Full Tilt Boogie Onward!

I’m having so much fun with the Mary Ann Moss online class and virtual community she’s gathering around her. (See previous post with link.) This new art journal had a face-lift. It started life as a 1889 bound volume of “The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine”. The spine was practically gone, making it perfect for Journal #1 since we just needed the covers. Setting myself the goal to learn and use a sewing machine this summer, I sewed these fabric tapes during a sewing group. Red just happened to be on the machine and I began loving the contrast! So, I wanted to repeat it in the closure.

This library book, and three others, was rescued from destruction many years ago after being withdrawn and set into the trash.

I love book closures. So many sketches in my art notebooks are devoted to book closure ideas—some practical, some not so practical. It might go back to having a diary with a key. The interactive nature fascinated me as a child…and still does. So, I had several ideas and it took me forever to decide on a closure for this first journal. I didn’t sew over it when binding the book together because I made the tapes pretty wide. Plus, I wanted to allow the book room to “grow” with lots of collage, photos, inserts, etc. The red lace is soft and easy to untie and completely remove for journaling, painting, or collaging.

Although I’ve made this type of book before, this one really has a diversity of papers. And I love using special paper ephemera, such as birthday cards as well as travel brochures. The mix is so exciting when you open the art journal and see them compared and contrasted on the page spread. This is going to be a fun book to work in.

One of the many positive things about this online class is the encouragement to use materials you forgot you had. Another is the incredible community of like-minded souls sharing their works as well as tips and techniques. There are good vibes here!