Hi Guys!
During my two days in Burlington, I stopped into a large communal gathering spot to get a coffee, and I noticed beautiful poems, written by teenagers, encircling the room. They were collected through an organization called "The Young Writers Project" founded by Geoffrey Gevalt. I attached two links. The first one is to a beautiful short memoir written on Thanksgiving day 1995, by Geoffrey, about his daughter, Lily. It takes a minute to upload so be patient. I highly recommend you to watch it, and the second is the link to an overview of The Young Writers Project. Enjoy.
Envelopes and the mysteries of all the possibilites of what the letters inside could be seems to be a recent theme. Some of us attached envelopes to the inside of our journals. Others decorated envelopes with drawings and pretty stamps to be mailed off to someone they love. I have The Griffin & Sabine Trilogy a beautiful series of stories told through decorated letters and postcards that I will show you next week.
Elizabeth brought me a lovely book called The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer. Thank-you Elizabeth!
I'll share a line from it which is perhaps why we all get together:
" Sitting still is a way of falling in love with the world and everything in it; Going nowhere as a way of cutting through the noise and finding fresh time and energy to share with others."
I showed a short video that gave a crosshatching demonstration, and will have a handout on that for next week. I am panning on showing a watercolor video next week because I know many of you are interested in doing more of that. The Handbook Journal Company makes a wonderful watercolor journal that comes in a few different sizes for those of you who want to focus on doing watercolors.
Below are two quotes from Kim's journal entries about drawing and beginners, both applicable to our sketchbook journaling gatherings:
"Day after day.
Never fail to draw something
Which, however little it may be,
Will yet in the end be much,
And do thy best." - written in 1340
"To bring possibilities into your life, unfold the beginners mind in all situations. In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, but in the experts mind there are few." - Roshi
I discovered an illustrator named Jess Polanshek, owner of a small illustration business called Polanshek of the Hills Illustration. Check them out. I purchased a book of hers called The Quilted Forest and decorated an envelope for my mom for mothers day with some of her illustrations. They combine pen and ink and patterns and nature and lovely colors. I attched a photo of my envelope which I am now off to mail.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
xox Barb