Procrastination and Creation

Ah, procrastination, my nemesis. I have become so overwhelmed by the things I need to do that I've pretty much ground to a halt, unable to move forward with even the smallest of 'things to do' due to the large number of 'things to do' hanging over my head. Who is to blame for this mess? Well, that would be me.

Finally today I wrote myself a note on a scrap of paper on my desk - Holy procrastination Batman! Stop thinking and DO something, anything! OK, I answered myself, fine, I will - so I walked away from the time-sucking computer and got out some paints, my unfinished project from a recent Michael de Meng class, my trusty and very neglected Moleskine journal (the watercolor paper one), a rippable dictionary and thesaurus, some catalogs that have been sitting around cluttering up the place, and some assorted bits and bobs.

Commitment issues - I tested two pencils on a page near the back of the journal to see which one erases best :) I mentioned this on a prior journal post, but if you want to erase pencil marks you need to do it BEFORE you add your paint wash. I'm just sayin' ... Also, you'll notice in the first photo that I use very cheapo crummy brushes - all the better to mix paint, spread glue, gel medium, mod podge, and other assorted paintbrush sins, they are very forgiving and very freeing - when they finally get clogged up and die I don't feel at all guilty about retiring them (hopefully for use in another altered / recycled / bookbinding project ...)

Job #1 - finish the Cave of Pages project .... OK, no, start a journal page about procrastination :) Yes, even I can see the irony here, but I really needed to clear that major mental block that was going on. Mixing paints and splashing them about, don't think, just DO, aah - that feels better. While I worked on these pages, I also finished up the Cave of Pages project, but more about that later this week (ha, procrastinator!). So, I laid down a wash on each page - watery blues and greens for page 1, warm 'uszhhh' for page 2 (Michael de Meng has a black/gold blend he calls 'the uszhhh' - it's the usual, the color he usually uses) - I like the wuszhhh, a warm version of the uszhhh that's made with Quinachrodone Gold and Van Dyke Brown, so the wuszhhh is my uszhhh.


Page 1 is about being a procrastinator, thinking things through to the point that I don't get anything done, but it also evolved into deciding to be kinder to myself - wow, I was starting to call myself some rotten names and being very mean to myself. I'm very kind and compassionate to others, why not to myself? Good question, ease up. I used some bubble wrap to lift off some color on the corner of the page, and paper towel to lift a little color on the darker green, I like the way it looked a bit like water in the end, especially since my little turtle was putting her head outside the shell, coming up for air, that would be me.

Page 2 is about the class, paint mixes that we learned about, a little playing and a little writing, directions to Zinnia, the very fun store where the class was held. If you live in SoCal you owe yourself a little trip to Zinnia, it's a treasure trove of goodies. Since it's in South Pasadena, you can combine your Zinnia field trip with a visit to the Norton Simon Museum, the Gamble House, or the Huntington Library, or visit one of Pasadena's many tea houses for high tea, all wonderful places to spend a day.

Many thanks to the kind people at UHU - they sent me a product sample to try out. This colored glue stick was perfect for journal pages, it's high tack, so it sticks fast, even with glossy magazine / catalog pages, and I could see where it was already applied. The color fades to clear as the glue dries, very cool. It's acid free, so good for scrapbooking too. Yesterday was National Scrapbooking Day but I'm not scrapping, just journaling.

Have a great week friends, and remember to be kind to yourself!