My first involvement with artists on the web began with groups in the Netherlands and Germany, especially with Hermine Koster and Belinda Schneider. What attracts me is the clean, clear attention to detail, and the choices of subject matter -- especially the surreal. But what really draws me in is how the artwork valued in the German and Dutch groups seems to mirror my own choices in style, story and design.
It has been a few years since I played with those groups, and I didn't realize just how much I missed it until Rosie told me about Marit's summer camp and encouraged me to play along, so I said, "Yes".
After I pitched my tent, I started exploring the wilderness, browsing at albums in both the English and the Dutch groups, and I felt like I'd gone home to one of my favorite vacation spots. I grabbed my pack and hiked over to the community campground.
I've got my feet on two shores this summer. I'm also creating pages in Kelly's J.O.Y. workshop, and Kelly's in L.A. Among other things Kelly suggested, was a book to put together and a combination of selected of materials to mix. One of Marit's many suggestions involved a grayscale journal spread. Not a problem. Both of these got my attention, and here's the result:
Answering a question that was asked in the comments of different post, I almost never choose my collage material with a theme or story in mind, and I don't illustrate what I write. I choose from piles of images and materials that I think have visual appeal, sometimes randomly and sometimes in relation to one another, and get them on the page.
Then I ask the page what it is, what's left wanting, and what needs to be tossed out, and I make decisions, solve problems, and resolve the issues of the page from a design point of view.
When I'm finished, I look at it, walk away for a while, then come back and look at it again. Sooner or later, it shows me something of myself. Usually something unexpected hits me right between the eyes. Then I write.
Usually this is how it all unfolds, but not always. My journals are my domain. I'm in charge here, so rules are made and revised to suit and serve my purposes. You might go about this process in an entirely different way. There is no right way. The process is all about the purpose, and people do collage, mixed media and journaling for many diverse personal reasons. The right way is the way that serves your individual purpose. What takes you farther from your own goals, not some arbitrary goal in general, would be the wrong way. My cake, your poison, and vice-versa. And I'm assuming here that staying alive and healthy is a common purpose, so of course practicing "safe art" is a given, right? No rinsing paintbrushes soaked in cadmium yellow in the sink you use to scrub veggies...