This is sadly coming quite a bit belated, but I want to thank all those who are buying and continue to buy my journals. It has been such a surprise that there are those that still see the worth in analog writing. I really don’t take for granted any sale I make, it is truly beautiful.
One type of journal that I don’t make too often, but attracts a lot of attention, is the concertina, or accordion. It makes a big splash. It looks like a plain book, just two covers on top of one another, until you open it: and there you have this one long page spread out in front of you. Expect some some oohs and aahhs 😉 It also looks quite fancy and dramatic with its panoramic view. In some ways it’s easy to fill, and others it’s challenging. A more conventional journal with regular sewn signatures allows you to create something new with just the turn of the page. But with a concertina, flow becomes more of a consideration. I’ve already started the book, but I feel stuck mainly because of the issue of flow.
Like I stated above, the subject of the feminine, and also domesticity, the frenetic energy of the city, and large dose of humor, play a large part in my art. It’s simply who I am and the experiences that have shaped me.
I have a few ideas knocking around in my head, when I make up my mind, I’ll bring you along on the journey, and you’ll get to see real time progress in a journal!
I do allow my mind to wander during an art session. And what I’ve been thinking lately is how a large part of my personal experience involved being with my maternal grandparents, and by extension, people of their age group. If they were alive, they’d be well over one hundred years old. While there are many many lessons I took away from my time with them, one of the most important was witnessing how they handled hurt and disappointment. There was a steely and stoic manner that they exercised. Because I spent so much time with them when I was very young, I was apart of the day to day workings of their lives, so I witnessed the beauty and the stress. And when I say hurt, it would come from friends, family, the outside world, and they would still have a similar reaction. They would smile, and I would see them sort of weigh what’s in front of them, what has been discovered, or uncovered, and they would make it a point of moving forward for their best interests. This didn’t have anything to do with them being selfish, but rather coming to conclusion that many many things in this world are out of their control: whether someone loved them, whether someone agreed with them, whether someone respects them or even liked them. They took the stance where they weighed who was in front of them and how much their thoughts impacted their lives. And again, the overall conclusion was “I have no control over you, but I certainly have control over myself.” I realized as I got older was how very difficult that was, to be so stoic and pensive, and not to mention so measured. Now of course I was seeing these reactions as they were much older, so I don’t know what their lives were like when they were much younger, certainly not on a personal level, so it’s very possible that age has tempered their feelings. But does it really matter? What really matters are the lessons to be learned in the here and now, and the, in my opinion, maturity that occurs as a result. Truly not worrying about what others think, and concentrating on what I can truly control, plus weigh the ideas that are in front of me, puts me in the best position for me. People around me can weaponize all their ideas, hatred, and slights all they want, but at the end of the day, it’s me who has to live with me. So I smile, wonder how something impacts my life, and then move forward from there.
I can certainly thank the wisdom of my elders for giving me the tools towards maturity. I’m still working on it, but it’s well worth it!
And thank you for stopping by!
Jos