build the spring into your notebook
a pencil and a notebook
Give a gift that endures
How are you planning these next few weeks?
If you are one of our essential workers, thank you. I hope
you find time to rest and recover between shifts and I hope the rest of us are
supporting you in any way we can
If, like the rest of us, you are in a splendid isolation, then
I hope we might be able to offer some ideas to keep you going
Creeping Toad along with Stone and Water, the BabblingVagabonds and the Green Man Gallery in Buxton are going to start posting
activities. For Creeping Toad, these will often be the things we would have made/done
in sessions at Buxton Museum or in the library. We’ll take it in turns to post
and between us offer activities that will cover a variety of ages, abilities and
interests (we hope!)
We would love people to come back to us with the results of
these activities; the triumphs, the disasters and the complete detours you went
on. We can’t promise to post everything but we will share what we can and keep
our creative community communicating!
Email: creepingtoad@btinternet.com
Facebook: Creeping Toad or Stone and Water
A starting point:
but now, why not start by giving something to someone else? I like journals. A
mix of diary, sketchbook, scrapbook and scribbling pad, my journals generally
make very little sense to anyone else but are important to me. Why not start
your own? Or better still, take a moment to order a notebook and a lovely pen
or some coloured pencils to send to someone else. Smart notebooks are good, something
classy, or just different (black paper always feels like a treat until you loves
your silver pen!)
Then use your journal as a personal routine: first thing, last
thing, somewhen. Stop. 10 minutes will do (it will almost certainly grow)….Me being me, my journals are about the world around me: looking, listening, feeling the weather, the plants, the animals, history, dreams and wonders. We'll come back to nature journals over the next few weeks. I make no apology for this: your journal should go in a direction that works for you. Nothing big or profound needed: just stop and make marks on a page: words, sentences, emojis, drawings or a carefully dated blank page
 |
| leaf print |
When I look at useful journal sites or books (a couple of
links below) they talk casually about sketching and seem to produce wonderful art
just like that. I don’t.
This is yours. Your book. Share if you want to. And do not
be ashamed of the mess you make. Writing, or drawing, practice helps. If
something doesn’t work. Try it again. Try something else…..
When I am making books in workshops (building little books
is a different activity and also lots of fun: concertina, 1-page folds, al good
fun, for another day maybe) we have a working list of “things I could do”
- Write
- Draw
- Scribble (very useful)
- Sketch
- Stick (magazines!)
- Make pockets
- Patch (coloured, patterned paper to write on)
- Cut windows
- Make pop-ups
- Add maps
- Add fold out pages
- Do rubbings
- Print (remember potato printing? Or leaves,,, more printing will follow, hang onto your Styrofoam pizza bases)
- Paint
- Stick
- Enjoy
 |
| we always bring too much stuff |
Enough to get started?
Go for it….
....and persist. It takes time for this to get going. Journals can become a place for you to have a conversation with yourself or with the world or just to pause and reflect but sometimes that takes time.
Journals:
What to choose
Personally I use softbacked sketchbooks from Ryman. (no, I don't get any product placement allowance!) If I buy
spiralbound notebooks I always manage to dismantle them. You could visit Papersmiths
for some lovely small notebooks and beautiful fountain pens! Mayfly notebooks are just lovely but their journals are sold out just now (so many brilliant minds sharing the same idea?)...go window shopping online for lovely
notebooks for someone else. Then get one for yourself! No money? Start
working on scrap paper and we'll build books in a week or two....
Ideas for journal processes….
Try these sites for ideas - there are lots out there but don't spend so long looking at other sites that you don't have time for your own notebook!
Whatever you do, no matter how beautifully or how trollish (I go for a certain boggart style myself) , your journals are your own and are wonderful for that!
 |
| Boggarts often influence my drawing and writing...untidiness accepted |
