18 November 2013 Journal Pages

I know that the video, "Soul's Kitchen: Making Journals with Paulus Berensohn" has been making the rounds in our art community the last few days. It is part of a larger documentary on the life of Paulus called, "To Spring From the Hand" which is due out sometime this year.

I loved and appreciated watching the video of Paulus as he taught by working alongside his students AS he was teaching. The students understand that teaching like this allows them to see the process as it unfolds in person than to just show pages and say, "Try this." It enables all of us to become part of a shared learning experience. 

Some favorite quotes from Paulus Berensohn:

"My feeling about the journal is that sensitive, progressive people are in danger of grief, of being atrophied by grief and fear and anxiety. So that the journal, I mean, I can literally say that I would not have survived the life that I've been given without this faithful companion in which I do rejoice and in which I do suffer, work on myself and sit at the table with the suffering. So the journal has that kind of function. It's sitting at table with the questions we carry."

 "...the journal keeping consciousness is in your life."

 “It’s not a way of making a living, it’s a way of making a life.”

I'm letting his words and actions sink in as I start to prep for my own workshops this weekend at The Art Bar, next weekend in No CA at Maria's Studio in Fremont and the following weekend at Frenzy Stamper in AZ. Yes, I am a busy bee but I am grateful to be  able to do what makes my heart so full. Thank you for being a part of my journey.