backwards & forwards

in the last year or so my visual journaling practice and my visual journal itself has changed.  somewhere along the way it went from being a book of completed collages.  each page a finished individual session.  well it went from that to...to...i don't know what.

gradually i stopped wanting or needing to write journal type entries.  now it feels more like a place to work out ideas.  maybe i want to draw some gemstones.

maybe i have a hankering to draw some chevron patterns.

maybe i want to make some maps or giant letters.

and maybe none of it has to be unified on one page like i needed it to be before.

i drift back and forth between my sketchbook and my visual journal.   this is okay with me.  i don't mean to imply i am bothered by the change.  i'm just noting it.  musing about the flow of the creative river.

and where's it's taking me.

and now...maybe i'll go draw some chicken pot pie.  yeah.  i think i'll do that!

Comments

[connie rose]

Wherever you go, we're here with you on the journey!

[{tinniegirl}]

Yes, I've noticed your evolution. I took your Stenciling class many years ago and was thinking how much your style has changed since then. You are a great creative inspiration though. You bring such a sense of play to creating - no rules, no stress - just lots and lots of fun. I'm working through FTB at the moment and absolutely loving it too.

[kristi shreenan]

PROMISE you'll draw that chicken pot pie?! I would love to see your linear version b/c your "recipe in the head" version looked and sounded delightful. I am so into all that you are drawing lately. I am about to leap into Letter Land...the temptation is too intense.

[Susie LaFond]

I enjoy your journal pages no matter what you do to them. As your page pops up I'm sitting excited to see what you've shared spring from the screen, it's kind of like opening up Christmas presents...always a surprise. I think everyone has their own ebb and flow when it comes to creativity; your journal, your stage and you get to do whatever you want on it, I'll be right here in the front row applauding and enjoying every second. ;)

[Vanessa]

The process is the thing. The meaning doesn't always have to be explicit. I love following the meanders of you mind and pens/paintbrushes. LOVE the chevron.

[Brian Kasstle]

Tell me when & I'll be right over for Chicken pot pie! I love me some Chicken pot pie & me some Mary Ann!

[Cynthia]

I was talking about chevrons just last night (the driving kind, not the drawing kind) and now here they are in your journal - love them!!

[Saguaro Chick]

Isn't art journaling a fabulous part of life....it is that one place where change and evolving feels sooooo good....a daily mystery of never knowing where you are going to end up.....

[violet cadburry]

Chevrons -- means you are going to meet a mysterious stranger, who gives you a Square package, you don't open it right away because it just looks like a parcel of free samples of icky health supplements and put it in the cupboard, one day you are feeling kinda Twirly Spiral, so you open it and find several large Diamonds, you are so amazed that Question Marks jump from your head, you rush to your visual journal and paint Stars, while outside the sky is lit with Fireworks. Then you drink a Vase of Sunbursts and pass out on a Floating Cloud. Such fun traveling with you Mary Ann:)

[annie!]

I'm still thinking about that chicken pot pie myself. Especially the part with the mashed potatos.

[Vicki]

I am curious about your beautiful lettering. Are they your own design? I love that you have a sketch book and a visual journal. Mine seem to drift together and then I discover that I am using random bits because they were convenient. Obviously I need some discipline!

[Mary Ann Moss]

vicki the letters come from various vintage typography books. sometimes i change them slightly. sometimes a lot!

[SusanS]

So all the residual chicken pot pie comments should be informing you about the art retreat you're planning while you piddle in your journal: We will play more nicely with mashed potatoes in our bellies.

[kadee]

i know journalist that take photos of what they eat each day... now that's an interesting thought! And I love your chevron patterns! That design is a new interest for me. I find it intriguing and retro and before this I would never had put the two words together. See? It just takes seeing something new long enough and then the appreciation sets in!

[Tina]

I love how you make those giant letters - do you draw them from a book or just out of your mind?
I hope you don´t mind me asking :-)
Also love the patterns and all the bright colors - yummi

[Tricia @ Daring Hue]

I love your chevrons! I also love the image from the side where you can see all of the colorful edges of the other pages. I recently discovered your blog, and I'm loving your journal pages.

Take care,
Tricia