Above: One of my journal cards for the MCBA Visual Journal Collective’s Journal Card Exchange Project. This card was on Kathleen's paper, approx. 5 x 7 inches, a printmaking paper of some sort (part of the fun is you might not recognize all the papers you get in). Kathleen's theme was maps of your life (I don't recall the exact wording, but that's how I interpreted it.) I created a walking route map to my favorite neighborhood restaurant with some collage items, and some rubberstamping (a drawing I did of a fortune cookie which was made into a rubber stamp). Click on the image to view an enlargement.
Yesterday’s post on unbound journals left off one key advantage to this method of journaling: easy collaborative projects. That’s right, if you work on journal cards it’s easy to swap your work with other journal artists.
Several members of the MCBA Visual Journal Collective are taking part in one such exchange right now. Member Kathleen came up with the current exchange. Each member of the exchange was asked to prepare 8 to 10 cards for their journal—using a paper of her choice. Each card was inserted into an envelope for protection (and for posting if the member wasn’t able to attend a meeting). Guidelines were also packaged with the cards. Each group member set parameters for collage, inclusion, and other media restrictions. The back of each card also had the “owner’s” information on it so it could be returned. Theme was also listed. Participants were asked to sign the back of each card they completed and list art materials that they used.
At the end of one of the Collective meetings participants gathered to exchange cards. We divided into two groups: one group that would work quickly and one group would work at a leisurely pace. There ended up being 6 members in each group. Everyone in each group went home with a selection of cards from their group members. Once completed they will return those cards to the originator. Each member of the group will have a selection of journal entries, on cards she supplied to the group, to bind as she desires. Each group has its own deadline. I’m in the “leisure group” and we also have plans to get together and return our cards over CAKE in December. (We’ve invited the other group to join us.)
Right: Pam also handed out cards that were about 5 x 7 inches. It was a stiff white cardstock and I wasn't sure how it would take various media. I happened to look around the studio and suddenly saw lots of materials that would fit her theme: Relics of the Past. I included a print of Dottie (made in the past); a scrap of snakesking given to me by a fellow bookbinder for a bookbinding project, and various scraps of paper from other past projects (including a foiled paper at the bottom). There is a bit of netting over the Dottie portion of the card. I glued the edges down lightly and let things dry under weight over night and then used the sewing machine to sew through everything.
While greater numbers of participants are of course more fun, several Collective members are still participating in the Altered Book Journal Round Robin and were concerned about early deadlines. Dividing into subgroups seemed the best solution.
If you enjoy collaborative projects but are not near a book arts group like the MCBA Visual Journal Collective you can still start your own exchange project in the mail. Years ago, when I was very involved with mail art, I participated in projects like this all the time. Send out information to prospective participants mentioning your deadlines and other particulars. Get together a mailing list so that everyone can send each person a card to work on. Many people prefer this to a bound journal exchange because all participants work on their art at the same time (and are not waiting for the arrival of a book). Also if something gets lost in the mail it’s not the entire journal.
Left: Clare's theme was "100 years Ago." I didn't know quite what to make of that. I like to collect old bone buttons (from 100 years ago…) and that's
where this card started. The metal and papers all grew from there. Also I had been tidying up the studio and found all sorts of bits of stuff to put away, including painted strips of foam—one of which I knotted with waxed linen at the bottom of the card (which is about 4 x 6 if I remember correctly). The button was sewn with wax linen onto the foil and a square of paper so that it could be glued onto the card, rather than sewn through the card—where the originator's label was! The text is from an old 1930s Sears catalog and the underwear rubberstamp is from 100 Proof Press. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
As a participant you get to challenge yourself to work on the cards of others: to the size, format, and backgrounds that may or may not be on a card. Such experiences are always a good way to stretch. You also need to work to the requested theme, which may prove the most difficult part of the challenge as interests vary widely. Again, it’s about stretching.
Above: Janice's card was the easiest for me to work on. She provided a 7 x 11 inch or so sheet of Arches cold press watercolor paper. Her theme was "Do What You Like." I went over to the Bell Museum where I sketch frequently and did a journal entry on her sheet. I sketched with a Staedtler Pigment Liner (which I could make skip across the cold press surface for lightweight lines) and Daniel Smith watercolors, applied with a Niji waterbrush. I think Janice will enjoy this card because she has been sketching with me at the Bell. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
Another fun aspect of such exchanges is that you get exposed to papers you may not use in your regular journal work. I don't like to use Arches watercolor paper because when you fold it, even with the grain, to bind into books, it cracks. However, working on Janice's card, which was a piece of Arches watercolor paper, I remembered how much I missed the smell of the sizing when the wet paint moved across the paper. Since I paint on a lot of non-watercolor papers I also remembered how fun it was to work with the real deal, with sizing that helped control the washes. I'll probably get out some sheets of Arches watercolor paper now, just to make some paintings.
Of course, the best aspect of such an exchange is that you will end up with work from all the participants. When the exchange is over I'll have 6 small cards with artwork on them by other artists, and I'll make a small packet to enclose them. I'm looking forward to getting the pieces back. In the meantime I have to complete one of my own cards (I handed out 4 x 3.25 inch pieces of prepainted 300 lb. hot press watercolor paper which had also been stamped randomly with text and shape rubber stamps) and I have one more "card" to do for another artist. Margaret handed out a folded sheet of Nideggen (one of my favorite papers to work on). She'll be binding them up like signatures I think. The thing is it's four surfaces to fill, a story to tell; and a rather tough theme, something about "your perfect garden." EEK EEK I don't have a dream of a perfect garden. How do you depict "silence" (or rather the absence of traffic noise) or bird song? For now I have only the inside to finish. I know I'll make the December deadline.
RIght: My guidelines for my journal cards. I specified all sorts of media that "could not" be used because of my allergies. Collage depth constraints are something else to specify, particularly if you have already designed a binding for your cards. (I recommend that you wait until you get all your cards back from an exchange before you design your binding because something created by another artist might take you in an unexpected direction, or throw your plans into confusion: both good things.) Click on the image to view an enlargement.
I hope you'll think about starting an exchange yourself. It's an easy way to come up with reasons to practice making portfolios for your unbound journals!
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