I'm sure you can imagine...

Whoever invented chalk certainly did not have this in mind."

(for the background story behind these articles, click here)

I'm sure you can imagine...

See what happens when I sit still?

(for the background story behind these articles, click here)

"I'm sure you can imagine...

Far be it from me to stop inspiration.

(for the background story behind these articles, click here)

an update on my journal...

For those of you familiar with my ongoing mission to find a functional journal, I am happy to report that the latest book is working out as well as I'd hoped! For those of you just joining this article-based journey, here's a little background information to get you caught up.

I'm using my journal more than I did before and I'm finding that it's very comfortable to hold and carry. I take the journal on wine tastings, to coffee shops, and even use it while I read (to record words for future dictionary use). And if folding things isn't an issue, there's room in the back of the journal to tuck away interesting items I come across (such as wine tasting sheets). That's a nice feature to have since there's no need to work through drawings, writing, or photography when you know you can take certain items with you. I am rediscovering my interest in journals because I can once again enjoy the experience. I'll try to post some images of additional pages/spreads within the next couple of weeks.

"I'm sure you can imagine..."

"...I'm a work in progress."

(for the background story behind these articles, click here)

journal #?

But it looks as if this one will stick around!

For those of you who follow my blog, you know that my history with journals is "interesting" to say the least (read more here). Well, my latest journal, the one I thought would certainly fit all my requirements...well, it's no longer in service.

The mental disconnect isn't due to the materials but rather the size and weight. My last journal was fun to use but I seldom brought it with me; when it did accompany me, I never felt comfortable carrying just the journal. Long story short, I returned to a previous purchase that is working better the second time around.

The new journal is leather, around 4"x6", with bundles of pages sown to the spine. It has a traditional journal appearance and is small enough to tuck inside a pocket or, at the very least, carry with ease. Two of my favorite aspects of this journal: a couple of pages partially ripped away from the binding thread during use and it came with a small piece of wax-like paper that I use as a page marker...both of these elements give my journal a bit of a fragile feel to it, which I love.

Here are some images. The scans didn't turn out well but I think the image quality suits the journal's wear and use.

[cover]



[inside cover, first page]



[sample spread of type experiment]



I hope this journal sticks around for the long haul that is my journey into art and creativity. In as serious a tone as I can muster, I have to say that I'm running out of ideas for portable journals; luckily, I really like this one and it seems to be a good fit. In light of that, I hope my blog won't see another article such as this...because we'll all know what that means!

"I'm sure you can imagine..."

I don’t remember where I found this picture (I didn’t shoot the photograph) but I’m glad I kept it because it’s become an interesting aspect of my journal.

What I do is visit this journal page at random moments and write a phrase (typically one sentence) that describes what could be bouncing around in the elephant’s mind due to the colorful make-over. The sentence could be the elephant’s literal opinion about the situation or it could describe how the elephant became a canvas. When I glued the photo into my journal, I didn’t have this creative excercise in mind but like most creative activities, it turned into something on its own.

As you might guess, this series of blog posts is about those phrases, published. Each phrase will be displayed underneath the photo, in bold and using a serif typeface.



“…it was either this or a hat.”

So when you see this photograph, or the title “I’m sure you can imagine…”, brace yourself for insight into one elephant’s mind!

{photograph used from a magazine, please assign all necessary copyrights to the respective artist}

Detour: a Moleskine project

Fascinated by journals and their many functions? Maybe you're a Moleskine fan? Do you like creative collaborations? Then you need to check out "Detour" (http://www.moleskine.com//events/detour/)...



I'll be honest, there is a lot of work displayed but the time spent browsing is worth it. Yes, there are images of journals but there are also videos that show the respective artists flipping through their Moleskines; it's a nice perspective to have when trying to make a connection to the artist and their work. The Detour project also supports the non-profit foundation lettera27.

This site is definitely bookmark-worthy; check it out at http://www.moleskine.com//events/detour/. Perhaps it will make you think twice the next time you pass a Moleskine journal in your local bookstore.

informal excercise for fun and creative discovery

Among other types of content within my journal are creative excercises. Below are two examples that I keep up with on a regular basis (both pages are work-in-progress).

a page of scribbles...
one scribble every day or every couple of days, adding color
at random moments




quotation marks...
I add different styles of quotation marks, again adding color
at random moments



© 2008 joe blend. All rights reserved.

my journal

I don't remember how I discovered journals. When I finally decided to invest both money and time into one, it started out as a source for inspiration. I would cut out images and whole articles, gluing them onto the pages and adding my own notes. My journal process moved to drawings, then writing, and now it's a combination of everything.

For some reason, I never finished a journal. What happened is I started using it and realized after a month or even a few months that the book wasn't accomodating my needs. My journals have included the following:

a purchased leather journal - about 6"x9", with a leather tie that wrapped around the journal a few times to keep it closed...{concern}...too big and became too heavy as more collaged elements/pages developed

handmade/retail hybrid, version 1 - front/back cover and spine of a watercolor sketchbook, with thread-bound signatures of newsprint...{concern}...I did a poor job of binding and the signatures were too heavy for the paper, it was also too uncomfortable to use

handmade/retail hybrid, version 2 - front/back cover and spine of a watercolor sketchbook with a handmade accordion pocket inside with various types of paper...{concern}...it was annoying to pull out and return individual pieces of paper, cut out articles, etc using the accordion pocket

moleskine - 3"x5", too small...didn't last long

handmade - handmade paper cut into two pieces for the front and back cover, contained different types of paper, bound with binding screws...{concern}...too fragile

Well, I've finally found one that I consistently enjoy! It is, in a lot of ways, the best parts of my previous journals. I think what I like best about this one is its flexibility and simple binding.

current journal - relaxed leather for the front/back cover and spine, bound by a strip of leather tied off at both ends, contains different types of paper

details: when I purchased it, I took out most of the paper it contained and began my quest for custom paper. I cut pages out of newsprint, charcoal paper, packing paper, and white drawing paper (as well as used some of the paper it came with); I cut the sheets in a sloppy manner on purpose, inspired by the deckled edges of my old watercolor sketchbook.

Once i punched holes in all the pages, I re-bound the journal. Now I had a custom journal with a variety of papers. And once I fill this journal, I can re-bind it with new papers and re-use the leather cover/spine as many times as I want.

Here are a few shots of some of my favorite pages...

cover




first page




random writing



random drawings



For those of you that don't use journals, I recommend you start. You don't have to be an artist, designer, writer, etc to use a journal. If you enjoy traveling, going to antique stores, or enjoy keeping track of various activities, a journal can be a fun and personal way to accomplish that; it's also interactive so more than one person could use the same journal.

Although there are a number of places to purchase a journal, it all depends on what you want. Here are some helpful links to get you started:

Handbound.com

My Handbound Books

Barnes and Noble

Borders

Etsy

Cavallini & Co.

journal content © 2008 joe blend. All rights reserved.

part sketchbook, part journal

{first things first}...the art journal that I was so excited about, the one with the accordion pockets...that idea didn't work out the way I thought it would. I couldn't deal with the fact that in order to draw or write, I had to remove the pages from the book which I felt took away from the experience of using the journal. And don't even get me started on how annoying it was to look through individual pages in a small folder. Anyway, I will post more on that another day but my reason for including the back story was to lead into my new, "working out better than I imagined" art journal which looks quite a bit different than the one previously posted...

{the original purpose of this post}

subject: coffee cup




subject: faces and pencils




subject: inspirational quotes and random drawing



© 2008 joe blend. All rights reserved.

my new art journal

Journals have fascinated me for quite a while, it was only until recently that I made a serious effort to keep one on me at all times. So, before I talk about my current journal, here's a little background info...

My wife bought me an artist journal with handmade paper about 6 months ago. I filled it up with various drawings and illustrations, then carefully cut out most of the pages as final artwork. After realizing I didn't want to have the book sitting around, its remaining pages full of subject studies that will never see the inside of a frame and matte, I decided to cut out the remaining "useless" work and re-bind the book. It had sentimental value and it marked a key stage in my career so I was determined to continue using it.

Well, I'm not a book artist so my first two attempts at re-binding the book were horrible. The vision was there, the craft was not! Not only did the unstable result have a fraction of the pages I would normally need, it was uncomfortable to use. The only good thing about it was the accordion pocket I made and secured to the inside back cover, filled with various types of paper. And that's when my "a-ha!" moment occurred.

Since I really liked the dimensions of the original book (roughly 9" x 6"), which made it comfortable for me to keep in a bag or in my car, I decided to only fill it with accordion pockets. This way, I could fill one pocket with different kinds of paper for drawing and writing, and fill the other pocket with "found stuff" like cut out photos, labels, etc. Gone were the feelings of uncertainty when handling my journal; now, I could get the most use and fun out of the journal! Anyway, here are some photos:

The cover in all its glory. It has a nice handmade/textured feel to it...

The journal opened, with paper slid out of the back pocket. The papers I have in there now are newsprint, Strathmore drawing paper, regular notebook paper, paper with the texture of packing paper, and some smooth paper from an older journal...




A different angle of the pockets with some found items and experiments. I can't wait to start drawing on the front of the outside pocket...




This is the first page from the original journal, cut out and adhered to the inside cover. It started as a "table of contents", then became a montage of words and thoughts to include my favorite definition of illustration from the book "FINGERPRINT, The art of using handmade elements in graphic design" by Chen Design Associates...

"The visual communication of an idea or an object is executed, at least in part, by someone with exemplary powers of observation - and the ability to translate those observations into meaningful hand-articulated forms."



I think what I love most about this new journal is that when I use all the paper I just refill the pockets, keeping select older pages for future reference.

from washington dc to miami, fl to cancun, mexico to washington dc!

I just returned from a trip to Mexico and am finishing up some journal artwork from that trip. It was a lot of fun to take the journal international; I've also found that one of my favorite places to draw at is airports due to the vast diversity in people, clothes, objects, etc. Luckily, I had the opportunity to experiment with a slightly new medium and I'm very excited to see how it will fit in with my journal work.

I'll post the finished pieces within the next couple of weeks!

portable creativity

As artists, designers, photographers, sculptors, and “insert creative discipline here”, we are constantly looking for inspiration and a unique perspective…or at least we should be. We all struggle at times to find a reason for creating, a solid direction to follow for a particular project, or some other need that is preventing us from making progress on a current project(s). Sometimes it’s the act of “growing as an artist” that seems stifled. Whatever the reason, a journal can be the solution. One of my biggest reasons for starting an art journal was to engage in creative activities while outside of my work. Not that I wanted to photograph subjects 24/7, I just felt as if something was missing and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that a journal was the answer. Not only could it serve as a source of inspiration but it could be an archive of notes, a list of objectives and goals for a given period of time, and most important an ongoing experiment.

Sitting in my workspace was a nice leather bound journal from Borders (very nice, two flaps of leather covering the pages, a small leather strap holds it closed) so I figured that was the best place to start. I’ll be honest, it was pretty daunting at first; so many pages and not the slightest idea as to what to fill them with. My first instinct was to start writing down everything from ideas for photography subjects to notes on my favorite artists and designers. Later, I added everything from blog article ideas to favorite websites and around six months ago, I began to add images. After filling quite a few pages, I felt as if my journal needed to be kicked up a notch. Images were the natural next step but I wanted to do it in a thoughtful way. I gathered all my design and photography magazines and cut out anything that grabbed my attention for more than a few moments; this included type, pictures, and illustrations...for all you graphic designers out there, you know how hard it was to get the courage to butcher up well designed magazines! That quickly led to cutting out whole paragraphs and eventually entire articles.

When gluing the images and forms to the journal pages, I pushed the limits of graphic design and created compositions that either supported the image/form or that made me curious as to how well they’d work from an editorial design standpoint. Sometimes I created spreads that were mundane and straightforward whereas other times, I’d use photos that needed to be folded over (sometimes for a reason and other times simply because I could). The more I engaged in this kind of activity, the more I got inspired and the more curious I became about type and its relation to concept and message. I began to break apart articles that interested me and adhere them to the journal pages in ways that where interesting to me or somehow supported the article’s content; other times, I had no idea why I did what I did, I just knew that’s the way I wanted to do it!

What I have now is a thick journal that is nothing short of an exciting work in progress. You might be asking what has come from all this. Simply put, I feel as if I have an outlet for exploration that also serves as a source for inspiration and information. At any given time, I can open my journal and flip through it perhaps finding something new or even adding to it. I can look at fascinating textures, interesting articles, or random thoughts that one day may serve as the spark for a great idea. The bottom line is that I now have a portable outlet that helps expose me to ideas and other creative disciplines while strengthening my own work and creativity.

Images from my journal:

inside front cover:


spread dedictated to typography:


another spread dedicated to typography:


random spread with one of my favorite
Jack Kerouac quotes:


random spread (left page focuses on expression,
right page tries to decide what "it" is):


intro to pages about what exactly "art" is:


spread showcasing an artists work:



a spread that deals with some interesting books:

a spread dealing with the conflict between elite

and "average" people (inspired by an article on

Henry Rollins):

a sample page from a section on quotes (I used

found typography to replace two of the words in

the quote):

a random spread:

kramerbooks and afterwords cafe

subject: Kramer Books and Afterwords Cafe
materials: pen, pencil, gouache, found items, and torn paper on newsprint



[return to main "journal art" page]

coffee and seattle

subject: coffee and Seattle, WA
materials: pen, pencil, and espresso on paper



[return to main "journal art" page]

journal art

Simply put, I am inspired by the ability to record a subject or event on paper, in a book, with as much interpretation as humanly possible. But each time my journal is opened, my pen does not begin with an interpretation of form or a study in gesture; it all starts with writing, with words, simple typographic forms, and builds from there. My journal art: an extension of writing that includes more visually expressive elements.

So what qualifies as “journal art”? I use three criteria to make that decision:

-it must be done in a “spread” format; that is to say, there must be some reference to binding and facing pages.
-it must use at least two artistic disciplines, one of which must be writing.
-it must be made by hand (the only exceptions being the inclusion of found objects or photography)

(note: one piece that I’ve included, “Kramer Books”, does not meet the first criteria; I’ve still included the piece since it retains a lot of qualities that I enjoy about journals; just until I finish new work.)

Although fine art, these ideas and treatments are just another form of writing, in my mind. But being a trained visual artist, I cannot resist the temptation to draw or paint in some way; I figure, why not merge my interests in a way that makes sense.

{I'd also like to "draw" prose and poetry; no major illustrative elements, just hand-drawn letters, sentences, etc that convey the subject in a manner other than printed or digital type. I may also look into letters through photography, which has a whole other set of possibilities associated with it.}

So enjoy my off-the-cuff handmade narratives; new work will be posted soon!"

the "journal pages":

-coffee and Seattle
-kramer books

...more work coming soon...