Getting messy

So it would seem that my blog has done a 180 from what I originally intended for it. What was meant to be a travel blog when I was volunteering in Palestine appears to have evolved into all crafts, all the time. But the one actually has the roots in the other.

I was accepted to the internship in Palestine as an arts and crafts teacher - a fact I found equal parts hilarious and terrifying because I was sure I didn't have a creative bone in my body. But I really wanted to go to the West Bank, so I was all in. I signed up for a Pinterest account and started pinning kids' arts and crafts ideas. I stayed up late prepping craft projects so they'd be easy to tackle for a group of rowdy nine-year-olds. And along the way, I became enthralled with art journals on Pinterest and started craving a creative space of my own. As my travels came to a close, I wrote a 23 at 23 list (I had also started reading blogs while abroad) and one of the items was "start an art journal."

Since then, I've scratched that creative itch through minibooks and some careful, controlled art journaling. But now I'm ready to dive in head-first. The daily cards gave me a big boost. And I think I've been successful at them (so far) because of the structure of creating every day and the accountability of sharing online. So when I came across the Get Messy group, I was excited about the prompts and about the gentle push to make at least a couple pages every week.

So without further ado... here are my spreads for the first week of the Season of Love!

Some of the text intentionally smudged - I'm still working out the boundaries of what I'm comfortable sharing online.

Spoiler alert, a blank spread in a notebook - and the goal of expressing something a bit more personal - is a lot more intimidating than a plastic playing card. But if there's one thing I've learned from the cards, it's that the antidote to "out of ideas" is to sit down and start moving your hands and picking up paper. This spread started with the washi tape heart and then one thing lead to another until I had a full spread. The tools in my creative toolbox are still somewhat limited, but since taking Kal's script school I have loved brush script, so I gravitated back to that. I think there's something to be said for applying old, comfortable techniques as you're getting used to new, unfamiliar formats.

       I am usually all about the bright colors, and the next two pages are more reflective of that. After the first page broke the ice, these felt fun and easy. I realized as I was making it that the paper tree is not unlike an art project I taught to the kids in Palestine - and I love that it secretly harkens back to where this all began.

The daily card, week 5

Welcome to week 5! I still love this project. Especially because I've realized that it's like mandatory, small-scale art journaling. I have always loved the idea of art journaling, but the whole artiness of it, combined with the fact that I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, made it feel paralyzing. The fact that I have to create and express something every day has freed me up to make things that are not great. And as a result, I end up loving most of what I make.

The "now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good" card (a quote from John Steinbeck's East of Eden) pretty much nails it. When I sat down to make that card, I felt like I was out of ideas for the first time this year. I was about to paint a card white and write "I am out of ideas" when that quote popped into my head. It perfectly summed up the project and the reminder that not everything I make has to be brilliant.

I love this batch. The "MEPI is the bane of my existence" card is one of my favorites. For those of you whose day jobs don't involve supporting democracy in the Middle East, just know that MEPI is an office in the State Department focused on assistance to the region. I have no beef with them in general, but I had spent most of the workday wrestling with their tricky budget and reporting templates, so this was the sentiment that best summarized the day. I get a huge kick out of this card - I love the tongue-in-cheek effect of using a girly design to express a mundane bureaucratic frustration. And I like the idea that scrapbooking and art journaling doesn't always have to be days at the zoo and deep dark feelings - career ups and downs are fair game too.

The "with time you will see if I am a real artist or not" card was made after I finally saw Exit Through the Gift Shop. It's a line from Thierry Guetta, who pulls together a hugely popular but somewhat derivative street art show after studying under Banksy. He makes the point that creativity isn't a one-off show or event, it's a process over time. I love the line in the context of the movie, and I love how it applies to this project. A month of cards is cool, but keeping it up is what will make me a creative person. Creativity unfolding over time? Count me in.

One reason we haven't gotten married

Austin: Why do people buy wedding dresses instead of just renting them?

Anna: Because it's your special day!!

Austin: But you don't buy the band into slavery just because it's your special day.

We clearly don't see eye to eye on wedding planning.

(Happy Valentine's Day weekend, everyone!)