Summer Art Journal

Early this summer I decided to finally follow Pam Carriker's journal-making directions from "Art at the Speed of Life." I'd been wanting to make a journal in this fashion for a long time. It appealed to me on a number of levels: I liked the notion of making a journal from "scratch." I liked having all the backgrounds nearly complete at once and I really liked the 6x6 size.

So, on a bright and sunny day I set outside with a large sheet of watercolor paper, water mister, spray inks, stencils and began to have some fun!

Ever since, I have created in this journal, page by page, filling it with all the thoughts, images and feelings I have always associated with summer. I included prints from hand-carved stamps...shells, seahorse, sand dollar and even a face.

I filled the journal with the essence of what I saw outside my studio window, whether it was the green of the woods or the portent of a coming storm.

As the time approached for my family and me to head to the coast of Maine for our annual beach vacation, the call of the ocean became prevalent on my pages.

I continued to work in my journal when we returned home from vacation and as the summer days waned; all the while still yearning for the peace and restoration I find at the beach.

The final page of my summer journal speaks of the feeling I have every year at this time..."it feels like we just got here."

I completed my journal by designing the cover and stringing some beads on the waxed linen thread that binds it all together. It really was a wonderful summer project.

Time to begin the Autumn Journal.

© Nancy Lefko