Chia's House of Stirfry » Visual Chronicles

Visual Journal 8

Chia — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:07:51 +0000

This chapter talks about bringing the people you know into your journaling. Everything from inspiration to artwork is talked about. This makes total sense to me. Your life is not complete without the people who pass through it. They give it interest and energy, How could your journal be complete without them? There are lots and lots of examples here to inspire you.

That’s it, we’ve made it through the entire book. I hope I’ve given you enough comment to peak your interest in the book. It is really a great book for finding your path into your own art world. Whether you buy it or borrow it, I think you will be glad that you read it.

Visual Journal 7

Chia — Mon, 21 May 2007 02:56:49 +0000

This chapter is titled, “Nothing Happens In My Life”. If you don’t read any other part of the book you should read this chapter. It tells you to stop and really look at your life. It shows you how all your “nothings” are “somethings”. That cup of coffee you are drinking while you read this… mmmmm warm and rich, your day just wouldn’t be started without it. The impromptu lunch you had with friends and the laughter and happiness it filled you with. The familiar feel of leather when you grab your favorite hand bag to rush out the door. Your morning search to find where you set down your glasses and keys last night. The jar of jelly you dropped on the floor. All these things are the events of your life. Your life wouldn’t be the same without them. The good, the bad, the run of the mill events. They are all somethings.

Visual Journal 6

Chia — Fri, 11 May 2007 04:40:51 +0000

Time for another chapter in the Visual Chronicles book. This time it tackles the question, What is ephemera??? I love the line, “Ladies, look in your purse.” LOL, no telling what is lurking in there under the wallet and tic-tacs. The book gives us several suggestions of things to save and shows some samples of journals made with ephemera. Just what I need… another reason to be a pack rat! There is a cute journal page made with the slips of paper from fortune cookies. Ah, so that is why I’ve been saving them…

Alright, this week I’ll make a point of keeping alert for ephemera. Here is a challenge for you.. go look in your purse or pockets and see if you can find something in there, then tell us what you found. I just looked in my purse and this is what I found: 2 old receipts and a shopping list.

Visual Journal 5

Chia — Sat, 05 May 2007 21:44:22 +0000

I got a little sidetracked from my copy of Visual Chronicles. I’m back on track now and this weeks lesson is all about drawing. Pretty much the book says, ‘so what if you can’t draw… do something else!’ That’s a good lesson. Don’t waste time fretting about what you can do, just go around that and do something else. Let colors or basic shapes create your imagery. Better yet, just use photos or magazine clippings. Don’t let your limited drawing skills limit your creative expression.

Visual Journal 4

Chia — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 05:48:55 +0000

The lesson in this chapter is how to get in touch with the artist inside you. No longer will you be able to say that you simply aren’t artistic. I like their tactic of telling people that if you can sign your name, you can be artistic. It really is that simple and I wish more people would learn to let go and let the art flow. For everyone who hasn’t found the faith to just let go, the book spends a little time teaching you about the ‘rule of thirds.’ It’s a nice little safety net that we can fall back on when we aren’t quite sure where to place elements in our work. I still say you should forget the ‘rule’ and let go… your eye will usually guide you to the ‘rule of thirds’ on its own so why spend time fussing about it?

I know that I will never be a Monet or Picasso and I am OK with that. Their talent isn’t mine and never will be. That’s OK because I have my own talent. It isn’t like their’s and it isn’t like your’s. It’s all mine and I can do whatever I want with it. That’s my favorite part about art, there really are no rules saying that we all have to be the same or follow the same steps. Relax and let yourself have fun. Sometimes the “art” is in the act as much as in the result. Hmmmmm… maybe this is why sometimes I’m having so much fun that I don’t know when to stop and end up with a ‘mess’. LOL Even a mess can be considered a good result… “messes” are great when cut up into small bits to be added to other projects.

Just for the sake of the book I’ll spend this week giving a bit more thought to the ‘rule of thirds’ and seeing how often I fall back on that. I think I’ll also dig through my pile and see if I can’t find a few of my messes to cut up and give new life to.

Visual Journal 2

Chia — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 01:52:56 +0000

I’ve just finished reading the second section in the book. It deals with creating colored backgrounds, adding lettering to your pages and coloring photos. There is also some inspiration for keeping a feeling flowing within your page.

This entire book is designed to help you get over your fears of starting your own artist journal and to show you some short cuts along the way. I’m making a point not to read ahead so that I can really take in each of the lessons. I’ll be back at the end of next week to let you know what I’ve done with these lessons.

BTW, I’m barely into this book and already I think it is worth every penny I paid for it.

The Color Of My Life

Chia — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 22:40:47 +0000

This isn’t exactly like the suggestions in the book (Visual Chronicles by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino) but then I seldom follow the rules.

I think of life as an adventure we are on. I’m not sure who the tour guide is because sometimes I feel like I’m just along for the ride and other times I am the navigator. Either way, it’s a wonderful journey.

For my ‘emotion’ color cards I decided to draw some buildings to serve as the scenery of my life. I drew them with a Pigma Micron pen from Sakura on a piece of white cardstock. Then, one by one, I assigned a feeling to each building, closed my eyes and tried to imagine what colors I associated with that feeling. Then I used watercolor crayons and pencils to color them in. I noticed that yellow plays a big role in my life. Sunshine…warmth…joy!

Life just wouldn’t be the same without my girls. I’m glad to have them along for the ride with me. I made a tag for each of the people who are a part of my artistic adventure and who provide inspiration for me. On the tags I placed their face and an assortment of colors that I think of when I think of them. I added little handwritten comments and then piled them all into a car with me. For my colors I chose green, blue and yellow. After choosing them I realized why those colors spoke to me… they are the colors of the earth, sun and sky/water. I also added some color around my head. I thought I was adding all the “bright ideas” that seem to shoot out all over the place by my friends inform me that I was just making myself look like the Statue of Liberty! Whatever.

Close your eyes, think of yourself, your friends and your life. What colors do you see?

Visual Journal

Chia — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 01:36:50 +0000

I have a new book and a new project. I’ve recently bought Visual Chronicles by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino. This is a great book for helping you see the art in the world around you and for discovering the artist inside you. I’m going to be using it like a workbook and trying each of the techniques and projects described in it. The first section teaches you how to develop your own color pallet. What color are you? What color is your best friend, your best memory, your best emotion? I’ll be working on this off and on this week. This weekend I’ll post my results.

I’ve added a link in case you would like to order this book from Amazon for yourself.