As April 2013 approached I needed to decide on the physical journal my character would use for IFJM – Internationsl Fake Journal Month. At this point I didn’t even have a character much less a plan for the month. I had just watched a video by Teesha Moore showing a 16 page 8 x 10 inch booklet she makes from a single sheet of 22 x 30 inch paper. Hmmm… 16 pages… two of them together equals 32 pages. That’s one a day plus space for any notes my character might make. Perfect!
I used a sheet of Fabriano Artistico Hot Press for each of the signatures and sewed them into a cover made from a third sheet decorated with Quinacridone Burnt Orange acrylic paint and blown Sumi ink.
Well, my character wanted to work on preprinted pages so I decorated the pages using a variety of techniques with diluted acrylic paint… sometimes blotted… sprinkled with salt… allowed to dry under cling wrap… and more!
Physically, I was ready to go… but mentally? Not so much. What were my goals? Last year I wanted to work on faces but I didn’t have the desire to do that again. Looking around the studio I saw the Schmincke gouache set I got from Wet Paint. I hadn’t the nerve to work with them and although I knew I shouldn’t have the feeling that they were somehow too precious to use, I just couldn’t get over it.
Ah Ha!!! Eureka!!! My character will use gouache for her journal and she’ll test two different gouaches! She’ll use the cheap stuff for the first half and the Schmincke for the second. How’s she going to make that work? What will happen?
Come back to see how the month went!
Skylark Karma 
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