with the "crud" and its my turn now. Yesterday all I did was try to catnap my way through the day. I was fairly successful and that says a lot considering two boys in a small apartment. What it really says is "dude! You're sick!!"

Yesterday evening I stirred enough to get up to get some water. Darius came into the kitchen and calmly grabbed some paper towels. Not good. He had been playing games on the computer and spilt some water on the table.

"I can get it" he said firmly.

I don't know what possessed me, but I did not delve into it further. It was probably my survival instinct. What I didn't know wouldn't hurt me, right? I consciously chose to not look. My reputation for being an old screaming crazy lady needed a rest. Plus I didn't feel like looking. Where's that sand? I want to bury my head in it.

Later I saw the pc was available so I went to take a turn at it.

A large water stain covered the mouse pad. hmmmmmmm. That's not good. Water on or in the mouse? Then I put my hand out to touch the black table. Wet. The further back on the table my hand went, the wetter it got.

ohmygawd!! How much water was spilt, anyway?!

I then grabbed the keyboard and turned it upside down. Water dripped out of it for several minutes.

The boy still lives, so I guess I handled it okay, but ohmygawd!!

I didn't shit a cow because I have several extra keyboards, but still. ohmygawd!!

Sickness in the Air

 
Big D is sick today. Fever, vomiting, quietness, all spell S I C K.

It started yesterday evening. Mr Contrary, Big D, got a time out for behaving like a brat, only this time 'mom' layed down with him. You know. To help him get through it. He fell asleep. Fell asleep? That's something to be noted, but it could have been simply tireness. However, when he woke up he looked weak. He felt hot. And he couldn't keep anything down.

"Here... here's a cool wash cloth to put on your forehead."

"nooooooooooo."

"It will help you feel better."

"noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"

"See if you can chew this medicine. It will help you feel better.

"nooooooooooo."

"Just see if you can get a little down. Really. It will help you feel better."

"aw. moan. I don't.... " (hurl)

"Never mind."

This morning he's still warm, but not hot and he has been able to keep a sip of water down. If one were to look for the silver lining in this its how quiet he is. That doesn't happen every day.

I'm feeling a little queasy, but I think its just empathy. Yeah. That's it.

The Pumpkin Patch

 

 

 

 

"Puppies!! They have puppies, momma!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Safety Lessons

 
'Mom' has started teaching Darius some stay-safe lessons. He is learning his address, phone number, names of relatives, and about 911.

The little darling has been practicing. He takes his education seriously. He's been calling 911 and hanging up.

(00)

oops!

Hazzards of Being a Firefighter (32 sec)

Mr Contrary

 
 
 
Mr. Contrary. Up is down and down is up. Mr. Contrary said so. Perhaps Darius will be good at debate... which has nothing to do with de plane!

D's class is going to the pumpkin patch today. Mom is going too. Our rainy season has started. The pumpkin patch should be a lot of fun... if you like mud.

D tried to get me to go too. I think it was just because I was gloating that I didn't have to go. "Mr. R said gramma's were suppose to come with us. Yes, he did say that!"

Their lunches are packed for two. (Darius was concerned that he wouldn't be able to eat all of it, until his mom pointed out that it contained her lunch, too. Then he was worried there wouldn't be enough.)

Its just Vyron and me today. All day. V is usually a snap to watch because he entertains himself. Just my luck. He didn't get enough sleep so he's a bit cranky and he's sporting a cough. If I can get him to sit (lay) quietly later on he might take a nap. Hey! I believe in miracles!!

Whomever...

Whomever said children were God's little bundles of joy were LIARS! They are created from pond slime (aka Devil's spawn) and their prime objective is to drive you to an early grave. A pauper's grave at that.

Not having a good evening. mumble mumble little nose pickers mumble mumble bless their little (bleep) hearts.

Personality Quiz

Are you one who enjoys taking quizzes? Here's a place you can get your fill...click here.

I took a personality quiz once. The results came back with "Sorry, you have no personality." It made me wonder if its better to have no personality at all or to have a "bad" one. Its probably a toss up.

I took one of the tests on the above site. It used percentage points in the various categories so you would know your strengths and weaknesses. (Like at our age we wouldn't know. snort.) Mine came back 78% introvert. I threw it down and ran back into my cave! Stupid tests.

Our beautiful weather has gone and the rainy season has started... although we seem to have lucked out compared to other areas in the country.

I accomplished nothing over the last two days. And the earth didn't stop turning.

Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries

 
You can enjoy the fruit, but you always end up with a bunch of pits.

The Throne Has Been Cleared
We've been plunging the toilet for a week now. It wasn't completely clogged, but would drain slowly. Some flushes were a little slower than others. We suspect a foreign object found its way into the drain, but no one here knows anything about it. Either that or someone shits bricks. Its a long shot, but my bet goes on a toy of some kind. Damn toys.

We had come to accept our fates, mostly because the toilet still emptied... eventually. But miracles of miracles, yesterday we all heard a "normal" flush. I spent the next three hours jumping up to go to the bathroom just so I could flush the toilet. I wanted to make sure it was still working properly. It is.

School Days
Sigh. No school today. Its either a teachers' planning day or else its due to budget cuts. State employees have to take 20 unpaid furlough days and this is the start of it. And Monday is a holiday. Oh be still my heart. We will have plenty of time to enjoy the children with a four day weekend. What fun. Currently the room I'm in ('mom' & the boys' bedroom where the pc is) is totalled. I can see a patch of floor in the corner and my feet are touching the floor, but everything else is covered in blankets and clothing. The boys like to toss off the blankets and jump on the bare mattress. But its not my room any more so its not my problem. I only hope I'm outside when 'mom' comes in here. Payback. Ya gotta luv it!

Going anywhere?
I'm hoping the little family goes to visit friends today, but gas is a little low. Doesn't keep me from hoping. And as I key this I hear Darius tell his mom he wants to go to her friend's house. Fingers are crossed.

I thought I had more subjects, but I don't. Over and out. (we've been playing with walkie talkies.)