2013 – 05 The Artists Journal

One of the journals i kept.

Setting the scene… I’ll begin with the journal.

“I met a little man today, who told me not to worry. He said that things will slowly change… except for those in a hurry.”

This was my first journal, at least the first one I actually filled with thoughts. I had one that was filled with sketches that was the 8×10 size as well.

I found I would write thoughts, observations, questions, poems, etc.  all the time on napkins, old envelopes, parking stubs…

anything that was around when I needed to write if I forgot to bring the journal with me. I would date each one and if I was on a roll I would also time stamp them… ha ha oye!

Then…

When I got home I had a rule to read the journal from the beginning before I added any new thoughts. To this day I’ve memorized so many of the poems and such that were written. They are good memories. They kept me sane then as they and my art do now.

There are pages where there might only be one word… or pages that ramble on and on if I was having a mind fit of not being able to connect, to see a new perspective. There is even a bunch of pages I section off so I don’t read them anymore… when life was a bit tougher. The journal writing went on for a good 15 years (1978 – early 1990s), several journals and lots of legal pads and loose papers still hanging around as the need became less and less to force me to see how/who I was.

Mid-way was about the time I started really getting into my drawings and adding color and starting to do the outdoor shows in the parks, talking about my art to people who’d buy from me. My need grew into the creation of the art as my vehicle to see me and as I named the images my writing connected it all.

My life was my words
and when I grew into them
the need to be seen

TIP: (please note, each post will have a tip about being an artist or making art) I found that when I first started writing in the journal it was all the bad stuff, the negative and unhappy things. I don’t remember how many I tore up before I started this one. And I forced myself to start it with a positive thought. The difference is made in the changing of perspective… if you write the negative, you be the negative. So my tip is to write the positive, the question, the observation.

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Karrie Ross is a California Fine Artist who writes about the fine art business and process. She is available for educational panel discussions on her fine art and process and/or interactive workshops where you can explore your artist-within.  Her artwork is available for solo or group show, installations and public art opportunities. Please contact her at email for more information. AND you can have these updates sent to your email, join the mailing list here.