Tales from Studio Mailbox

Raw Art Journaling: Thoughts and Video

Have you guys been hearing about Quinn McDonald's new book, Raw Art Journaling?

I wanted to help support this hot new publication so I've put together a film while creating an Imagined Landscape using several of the techniques in the book. Then I transformed the landscape into ATCs to give-away here! To top it off, Quinn has generously offered a signed copy of the book as grand prize!!  (Find out about your chance to win below).

Most of you already know that I'm a big Quinn fan.  Am I biased?  Probably.  But you can't take my Quinn love away.  She was my creative coach, and the person who introduced me to the concept of "Making Meaning". 

Raw Art is about making and discovering your own meaning.  This book is for people who need help learning to create from their minds and their imaginations.  This book made me think about all the pages in my moleskin that I don't share because they're "not good enough."  Raw Art is exactly about that kind of artwork.  Meaning is different for all of us.  And meaning isn't always the prettiest or "best" artwork. Meaning comes from your own discoveries through experimentation.

Although Quinn was born in the United States, she grew up in a German and French speaking home. So I asked her if she had any special "German-ness" she'd like to share with us and out came the most amazing Sauerkraut story. I couldn't make something this good up if I tried...

In Quinn's own words,

My mom didn't like the idea of store-bought, preserved food. When I was growing up, we had a garden, and my mom baked bread, made all our meals from scratch, canned fruit, etc. One year she decided to make sauerkraut. There was a big stoneware vat on the back porch, with a fitted stoneware lid. I was too young to get the concept of "ferment" but I was scared of the vat because the lid rocked and "burped" as the sauerkraut developed. In my mind the vat was at least 3 feet tall, but I was a toddler, and my mom wouldn't have made 5 gallons of sauerkraut, so it was probably a one-gallon pot, but in my memory it was huge. One day the fermentation got out of hand, and the lid blew off the container. I didn't see it happen, but I was absolutely sure that sauerkraut was an animal and not a vegetable. For years, I was convinced sauerkraut was alive. How weird is that??

Awesomely weird Quinn!  Excellent. (I actually rubbed my hands together reading it).  This is exactly the kind of journalistic discovery I'm proud to bring to the mixed media community, so KUDOS for sharing something fun and crazy with Studio Mailbox readers!!  I'm never going to look at sauerkraut the same way...

The landscape I demonstrate in the film has been cut up into ATCs - for you! Studio Mailbox would like to support Quinn's book release by giving away 9 goody packs (ATCs, cancelled German postage, old book pages, and little treats like mini-butterfly cards and tags)!  In addition Quinn is offering a signed copy of Raw Art Journaling!

Winners will be drawn randomly from those who take a moment to comment on what's meaningful to you.  Those who want to help make some noise and post the video on their sites or facebook walls get to leave bonus comments, along with those who do that tweeting thing!  You know how it works, so feel free to help spread the love.  When I put these goody packs together I came across old postcards that might be from Poland, Czechoslovakia or Russia.  I'm not a "cat person" but man, those feline expressions are priceless.  So come on folks, there's nothing like angry kitties as an incentive!

Frankly, I think this video might be a first step in launching my TV career.  (Yes I'm kidding.  I'm so freaked to be in front of the camera that I came down with crazy-voice!  Be sure to pay close attention at around 3:29 when I start channelling my inner Canadian.  Although I really like making the videos in my computer, I'm still not super confident recording myself.  Go easy on me!)

Most importantly, congratulations to Quinn on an awesome publication.  JA WOHL!

Don't forget to leave a meaningful comment:

Goodie Packs complete with mad cats,  for 9 lucky winners! 

Why 9?  Because that's better than "nein" winners!  (ok that was lame)

Grand Prize is a signed copy of Raw Art Journaling!!

Drawing takes place Monday, 1st of August (German time!)  Be sure to check back to see if you're a lucky winner...

 

Using Written Text in Collage

For years I've been wondering about mixed media artists who are using old texts as collage material.

It looks beautiful doesn't it?  Especially foreign texts.  Texts in character languages.  Texts on old paper,  textured paper, ancient fonts, brown pages.  Beautiful.  I love it.  But then I started thinking about it.

Firstly, foreign texts are a little dangerous.  If you do not understand the language, how do you know what the text says?  I would recommend being very careful that you don't inadvertently use material which could turn your artwork into something controversial or offensive (unless of course that's somehow your goal). 

What if that text is religious and you didn't realize it?   Or what if the text is something crude or horrible... something you would never include in your artwork?  Ooopsie.  I'm simply suggesting that we are careful to respect written words.  The pen is actually a sword people!!

Hmm.  Respecting written words.  That's right.  Somebody wrote those words.  So although I think it might be OK to use text in collage and then sell the original piece, I'm pretty confident that it's not OK to use text and then reproduce it (multiple prints, cards, whatever) when that text wasn't yours to begin with.  It came from the page of a book. It came from the mind of a person who wrote that book. Just like a photo or image that isn't yours, should we be putting text on a copy machine and then reselling even a portion of it? 

My hubby warns me in his ever loving way, that maybe I shouldn't bring these things up.  Let people make whatever they want.  It isn't my business and it isn't my problem. As long as I know what I'm using to make my own stuff, let it go. Hmm.  He's probably right.   But I'm interested in knowing what you think about when you look at old text being used in mixed media artwork... and will you think about it differently now?

Arabic for Designers is an excellent book about text in art.  This is a must-have for anybody working on logo designs out there.  The book is beautifully illustrated throughout and contains newspaper clippings of epic mistakes from the major corporations such as Coca-Cola and Nike. It's a great addition to my creative library and the best part is it makes me think about our responsibility as creative people to respect language.

Artistic Jealousy

Awhile back I had my blog consulted with Kirsty Hall when she recommended the one book she knew of that dealt with the issue of artistic jealousy. Anything I can do YOU can do Better by Tessa Souter.

Now I know this is something we usually don't talk about, and I'm not saying that I ever experience this... actually I have "a friend" who's got a problem with this... (sound familiar?)

Anyway.  Seriously.  Because although it was not the best book I've ever read I'm glad that I did. I'd like to highlight the main positive points that I took away from it.

First, it reinforced that the creative people who are achieving their goals are working their butts off.  (And can I please have an "amen" on that?  Because I'm a little sick of the mentality that somehow there's a magic creative wand we could simply wave instead of doing the actual work). 

And secondly, the book made me laugh at loud in a few places about what needy creatures artistic people truly can be.  And it's good to know we're not alone. 

Thirdly, chapter 8 brought up not only jealousy that creative people might experience themselves but also how to deal with the jealousy that others might display towards us.  Jealousy goes in both directions people!  What an important thing to give some brain space to. I like the idea of recognizing artists who might need to do a little shadow work and be ready to handle it with love and compassion.

So leave a comment below if you'd like to win my copy, complete with a pretzel bookmark in Chapter 8.   I'll have a drawing in a week and send it off to you or "your friend..." if you catch my drift!

My Famous 15

I've recently found some wonderful new blogs. 

One is Resident on Earth who tagged me in her post where we are supposed to take 15 minutes and formulate a list of the 15 writers who've influenced us the most.

Well this hasn't taken me 15 minutes, it's taken me more like 15 days.  I don't know what that says about my level of literacy, but here goes:

Shel Silverstein - I love this guy's poems and  his illustrations even more.  A brilliant genius. Some of his stuff makes me incredibly sad.  I do not suggest drinking and reading Shel's work.

Laura Ingalls Wilder - peeps, I'm from Minnesota.  Little House on the Prairie is a cornerstone of my formative years.  LHOP (or in German they call it "Our Little Farm"). These tales are a Midwestern classic. As far as I'm concerned, every little girl in the world should at some point in her life be given the complete box set as a gift that will last her a lifetime.  *TJ thumps chest cavity twice*

Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain - I love Huck Finn but I also just love a guy with a pen name.  Hey maybe he's the whole inspiration behind my weirdo German alias on Facebook!

Dr. Suess - ahhh Teddy Geisel. And another duel identity.  His "real life" story is a bit tragic and sad but nonetheless a brilliant creative who kept at it despite repeated rejection early on in his career.  A hero.

Judy Blume - I don't know if it was just because she was racy enough to write about menstruation or if it was just so fun to finally get to read chapter books.  Ramona rocked.  Oh wait that was Beverly Cleary. (thanks Sarah!)

John Irving - I'd never read him until I lived in England.  Although I hate when writers write about writers, my exception is his most recent canadian logging story, Last Night in Twisted River.  The guy is amazing.  A Widow for One Year has been one of my faves.  I hope he moves to Germany to research for a new novel.  I have fantasies of studying the culture with him.  A girl can dream.

Elizabeth Gilbert - when I read what she writes, I feel like a have a soul mate.  Spooky and wonderful.  I wrote about my Kindle experience with her book Committed before, and I can recommend it to anyone interested in relationships between people of different nationalities. 

Anne Lamott - makes me laugh until I cry.  She's another soul sister. I like to believe I was related to her in another life. I admire the way she writes about her own mind.  Her book Operating Instructions was a wonderful read during my early pregnant days in Germany. 

James Patterson - (and throw in John Grisham and Dean Koontz too).  These fellas, well they give me a thrill.  They write entertaining scary stuff.  Some better than others.  And I like the sensation of being scared.  Not "too" scared.  But a little nervous to go to bed.  I think it's healthy.

Augusten Burroughs - his childhood is so freaky amazing, I would read anything he wrote just because he's a fascinating human being.  Another brave guy out there fighting the world with a pen.  Although he's famous for Running With Scissors, I personally loved Dry.

Wally Lamb - big books impress me.

Paul Coelho - he's like the Santana of prose.  He's got good thoughts and spreads a good message.  What's not to like?  I'd recommend The Alchemist.

There's room here for The Diary of Anne Frank, Jane Eyre, Gone With the Wind, and Grapes of Wrath (which I do think is one of the weirdly best books every written) - but I imagine they're not exactly surprises.  And suddenly I've shifted to books instead of their authors.

So last but not least, what I really want to share with you is one that I don't think many people know about.  My absolute favorite book ever written:

Lucia St. Clair Robson - Ride the Wind- the amazing fictional tale based on the real-life abduction of Cynthia Ann Parker, a settler child who is taken by Native Americans.  It's not only a fascinating story, but extremely well researched and therefore historically interesting.   I've read it several times, savoring it every few years. 

Friends, this post took 4-eveh to formulate, so let me know if you go read any of these suggestions.  And if you like my list, feel free to pass it along.  Or better yet, take a second to comment and tell me what your favorite book is.  Or make your own Fab 15 list and link on back!  I'd love to see what's on all your bookshelves...

I realize this is a photo of a DVD set, but I thought you'd appreciate a visual of "German" LHOP!

Elizabethtown

Besides the fact that it's a good love story, Elizabethtown is a great movie for creative people to watch. 

Recommended to me by my most unlikely friend, I was immediately sucked into the story line.

A terrific lesson on creative triumph, crashing failure and external opinion.  Or maybe how easy it is to completely identify oneself with ones artistic projects. 

In any case, a good one for an escape after all the holiday madness.  Or maybe when you're experiencing an  uncooperative universe.  This was totally the film I was watching when I made my little Kirstin Dunst head with my iPhone's sketch app!

 Loved it.  Rent it, buy it, steal it.  Watch it.

Keep Rockin'

After waiting all long summer, the Runaways finally hit the German video rental store.  I've mentioned before how I'm practically famous here, and the feeling was only enforced when the nice woman had set aside a copy just for me. 

Maybe it's because I asked if the movie had come in about 146 times.

God I love Joan Jett.  I always have.  I've seen her several times in concert in Minnesota.  Once, in a biker bar, I even rebelliously tore a card-stock poster off the wall and waited around for an autograph.

When it was my turn she asked me who to make it out to and I told her my name.  She asked me how to spell it and I said, "T-a-r-i." 

And Joan said, "That's a cool way to spell it."

Then I fainted dead away or I probably said something completely lame in response.  But whatever the case, I will never forget that Joan Jett actually spoke to me. 

And oh how I've treasured her autograph, moving it with me through three different countries.

The thing that's so great about Joan (besides being a pioneer woman of rock-n-roll) is that she's just such a tough little fighter.  Although I didn't love the movie as much as I had hoped, I did think they captured how the end of the Runaways wasn't the end of her.  I'd love to know how she responded to the movie.  Does anybody have any info for me?

My two favorite scenes were:

1. When she made her own stencil and spray painted herself a "Sex Pistols" t-shirt, then ripped and re-pinned it, custom pimping it even further. (How cool is that?)
2. When she was getting interviewed at the end on the radio and her eye makeup was hot pink matching her blazer.  Epic.

Maybe all creative people can sit up and pay attention to Joan.  The moral of the story is that: When the going gets tough, the tough keep rockin!

 

 

 

My Kindle and iPhone Experience

I'm surprised to report positively about my recent Kindle book experience. 

I have only seen one woman using a Kindle on an airplane but she was an armrest stealer with hostile body language.  There was no way I was going to ask her about it, because I was concerned she'd eat my face off.  So due to the lack of research, I didn't have a lot to go on.

I thought I would miss the paper and struggle trying to read on a screen.  My mind was already made up that using the free Kindle iPhone app would be beyond my technical abilities. And be inferior to reading on an actual Kindle.  The theory of reading an entire book on a cell phone seemed OK but I imagined that the reality would be pretty horrible.

And you know what?  I was wrong. 

It was easy to download and pay for.  (I think anyway.  I clicked and agreed to a bunch of crap in German by depressing "Aktualisieren" and "Akzeptieren" a few times. I might be back crying when the bill comes). 

Not to mention it was comfortable to read and turn pages on the iPhone.  (Yet I do sometimes wonder if a new repetitive injury will be in our thumbs from that swiping to the right motion we make to advance the screen).  The phone itself is so smart.  Every time I went back in, it KNEW what page I was on.  It's genius.  If you rub your finger in the upper right hand corner, it dog-ears the page!   I never did figure out how to go back and actually find my dog-ears, but I imagine in time I could learn. 

The huge bonus for me was getting English reading material without having to pay twice the price.  AND choosing what I wanted instead of whatever the purchasers at my local German bookstore have decided to stock (and let me tell you... I really wonder sometimes).  It was extremely handy to have a book uploaded to my phone for times like when my kid falls asleep in the car and I want to give him 15 minutes of rest before waking him, or when we were camping and it wouldn't quit raining, or when I ended up alone in a restaurant unprepared.  Your book is already with you.  I'm not saying that I'm going to read everything on my phone now.  But I am going to have a kindle book tucked away to enjoy for those times I hadn't expected.

BTW - I read Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Probably another major influence on the whole experience.  I. Love. Her.  I would read a book of hers if it was on a cracked, grubby, stolen cell phone.  This was no exception.  I felt like she was telling parts of my story.  Marrying someone outside your nationality is really complicated.  Marriage is complicated in the first place and once you start throwing in variables like not having the same native language/culture/it just compounds. Such a great story from a great writer, I was secretly wishing that she and her hubby would have to come live in Germany, on my street.  And of course we'd be great friends... oh i digress but just go get this book, digital or otherwise!!