A Ridiculous Number of Journals

I have eight active journals. Really. Among them are the personal processing journal, the family quotes journal, a reading journal and my five-year journal. I also keep a gratitude journal. This year's journal was made by Ashley Chassé from New York by way of Ottawa, Canada. Much more about Ashley's work in a post later this summer.

As we round second toward the last half of 2010 I thought I'd publish a few snippets from this journal. My journal can be both a list of the obvious and a measure of the quality of the problems.

Some days the best I can do is be grateful that it's nearly over. I'm sure you can relate. For example the entry for June 1st is a good-problem-glad-the-day-is-nearly-over kind of entry:

I am grateful for the gas in my car and the money in my bank account that provided me with the opportunity to be snubbed by five employees at Jerry's Artarama in Tempe, Arizona - to be specific.

The day before (May 31st) I wrote: I'm grateful for misunderstandings and the chance to set them right. For the courage to see the ending and the endurance to see it through. For the heartache and bruised ego wedged in between.

No major revelations; hopefully a little special in the yuck. We as a family are stuck in the yuck. Trudging to be sure, and we've a fair ways to go. Since I drive that train, we seem to share a bit more laughter and shed a few less tears when I pull out Miss Chassé's journal and scribble a couple of sentences. It helps, maybe just because I think it to be so, and that is good enough for me.

Three Artists and Their Creative Influence on My Work

I'm taking a brief hiatus. Just a few weeks to walk through graduations, and health matters, and the beginning of summer. In the meantime, I'm leaving you in the good hands of some remarkably talented artists each of whom has impacted by creativity first hand.

Tyson Crosbie is a Phoenix-based photographer. His work features urban abstract compositions. He's amazing, and I'm proud to say I own a copy of Phoenix 21 signed by the artist. You can follow his most unusual blog as he organizes his perspective on the work. See Phoenix 22 as exhibited in Phoenix this spring.

Chris Reilly and his wife Michelle Reilly are San Diego-based abstract painters. Their work is shown in major galleries across the U.S.. Their ethereal backgrounds support applied elements from nature in a rare encaustic wax technique. I own several pieces of their work and am grateful to call them my friends.

And finally, Erinn Cunningham, who resides in Ottawa, Canada, is the most recent addition to my growing circle of artists influencing my creative process. Erinn's work immediately presents narrative streams for me. He is in the process of creating one of a kind prints of three pieces for me: Isolation, Rural, and Laneway. When I saw each of these photographs, I immediately sketched a story in my mind. Aren't they cool? There are several other pieces, such as: At the Movies and Monochrome Flowers and Winterscape that I am also looking to add to my walls.

Spending time with their work brings me a sense of both peace and energy. They are lantern and flashlight; mountain and meadow.

I hope you find their work inspiring.