An Oldie...
and a Newie:
My friend, Suzanne in IL, pointed out that I had never mentioned one of my most favorite books about journals, Drawing from Life by Jennifer New, on this blog. Hmm..that has me thinking that maybe I need to do a "favorite book" list some time soon.
Some of you may recognize Jennifer New's name from having written Dan Eldon: The Art of Life (which is another of my treasured favorite books). If you don't have either of the books, rush right out to your local bookstore and look them up! They've both been around for awhile so you should be able to find them at a decent (reduced) price somewhere. (Check your local Mom & Pop used bookstore).
I'm a voyeur when it comes to art-art journals, art books, art in general. I love to peek. I love to grope. I love to fawn over the pages. I am a fanatic when I see something that features Art Journals. I remember how eager I was for Jennifer's book to come out (just like now I am stalking Chronicle to release the 1000 journals project-I have mine on order from Chronicle. I am so tired of seeing "processing" in the line. I want to see the word: shipped. I Have NO patience when it comes to books and release dates. B.S. I want mine *now*. Case in point: the latest Cloth Paper Scissors March/April. I'm in it. I don't have it-yet. Everyone else darn well seems to. ARGH.).
Back to Jennifer's book, it did NOT disappoint. I can't tell you how many times I have flipped through it's pages. I can't pick a favorite artist but I can tell you that I did do more research to find out more about some of the artists' work in this book.
I'm big on sharing my journals. I put myself out there for all to see. You guys know that. When people tell me I shouldn't talk about something, I go completely in the opposite direction and start yabbering about it. What you see is truly what you get. I love raw, honest, journal pages...not pages done for the sake of "making art" but for the sake of being me, for the sake of you being you, for the sake of the artist expressing himself/herself/themselves in some way and unraveling themselves on the page.
I love Jennifer's book for so many reasons but mostly, because it's real. It's different artists, different people, different perspectives. It's people opening up and putting themselves out onto paper for all to see. It's truth. It's life. It's fricking amazing.
I'm off now to recheck Chronicle Books' home page for the zillionth time and see if the magic word: shipped, is there yet. If anyone has any pull at Chronicle and wants to pop the book for me in the mail, my CC has been charged already. And yes, (but don't tell my husband, please) I did pay for 2nd day air shipping via UPS. I considered overnighting it but it cost almost as much as the book did and I'm not *that* crazy. Yet.
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