Someone on Reddit was trying to figure out how to use a Moleskine notebook for multimedia art journaling. The overwhelming advice was “Don’t.” Several people recommended hand-binding their own books, which is easy and very satisfying. But you can also use cheap composition notebooks, and Strathmore makes some really nice multimedia coil-bound journals. One benefit to coil-bound notebooks is that there’s less chance you’ll overfill the notebook and stress or break the binding. I know people love a nice, fat journal. It’s not a good idea to add a lot of bulk to them, though. I’ve overfilled a few, but I’ve learned strike a balance. Most of mine, whether I bound them or bought them, lie fairly flat.
I cut that little piece of text out, intending to use it in one of the collage poems. And then I lost it. Which meant I had to go back through the entire book to find those two words AGAIN. And then this afternoon I found it, under the dining room table. I have no idea how it got there, but I felt like I’d better use it while I still had it in my hands.
I finished the poem and painting part of this months ago, but didn’t like where the collage was going, so I got stuck. It’s been sitting on my coffee table since, um, January. Oops!
collage (leaf, yearbook photo, ribbon, coin, buttons, map legend, and raffle ticket) with watersoluble crayon and found poem in altered book
9 3/8 x 11 3/4 inches
The Story
(a found poem)
The story was a riddle
pointing to a shimmering surface
to hidden depths
to inner experience.
The story
neither sought nor found
like a melody continually improvised
full of blasphemy
for many generations venerated
should not be read simply.
The story
found in the garden
between the infinite and finite
above the abyss that separates
the failed and perfection
depends upon the divine
hidden deep within
as well as outside.
I promised art a couple of days ago, but obviously, I lied. And by the time I finished last night, it was way past my bedtime.
This one has another packing tape transfer (a phrenology model), but it’s even fainter than the last one I did. I like the way it turned out. Tape transfers are kind of hit-and-miss for me. Often, the image pulls completely away from the tape, no matter how careful I am or how well I burnish. Some folks recommend soaking the taped image for a few minutes, but that makes the problem even worse. I’ve settled on taping, burnishing the hell out of it, then using a baby wipe to remove the paper from the tape. I haven’t had 100% success with doing it that way, but close to that.
This is a totally adorable demo for making tape transfers. I love that it’s a young boy doing it. He uses clear contact paper, instead of packing tape, but the technique is the same.
collage (altered Polaroid, anatomical illustration, packing tape transfer, and fragment from antique curtain) with watercolor pencil, watersoluble crayon, and found poem in altered book
9 3/8 x 11 3/4 inches
The Automatons
(a found poem)
More valuable than anything else,
his own desire for becoming.
The work and the excellence,
The common instincts of humanity
regarded as the highest virtue
And in the duties of tradition and custom
A convert denied
that destiny ruled his life,
Rejected demands and expectations
To devote himself
to the obstacles that were within him.
collage with Portfolio watersoluble crayon and found poem in altered book
9 3/8 x 11 3/4 inches
The Witnesses
When they die
you call them gods
made and placed in shrines.
Hoping to convince the uninterrupted generations,
defiance was the response;
The terrible choice between denying
and the claim that these could catch fire
Among the disaffected and the restless
who had inspired with the idea
who had dared a stubborn dissident
who had refused to obey
And took for granted the sacrifice and submission.
red paper boat 