Choose hope

 

Again, this is from my 'in-between' journal, which is A5 size and done with neocolor 2s. You can see that I was starting to get into my stride with the different medium and managing to layer up a bit. Marks are creeping in and it feels more 'me'. 

"If we don't make an active decision to choose hope, our default will always be fear." Stacey Morgan. I just loved this quote - it's a great reminder that fear can and will take over if we let it. So that dream you have? Go for it! Better to try and decide it's not for you than not to try at all. It isn't a failure if you learn something from it, even if that 'something' is that you don't like waterskiing/ceramics/whatever it was you wanted to try. Now you won't take up any more time wondering about it. That's a win, right?

Perspective and distance

 

While I'm working on new pages in my journal (yay!) I'll share a few of the things I did in the period of waiting for our stuff to arrive from the UK.

When I first cut out these circles, I didn't really think about the fact that my 'in-between' journal was only half the size of my usual ones. When I stuck them on to the page I was struck by the difference in magnitude. Either the one on the left was enormous, or was very much in the foreground. Which of course made me think about distance and perspective.

A lot of the time when we encounter a problem for the first time it feels enormous. We are up close to it and it blots out the sun. It's difficult to know how to tackle it and we just feel defeated. That's why sleeping on things can bring a whole new perspective. You've given it a little bit of distance and now it comes into better focus at a size that you can start to tackle. 

So maybe that impossible problem is not so impossible at all. Maybe it's just a question of distance and perspective.

It's been a long time...

 

Well, we lived out of suitcases for 13 weeks (count 'em... 13! That's a quarter of a year) and now our stuff has arrived, my computer has been updated and so has my browser, and I can use this blog again. Hurrah!

Being without all my supplies for so long forced me into working differently. I had no acrylics, only neocolor 2s. At first all my pages were ugly as I learned that layering up with watercolours just doesn't work, even when you add in felt-tips and a bit of writing. This meant my pages ended up looking 'cleaner' as they had more white space. I had to think more carefully about colours as once they were on the page, there wasn't much I could do to change them save for cover over them completely. It's only in the last week or so that I've felt that I've hit my stride. Typical! Now I'll have to relearn how to use acrylics, but you can bet I'm looking forward to that :)

Anyway, I'll post new stuff as I make it, and maybe a few of the things I've done over the last few months so you can see how a change and limitation of medium can really change how you work.

Have a lovely weekend!

New blog!

Hi there.

Thank you for visiting. As you can see from yesterday's post, this blog has suddenly rejected my photos. So I've set up a new blog. It's been a pain, not as intuitive as I found Blogger many years ago when I started this blog, but needs must. You can now find me at: https://sojournertracy.wordpress.com
Please be patient as I set up the new blog. There's a post there now, but some things are still being worked out. The journalling continues and I shall master the new blog in the end.

Look forward to seeing you in my new space.

Tracy

Normal programming may be resumed shortly

Hi there.

Blogger is messing me about with posting photos. Suddenly my jpegs won't upload. Tried for a couple of days and no joy. It seems to be a problem other people are facing with no easy fix. So I'm looking to build a new blog. Details will be posted when it's ready.

Take care, everyone, and stay safe.

Tracy

100 day project days 41-45

Approaching the middle of this challenge now and it feels like a bit of a slog. I'm sure it'll pick up again, but for now it's a bit of a rollercoaster, but then so is life at the moment. I'm sure that when I reach the end of this challenge and look at all the pieces together I'll learn something about my style (I like circles, this I already know 😊) and palette, although with these smaller pieces I don't feel like I'm using colour in the same way as I do in my usual journals. These pieces feel pared back, which is not a bad thing. It's just different. Much like life in these times.

Not all sunflowers

We're not all made to be sunflowers.

Standing back from this page, it looked like there were large flowers looming over the smaller leafy plants. Sometimes we can feel insignificant. As if we're not enough. As if what others do is more important. But we're not all made to be sunflowers. And how boring would it be if we were all the same? A field of sunflowers is a beautiful sight, but so is a meadow full of wildflowers, all different heights and colours and shapes.

You might not be a sunflower. But whatever you are, you are beautiful and necessary.

Don't stand so close

Don't stand so close to me!

When I stood back from this page to decide where it was going, I noticed that all of the 'twin' elements were apart - the two white circles, the two pieces of gelli-printed paper, the two patches of red, and the two patches of aqua. All of this social distancing is obviously seeping into my subconscious. So instead of adding some sort of focal feature, I left it as it was as a sign of the times we're living in.

100 days project - days 36-40

Five more days of this mammoth project. I find myself leaving more black space, enjoying cleaner lines, and doing more collage than I do on my A4 journal pages. Maybe the smaller substrate calls for cleaner lines. Who knows. I should be better at this smaller size by the time I reach the end of this challenge.

Doing the distancing dance

Doing the distancing dance.

I've moved left, so you should, too. No, your left, so we have more space between us. Are you crossing the road, or should I? I'll do it, 'cos I don't know what you're going to do and if I leave it too late we could get closer than two metres. Why can't that cyclist use a bell so I know they're right behind me, way too close and on the pavement even though the road is empty?

It can be a real adventure going for a morning walk these days.