Just what is it about Conventions anyways?

Joe Flanigan
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

Seriously this question was actually posed to me by Misha Collins in the autograph line at a Supernatural convention. I've been wanting to answer it and the selection of this particular photo will now help me to provide a better answer than I gave him that day. :)

First for a little aside:

Seriously I made a decision when I first started this blog that there would be limited fandom-y stuff contained in it, but my favorite photo for the week of November 1-7 over at Flickr is this one. In my defense: lets be real here for a moment... How can I have a blog focused solely on my own personal life and not include a single picture from a convention? It would be...in bad taste I suppose? And just why is that? Well because conventions are a bigger part of my life than some even realize.

And now onto the answer (or an attempted answer maybe?) to the above posed question...

For starters I've been going to conventions since 1997. Yes that means I've been going to conventions for over ten years now. Most of those years I've attended more than one convention. Why did I start? Well for one I wanted to meet actors and actresses of my favorite shows. I wanted to hear their stories. I've always wanted to hear their stories. I would love simply just to sit down with one of them and ask them about their life and their life experiences, about their travels, about what led them on their path to becoming an actor/actress and just simply to talk to them one human being to another. I find people fascinating and their life stories even more fascinating. I LOVE hearing about other people's lives and think it would be neat to hear about some of theirs.

What other reason would I want to attend these conventions and so many at that? Because of the fans...the eons of fans who for one whole weekend can feel at ease among tons of like minded individuals. You would not believe the diversity of people that attend these things. The age ranges are from infant all the way to eighty years old and beyond. I kid you not...and the fans of these shows? Well they are a mix of people from all over the globe, all walks of life... Some people fly thousands of miles just to spend a weekend attending one of these things, and most I believe have the times of their lives.

The lure for so many? Well I think a big one is that we all have the interest in common. We're all fans and this is the ONE place that we can all merge, blend and be fans. Here at a convention you won't get gawked at like you're weird. You don't have to keep quiet about being a fan, or feel odd when you say you've attended conventions in the past. You can enjoy your show and squee over it, chat until you're blue in the face about it and not worry or feel awkward. You can spend hours chatting about favorite episodes and no one will get bored. You can chat incessantly about fan fiction and all or most know EXACTLY what you're talking about.

Another positive? You get to meet so many people from all over the world. Now tell me where in the world are you ever going to get that? They are all there for the same reason. You can meet up with long time friends, make new friends, squee to your heart's content excited about how you just finished your photo op with this person or that. You can openly express how it felt to meet this person or that. You can dress up in costumes you made or others have made and parade around the whole weekend in them if you'd like... You can be absorbed by fandom-y stuff and no one would look at you cross... There's just so much that I can't really explain. You almost have to experience it for yourself.

So why do I attend so many conventions and for so many different shows? Originally it was just to meet the actors and actresses. Now it's to meet up with old friends, make new ones, listen to other people's stories of how they met this person or that, travel and see a place I might never have seen otherwise.

I like to go to conventions because they are fun and though a lot of actors/actresses I've seen repeatedly most of them are so interesting that I want to see them again and again. It's almost like a reunion of sorts. You start recognizing other fans and they start to recognize you. Some of the actors/actresses even become familiar with some of the fans... It's like a big friendly meet up of people who haven't seen each other in a year and are all coming together for a weekend of fun and excitement.

So now that I've at least attempted to answer the above posed question onto the next: why out of all the photos uploaded between November 1 and 7 to Flickr did I choose this one?

Mainly because I LOVE the way Joe's holding his head and the expression on his face. To me it says so much in a simple gesture and that's what makes this photo so special to me. :)

Holidays and Romantic Comedies

Flowers at the Garfield Conservatory
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

Every year around this time I get the urge to watch all those old smoochy romantic comedies. I don't know why, but it always happens. I guess I just want to give myself a good cry for the holidays or something. :)

I usually start with "Sleepless in Seattle" and then progress to "You've Got Mail", "While You Were Sleeping" and so on. I, there's something about the holidays that put me in the mood for a good cry and a warm fuzzy feeling when things work out at the end.

I'm not one for holidays. When I was a kid I LOVED Christmas. It was my favorite holiday of the year. My family would always have this routine we'd do every Christmas. My brother and I would get up WAY before my parents and rush downstairs oohing and ahhing at all the prettily wrapped packages under the Christmas tree. Usually we were visited by the cat or dog...they'd be quite content roaming around the gifts looking for hiding spots or racing to get that special little bone or toy my mom would get for them and place under the tree right beside our stockings. My brother and I would sit there and laugh and talk quietly digging through our stockings the whole time waiting anxiously for mom and dad to come downstairs and join us. Back then Christmas was special...through the years I guess with age it no longer seemed as fun to open all those Christmas gifts...that little warm fuzzy feeling you get when you open a gift trying to figure out what's inside kind of dulls with the years. I always blamed that on being older, more mature...growing up. Still Christmas was a fun time of the year but then it stopped being so fun. Why? Well I blame it totally on the commercialization of the holiday. The retailers and the higher ups made the holiday more about buying the most expensive gifts and less about spending time with family. What do I enjoy most about Christmas now? Spending time with my family...granted my parents no longer share the same home, but when I leave work on Christmas Eve I literally RACE to my mom's house to spend Christmas with her and her husband. It's a bonus if my brother is there...usually he leaves earlier though due to having his own little celebration, but I still love going over there and eating a meal, talking with my mom and Matt, exchanging gifts, hearing stories...and then on Christmas day I get to look forward to spending time with my dad. He makes a small meal, my brother will usually come up. We exchange a few gifts and talk a bit. I kinda, sort of get two Christmas' really and I get to spend it with those I love.

So while I no longer get overly excited about all the gifts I do get excited and am happy and glad I get to spend time with the people who mean the most to me. Sadly I don't spend as much time with them as I used to, but those times I do...I cherish every single one of them.

So bringing this chat back to the original topic at hand...why do I like to watch those old romantic comedies around the holidays? I think it's because they remind me of how lucky I am, of how there's still magic out there, that everything will work itself out. Most importantly those kinds of movies make me remember all the good times, all the sad times, all the wonderful memories and they remind me of just how lucky I am to have it all.

Okay so maybe I'm a romantic at heart, but in the end I think those movies make me remember and that is something I revel in. :)

Mungalli Falls

Mungalli Falls
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

The Mungalli Falls are in Queensland, Australia. They're on a trail/route/circuit commonly called "The Waterfall Circuit". Why's it called that? Well because it's a roundabout route that you can drive that takes you to various different waterfalls in the area of Atherton Tablelands. Some of the waterfalls on the circuit are relatively close to one another while others are quite a drive. When I heard about the waterfall circuit I planned to take a day just to drive around and see them.

I followed signs that directed you to each different set of waterfalls along the circuit and when I stumbled across these I turned onto a road that took me to a gravel parking lot. I looked around and didn't see any falls, but near the lot was a posted sign labeling the trail to the falls. Smiling I grabbed my camera and headed in that general direction. I meandered through some trees and grassy areas before coming to a set of almost spiral stone stairs leading downwards. As I descended them I could hear the rushing of water getting louder and louder. Once to the bottom of the steps I looked up and was awed by this particular sight. Beautiful waterfalls that roared with life and flowed into a meandering stream. I wanted to get a picture of the entire set of falls so carefully I eased onto some of the more slippery rocks to get both a closer look and a better view of the falls overall. I took several pictures of the falls and was amazed by their beauty.

Seeing these magnificent waterfalls in the heart of Queensland reminded me of how beautiful the whole area is. Someday I would love to return here but that may never be. At least I had a few weeks in "paradise" and a lifetime of memories to accompany me. Who could ever ask for more? :D

The choppy waters of Babinda Creek

The choppy waters of Babinda Creek
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

Okay so now I'm going to try that pic a week thing since I can't seem to stick to a pic a day. I decided to go back to the very beginning of my photostream at Flickr and pick out my favorite picture from the first week.

What is this image of you ask? Babinda Creek. Where is Babinda Creek you ask? Queensland, Australia. :)

In 2008 I took the trip of a lifetime. I spent months and months planning the vacation, went through many doubts and frustrations, did A LOT of research, made a lot of reservations and dished out a rather large sum of money to take the trip of a lifetime. In so doing I managed to meet at least FOUR of my life goals. :)

I have a list of life goals...I think most people do and I am sorely lacking in having met many of them. Well in 2008 I met four of them. I boarded a plane and traveled to the other side of the world to spend three weeks in beautiful Queensland. I had a blast!

This particular photo was taken the last week I was in Australia. I was staying at a lovely Bed and Breakfast on the outskirts of Cairns called Kooka's. While there I had asked for some ideas of where to go. One of the places I learned about on my many visits to the visitors centers all over this country was the Babinda Boulders. I was told it was something to be seen.

This creek is apparently responsible for many a death. There is also a tragic story about an Aboriginal girl who dove into the treacherous waters of this creek and killed herself when her fellow tribesmen attempted to drag her away from her one true love. Apparently he belonged to a rival tribe. The girl ran off to be with him. She was captured by her own tribe and when they attempted to take her back to the village she broke free of their holds and jumped into Babinda Creek. In her wake two huge boulders shot up into the sky and stand in the midst of this creek. They say the boulders are the remains of the girl who tragically killed herself here all those years ago. They also say that her spirit is known to haunt these waters and that she calls to visitors from near and far luring them to join her among the jagged rocks.

When I took this photograph my aim was to capture the crashing waters so that I could show how fast and choppy they are here. I was also intrigued by the green blue tint of the water and the whiteness cast about from the waves themselves. I'm glad I traveled to this creek to behold with my own eyes this awesome force of nature.

In the Name of Spontaneity

December 7, 2009
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

So remember what I said about trying to do a pic a day for December? Yeah well I'm rethinking that entire decision. Why? Because now it's kind of losing it's attraction. Taking pictures right now doesn't seem fun to me when I feel like I HAVE to take a picture. I feel like it's a chore now and that was not the original goal to this whole idea. I guess photo taking like my writing, like my vidding, like my art needs to come naturally when I'm ready for it and not because I feel like I HAVE to do it. I was good with the idea until December 8th. I took a photo and didn't really like the results. The day after that I had no desire to take a picture because it's not fun for me at the moment. It feels to frigid (if that makes sense) too forced and no longer holds that appeal it did. I suspected this might happen. I can't force myself to do something and when something that is fun for me, enjoyable for me no longer becomes enjoyable or relaxing, when it starts feeling like a necessity, like it must be done now...well that's just irritating to me.

I came up with a solution though. I still want to share pictures I've taken, but it's no longer going to be a pic a day. I am going to do a pic a week and how am I going to go about tackling this? I post at least six pictures a week to my Flickr account. They're not really planned or ones I feel I HAVE to share. I'm uploading the pics that appeal to me that night or whatnot that I'd like to share just for the chance to share :)

My new idea? I plan to select one picture a week from the ones uploaded each week to my Flickr account and talk about it. The pictures I select will be what I consider a favorite, or a "best" or one I just wanted to share with others. I figure in doing this I can still keep posting to this blog, still make it interesting and photography will no longer feel like a chore to me because there won't be the demands I place on myself to take a pic EVERY DAY. It's a bit too much what with the holiday season upon us and the accident I had recently and all. It's just too much and when it stops being fun that means I gotta go with my instincts and change it up already.

So there's the reason...

Now to explain this picture...

When my cat passed away due to kidney failure I missed her terribly. The same year that happened I went to Chicago and went into the Shedd Aquarium (a daily routine for me each time I'm in the city of Chicago). While there I glanced at the stuffed animals just because I wanted to. When i saw this fellow I picked him up and immediately noticed how soft he was in my hands. He also reminded me immediately of Frisco so I bought him and brought him home.

Now everytime I look at this stuffed harbor seal I think of Frisco and smile. :)

Pic a Day -- Day 6

December 6, 2009
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

So I admit that I wasn't very creative here for day 6 of the "pic a day". I worked today and by the time I got home the last thing on my mind was snapping a picture of something. When I finally pulled out my camera I was left debating what to take a picture of. I opted to fiddle with some different things before I settled on taking a picture of my desk.

Why a photo of my desk you ask? Well, I've seen those memes going around for years on blogs about taking a snapshot of your desk and sharing it. I always wanted to participate in them but never did. I figured now would be as good a time as any.

I also wanted something that had meaning to me. Well, I spend just about every single night sitting on my computer at this desk and reading through blogs, checking websites, doing research so I figured why not take a picture of a primary place I spend most of my evenings at. The result? A photograph of my desk...

So now can you tell why I never participated in those "name 5 things on your desk" memes? I have a lot of stuff and believe me there is quite a vast array here. The picture shows an overview...closer looks would reveal individual DVD's, pictures, glass figurines and even books to name but a few things.

So now you know what my desk looks like and if you're one of those who likes a challenge have fun examining the contents. I assure you there are more than twenty items on that desk! :D

Oh and for the really, REALLY brave (or just intrigued maybe) they say you can tell a lot about a person by the things they have on their desks (well at least that's what MacGyver said on well...MacGyver) so what does this tell you about me?

You don't have to answer I just wanted to ask. :D

Pic a Day -- Day 5

December 5, 2009
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

Okay so I thought I would be caught up and then it got late last night so I never made this post. Well here I am making a bit of a late post again. Hey at least I'm managing to take a pic a day. :)

So yesterday was our first snow fall of the year. I wanted to take a picture of the snow, but it wasn't laying very prettily on the ground and the shots I did take of the snow falling didn't look very appealing to me. They were dark and rather dreary, so I figured why not fiddle with my macro again and settled on taking a few close up pictures of tree branches covered in snow.

This photo is one of those bushes. Why I chose to take a picture of snow upon a pine tree is well for one the green makes the white stand out more. I also chose this photo because I like how clearly the pine tree limbs came out and I like the way the snow looks like it's piling on the branches.

Snow isn't my favorite thing. I rather dislike it. I don't like being cold, and I'd rather have rain. It is however very pretty and as long as it doesn't accumulate on roads and the temps don't drop to freezing I'm fairly okay with it.

I've always admired the way snow is so crystal white and love to see it when it sparkles in the sun.

Pic a Day -- Day 4

December 4, 2009
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

Here is a picture of one of the stray cats that hangs around my house. I kind of adopted him. He's not a very friendly cat because he doesn't really trust people, but I still feed him and talk to him when I see him.

Where I live a lot of people tend to drop of stray cats because I live back along some woods. I can't not put feed out for strays when I see them. This one has been with me awhile. He kind of fills that void that my cat and dog left when they gained their wings and left the earthly plain. :)

I call him Gabriel, after the archangel. He earned the name because when he was first dropped off there was another smaller cat that was hanging around and this one kind of took on the guadian role, so I felt it perfect to call him Gabriel.

Though he is still very leery of people and isn't to keen on me petting him he still will rub against my legs as I fill his feed dish. Unfortunately when it comes to photography he doesn't seem to like his picture taken because countless times I've had this perfect picture ready to be snapped and he walks away before I can snap it. Today I figured it was time to follow him. :)

A Pic a Day -- Day 3

December 3, 2009
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

I took this picture because I liked the way the clouds were in the sky. I also wanted to share a picture of somewhere I go during my job. I work with kids and every Thursday I take them to this farm for horseback riding. They learn how to saddle, how to groom and are taught how to ride as well.

A Pic a Day -- Day 2

December 2, 2009
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

Yes so this picture? This is me being my own weird strange self. I was experimenting (or rather playing) with the camera when i took this photograph. Why I chose to take a picture like this? I've been having a rough week and thought it would look extremely neat to make a hand appear as if it were coming out of a mirror. It reminds me of that old urban legend Bloody Mary actually. In order to prevent flash from bouncing back and blinding me I turned it off and turned the camera at an awkward angle to snap this photograph.

So the reasoning behind this? Experimentation, relaxation...or just plain fiddling around if we all want to be honest with ourselves here :D

A Pic a Day -- Day 1

December 1, 2009
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

Okay so I've seen so many other people out there do this and have been debating for a very long time about it. I had intended on starting to work on the blogs yesterday but had an unfortunate accident which resulted in me not being able to officially start the blogging end of this little experiment.

The plan? I have decided to take a picture a day of something that has meaning to me or is experimental, something that just demands to be photographed each day of the month. My goal is to at least do this experiment for the month of December. I'm starting small seeing as I have this nasty procrastination issue that could stall my experiment.

Anyways the main purpose of doing this is one to improve my photography overall and two to make a daily blog post. How the experiment will work out I have no idea, but we shall see.

Presently I'm behind by a day due to the accident so it'll take me a few days to play catch up with my entries overall.

Other than that? On to why I chose to photograph this on December 1, 2009...

Every day I drive to work and drive home from work I pass this cross. It marks where a car accident happened and I'm fairly certain that the girl whose name is on the cross was killed here. What I find so intriguing about it? This is one of the first memorials I've seen along a main road that is actually kept fairly well maintained. Throughout the months balloons are tied on the cross one week, the next a doll baby is placed on the ground, the week after that flowers...someone comes here, stops every week and places something on this marker. I assume it's family and friends.

When I come to this intersection I always look at this cross whether it's early morning or late afternoon. I search for it and automatically look at it. It reminds me that life is very precious and can be gone in seconds. It also shows the love these people still have for this lost one.

This week they placed the lizard on the cross, if you look closely you can see him there. It's the first time I've seen him and the stuffed animal on the top is a swan I believe, which is also new.

I wanted to started my "pic a day" with a picture of something that has meaning for me and figured what better thing to start with than a cross I take every single day to pause and look at. No matter if I'm in a rush to get home or on my way into town I still take a moment when I'm at either stop sign of this intersection to glance over and look at the marker.

Life is...meaningful

Buckingham Fountain Walkway
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

Seriously it is. I know it is. I know this, yet I still have moments in time where I wonder, where I think about what kind of life I actually lead. Sometimes I feel like my life is...mundane, not exciting...
Sometimes I wonder if there's more, so much more to life then spending hours on a computer reading through e-mails and blogs. I look at my life sometimes and see that it's extremely uneventful, but seriously? Truly that is a big lie, a huge lie and why is that? Because of my job, because of my life and my adventures (or misadventures?)

I sometimes will ask if my life should be more exciting, more lively, more... I don't know eventful. Most people who know me, know what I do for a living will tell me to hush because what I do on a daily basis is so very important that my life is anything but meaningless.

They'll tell me the job I do, the things I do are very important. What do I do exactly? I work with troubled teens. I work with kids who have been diagnosed with disorders such as ADHD and ODD. I work with kids who have emotional issues, kids who have problems with their parents, kids who run the streets. I work with those kids that the criminal justice system or children and youth decide need placed somewhere.

So really my life is far from meaningless...so why do I get into these moods where I feel like my life is boring? Why do I get in those moods where I ask myself just what the hell my life really is about? I don't know why it happens, but it does. It's just...

I don't know. All I do know is I just spent the better part of an hour trying to analyze and examine why it is I feel this way sometimes and it was so disruptive to my sleep/rest that I just had to log on and...ramble about it.

So now that I have I believe my headache has receded, but still I have those damned doubts that creep in. Those doubts I can't explain away, and I wonder why it is I have them. Why do I sometimes feel as if my life is...extremely boring? Why do I wonder if I'm living life or just...spending it all online or sitting around debating it all the time.

I guess it's a phase of life that creeps up every now and again. I wish I could explain why it happens, but all I really can do is try to talk through it or get through it until my morose mood passes.

Now for the picture...why did I choose this particular one? Because it can be looked at as sort of a path, a direction...I can stop where I did to take the photo and remain forever rooted to that spot, not continue on, not turn back...or I can get myself out of this aggravating mood and move onwards. What's beyond those sparkly bricks? In reality a museum, an aquarium, a planetarium and a beautiful view of Lake Michigan, so metaphorically do I remain where I shot that photograph and look around content to remain in that exact spot? Or do I pull myself out of that mood that seems to be stalling me?

I think there's a whole hell of a lot more that needs to be accomplished, a whole hell of a lot more beyond those pretty sparkling bricks, and I think it's time for me to haul my ass out of that damned spot and move onward already! :)

I do like this picture, took it randomly. It was unplanned, and I like it...
Funny how at the time I took it I merely wanted to capture the pretty sparkle to the bricks laid out before me. Never did I expect it to be a metaphor that would help pull my mind out of a morose mood and get back on track already!

In the words of a man I've come to admire: Life's that way.

How Deep into the Murky Water Can You Go?

Have you ever had one of those days where you just feel like you're in a rut, and you can't seem to climb back out of it? It doesn't happen to me often, but it does happen and it's irritating. I just feel really...low, and I don't know why. Well I have a fair idea why but still...

I tried writing. I tried reading. I've even tried to take a nap or two but still it doesn't seem to be lightening my mood any. I hate when that happens. I feel like I'm in this vat of murky water kicking and treading trying to keep my head above the surface when something is consistently pulling me downwards. Why does that happen?

I know in a few days the mood will lift, but I so hate it when it does appear. Hopefully chatting about it will make it go away...or at least distract my mind from it enough that I will be able to move beyond...one only hopes that'll work.

Yeah maybe...we shall see.

Little Facets of Life

Colorful Ascent
Originally uploaded by Khonsus

Everybody has little facets of life. Slivers of their lives that they like to share, slivers of their lives they want to share and slivers they'd rather bury beneath a heaping mound of freshly dug dirt. Some slivers will be buried momentarily and others will remain forever hidden. My issue, my problem...

My balance maybe?

Is in what of those multitude of facets of my own life I'd like to share or reveal, and what slivers do I want kept buried. It's a fine interesting line to walk, a debate sure to go on for years to come: what to share, what not to share and what will the end result be as each tiny sliver is unveiled.

Really this is one of my sole purposes, sole reasons for wanting to start a blog in the first place and also seems to create quite the barrier at times. It's a realm I want to explore further and one that will require years of patience to pursue.

Which facets should I start with and which ones I dare to choose equal out hopefully to something worth writing about. Journaling is hard for me. Writing? Now that that's easier...when I write stories I only include snippets of things about me. It's not as intimidating as writing about myself...

Weird how that works out, strange indeed and if I can stop dwelling on how much better everyone else's blogs and artworks are then perhaps I can draw some more deeper enjoyment of my own, so without further ado I shall attempt to unveil and turn over a new leaf again.

Who knows it may lead somewhere, it may lead no where but isn't that part of the journey anyway?

Yeah I think so. :)

1001 Journals

For the longest time I've been wanting to find a place where I can post about my adventures in this particular community. I've had about 50 journals come my way so far and still more en route. I've been wanting a place to post the entries I made, talk of other peoples' entries and just plain talk about/share it. : )

I finally decided that maybe it's time I start so here I am again *waves*

What is 1001 Journals for those who don't know? It's a community in which people all over the world circulate their art journals. They make their entries and once done the journals get mailed on to the next person on the list and so on and so forth. Some journals have successfully made it back to owners, some are still traveling and others unfortunately have gone missing : (

This is where my creativity and such got started...a long time ago when I first got an LJ I stumbled on a community titled "alternate_books". It was the same basic concept and I created journals as well as recieved many others. I had a blast doing it but sadly the interest for that particular community died so I scoped and searched for similar places. I found 1000 Journals and was sad to see no journals were open any longer then I found 1001 Journals and joined. After that I started getting others journals and even circulating some of my own. I then scanned what I did because you can for the site but due to having so many scans I started deleting them off my hard drive and found it so sad that there really was no other place to share what I had done with them and what others had so an idea formulated to work on this newest online journal knowing/planning to eventually get to this post. Now that I'm here I'm ready to share a bit. : )

For those interested in looking into the 1001 Journals site here's the link:

1001 Journals

And now I'm off...but plan to be back soon. I'm not entirely sure how I intend to share these scans and such but getting this post up is at least an official start.
: D

Hooray for Experimentation!

So as I said in the previous post experimentation seems to be my new word. :)

Trying a new technique for me is an adventure in itself because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's a miserable failure and other times it leaves one with amazing results. With this second Chicago journal I have found I'm not so hesitant, not so afraid to try something new, try something different. I have also noticed that I don't seem to get angry when some experiment turns out to be a complete and utter failure. Instead I find that I'm enjoying the simple process of creating and attempting to create. I've taken a completely different approach to art journaling with this newest journal and am finding the journal to be quite rewarding.

When I first started the journal I kept saying it would never work out, it would be a complete disaster, and I had no idea what days I'd be journaling where. I like order and organization, and I always (in the first Chicago journal) did pages as I did entries. This journal is a wee bit different in that I just went with my gut instinct having no idea what I would be journaling where. The end result has turned out to be a reward in and of itself that has me squeeing as I stare and say "I did THAT?"

Yeah so I'm finding the fun and enjoyment in experimentation and am loving every minute of it...it's almost like playing : )

And now to a share a few more pages of my newest journal...

Oddly enough this second journal picks up at the tail end of the sci-fi convention I attended. The first page is what you saw in the previous post. The second and third pages are painted pink and just have journaling on them. The fourth page is a photo op I had taken with one of the guests Joe Flanigan and that is where my experimenting for this journal began. The end result?



So here what I did? I played with ink pads and scrapbook papers. I'm not one to use stamping much in journaling. I just haven't really developed much of a desire to fiddle with them, but I do so love those distressed inks by Jim Holtz. They look awesome when used correctly but for me that can be a challenge in and of itself. I'm not a stamper yet I found myself fiddling with it a wee bit here. The background paper is simply a special design sheet for scrapping. Due to the color of the background paper I thought of making it look kind of antique... I ended up using the "vintage photo" ink and rubbing it over the edges then just glued the pic on top. The end result? I love it!

The facing page is the start of my journaling on the Chicago Art Institute and again I wanted to stick with the vintage/antique look since the pages are side by side. I used a different scrapbook design sheet for this one and used distress ink again this time the color? Walnut stain. Not one of my favorites though in books I've looked at I love the results...it's just a bit too dark for my liking. The end result is this page...ended up looking kind of neat when I chose the photo I took. The photograph is a shot down Michigan Avenue. You can see the two lions that sit right outside the Art Institue. I'm fiddling a lot with photography lately too and deliberately took this photo for the angles and such. I'm very happy with the end result! : )



The pages that follow this page are inside the art institute. Well one is. It's a drawing that's on the top floor of a cat. I took a picture of it then cut it down to include in the journal. The second page is a scan of my ticket stub and a picture of the brand new "Modern" wing of the institute. The journaling was done with glitter pen in hopes that it would be readable over the background decoration. What's the background decorations made of? More distress ink this color weathered wood. How I made those little designs? You'll never guess... Did you ever try crumpling up a piece of aluminum foil wrap and using it to stamp on a page? Neat effect indeed...at least I thought it was : D





I think I may continue posting pages to this journal and doing a little chat about what I put into each page in case I'd like to try the same thing in the future or someone else might find it of interest. Hey it doesn't hurt to document how you do something, especially if you can't remember everything...I seem to have issues with that : D

Expanding My Horizons

Breaking out of the mundane...


Recently I completed my first full Chicago journal, well it's not fully completed yet but I'm at the end of it. : )

The Chicago journal is a journal that I started several years ago on the city of Chicago and all the trips I have taken to the wonderous city through the years. I like to label the journal as my "official" first art journal (well personal art journal), but other than drawing and doodling in it, journaling a bit, painting a few pages and adding a few pictures from said trips I didn't really do much else with it.

Now I have officially started my second Chicago journal and my exploration with art has kind of...exploded I guess...in a way that I never would have ever imagined.

I remember searching for the perfect journal to continue my Chicago trips in. It had to be easier to keep flat (my other journal is hard back and way wider than it should be :D ), and it had to be durable also, one in which each page would be relatively easy to work with. With trepidation I settled on a small spiral bound hard back journal not sure if it would be a good choice or a horrible mistake. I always worry that with spiral journals the pages will tear to easily out thus a major reason why I've not used many in my artwork.

Once I got the journal home and debated a bit I just started to decorate it not sure where it would lead, if it would hold up, if I could make the journal work out, if it would be better or worse than my first one...

Now? I've decorated approximately 10-15 pages and am going back to add in the additional pics and journaling that will complete each page. I did the same thing in the other journal but with this one... Well, let's just say it's become what I have always envisioned an art journal should be and I absolutely LOVE it!

Each page of this journal is decorated differently some with paper, some with paint, some with tissue paper and some with stamp pads. The end result? The journal looks great to me and I'm so loving it! So why did I just have to post and squee a little about this??

Because I just had to!!

I don't know when it happened, where the official "transition" actually occurred but somewhere along the way I took a basic starter art journal and have progressed into a pretty, fancy decorated one. My confidence and enjoyment in toying with paints and such have literally exploded. Where the transition happened I don't know, but I'm loving the end result! : )

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Yeah you know some day I should really purchase that book and maybe read it. Think that'll help me and my weird self out a bit? Hmm... *scratches head*

Yeah so the reason for the title has really nothing to do with stressing out or going nuts or panicking or any of that jazz...at least not at the moment, but what it's referring to, why I chose it as a subject header? Because during my most recent trip to Chicago I found myself wondering, thinking a lot about us, about people in general and how there are thousands, hell millions, of people out there in the world and we all get so busy, so caught up in our every day lives, every day stressors that we trump right along, racing, rarely slowing down, always in a rush to get here or there and in that every day hay day we always forget one small thing, one tiny little thing that at the time doesn't seem important but the older you get the more you take notice that all along while you're rushing around like a madman (or woman) trying to make ends meet, caught up in the rat race and everyday hustle and bustle that some where along the way you forget to look down or around or notice things that ordinarily are so pretty, so unique and so amazing but are sadly severely overlooked.

To what am I referring? To all the little things underfoot, before us, right in front of our very eyes, those small tiny little miracles or beautiful creations that if for one moment we'd just stop and take notice we might realize that the world really is a truly amazing place...

And what did I do with all that thinking and such? I took to photographing the overlooked, the small tiny things that few ever take notice to because they're so busy in their lives, we all are so very rushed that we never slow down and just say "oh". The end result of this unique, odd strain of thinking? I have tons of interesting pics (well interesting to me that is) of the small, minute, unnoticed, unseen that most people trample right over or stumble on by or never look up to see. It's sad really that some where along the way we all just sort of forget to stop and really look at our environments, look at what's around us and before us and just enjoy it all.



For those who are interested, curious or just need to know these pictures were all taken by me in the city of Chicago. The first pic was taken outside the Art Institute, the second is carved into one of the floors of the Garfield Conservatory and the third was taken outside the Field Museum. Goes to show that even in a big HUGE city there is beauty that is often unseen or vastly overlooked. :)

The wonders...of Seagulls??

Yes indeed seagulls is what I said and why? Well as I was driving into town today I started thinking about some of the pics I took in Chicago and my mind zeroed in on Sea Gulls. Why? Well, like I said my mind was wandering and I started thinking about an awesome picture I took of a sea gull at Navy Pier on Wednesday. As I thought more on the subject I realized that there's not been a single trip gone by in which I didn't photograph a sea gull...except maybe when I went to Australia last March. Other than that one trip I've taken at least one picture of a sea gull on each trip I've taken.

Why? Well, I know some people look at sea gulls and think ew they're dirty, or they're just not pretty...not true, so NOT true! I find them intriguing and interesting and like to think that they have literally "adopted" me since they seem to arrive at every place around the world I've vacationed in. I remember my first year in Vancouver, BC. I was walking in Stanley Park and this sea gull started following me. The person I was with at the time made a joke about my friendly buddy that just kept following us as if to ask, to implore that I would kindly take his picture. I wasn't going to take the picture of the sea gull. Seriously a sea gull who likes to see pictures of them? Yeah. Not happening, nope, no way, not in this life but...

Yeah I was suckered in I tell you! He kept following me and posing all prettily as if to say "please, please won't you take my picture!"

The person I was with told me I had a friend for life and that he'd probably follow me all the way back to my house. Well, he didn't but others did. Other sea gulls appeared as if by magic where I vacationed, and me? I just had to take a picture. So now I have these loads of travel pics from all my vacations I've taken since 2001 and interestingly among just about all of them there rests one little picture of a sea gull. Why? Well, I just feel this odd urge to photograph them and so I can say I'm a photographer of sea gulls. They follow me everywhere, well just about everywhere and still when I see them I get this big smile on my face, I prep my camera raising it ever so slowly while working the zoom lens and prepare to take yet another picture of yet another sea gull. Hey what can I say it seems to be an addiction of a sorts or something. : )

I'm here...

even though I'm strangely absent. It's awkward you know having two online journals and having posted to neither in well over a month. I swore I would turn a new leaf and start posting more consistently. I decided on the spur of the moment to create this journal here where I'm alone, as no one seems to be following me even now. Ah well I wanted a journal where I could post my artwork, explore my newly developing artsy side and even share my travel stories and pics. What's holding me back? Well, there's no audience to scoff at me or say "that's just plain stupid" and there's no one out there to stumble onto my journal and tell me that my journal is just plain boring and uninteresting either so it's not that. Some day there will be people but now in this particular moment in time I'm by my wee little self here trying to stick to a vow that yes I'll post more often only to realize that again things are being...forgotten? Neglected? I don't know but somehow life gets me every time and here I am rambling. I shall try to improve that shortly. Yes my artsy side has exploded recently. I'm experimenting more and liking the end results. I've even fiddled more so than ever before with my photographing...should see some of those pics I took on my trip from Chicago indeed!

I just returned yesterday from the Windy City and decided why not start posting here again. I have my next topic already sitting on the backburner. What's next? Resizing the pic I want to share and formulating a plan of a sorts. Yes so now that I've rambled and got that all off my chest I shall journey back to my other journal and continue reading through my lengthy flist...they are aposting more so than me over there. Ah well...that is in the works to be fixed indeed! *wink*

Practice, practice, practice...

Okay so like I said in previous posts I started working on art journals several years ago, mainly ones that belonged to other people. One day I decided why not create one for myself, a travel journal that I can take, put pictures in, items I find and that I can carry along with me when I do travel. My first attempt at my own personal art journal is this Chicago journal. I decided for my next two pages in the journal that since I spend a lot of time on the El (CTA trains) why not incorporate a map of the CTA system in the pages. The main line I travel is the O'Hare blue line.

I stay in a hotel fairly close to the airport and the nice thing about this particular hotel and this particular airport is that there's a 24 hour free shuttle bus that runs from the hotel to the airport about every 15 minutes. Also in what I call the "basement" of the airport is the entrance to the CTA blue line. O'Hare is the end of the line and it's very nice and convenient to take the El right out of the airport. Due to this particular set up you can enter the airport and head straight downstairs. Two trains pull in and out of there throughout the day and boarding the CTA is way cheaper than a cab, even though the trip from O'Hare TO downtown Chicago is approximately 45 minutes. It's the cheapest and easiest way to travel to the city, which makes seeing a very busy city relatively nice and simple. :)

When I first started this particular journal I was leery about experimenting. I didn't want to mess anything up, so I stuck with using my scanner and gluing what I scanned into the journal pages. As I progressed, learned some new techniques, bought more magazines on art journaling and continued to work on art journals from the 1001 Journals community I found myself daring to delve into more complex things...I drew a CTA train, painted some pages and fiddled around with ways to make the journal more appealing, more exciting and more interesting. After working on this initial first trip I decided to label each year I spent in Chicago. I used one word (or two) to basically describe in a nut shell how the trip was and I used some water colors and paints to express it. The more I worked on the early bits of this journal and the more I experimented the neater and more interesting each entry became for me.

Now I tend to do a lot of drawing and journaling in this particular journal but I have also started working on my own sketch book and my own personal art journal that delves more into my feelings, emotions and such. The more I learn about art, painting and sketching the braver I become in daring to try new things.

What's actually starting to happen? When my writing muse is slow I find myself picking up an art journal and going to town with it. Some of the entries turn out amazing while others not so much but each new "project" I undertake seems to be better than the previous one and I'm quite satisfied that I seem to be improving and expanding.

Photography

Another creative avenue for me is photography. I love to take pictures. I take tons when I go on trips and like to take my camera with me when I drive into town on Fridays. Sometimes I'll use it and sometimes I won't. It's no big deal for me to take over 200 pictures on any given vacation. I just love to take pictures...

Of course if you take note of the above picture it's rather old, has that old brownish tinge to it and actually has rounded edges, but when I scanned it I squared it off. Why did I add this particular picture to this particular entry? Because it's the FIRST picture I ever took on my very own. Way back when I was oh probably 10 maybe? I got a camera for Christmas, one of those old Kodak cameras with the click thingy to prep it for the next photo and the attachable flash. Yeah it might not have been a whole lot and by modern standards is probably called "antique" now, but I loved that old camera.

So what is this a picture of you ask? Well snow of course and somehow a slip of curtain got into that photograph too. I can honestly say they don't make curtains like that anymore! : )

This picture was taken at my grandmother's old house. I loved that old house. It was a big white house that sat on a corner and had a wrap around porch and all. My grandparents had one of those old coal stoves in the basement that they'd load for heat and the house had the neatest most beautiful cherry bannisters. I loved that old house and miss it dearly. It still stands today but sits empty and has been "modernized". It has little of the former glory it had back then.

Anyways this photo was taken in what we always coined "the back room" or to put a better name to the room we would simply refer to it as "the piano room". In it was contained two or three pianos. One was a player piano and my cousin and I used to go back, turn it on and act like we could actually play it! the carpet in the room was an ugly off orange color but that room held so much memory in it and due to that and where this photo was taken from I cherish this particular photograph.

I remember that view from when I was a kid. We used to (my brother and I) walk on the brick wall you can sort of see the outline of in the snow. My grandfather would get so mad at us for doing that he'd yell at us but we continued to walk that wall because we just thought it so neat. Off to the left of the photo and out of site of the camera was an old grape harbor. Oh the memories this simple photo dredges up...brings a bright smile to my face every time as I recall all the good times we had and shared in that house.

Both grandparents that had at one time lived there have now passed on. I miss them both, especially my grandmother, and I miss that old house. I can still hear myself giggling as I envision running up those steps my hand dragging across the smooth bannister as I ran. I can still recall walking down those steps and admiring the child-like pictures she had hung along the wall of cats and dogs and such. I would have loved to have those particular pictures but they are now forever lost. Still I can remember staring at them and into them imagining what those animals would be like. I can still recall how the lights of the local traffic would catch on the floor to ceiling windows in the living room and cast an eerie glow about the room.

I still remember the family gatherings we had there, the times my brother and I would run up and down those steps, the times we'd play for endless hours in that old back room, and I will forever recall my cousin and I sitting perched just so on the bench of that old player piano and giggle to our hearts content as we cranked it on and pretended to play the instrument with our own hands.

The memories that photograph stirs up are ones I will forever cherish. They sometimes bring tears to my eyes and while one can tell by looking at it how much of a novice I was to photography back then I'm so glad I took that simple little picture and have it as a constant reminder of a past too quickly forgotten, a time gone by too abruptly and of a little girl giggling with her very first camera clutched so tightly in her hands as she aimed it out that window and snapped her very first shot...

Closing the Door

As I mentioned in the previous post this scrapbook started out as a basic idea, a thought, a way to display ALL of my convention pictures so that they could all be seen. When I started it I wasn't sure what would come of it and soon the scrapbook became a way to close the door on a friendship that ended abruptly. I decided to scrap the different trips her and I took together and that led naturally into scrapping all the conventions we attended together.

As I mentioned before I didn't really go to conventions (well other than one X Files convention) until her and I started traveling to them together. Now I travel either alone or with my best friend to conventions.

This scrapbook was my closure for a broken friendship. If you look at the two pages above you'll notice that the very first picture is blurry and out of focus. We're also both smiling in it and how ironic I'm wearing a Xena shirt seeing as those are the only sci fi cons her and I attended together. I chose that first picture because it's out of focus. I felt it accurately represented the fading friendship we now had. We had been friends until a bad trip to New York in 2003. The first picture shows an image of our very first convention together and is blurry, which in my mind kind of represented the way things were. Under it I put that quote because with her I did laugh often and much and so did she, so I felt it appropriate.

The very next picture is a close up of her and I together. This ironically was one of the last pictures to be taken of us, and I selected it because it sort of embodies the way our friendship was I suppose. We were good friends and had a blast at the conventions and I just felt that pic appropriate.

The next page has the photo that's half blurry and dark. It's a picture of us posing with some friends we hung out with at every convention. Again the selection of that photo was totally and completely planned. It kind of shows the finality of our friendship. It was fun while it lasted but even then was fading into nothingness to be forgotten and filed away with all other memories from the past.

The last picture is one of my favorites of Angie. She's posing with Hudson Leick one of the actresses that her and I absolutely loved going to conventions to see. We had a lot of memories that involved Hudson and us going to see her and meet her after she got off stage. They were all good memories and I just loved that photo so I felt it appropriate to use.

If you notice to the side of that last picture is a an envelope tucked away. The envelope in fact contains a letter I wrote to Angie but she never saw it. This is my official closure letter telling her what I learned from her, telling her how I felt about the abrupt way she dismissed our lengthy friendship and wishing her the best of luck in the future. I don't really recall everything that's written in that letter, but I felt it an appropriate way to say goodbye.

The words on the page talk of how some people enter our lives for a purpose, some we recall, some we forget, some we'll always remember and she was one of those such people. It's kind of a finality on my part to her, the way to officially close the door and move onward with my life.

There is more to this scrapbook that I intend to post, but it will take some time. The first half of the scrapbook is the trips her and I took together, the second half? All the conventions we attended. The final page contains that quote about people coming into our lives for a purpose and serves as the final page for the entire album.

Overall I'm very pleased with how this scrapbook turned out and find myself looking at it more than I had ever expected. Scrapbooking, though I don't do it a lot, has become a sort of healing journey for me, a way to display images and voice thoughts, opinions etc on issues that have affected my life. I haven't done much scrapbooking lately but have several in progress. Each one is unique and contains personal aspects of my life. I find it enjoyable and relaxing to work on them though they do take a long time to complete. Still in the end I'm very happy I dared to take that wee step into scrapping and dove head first into trying something brand new.

Scrapbooking as a means to provide closure

So as I mentioned in the previous post my first scrapbook began a little oddly. I had no idea where I wanted to go with it or what I wanted to do with it. All I knew is that I had this sudden urge, or need, to just get right into it so without hesitation I picked up some supplies and started. The first page turned out to be titled "Life Lessons" and an idea formed in my head for where to take the journal after that. I had decided to use the scrapbook as a sort of final chapter in a friendship that had been lengthy but ended so abruptly it surprised and shocked me.

I had been friends with this girl for some time. It was with her I started traveling to conventions in the first place, which is why the scrapbook eventually headed that direction I suppose. I decided why not devote a scrapbook to her and to closing the door on a friendship that suddenly, abruptly came to an end. Low and behold that mode of thinking landed me smack dab into the "daring to attempt scrapping" department.

I had found a purpose for the scrapbook. It would serve as a way to gain closure, a way to move on, move forward...take what I learned from that friendship and apply it then move onwards. You know that quote about friends? Some people come into our lives for a reason, others for a season, others a lifetime...well apparently this girl was one of those "reason" people. She came into my life at a time when I needed something, stuck around for a while then just disappeared. I did learn some things from her like how to be more care free. How to become more outgoing. I learned a lot about tennis (way more than I ever expected) because she played it and loved it and I learned a few other things, but she wasn't meant to be in my life for more than a few years and when that time was up she vanished without a trace.

I've only seen her twice since she abruptly vanished with no explanation or reason as to why our friendship ended and each time I glanced at her and just went on about my business wondering briefly how someone could so abruptly dismiss a person they claimed to be closest to without a second thought or glance. Then I shrugged my shoulders and went on about my business. I'm glad I don't see her often because it's just aggravating to see her and how she acts now verses then...and to even recall how badly she treated me on our very last trip together just pisses me off thoroughly so I rarely dredge such memories up...but she was a part of my life and I felt it only right to put into scrapping words and such to show how she affected it and such.

The Birth of a Scrapper

Okay so I know I said I was going to wait until the weekend to post some of the first scrapbook pages I ever created but then I got off line and started thinking. Next thing I know I'm scanning the first four pages with the intent to share here. Yeah that's me...a bit unpredictable at times indeed : )

So what got me into scrapbooking other than being shifted to night shift and despising working that particular shift? Well like I said earlier I had this idea, one that kind of formed in my head as tiny little grains of salt that soon grew larger and larger until I couldn't just ignore them anymore, couldn't blow them away like dust, couldn't sweep them under any rugs to hide them, couldn't even remove them from my brain because amongst those tiny little grains of salt was forming an idea, a thought, a possibility that I wanted to dare attempt but that literally scared the crap out of me. You know those doubts I spoke of earlier? Yeah those niggling little things that poke at your mind and at your self-esteem whispering negative little phrases in your ear while stirring little flecks of uncertainty within...? Yeah they were there in leaps and bounds but me I'm one who trudges on despite everything and so I dared to attempt scrapbooking. It proved quite the challenge but I took the initial step.

When I first started I wasn't even sure what exactly it was I wanted to do. I had a vague idea, a vague notion, a teeny plan emerging... I knew I wanted to do something with all the convention pics I took through the years. I knew I wanted to find some way to be able to display them all. I knew I wanted to make it interesting, something I'd return to again and again. I had the base idea. What I was left with after that? Where to go from there. How to breathe life into my basic ideas and how to make them merge and blend, bleed into something more. Thus I underwent a transformation in my thinking of sorts. I spent days toying with the idea, days thinking of how to do exactly what I wanted, days of fighting off the doubts, of ignoring those urges that said I was totally insane for even attempting such a feat. Eventually I came up with an idea, a beginning...a place to start.

The first page of my scrapbook oddly enough became Life Lessons...a list of little lessons I wanted to keep with me, of things I had learned, of things I needed to keep in mind when working with two very difficult people. My first page was created and I loved it...it also became the starter for my very first scrapbook.

Art Journaling at its beginning...

Okay so I was originally planning on starting by sharing some of my scrapbook pages, but have to scan them first and probably won't get to that until the weekend so I'm opting to share the start of my Chicago journal. Now you must be patient with me as I haven't quite figured out how the displaying image bit goes on over here so images may be a bit...whacked. : )

I started journeying to Chicago for a sci-fi convention several years ago. It ended up becoming a yearly event and remains one to this day. It started back in 2004. It was my first year actually touring the city and seeing it. I had been to Chicago in the past but only as a stop off for layover flights so I had never seen beyond the Chicago O'Hare Airport. I decided when I went to this convention I was going to see the city. After doing some research and such I found out that a CTA train went to the city from the airport and since my hotel provided free shuttle service to and from the airport I had a way to get there. The first year in the city I stayed for approximately 10 days. I usually stay about ten days each time I travel out there. After taking a yearly trip out there since 2004 I now have tons of pics from each individual trip but again like those conventions pictures I referred to in the previous post they were all placed in albums that are rarely looked at, so I decided to try my hand at a travel journal. What I now have: a huge overly stuffed journal full of pics and such from my last five years of vacations to the wonderful windy city of Chicago.

It's proved to be fun and interesting trying to make each year's entries different from the past years of entries. I've dabbled a bit with acrylics, a bit with drawing, a bit with colored pencil and even fiddled some with stickers in the journal. I admit the first few pages look a bit "rough around the edges" but they are some of my earliest attempts at creating a sort of art journal (keep in mind the only prior experience before undergoing this particular project was from an LJ community in which you mailed journals on to others who each contributed to the journal with their own stories, artworks and such). The Chicago journal has proved to be an interesting way to "wet my whistle" so to speak, my way of "getting my feet wet" and breaking past the initial "I don't think I can do this" phase.

Now? Now I find it extremely interesting to go back and see what I've learned and how my journaling has changed. I'm glad I started the journal and though I'm not always in the mood to work on it and it seems to be an unending work in progress it's something that keeps my creative muses flowing even when my writing muse stalls. The other big advantage to creating one such journal? I have a great unique album that I can cherish and hold onto for years to come! Who could ask for more?

Oh the Years How They Fade...

So years ago, many years ago, I was one of those people who said I had no interest in art whatsoever...well, other than gazing at other's works. If you would have asked me back then if I'd ever do anything remotely artistic I would've probably laughed in your face and told you I could never be an artist. My how times seem to have changed a bit.

How do you ask? Well let me tell you. :)

For years I admired other's art and longed to one day learn how to be that creative too. My creativity though seemed limited to my writing. Yes I'm a writer. I write stories, have been writing for over 20 years now. My how time flies!

So yeah getting back to my main topic of discussion...

I write, my creative muse has always been for writing and then one day I started fiddling with artwork, started looking at magazines for scrapbooking and gazing longingly at all the wonderful layouts people made. I wondered if I could do that too and would simply shake my head, say no way and never think on it much again...other than to pick up those same magazines and again look at the pics.

I was shifted to third shift abruptly after one of our night shift workers committed suicide. I stayed on night shift for about half a year. It was the WORST half a year I have ever had! I hated the two I worked with because they were always so negative, gossip queens most would have labeled them and they were nasty! So me? I tried to work on my stories, on my writing there but just couldn't do it. I need a certain level of silence, of comfort to work and that just was not the place for it so I picked up those scrapbooking magazines. Eventually I wandered off to AC Moore's and gazed at the aisles of stickers and paints...I broke down and bought myself a blank scrapbook. My mind began to toy with the idea of fiddling with scrapbooking on my own. Soon I was going through convention pics. I travel to conventions, have been for years and have tons of pics of the guests at the cons but sadly they remain in envelopes and storage...never to be seen by others. So I got this brainy idea to make a scrapbook devoted to the conventions and low and behold I was on my way to becoming artistic...a foot in the door, a very shaky one at that but it was enough...

Eventually my sights journeyed to the wonderful world of art journaling. I've always liked journaling and to discover that people sent personal journals around the world for others to add to...well that just plain intrigued me...and soon I was joining an LJ community just for art journaling. I got sucked in quite thoroughly and have been hooked ever since!

For years worked on other people's journals (still do) and created entries for them then got a brainy idea to try it for myself. Now? Now I'm experimenting and having a blast, all the while expanding my minimal repertoire of artistic talent...the journey has been quite...amazing ever since and thus I decided why not share a bit of that here with others. I tried that over at my other blog but it just didn't seem to fit, you know...so here I am daring to create a second blog with a separate blogging company and wondering where this door will lead me...if any where.