PAPERGEMS: Whimsical, magical functional paper creations

HOLIDAY 2004: The Journey of Journaling

Welcome to PAPERGEMS' musings:

RESISTANCE:
I have a simply designed card, sitting on my studio table, upon which holds a quote by Cesare Pavese, "We do not remember days... we remember moments." Reflecting upon the many memorable moments, I have experienced in 2004, I am eternally thankful for the experiences, relationships and art this year has given me.

This has been a busy time and since my last newsletter I have:  crisscrossed the Pacific Ocean 4 times, logged over 28,000 air miles, driven a rental car 5,000 miles [with my 10-year-old-daughter and a trunk-load of Papergems samples in tow] visited 15 of the United States, numerous American gift & paper retail stores, museums, galleries, even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and connected with friends & family. Additionally, I have created volumes of journals, worked on my own personal journals, writing projects and, since August, I have been teaching visual arts on a full-time basis.

Lack of time, to send out a newsletter, has been my excuse. However, I am now labeling it resistance (see my Recent Readings below). As time ticked and no newsletter hit your inbox, I just re-labeled the dates, added ideas to my files, convinced myself I would get to it and continued to procrastinate on actually creating and publishing this newsletter. We all have busy lives. Yet when we keep the important activities, in the forefront of our schedules, invite our creative muses to join us in our artistic adventures, are diligent in our journeys and stay the creative way, we will become the artistic warrior we must be in order to continue to create. So, here I share my tales.
 

OX-BOW:
Late June, I attended Ox-Bow, located in Saugatuck, Michigan and a summer school affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Under the tutelage of expert paper & book maker and all-around Renaissance woman, Andrea Peterson.

With the studio available to me on a 24/7 basis, the first week I plunged elbow deep into the chilly paper bats pulling page after page of paper.  From making pulp, sheet forming and pigment painting the possibilities were endless. The second week saw a new batch of students arrive and we cut, stitched and glued a variety of books together. The view from our studio,  the people, the food were all exquisite. If you ever have the opportunity to indulge, your soul, in this type of creative experience, just do it!

RETAIL SHOPS:
July and early August the Gypsy in me explored retail outlets for my Papergems. As of this writing I am happy to announce my journals and jewels can be found in these retail and online shops.

JEWELS:
While on the shores of Lake Michigan, near the Dunes National Park, Indiana, I gathered beach glass and stones and began developing jewelry designs. Designing these bits of nature, set in silver, I have created unique Jewels to accompany my Gems.  Each Papergem Jewel is unique, contact Mary for details on available pieces & prices.

100 BEIJING JOURNALS PROJECT:
To date, 18 of my 100 journals have returned to me. Makes me wonder where the other 82 journals are? Should you still have one of these journals, email me and I will coordinate a pick up with you.

Not knowing where a project will take an artist is part of the mysterious fun of creation. This last September, I opened an email to find an inquiry from Andrea Kreuzhage, a Hollywood producer/director who is creating documentary film about the 1000 Journals Project which is based in San Francisco. The 1000 Journals project was an inspiring force behind my own 100 Beijing Journals Project. Andrea and I exchanged some emails, talked by phone and now she wants to include my project within her project. Andrea will be coming to Beijing, in March 2005, to film a re-enactment of a journal exchange at the Timezone8 Bookstore in the Dashanzi Art District, or at the Red Gate Gallery.
100 Beijing Journals Project 2005 Exhibitions:  Meanwhile, two of the 100 Beijing Journals will be on exhibit from January 21 to February 19, 2005 in the Word Houses Visual Journal & Idea Catchers Exhibition at The Red Dragonfly located in San Jose, California. 100 Beijing Journals Project Publicity:  I have participated in 2 interviews with Radio Beijing; last June and this November. What fun to use my "radio voice." That's Beijing monthly tabloid has splashed some more ink referring to this project, additionally Art Monthly Australia included my news in their November 2004 Artnotes.

RECENT READINGS:
Creativity is a process I have been personally following for decades. Having read all of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's books on the subject, these new titles have peaked my interest.

The War of Art, break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles, by Seven Pressfield. We have all dealt with resistance in the form of: procrastination, over-indulgence, or some other self-dramatization. Pressfield speaks to the many ways resistance shows up in our creative lives, how to overcome our resistance and clear a path for our Muses to arrive, preferably on a regular basis. This short read is worth the time spent pondering. Pull out your journal and note when and where resistance appears strongly in your life and work. As Pressfield notes, we need to pay special attention, when the battle becomes all the more important to wage, because this is when we are coming closer to our creative calling.

Twyla Tharp's, The Creative Habit, learn it and use it for life, is another gem of a practical guide. Twyla approaches creativity, not as a gift from the gods. Her thought is that creativity is a product of preparations and effort within the reach of everyone who wants to achieve it. Her book is filled with exercises and examples of her theory. Twyla doesn't just journal, her organizational system is one of "boxes" and she begins each project with a box she fills with: notes, imagery, mementoes, videos, CDs, musical scores and much more. Box or journal isn't so much the question, as is choosing a system that works for you personally.

A much denser read, I am currently going over Twyla's book for the second time, with highlighter in hand. Always taking the quirky approach, I am blending these approaches to my creative journaling journey.

END NOTES:
I have ended another bout of procrastination, catch up with my Bewildering Beijing musings here. While I perfect my pizza, rissoto, and cilantro chutney recipes, I continue my habit of running and added another form of "resistance" training; weight lifting.

I urge you to literally note, in your journal, where and how resistance appears in your life. In my next newsletter, I will share my ideas on how I am breaking through the blocks of resistance and establishing new creative habits.

I wish you all a festive & dashing holiday season!

PAPERGEMS' website continues to undergo changes, share you thoughts with me. All material copyright 2004 by Mary Wiseman, however, I would be thrilled if you forward this to your wonderful friends so they may also enjoy. "The Journey of Journaling." If you no longer wish to receive updates, please unsubscribe at the link below. See you next year!
 

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