IFJM 2012 Wrap-Up

April 2012 was my first foray into Roz Stendahl‘s International Fake Journal Month but I knew I needed to have reasonable goals if I was going to be successful.  Most importantly, I kept my sketchbook small and limited myself to one page a day.  Because of this it was easier to keep my goals… work daily, work fast… approximately 30 minutes per page, directly to ink, and from life… out in public.  I was able to get in there with the PPBP, splash some watercolor around and call it done.  This was essential as I was simultaneously working in my own personal journal and couldn’t let everything slide for the month.

I worked though April 16 before I undid the elastic, unfolded and refolded the book to expose the blank pages.  The folds were sometimes on the spine or fore edges and sometimes at the head or tail so even though I sketched my people “right side up” as I went through the pages… the unfolded sheet looks as if I didn’t.

IFJM 2012 – pages 1-16

You can see how the portraits are flipped when the sheet is unfolded.

IFJM 2012 – pages 17-30

When I started the month my character was unformed and I had only a vague idea of where the story would be going. I’ve often heard writers speak of their characters developing their own story… almost writing themselves… but I didn’t believe it until it happened to me!  My character… funny, she never did get a name… surprised me!  I found her getting wordy and… OMG, she has a family I hadn’t planned on!

Woo Hoo! … a successful IFJM! I’ve never considered myself much of a writer so having a story line was totally unexpected. I also had success with journaling daily which then carried over to May when I participated in EDiM – Every Day in May.

I will do one thing different with my next Fake Journal. Roz talks of each fake journal as a stand-alone artifact… no explanations provided. Therefore, when I do this again I won’t have a title page announcing this as a fake journal and I won’t write my wrap-up on the last page.  Maybe my next journal will really fool someone!

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IFJM 2012 – April 29-30

IFJM 2012 – April 29-30

For International Fake Journal Month 2012 I used a single sheet of 140 lb. hot press Fabriano Artistico paper cut and folded to create my sketchbook.  I’ve heard this structure called a Maze Book or a Snake Book but I think the best description is to call it what Jean from Stamphenge calls it… a Meander Accordion Fold Book.  My 22″ x 30″ sheet of paper when folded gave me 5.5″ x 7.5″ pages which I chose to use in portrait orientation.  32 pages in all… one for each day of the month along with a title and wrap-up pages.  When folded I created a cover for it with mat board, duck tape and an elastic hairband a la Diana Trout.  She made a great video if you’re interested.

IFJM 2012 – “Bound”

I carried this journal with me everywhere.  It easily fit in my purse along with my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen (PPBP), Niji Waterbrush and mini watercolor kit. Since one of my goals was to get comfortable drawing directly to ink I was often nervous as I looked at the blank page.  What if I ruined the entire book with one misplaced slash of the PPBP?  Aaack!  Because I often sketched my victims while I was on my 30 minute lunch break the time limit really worked in my favor.  There was no time to obsess… just get in there and do it!

I’ll show you both sides of the unfolded sheet in my next post.

Thanks for reading!