I've recommitted to do a LOT more visual journaling. This is one of the projects I've taken on to keep me limber! I signed up for the Arthouse Coop Sketchbook project a couple of months ago. My theme is "The View From Up Here'. I have to say that I almost backed out because the themes didn't initially call to me. However, I decided that the challenge was to STRETCH my Imagination, so I jumped into it.
Link to the site: Sketchbook Project
The finished sketchbooks will be housed at the Brooklyn Library in New York City, and will travel to other venues. Quite exciting!
I started out in this sketchbook by turning to my dictionary and playing with each word in the theme. I collaged in copies of dictionary pages, wrote comments about the theme and even wrote a short poem.
On the left, you can see a piece of fabric that I just liked...nothing to do with the theme. I just needed to start out with some texture.
This next spread includes shots from a moving train. On the right hand page, I have a comment that reads: "From the train window, the horizon is clear, sharp. It's only the near distance that passes in a blur."
Next spread--I collaged in a monoprint --acrylic paint on glass and then monoprinted onto watercolor paper. One of the prints looked like mountains and forests from an airplane (left hand page). I made a note that this is an 'interior landscape'--one visible only in my/your imagination. I love this type of monoprinting. The right hand page is also a monoprint, but the paper was crinkled quite a bit. More texture.
I'll post more in a couple of weeks.