Paper and Threads

BOOKS:  I adore my husband, who I have known since 1960, and my children and their families - including 6 grandchildren.  I prized my career, my City, and now retirement.  But from early childhood, what I loved most was books.  For this challenge I decided to paint a journal page with several books that are responsible for guiding me down my current journey - drawing, painting, and writing.

I found Gwen Diehn's book, The Decorated Page,  in a local store one day in 2003 when I visited with a gift card in hand.  I was thrilled to learn about visual journals and travel sketchbooks and started to play with one - and some student grade watercolor paints.  I was still working long hours and it took me 2 years to finish that watercolor journal. 

I used Linda Elsworth's Watercolor Skills Workbook to learn the basics about using watercolor and to select my artist grade watercolor palette, and that same month I started Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way - a book I had on a shelf for many years.  I completed all 12 weeks and loved writing morning pages, even though I had to get up earlier before work. 

I was always too busy to keep a journal when I was working and raising a family, but I suddenly became interested in journals and read and loved the Alexandra Johnson's book Leaving a Trace, which reinforced my daily journal writing. 

I was making two quilted, silk painted/dyed wedding chuppahs for my two sons' weddings during 2003-4 and 2004-5 and found Twyla Tharp's book, The Creative Habit, and devoured it.  During that same time I was reading Artist's Sketchbook magazine and thinking about my future creative projects and when I partially retired in 2005, found Illustrated blogs online.  Reading these led to Danny Gregory's book Everyday Matters, and the Yahoo Group of the same name and in January 2006 I started my blog. 

The following year I started what would become 3 full travel journals (150 pages of watercolor paintings - see London category on the right sidebar) while my daughter was living in London, and struggled with finding the perfect watercolor sketchbook - with just the right paper.  I bought Shereen LaPlantz's book Cover to Cover and began making my own watercolor journals.  Through these books and many more, I am enjoying myself more than ever and love retirement!