Better Than Nothin'

The creative juices haven't really kicked in yet, but the challenge continues:

Give it the Old College Try

I suck at art challenges, just sayin'.  I've tried about a million and get behind and eventually quit each and every time.  I'm going to try this one anyway, you know give it the old college try.

I'm already 3 days behind now, but I'm going to just start today!  Here are the prompts for the first week if you want to play along.

And here is my first index card:

ICAD #4

Marking Milestones

Have you heard about Maya?  She set off on a grand adventure on May 5, 2012, the day she turned 40.  

She is riding her bike from Amherst, MA to Milwaukee, WI toting this fabulous aqua typewriter behind her and stopping all along the way in towns and communities and inviting others to contribute to her ever-evolving poem.  I have exactly 122 days left in my 40th year, and although I had all sorts of grand and romantic ideas about how I would mark the milestone, I've pretty much done none of them.  That's not to say that I haven't had a great year, just that I haven't done that one great milestone-marking thing.  Do you think my family would mind if I just took off to join Maya for a few weeks?  Because seriously, is this not the coolest idea ever?  You can follow her adventure here.

Boogie Down!

I've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for this class to start. 

I've strapped on my dancing shoes

and gathered my supplies.

Now believe me when I say I'm ready to boogie with Mary Ann.  Rumor has it that her sister Carol is even working on a Full Tilt Boogie Martini recipe. Crank up the tunes and let's dance!

ROD Journal Video

ROD Journal from Jennifer Dover on Vimeo.

This is the journal I completed in Mary Ann Moss' online course, "Remains of the Day."  I had so much fun making this journal and I have even started to fill it up!  I can't wait to start my next journal.

Fill 'er Up Please!

Growing up in a small town in Kansas, we had a few gas stations but my favorite was Blair's Station.  You could have a tire changed, your oil changed, even your engine changed if need be, but the best part was that is was full service.  You could just pull right up and within seconds someone was at your window and you could request "Fill 'er up please."  Right now, in the dead of Kansas winter with a small child, I long for the days of full service gas stations!  What I am truly excited for though, is to begin filling my new journal that I just completed in Mary Ann Moss' fabulous online journal making class Remains of the Day. Making the journal has been a creative journey in itself.  Watch out!  It is very possible you will become addicted to making these one-of-a-kind beauties!

Learn Something New Every Day

I am taking an online class from Mary Ann Moss called "Remains of the Day."  This is my journal cover that I completed today and I am so excited to get to work on the "guts" of the journal this week!  Be sure to check out her blog where you can catch a glimpse of all of her fantastic travels too!

The Road Less Traveled

Happy New Year!  I'm not one much for New Year's Resolutions, but I've been thinking lately about the direction I want my life to take.  It seems so often I am caught up in the race just blindly being herded along with all the rest, head down, nose to the grind stone.  I am getting ready to start round two of a fabulous journaling class called Thought Threads and it has encouraged me to think more about possibility, direction, intention, and living a creative life.  I want this year to be about traveling the road I choose, not the one everyone else is pointing to or heading down.  The speed limit on my road will be much slower than most.  That will give me time to be a part of the scenery, not look at it in my rear-view mirror.  Here's to the road less traveled!

More From Journalfest

This is the journal I prepared to take to Journalfest.  It has a picture of my grandma on the front because she is one of my greatest inspirations.  The following pages were done on the second day in Tracy Bunkers class.  What fun to play with layers of gesso, paint, paper, fabric, stamps, etc!

The first day's class was Traci Bautista's "Graffiti Insriptions" where we learned many techniques with paint to create layers and layers of interesting texture.  We also learned to make our own free-form stamps with craft foam and monoprints with overhead projector transparencies.

And after creating our fantastic canvases, we ripped them up to create a fun and funky journal.  Mine holds all my trades, evidence, and memories from Journalfest.

My last day at Journalfest was spent in a writing workshop with Stephanie Lee.  What a breath of fresh air that was!