A few postings ago, Gina of Artistic Dreamer, asked me how my Fake Journal was going. So, the first thing I had to do was to go to her blog and see if her Fake Journal was going well. It was going very well. This meant that I had to delay my answer to her. Why? Because by then my Fake Journal days were over for this year, and I wasn't sure if or how to let the world know. If I hadn't been so excited and hadn't made a big deal of this journalling event, I could probably get away with just replying that it was going okay. And it was going okay, for about 10 days. After that I kind of lost interest in the direction of the Fake Journal. I think the reason I stopped is because I didn't have a real feel for the journal's author. She was (literally) an eleventh hour inspiration. And I wanted to put some background info about her and her life but it seemed too forced. So I didn't really "know" her and I didn't know how or if to include stuff about her existence.
Which brings me to another question about the Fake Journal asked by Leanne of Mixed Media Martyr. She wanted to know what was the last minute idea that allowed me to even start the 2009 Fake Journal. The idea came from a photo of my son and two of my four grandchildren. There was a woman in the background looking directly into my camera when I snapped the photo, and for some reason her look stuck in my mind. So my author was going to be someone who saw photos differently from the way most (or all) people saw them. For example, she saw the background woman as having "hair made of sea glass" and whose "arms were so long that her hands touched the ground". On the first page in the Fake Journal I have a small black & white photo of this background woman, a written description, and a small watercolor & extra-fine point Sharpie illustration. The second day's entry is a small photo of my great grandmother, my sister, Jeanie, and me. This also has the written description of how the author "sees" my great grandmother and a small watercolor. I also used a photo from a magazine, a photo from my high school yearbook, and a photo from a cereal box on other pages.
I missed a few days here and there (4), and by the 16th days, I was reaching, floundering, and not having fun. So I stopped.
But I am looking forward to starting another Fake Journal next year. And I guess there's nothing stopping me from starting an Unofficial Fake Journal if I decide I want to try before 2010.
So that's the scoop on my 2009 Fake Journal.
Happy days!
p.s. The Fake Journal is in the bottom drawer of a dresser that I don't use, and there it will stay until I decide to look at it again. I'm not unhappy about starting or stopping. It's just an out-of-sight-out-of-mind kind of thing. ; )
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5 comments:
I don't think you should worry about it or feel like you have to justify your decision to anyone... journaling (fake or otherwise) is a very personal experience and should be done solely for your own pleasure =)
By the way, I think your perspective for the journal was quite original!
Brilliant that you had a go at fake journalling! I think it is a wonderful exercise for the mind! And you don't have to wait a year to do it again, or wait a year to think about what other ideas you come up with for fake journals. I wish I had heard about it earlier.
Sorry if my question felt like pressure because I was trying to be encouraging ;-) Glad you stopped if it wasn't fun. You had a very creative idea, though. For me, I've found that if I think too much about some creative project it begins to feel like work and I'll put it aside.
Best of luck on your next artistic venture!
Joanie, sometimes you just have to try it to know it and maybe this just wasn't meant to be your thing at the mo. Good on you for shelving it when it wasn't working, who knows what it might turn into or be used for later. I often chop up things that have been in the drawer for years and reinvent them! Mx
Thank you four for your comments.
Fake journaling was fun, the actual pages were much looser than most regular journal pages I do.
Happy days,
Joanie
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