The Artful Elite proudly presents for February, a stroll through the wondrous world of
"pinch me to see if you're dreaming" a blog devoted entirely to the creative process of art journaling.
I feel this post is most appropriate to the new art doll journaling group I just started on
The Artful Paper Doll ning network. I especially wanted to encourage my members to try art journaling as a creative expression and tool in manifesting their dreams. I wanted them to see how others are going about sharing their work with the world, how they overcome challenges and what encouragement they can offer you if you are thinking about starting a journal. It is my greatest hope you will find something of inspirational value here.
What is our growing obsession with artistic journaling and what compels us to share our pages with the world? I asked
Zom, an artist living in the rain forest of Australia about that and here is what she shared with me. To learn more, click any of the photos to be transported immediately to Zom's blog and the associated posts.
The name of your blog tends to have a double take effect. At least it did for me. Pinch me to see if you're dreaming is wonderfully whimsical. How did you come up with it?
It was the name of a one person show that I had about the same time that I started my blog. It was a show of tiny water colours of dreamlike interiors with unexpected elements (such as an alpaca in a living room.) Perhaps it was whimsical.
I have a huge grin on my face reading your very first post dated the last day of May 2008. I read statements like "not trying to be clever or likable," "there is the distinct possibility that no one will see this." You have been blogging for about 8 months now with 79 followers of your blog and growing rapidly. (I was #72 only a few short weeks ago.) I would definitely say you are loved. How do you feel about what you have accomplished here so far?
Gee it is really nice to think that I am loved. And pretty embarrassing to think that anyone would still be reading my beginning posts!
I think if you post regularly and read and comment on other people's blogs, you are bound to get quite a few followers after 8 months. People are very polite.
What was the biggest reason you began to start an artistic journal?
To have a place to experiment and play. I have been a full time artist for over 15 years, but I didn't really have any place that I felt free to just completely play. By that I mean a place to muck up!
I believe that we can affect our external world by giving energy and attention to our dreams. One way to do this is to write about them in our journals and include pictures that represent how those dreams feel and look to us. Have you had any experience with this? Have you created a journal page centered around a dream and had something interesting or exciting happen shortly after regarding that topic?
I have done some things around visualizing stuff. I made a drawing once of a community that I wanted to live on and it looks a lot like where we are now. In my experience what you are talking about can work.
I don't do it so much any more, and not in my journal. I am more interested in seeing what happens in my pages when I work intuitively without consciously planning it.
The tarot pages could be an example of this. Were the tarot card choices random thereby inspiring the piece or were the cards chosen for their symbolism and relevance to the piece you were creating at the time? I love the tarot and believe them to offer great wisdom into our inner selves. Do you read? This last question is more my own curiosity. :)
I did take a class on the tarot years ago. I love anything to do with symbolism. But I don't read the cards.
I do a lot of planning in my paintings. So I like to approach my journal pages completely spontaneously. I seldom know what the page will be about or what it will look like. I slap things down that 'feel right'. The relevance of any image to the page happens without my intention. I name them when they are finished.
How did you come to the decision to share your pages and techniques with the online world? Did it scare you at first? The reason I ask this is because I think many of us feel like we don't fit in for one reason or another and there is fear in putting work "out there." We give far more credibility to the thoughts and opinions of others on the outside instead of listening to what is within us which is what I think being an artist is all about and perhaps explains the discomfort some have with it. You are incredible at sharing your thoughts and feelings with us.
Thanks Kellie. I didn't know that I was good at sharing my thoughts and feelings. I don't write much about personal stuff so I think I am being mysterious, lol. But it is true that I feel very open about my experiences with creating.
I began blogging to have a place to share journaling. It was a new experience and I didn't have any friends who were doing it. I was a bit nervous to begin with and actually started the journal under a false name. But I soon found other bloggers and the people reading my blog to be tremendously supportive and loving so I exposed myself (well, my name.)
Your Death Journal page was the first post of yours that I read and I must say it was a compelling post. The creativity in both the story and the journal pages were captivating and so beautiful to me. You asked if anyone liked it. I would like to ask you how you feel about the final result of the post? Why did you feel you needed to have a death page?
As with most of my pages I didn't start out to make a death page. I had a little dead bat in my studio. I felt bad that he had gotten caught and died in there so I drew him. I just continued from there and it ended up as my death page. I was glad people liked it. I thought they might find it too morbid.
I do find that people never comment that they don't like a page. As I said, they are very polite.
You have wonderful courage in showing both the pages you like as well as the pages you do not like. Many of us or at least I know I would, probably only post the works we especially like. I am referring to your most hated journal pages. What encouragement would you share with others who have created something they don't like in order to soothe them into turning the tables and working with it to create something more pleasing?
I hope that sharing my bloopers is some encouragement. I want people to see that everything you create doesn't go as planned or end up pretty. And that sometimes you think it is a real piece of ****- can I say that here? And then you keep going and it ends up kinda cool. Or not. It's okay.
What advice would you give to other artists who might be thinking about starting an art journal they want to share with the world but might have some apprehension about doing so?
In my classes I give people full permission to share or not share whatever they are comfortable with. There is no reason that anyone needs to share stuff that they don't want to. The only thing is, sometimes you share something you aren't so crazy about and it can be neat when other people really like it. We don't always know whether what we made is crap or not.
Where can we learn more about your techniques? Do you have work you sell? Where do you teach classes? Can we look forward to online tutorials if you are not already doing something like that?
I thought most of my techniques were in my blog! I am posting most every page.
I do have work that I sell. In fact I am having a show opening in February. You can go to my website to see most of the pieces at zomosborne.com.
I do teach classes, they are listed in the top left margin of my blog. At the moment they are real life classes, but online tutorials are a possibility. I would have to get more computer savvy.
Still @the Centre Art Journaling Workshop
Byron Region Community College
In closing I would like to say thank you, Zom for being my featured February artist. I appreciate your time and effort and will continue to follow your progress in the world of art journaling. You are an inspiration and a blessing for sharing your work and thoughts with us.
Thanks Kelly. It is exciting that you are featuring me. I hope I have something to offer your readers. all the best, Zom
Disclaimer: All images posted in association with this post remain the sole property of Zom and pinch me to see if you're dreaming blogspot. Any reproduction or distribution either wholly or in part without her express written consent constitutes copyright infringement. Please respect her art!
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