If you've been reading my blog recently you may remember my quote of the year: "Plan to be surprised." from the movie Dan in Real Life. Life hardly ever looks like I think it will.I like plans that follow through, events and deadlines nicely spaced out on my calendar, having something to look forward to, etc. In other words, I like to feel like my life is manageable and I have a reasonable measure of control. Nearly mid-year, I am trying to embrace the uncontrolled nature of my word of the year FLOW with new enthusiasm.A couple months ago, when sharing in a monthly group meeting about our words of the year, a friend got a picture of me, feet first, laying on my back being carried down a river by the flow of water. I laughed. I don't like being cold and wet in a river teaming with God knows what. When she said that, I got a picture of me grasping at branches hanging over the edge of the water to try and stop the movement. Then I heard that still small voice say, "Let go and flow with Me." God was speaking to my mind, drawing my heart into His flow, which required me to let go of controlling, of knowing.Now I am focusing on letting go of my expectations of outcomes, making drawing closer to God my expectation, and leaving the outcomes to Him. It is challenging me. As I work in my journal, I pray, listen, learn...I think the accordion style journal I have been working in the past year and a half reflects the idea of ebb and flow.

For the the accordion style journal with pages sewn in, I decided to make the pages out of a full sheet (22x30") of 140 lb Fabriano Artistico Hot Press Watercolor paper. I measured the height to fit in the journal (8"), along the long length of the watercolor paper (30"). This 8" x 30" strip will be the folded accordion page. Then I measured and tore pages to sew into each of the accordion folds. I sewed the pages together with button thread. You can find a bit more of the cover process in the original post 9/24/2014 by clicking here. 

On the left is the original journal started in Fall of 2014. On the right is how it has turned out after a year and a half of processing. The cover was made from an old embossed hymnal I found at a thrift store. It was going to be my Celtic travel journal, but it didn't quite turn out that way. (Surprise.) I had made a Celtic cross in the center of the gothic arch (shown above left), but with the journal repurposed as my Word/s of the Year journal, I recently re-painted the cover inside the arch with a new image inspired by the interior symbolism of the journal. Then I glued the first blank accordion paper journal page to the inside front cover using bookbinding glue, and weighting it down overnight.

Now the cover is attached to the pages and the pages are nearly full. I am leaving the last two pages and back inside cover to fill with this year's theme and journal writing as it is revealed in the coming months. I feel a different kind of completeness in it. Untimely mid-year, and yet that too reflects the "surprise" quote and flow. One thing I consistently find in art and faith journaling is that the process is the most important thing and reflects the life being lived at that time.

Here is video of a flip through of the journal and below that,

another view showing pages of last year's word, AIM:

Once again:

ART REFLECTS LIFE

Cheers to you and your grand creative life adventure!

Valerie

Content, images and text in this post and entire blog are copyright© Valerie Sjodin 2009-2016.