A few comments on Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
“Writing is learning to pay attention and communicate what is going on”. p. 97
I thought it was interesting how Anne Lamott opened the second section of her book. In her introduction she focuses heavily on the writing itself-plot, character, setting, etc. But, in this second section she opens with this phrase that struck me as being simply about inspiration. Often artists need inspiration to begin a piece. ‘Learning to pay attention’ could mean a number of things including understanding and noticing the latest trends, finding inspiration in everyday life or seeking out that which we find inspires us.
“Train yourself to hear that small inner voice” p. 113
Anne’s book isn’t just about writing but also about life and I think that this phrase rings true to everything we do in life. I have always been one to trust my intuition. I once heard a phrase, oddly enough it was on the Oprah Winfrey show, that went “Doubt means don’t, in men and shoes”. I tend to remind myself of this phrase often and have tried to train myself to trust my instincts-in life and art. I often know when something does not suit the layout I’m working on. Or if something just doesn’t feel right. I also have a tendency to know when something is right. This was another tidbit of information that spoke to me from her book.
Index Cards p. 133
I LOVE her idea about the index cards! Anne provides us with some insight into her working brain as she reminds us that she carries around index cards to jot little ideas, sayings, and happenings on for future reference. I have found that this kind of gathering of information and jotting down of ideas works for me as well. I have a journal of sorts that’s nicknamed ‘scrap crap’. It serves as a catch-all for inspiration I have found over the years for ideas, sketches, color combination's, etc for scrapbooking. I’ve also recently found a site online called ‘pinterest’ which serves as an online platform where you can gather and organize your online inspirations. It’s fabulous as it provides links and let’s you ‘pin’ anything you may find on the internet that interests you.
Writing Groups p. 151
There’s nothing like being able to discuss your work with a group of like-minded individuals. In the scrapbooking world we call those ‘crops’ or weekend retreats. People get together to scrapbook and this is often where new ideas and new techniques are shared. There’s an awful lot of peer influence but there’s also a significant amount of help and assistance for struggling artists in these communities. Blogs, message boards and local stores are also ways in which we can share our work with one another, learn a new technique or seek a helpful ear.
Finding Your Voice p. 195
I have had a hard time finding my own personal style as I’m sure every writer/artist does. You want to be published and be the next big thing, but you don’t want your work to be a copycat of the latest and greatest. You don’t necessarily want to cave to the pressures of your industry either. You want to blaze a new trail and develop your own style. This is difficult. I have so many individuals that I admire and inspire me in the scrapbooking world, but they are already ‘famous’ in their own right. I’m still discovering and coming to grips with who I am as a scrapbooker and what I want my personal style to be. Oddly, I know what I am not-but I can't seem to nail down what I am. However, I’m hesitant to find out what I am as well. I don’t want to box myself into a definition because that limits my creativity. It’s odd-developing a personal style, because you want to follow the pack but do so with your own personal twist!
Anne Lamott’s book seems to have tidbits of wisdom for all artists from all walks of life. Her book is a metaphor for living life as well. I happened to very much enjoy her straight-forward style and would recommend it to others who enjoy any art medium be it writing, scrapbooking or otherwise.
Krista
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Stage 2: Digital Pages
I've just finished the digital pages for my camp project. It was draining to write all those stories but they are from the heart and honest and true. Even so-it takes a lot of emotional energy to conjure up some of those memories and think about everything that has happened in my camp life for the past 10 years. It's a lot to recall and not all of it is pleasurable.
But, I'm pleased with how the pages turned out. Here's a screen shot of what they look like. Each one has a different colour band and font and obviously different pictures at the top. This one is from Summer 2011-the last summer.
I'm thinking I might do a little strip of pattern paper along the bottom band and turn it into a hybrid scrapbooking page-a combination of digi and traditional.
Now, I have to decide how I want to print them. I could send it out to a lab and have the lab print them on 8 1/2 by 11 paper or I could just run it off onto cardstock on my home printer. I have to do some more investigating to figure out what I want to do about that before I go any further.
But, stage 2 is done! Now, we move onto stage 3-the double page layouts! Wish me luck!
Krista
But, I'm pleased with how the pages turned out. Here's a screen shot of what they look like. Each one has a different colour band and font and obviously different pictures at the top. This one is from Summer 2011-the last summer.
I'm thinking I might do a little strip of pattern paper along the bottom band and turn it into a hybrid scrapbooking page-a combination of digi and traditional.
Now, I have to decide how I want to print them. I could send it out to a lab and have the lab print them on 8 1/2 by 11 paper or I could just run it off onto cardstock on my home printer. I have to do some more investigating to figure out what I want to do about that before I go any further.
But, stage 2 is done! Now, we move onto stage 3-the double page layouts! Wish me luck!
Krista
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Home
This week as part of my final project I emailed some friends and essentially, my camp family, to send me some funny memories, details of our relationship, etc. to include in my project. One of my favorite people wrote me back and in his recount of our past summer said this:
“Camp Iroquois Springs, there’s this feeling you get inside yourself when you turn onto Bower’s Road for the first day of the summer and you see that bright logo, the white vinyl fencing & it’s just a beautiful sunny day, the water is sparkling on the lake and the pristine cabins are surrounded by all the green grass”.
Now that spells home to me. Just reading it makes me well up inside. And every summer I do-when I turn onto Bowers Road, no matter the time be it mid-day or midnight, I am overwhelmed by the feeling of returning ‘home’.
So, I thought I would use this assignment to tie into my final project piece. Camp is my ‘summer home’ and it’s where my other family is, so I thought that it was fitting to write a short piece about ‘home’ in relation to camp.
In discussions about returning ‘home’ people always talk about the somersaults they get in their tummy when they step off the bus or walk down the gangway from the airplane. For me that feeling ensues when the large, white van turns onto Bower’s Road. It’s a kind of sick, anticipation of another summer of memories and friends. It’s wondering what this summer will bring-will it measure up to last summer and the summer before it?!
As the van makes it’s steep climb up that final small hill and the security guard moves aside to let it drive up the main driveway, we past the Health Centre and park in front of the dining hall. I’m filled with nervous energy. I can’t keep the smile off my face as I climb out of the van and search the crowd of people, new counselors, old friends and hospitality team members, to find who I’m looking for-these days that’s usually Daniela, John and Mark. As I scan the crowd I’m overcome by the feeling of a fresh new summer. I look at all the new staff and think that they are in for the summer of their lives-I usually also think that they have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into here at camp!
Around me are the anxious and excited squeals of old friends who haven't seen one another in 10 months-or more in some cases- who run to hug one another. By this time I’ve usually found a crowd of people to hug myself. Finding Mark in his Iroquois Springs polo shirt and his shorts, his summer uniform, I’m sure to get a kiss on the cheek and a great big, tight hug. I smile with tears in my eyes as we discuss the year and what’s been happening. He usually gives me a little insight into the new crew for the summer and then leaves me be while I reunite and say hello and give and get countless hugs from returning staff.
Coming ‘home’ to camp is one of the things I treasure most. It’s a place where I am valued and welcomed with open arms. It’s a place where I feel the most ‘me’ and that I think I am the best version of myself. Camp is such a huge part of who I am and who I have become. The relationships that have grown out of camp are those of a nurturing and loving family. So regardless that we don’t all see one another all year or we don’t all live together, it’s ‘love that makes a house a home’ and at Iroquois Springs I always know that I am home.
Krista
“Camp Iroquois Springs, there’s this feeling you get inside yourself when you turn onto Bower’s Road for the first day of the summer and you see that bright logo, the white vinyl fencing & it’s just a beautiful sunny day, the water is sparkling on the lake and the pristine cabins are surrounded by all the green grass”.
Now that spells home to me. Just reading it makes me well up inside. And every summer I do-when I turn onto Bowers Road, no matter the time be it mid-day or midnight, I am overwhelmed by the feeling of returning ‘home’.
So, I thought I would use this assignment to tie into my final project piece. Camp is my ‘summer home’ and it’s where my other family is, so I thought that it was fitting to write a short piece about ‘home’ in relation to camp.
In discussions about returning ‘home’ people always talk about the somersaults they get in their tummy when they step off the bus or walk down the gangway from the airplane. For me that feeling ensues when the large, white van turns onto Bower’s Road. It’s a kind of sick, anticipation of another summer of memories and friends. It’s wondering what this summer will bring-will it measure up to last summer and the summer before it?!
As the van makes it’s steep climb up that final small hill and the security guard moves aside to let it drive up the main driveway, we past the Health Centre and park in front of the dining hall. I’m filled with nervous energy. I can’t keep the smile off my face as I climb out of the van and search the crowd of people, new counselors, old friends and hospitality team members, to find who I’m looking for-these days that’s usually Daniela, John and Mark. As I scan the crowd I’m overcome by the feeling of a fresh new summer. I look at all the new staff and think that they are in for the summer of their lives-I usually also think that they have no idea what they’ve gotten themselves into here at camp!
Around me are the anxious and excited squeals of old friends who haven't seen one another in 10 months-or more in some cases- who run to hug one another. By this time I’ve usually found a crowd of people to hug myself. Finding Mark in his Iroquois Springs polo shirt and his shorts, his summer uniform, I’m sure to get a kiss on the cheek and a great big, tight hug. I smile with tears in my eyes as we discuss the year and what’s been happening. He usually gives me a little insight into the new crew for the summer and then leaves me be while I reunite and say hello and give and get countless hugs from returning staff.
Me with Bubba (associate director) & Mark (director & owner)
Coming ‘home’ to camp is one of the things I treasure most. It’s a place where I am valued and welcomed with open arms. It’s a place where I feel the most ‘me’ and that I think I am the best version of myself. Camp is such a huge part of who I am and who I have become. The relationships that have grown out of camp are those of a nurturing and loving family. So regardless that we don’t all see one another all year or we don’t all live together, it’s ‘love that makes a house a home’ and at Iroquois Springs I always know that I am home.
Krista
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Good Stories
"Good stories are about telling the truth"-Anne Lamott
In the process of telling my stories-one for each year I've noticed that it's hard to tell the truth. It's difficult to write what honestly happened and to pour your soul into something that others will read. It's hard to be honest-with the reader and yourself when everything isn't all roses!
But yet I'll continue to plunder onward and write.
Krista
In the process of telling my stories-one for each year I've noticed that it's hard to tell the truth. It's difficult to write what honestly happened and to pour your soul into something that others will read. It's hard to be honest-with the reader and yourself when everything isn't all roses!
But yet I'll continue to plunder onward and write.
Krista
Saturday, October 22, 2011
What's the 'story' about?
I've been thinking about what this 'story' is really all about. While I've been going on and on about how much I love camp it's occurred to me that camp is only the setting for the real stories. The real stories are the relationships and the people-the characters that make camp what it is for me.
So, I've emailed a list of about 12 dear friends and am hoping that they will write a little something to include in my album-how we met, a funny memory or something about our relationship. I'm looking forward to reading what they wrote-if they write me back at all! Here's hoping for a few emails!
I've also been thinking about the album and I think I need something to sum it all up at the end. It's needs an 'epilogue' or a final love letter. I think that's something I'm going to add to the album and let it be the final page and maybe give it some closure.
Krista
So, I've emailed a list of about 12 dear friends and am hoping that they will write a little something to include in my album-how we met, a funny memory or something about our relationship. I'm looking forward to reading what they wrote-if they write me back at all! Here's hoping for a few emails!
I've also been thinking about the album and I think I need something to sum it all up at the end. It's needs an 'epilogue' or a final love letter. I think that's something I'm going to add to the album and let it be the final page and maybe give it some closure.
Krista
Friday, October 21, 2011
Bird by Bird
So I've finished reading our required textbook, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing & Life written by Anne Lamott. It was wonderful and I loved her honest, somewhat snarky writing style.
I was fascinated and intrigued by the beginnings of her career in writing. Her adoration and passing shame at her father's profession as a writer was interesting. Her writing career, while it began as something she was good at and an admiration for her father, brought her full circle as it's the very thing that eventually gave her some notoriety in the literary community as she saw some success with the publishing of the book she wrote about her father.
For me, camp was the fuel for the 'scrapbooking fire'. I needed a place to keep all those photos and memories, the names and the good times so as not to forget them. But, there was a similar adoration and shame that I associate with that first summer at camp. That first summer was fantastic but I learned a lot of hard lessons and made some mistakes along the way to the 'end of summer' bliss that I experienced. I wouldn't trade that first summer for anything but it was probably one of the most pleasantly difficult two months of my life.
Similar to Anne, I have always had a knack for my talent. I have always been a creative soul-I loved arts and crafts as a child so it was a natural step to make a 'scrapbook'. I never anticipated that it would be a force in my life and a label that I am proud to identify myself with. I am a published artist. That's something that I am very proud of and it's another thing that that first summer at camp introduced into my life.
I have thoroughly enjoyed Anne's style and what she has to say about writing and life in general. Her tips throughout the book are universal for the common artist. Anne has a few 'rules' or 'guidelines' for honing your craft which I think apply to all artistic endeavors, or for that matter- all life endeavors. There's a few that I particularly enjoyed.
She states simply that we must take time to practice every day. Even when we don't feel like it. Even when the words don't come. Sometimes we need to just sit there with our supplies whether that means paper and paintbrushes or the computer.
Even more importantly, you have to be realistic. You aren't going to 'published' overnight-and you might never get there either. This makes it all the more important that you ENJOY what you do. The layouts-if you could even call them that-in that first scrapbook will never make it into print. In fact, even layouts I completed 3-4 years ago will never make it into print. I have had to read, research and practice to get to where my style is today.
One thing that I loved in the book was her use of index cards. Brilliant. I am forever making lists. I love to write down my ideas and sketches and whenever I see something I like I add it to my notebook entitled 'Scrap Crap'. It's a great catch-all for all of those ideas. I've recently joined a community online as well called 'pinterest' which has enabled me to gather and clump my online inspiration as well. I find these tools useful for 'slow days' at the scrapbooking table and just in general to get the juices flowing or get out of an artistic rut. Inspiration is as critical as vision for an artist.
Just a few initial musings on Bird by Bird.
Krista
I was fascinated and intrigued by the beginnings of her career in writing. Her adoration and passing shame at her father's profession as a writer was interesting. Her writing career, while it began as something she was good at and an admiration for her father, brought her full circle as it's the very thing that eventually gave her some notoriety in the literary community as she saw some success with the publishing of the book she wrote about her father.
For me, camp was the fuel for the 'scrapbooking fire'. I needed a place to keep all those photos and memories, the names and the good times so as not to forget them. But, there was a similar adoration and shame that I associate with that first summer at camp. That first summer was fantastic but I learned a lot of hard lessons and made some mistakes along the way to the 'end of summer' bliss that I experienced. I wouldn't trade that first summer for anything but it was probably one of the most pleasantly difficult two months of my life.
Similar to Anne, I have always had a knack for my talent. I have always been a creative soul-I loved arts and crafts as a child so it was a natural step to make a 'scrapbook'. I never anticipated that it would be a force in my life and a label that I am proud to identify myself with. I am a published artist. That's something that I am very proud of and it's another thing that that first summer at camp introduced into my life.
I have thoroughly enjoyed Anne's style and what she has to say about writing and life in general. Her tips throughout the book are universal for the common artist. Anne has a few 'rules' or 'guidelines' for honing your craft which I think apply to all artistic endeavors, or for that matter- all life endeavors. There's a few that I particularly enjoyed.
She states simply that we must take time to practice every day. Even when we don't feel like it. Even when the words don't come. Sometimes we need to just sit there with our supplies whether that means paper and paintbrushes or the computer.
Even more importantly, you have to be realistic. You aren't going to 'published' overnight-and you might never get there either. This makes it all the more important that you ENJOY what you do. The layouts-if you could even call them that-in that first scrapbook will never make it into print. In fact, even layouts I completed 3-4 years ago will never make it into print. I have had to read, research and practice to get to where my style is today.
One thing that I loved in the book was her use of index cards. Brilliant. I am forever making lists. I love to write down my ideas and sketches and whenever I see something I like I add it to my notebook entitled 'Scrap Crap'. It's a great catch-all for all of those ideas. I've recently joined a community online as well called 'pinterest' which has enabled me to gather and clump my online inspiration as well. I find these tools useful for 'slow days' at the scrapbooking table and just in general to get the juices flowing or get out of an artistic rut. Inspiration is as critical as vision for an artist.
Just a few initial musings on Bird by Bird.
Krista
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Opening Layouts ate DONE.
So stage one is complete. I've been working diligently at putting together these 10 'opening' layouts for a while now. Last week I identified all of the photos I'll be working with and printed the 10 for the main pages of each summer.
I approached this stage initially with some apprehension because I wanted cohesion within the album itself. I thought maybe the opening pages could be similar so to introduce each summer in the same way. So, I stuck to a simple formula.
So I've posted two full layouts here for you to see and a few details about the design of each.
Here is my layout for summer #1:
Here is my layout for summer #10:
You can see that I anchored my photo and hand-stitched tag with a couple strips of pattern paper and some washi tape. They're in a group of three because I love the 'rule of three', stemming from the 'rule of odds', for artists and graphic designers.
Here's an example with Summer #2:
I also added a little group of embellishments on the tag and added a 'pre-title', so to speak, because I felt that the number stitched on the tag was too bland and needed a little more explanation.
At the top of each page I've collected a similar arrangement of objects-a number, a label and an embellishment stacked on a little strip of pattern paper. This serves to balance and anchor the layout.
Summer #1:
Summer #2:
You'll notice that many of the rules of design and elements of design are incorporated into my page layouts. I've tried to use odd numbers of embellishments as they are visually appealing to the eye when grouped together. Related to this 'rule of odds' is the idea that triangles are visually appealing as well. Think about your eyes and nose or your eyes and mouth as a triangle. I've attempted to organize my work into triangles as well. In summer #1 you'll notice that the buttons form a visual triangle. See if oyu can find more elements of the 'rule of odds' or the 'triangle' in my work!
My binder album is already starting to look very thick now that there are 10 layouts in it.
This week I've been working on the digital layouts for the coordinating pages for these opening layouts. The digital pages are more about 'story' than they are about the photos and the fanciness of the embellishments.
I'll have another update soon.
Krista
I approached this stage initially with some apprehension because I wanted cohesion within the album itself. I thought maybe the opening pages could be similar so to introduce each summer in the same way. So, I stuck to a simple formula.
So I've posted two full layouts here for you to see and a few details about the design of each.
Here is my layout for summer #1:
Here is my layout for summer #10:
You can see that I anchored my photo and hand-stitched tag with a couple strips of pattern paper and some washi tape. They're in a group of three because I love the 'rule of three', stemming from the 'rule of odds', for artists and graphic designers.
Here's an example with Summer #2:
I also added a little group of embellishments on the tag and added a 'pre-title', so to speak, because I felt that the number stitched on the tag was too bland and needed a little more explanation.
At the top of each page I've collected a similar arrangement of objects-a number, a label and an embellishment stacked on a little strip of pattern paper. This serves to balance and anchor the layout.
Summer #1:
Summer #2:
You'll notice that many of the rules of design and elements of design are incorporated into my page layouts. I've tried to use odd numbers of embellishments as they are visually appealing to the eye when grouped together. Related to this 'rule of odds' is the idea that triangles are visually appealing as well. Think about your eyes and nose or your eyes and mouth as a triangle. I've attempted to organize my work into triangles as well. In summer #1 you'll notice that the buttons form a visual triangle. See if oyu can find more elements of the 'rule of odds' or the 'triangle' in my work!
My binder album is already starting to look very thick now that there are 10 layouts in it.
This week I've been working on the digital layouts for the coordinating pages for these opening layouts. The digital pages are more about 'story' than they are about the photos and the fanciness of the embellishments.
I'll have another update soon.
Krista
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Photos Photos Photos
I've been culling and digging through photos for the last week or so. It's been hard for a number of reasons.
1. I discovered that I threw out all the originals that I had stored in my closet from Summer 2002,2003,2004, and 2005. So, I had to go through the old scrapbooks-wasn't that a joy-and try and take pictures of the scrapbooked pictures to use for the album. Let me tell you, back in those early days I thought that those funky scissors were the bees knees. It makes for taking pictures of those pictures a trying task!
2. From Summers 2006-2011 I have a million digital pictures. So, I had to cull down what I wanted to use for those summers.
But, I have officially finished gathering photos and now I just have to re-size them and send them to the printer. I hope to have a page or something to show by the end of the week.
In other related news, I did take a virtual trip to Designer Digitals, the online digital scrapbooking store, this past weekend and investigated some possible layouts to tell my story for each summer. It was a successful trip. I bought a layout produced by Cathy Z. and it seems to have enough space for my story and a few spots for pictures even. The layout is simple but it encourages you to read the story which I like. Turns out it's easier to do a digital page than I thought. I'll probably incorporate some digital scrapbooking into my regular scrapbooking in the future. It's a great way to tell a story.
That's the progress that's been made so far. I'll have a page to post within the week I expect.
Krista
1. I discovered that I threw out all the originals that I had stored in my closet from Summer 2002,2003,2004, and 2005. So, I had to go through the old scrapbooks-wasn't that a joy-and try and take pictures of the scrapbooked pictures to use for the album. Let me tell you, back in those early days I thought that those funky scissors were the bees knees. It makes for taking pictures of those pictures a trying task!
2. From Summers 2006-2011 I have a million digital pictures. So, I had to cull down what I wanted to use for those summers.
But, I have officially finished gathering photos and now I just have to re-size them and send them to the printer. I hope to have a page or something to show by the end of the week.
In other related news, I did take a virtual trip to Designer Digitals, the online digital scrapbooking store, this past weekend and investigated some possible layouts to tell my story for each summer. It was a successful trip. I bought a layout produced by Cathy Z. and it seems to have enough space for my story and a few spots for pictures even. The layout is simple but it encourages you to read the story which I like. Turns out it's easier to do a digital page than I thought. I'll probably incorporate some digital scrapbooking into my regular scrapbooking in the future. It's a great way to tell a story.
That's the progress that's been made so far. I'll have a page to post within the week I expect.
Krista
Friday, October 7, 2011
Working on Something...
I've been working on something this past week for my class.
I wanted to try something new and different for this assignment so I turned to a little canvas and water colour.
I was inspired by a number of things I found on pinterest to create something about the rain and the power of positive thinking. And so I bought some water colours and brushes and set to work.
I used a Tim Holtz stamp with black Adirondack ink for the stamp and then embossed it with clear embossing powder to keep the 'rain' or water colour from getting on it. Then I just played around until I got the effect I was going for. It looked like this.
Then I hauled out my little letter stamps that I love and stamped a quote by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow on it. I love the way it turned out...
Krista
I wanted to try something new and different for this assignment so I turned to a little canvas and water colour.
I was inspired by a number of things I found on pinterest to create something about the rain and the power of positive thinking. And so I bought some water colours and brushes and set to work.
I used a Tim Holtz stamp with black Adirondack ink for the stamp and then embossed it with clear embossing powder to keep the 'rain' or water colour from getting on it. Then I just played around until I got the effect I was going for. It looked like this.
Then I hauled out my little letter stamps that I love and stamped a quote by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow on it. I love the way it turned out...
Krista
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