Art Journal Peek: Being An Artist on the Page
My idea of feminism is self-determination, and it’s very open-ended: every woman has the right to become herself, and do whatever she needs to do.
Ani DiFranco
As an artist on the page you’re like a human on the job. You show up. You do your stuff. You work on becoming yourself, in what ever way you can. You mix your paints, wash your brushes, do your duty as an artist. You show up. Right?
Or you slack of. Watch too much TV, sleep in late, doze of in front of the news.
It’s a choice you get to make every day, as they say…
I think my water jar tells the story of showing up, year after year, while my blog right now talks of watching too much TV-series and not finding my blogging grove…
Again, those big eyes peeking out from the art journal. It’s me. Like a handbook in How to Be An Artist. I should write that blog post instead of… what ever I was doing today. But let’s not complain any more, I’m here now, ain’t I? I think so.
Please take a look at this gelli print that I did last summer, using a leaf from the garden as a mask:
Yummy isn’t it? It makes me long from summer. But first I’m longing for spring, today it was really cold in Sweden.
Here is the full spread, including some deco tape strips of polka dot paper:
What would you write in the book called How to be an artist? What advice would you want – or give to others? How do you as an Artist show up on the Page? I would appreciate if you want to share your knowledge or questions below. Maybe I’ll be inspired by that to write a blog post on the subject one day… :-)
Oh, come join us
If you haven’t joined the DIY Postcard Swap I thin you should do it right now, because there is just over a week until it’s time to close the gate for this time. There are people from US, UK, Sweden, Canada, Australia, German, Israel and a few other countries that has already signed up - and more joining every day.
I think it will be super fun to see what everyone is creating, so I hope you’re not afraid of sharing your work. Feel free to share your handmade postcards on instagram with the hashtag #diypostcardswap or on Flickr here. :-)
I LOVE the how to be an artist page. It is so bright and rich, and those eyes peer right into my soul! How to be an artist is something I think about every day. I believe that the most important requirement is to embrace a certain way of looking at the world, as if everything is special, and nothing is too small to notice or think about it.
love your page; my eyes jump from left to the right; the eyes captivate and the collage on the right is so rich in pattern and colour, like your postcards. love it!
how to be an artist for me is to create from the inside, trying to get my feelings expressed in colour and image….following my inspiration……and I’m always inspired …. your blog helps:)
How to be an artist? Oh Hanna… such a difficult question! I think showing up is a big part of it. Doing the work. Practise. Every day and again and again. I also think it has to do with entering your deepest unconscious mind and face the feelings, moods and fears that live there… and get them out on paper. Honesty. But that’s the hardest part: to descend into the caves and caverns of your soul and it maybe isn’t really necessary to be an artist. ‘Showing up in the atelier’ is the most important requirement. I do hope Spring will come to Sweden soon (it’s cold overhere too, rain and even snow!)
Hanna, love it. Especially your paint jar. I would love to be an artist but not that talents, so I focus on journaling and poetry.