Guest Author - Vivienne Oestergaard
We’re going to start work on an ongoing project on altered journals. I’ll give you the framework for each part of it and you do the creative part of it!!! This will be a good start for the new year coming as a way to record your artistic/crafting growth. For this week, you will have to select your journal base and your theme.
What should your art be encased on. A ringbinder? A plain notebook? Journal with coils? A recycled hardback book? A ringbinder works great in that you can make your pages separately and then insert them into the binder. You can even put them into plastic inserts for protection. This almost feels like a photo album. And the covers can be easily decorated to suit your personality. A plain composition notebook is also simple and easy to purchase and if you plan on doing more, the size is pretty uniform. A notebook with coils works great also but you will have to take the coils into consideration when you are creating. I love the idea of recycling an old hardback book. The cover is durable and of course, you can alter it. The pages are unique and if you get a really old book, the fonts on the page itself can be an interesting element in your art. I have an old sewing guidebook that I purchased for this purpose. I am, at heart, a lover of paper and fabrics. I tend to do a lot of sewing also and so when I saw this book, I thought it might look great as my journal. It has these lovely diagrams in it and the font is fun. The best thing about old books, is that you don’t have to pay a lot of money for it and therefore, if it doesn’t work out, you haven’t lost a lot. You can cut it, trim it, paste into it without remorse as to the cost. You may want to purchase two of them. One trial book to test new methods on and one in which you do your actual journal on!
Another type of book you can purchase is a blank book. They are readily available in stationary stores and book stores. These are plain and can have lined paper or blank paper in it. You can find them in assorted sizes. Think about the binding of any type of book you purchase. You will need a book with a durable type of binding as you will be altering the pages and the edges will get handled.
Think also on the size of the book. You might be inserting and adhering ephemera into your pages and therefore the book will get thicker in size.
Themewise, think on what you want to compose your pages with. Will it be a book on yourself? Will it be a book about your everyday life? Will it be a book on you in the past? Will it be a book on your family’s history? Is this book about your creative journey? Or on your journey of recovery? These are things you may want to consider prior to starting a journal. This may effect your choice of journal and ephemera. Pinpointing your theme may help you to make the book more cohesive and thematic. But then again, you may want to just journal your development as a person or as an artist and just do what strikes your fancy! It doesn’t matter as it’s a personal choice as is the bits and pieces in it is for you to enjoy. You may not even want to share the book with anyone. In the end, it’s your journey, it’s your art.
