Starting Over Studio

Greetings to all.

Like many other Americans, the tragic events that occurred Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia have impacted me deeply. While the violent protest featuring white supremacists, white nationalists, members of the Ku Klux Klan, and neo-Nazis was indeed a flashpoint that exposed a dark undercurrent of hatred within American society, I unfortunately cannot say that I found it surprising. For me, the extremely divisive rhetoric coming from the far right and from certain politicians during the 2016 election cycle served as prior warning that America was already turning down a dangerous path.

In the last 18 months, my art journal has often been the place in which I’ve gone to express my feelings of fear, sadness, disappointment, and disillusionment in regards to the current political and social climate in the United States. At this particular point in our nation’s history, it’s hard not to feel as though we’re taking huge steps backward instead of progressing forward, especially when it comes to how we as a nation deal with racial, ethnic, and religious diversity. Back in June I created the following page, and it happens to sum up exactly how I’m feeling this week. I’m truly ashamed of the bigoted beliefs held by some of my fellow citizens, and endless questions keep reverberating through my mind and heart, such as, how in the world is America still in this place–in the year 2017? How did we get to the point where hatred is actually tolerated and excused in some corners of our society? What’s happened to the country that I thought I knew?

This journal page was created with patterned paper, magazine images, a piece cut from a paint sample, found text, text generated on a vintage typewriter, and a white gel pen.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. God bless (and help) America.

Hi everyone! Hope your week is going well so far!

This is a page from my “K.I.S.S.” journal, entitled, “I Miss You.” The page was inspired by an image of an empty sofa that I’d clipped from an interior decorating magazine, and addresses the feelings of grief I’ve harbored since losing a beloved pet a few years ago. It is one of several pages on this topic that have appeared in my art journals, and I know they’ve all assisted me in navigating my way through the grieving process.

This page was created with pieces of paper cut/torn from vintage books, scrapbooking papers, a magazine image, a length of ribbon, alphabet stamps, pigment ink, and pens.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

I’m looking forward to sharing some pages here on the blog from my “K.I.S.S.” (“Keep It Simple, Sister!”) journal, which was created during a five-month period between August 2016 and January 2017. Several other pages from this journal appear in the Jul/Aug/Sept issue of Art Journaling magazine, which is available on news stands right now.

The concept of the “K.I.S.S.” journal arose out of a growing frustration that I was feeling during the school year, when my teaching and home responsibilities left me with little time or energy to work in my art journals. In order to get around this, I decided to create a journal using limited supplies and dry media, and found that sticking to this plan not only allowed me the time to start and finish more journal pages during the school year, but expanded my creativity and helped me to further develop my collage skills.

“Ignite Me Not” was the second page in the “K.I.S.S.” journal, and expresses my deep-seated reluctance to return to the classroom after a summer of relaxation. It was created with old book pages, paint samples, a magazine image, text typed on a vintage typewriter, found text, rub-ons, a date stamp, pigment ink, pens, and a colored pencil.

Hope everyone’s week is off to a great start!