ART SHOULD DISTURB THE COMFORTABLE AND COMFORT THE DISTURBED

MAIL ART + ART & TRAVEL JOURNALS

+ ALTERED BOOKS + OTHER CRAFTS

Thursday, February 26, 2015

travel journal: wilderness camping trip, sapphire coast, new south wales, australia feb 2015




































Blog theme song

A lot of blogs I visit have 'theme songs'...well here is mine. Not only because  it's very good music but also...it's good to be just a bit crazy from time to time....not the lunatic kind but the more mellow...lets break out and have fun kind....after all the world is such a sad place and within ourselves lies our decency and humanity with all of its failings...enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd2B6SjMh_w


Sunday, February 15, 2015

mail art : letter is better


altered book, hidden journal : now traveller

I have always found it difficult and indeed a challenge to my lack of discipline to keep a diary or indeed, a written journal about myself, memories, experiences or just day to day events.

What I have been always good at is placing those very same memories into art form. This is exactly what this (what I have termed) An Altered Book, Hidden Journal is all about. I have been doing them for years and love them!

The avatar for these expressions of 'me' are usually old books that even thrift stores have difficulty selling and usually throw away. I resurrect them and fill them with hidden memories so that the viewer has difficulty defining what is me 'hidden' and what is not and just fantasy.

Altered books are a brilliant medium for this type of work. Traditionally I use lots of well known altered book techniques such as 'tip-ins', pockets, etc etc. Unconventionally though, I LOVE to use REAL ephemera as opposed to re-pro stuff one can buy anywhere. I find this real ephemera anywhere....why people throw away family photo's is beyond me but here I am giving them life again albeit with different names and locations etc. I estimate I use 95% real ephemera and about 5% re-pro but as I said, I like to avoid re-pro. There seems to be no 'ummphfff' in re-pro stuff...but that's me. Always bucking the trend.

I also use old rubber stamps, postage stamps and my beloved quill (nib dip) pen for any handwriting.

So in this altered book, hidden journal is part of me...done up in a fictional way about a woman that travels a good deal and loses her heart even more. So only part of the story is true...the rest is mine and your imagination!

Here then are the first 13 or so spreads, Enjoy!