thank you to everyone who responded to my "state of the union" post from yesterday. i took it down today because i don't want it recirculated and hitting the rounds of the education blogs. if you reposted it somewhere i'd be grateful if you took it down.
your comments, emails, and suggestions were wonderful. i really felt HEARD.
and that's all i wanted.
it means a lot.
change is afoot. when the dust settles i'll let you know the details.
and now back to regular programming…
i was rummaging through my inspiration book last weekend and was struck by the autumn colors from the pic above. that bed looks nap worthy.
it's been a long time since i've added anything in this book.
got me thinking about what's inspiring me lately.
colors shapes patterns cookies cookies
you know. the usual.
my inspiration book is not really a record of things i want to buy. i just dig taking my own photos and combining them with commercial images & vintage paper. making a book that feels like a magazine.
purely visual of course.
with a few irreverent notes scattered here and there.
anyway i had several of my journals outside. snapping photos for an upcoming project.
now there's an even bigger stack on my orange chair waiting to be reshelved.
here. i'll show you.
i sort of like the sculptural look of all of them piled up there.
your journals look totally amazing sitting on that chair like that.
those journals stacked together is one visual treat!!! i’m sorry i missed your rant on education – i’m catching up this weekend on blogs. i’m sure i would have agreed with so much of it.
You make us curious. Glad you have things ahead of you! I love to see your books, and hey, orange is an eye catcher for me. I would add that your books and your art is what is keeping you sane in a mad world.
I love you Mary Ann… In a good way! :0))))
I’m glad you were able to come here to give us a view into your work life. I hope whatever dust is stirred up settles in a very good place with you in the midst. A spirit can’t take so much stiff, negativity, and horror without wanting to flee. I hope you’ve found the answer to this dilemma . I would be tearing my hair out and baying at the moon if I had to endure one day like the one you described.
The journals are riches, priceless memories enclosed in their lovely covers. That orange chair is a testament to your colorful world. Yea!
Most importantly, I LOVE the journals in this post! Gorgeous pics of eye candy, as usual!
But second, Shoot! I missed the post you took down. My bad for skipping days on the blog prowl. Just know that whatever it was, I know you’re right and you have my full support. Anyone who loves the right shades of orange and uses them indiscriminately is a hero* in my book.
* I used to say *heroine* when it applied, but someone once accused me of calling her a *heroin* user, which is very far from the truth and light years from what I was saying at the time, so since then, I’ve chosen to use the masculine across the board. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Those journals are treasure, pure treasure! On another note, I can’t wait for the view after the dust has cleared out. I just know it’s gonna be good, it couldn’t be anything but.
Love the journals!! But I want that orange chair!!! 🙂
Makes me want to buy a chair for my room just so I can stack up journals in them!
Two previous commenters used the words already that I was thinking while reading this beautiful post- “love, love,love”, and “my heart is beating faster”- really, major palpitations seeing those yummy journals!
I hope you post your class soon as I am eagerly awaiting it. love the stack of journals and the orange chair.
Wow, Mary Ann. What an inspiration you are to fill up the journals I enjoy constructing! I love your inspiration book … I hadn’t thought of mixing my own photos in with commercial images. Happy Weekend!
If change is afoot, maybe it’s time to treat yourself to a new pair of shoes, tee hee.
I wish you had a like button so I could like not only what you wrote but also what Michele Unger wrote: “Every time I pile up all my journals and take a look at how many there are and how many more are in some phase of creation, I feel rich. Much better than money…..”
I think what makes your journals so powerful, visually and emotionally, is that they are authentically used, not just made to display; you create because it feeds you and then feeds the journal and then feeds you and and and. These are Real things. Which is why they resonate with such a large audience.
I telepathically sent you hugs from Ohio yesterday. I hope you could feel them in Moss Cottage. Here’s to the weekend!
Marissa you can still catch it on google reader….
Ditto ditto ditto ditto- I so agree with what everyone else has said- seeing some inside peeks of your journals and then seeing them stacked all together is inspiring and something to aspire too!
So glad to be back to the routine of hitting my favorite blogs! Back to normal. Seeing those journals with all the images colliding with each other creating ever better images, reminded me of how much fun I used to have doing this! Hmmm…. seems like this might be a day to reconnect with this whimsy!
look at those journals! yummy!
I really like your blog… is an inspiration form me…
Molesko
http://moleskolandia.weebly.com/
I thought about you all day yesterday after reading your prior post. I heard you. I think you are a wonder woman because honestly there is no way I could handle that kind of situation for any length of time. 🙁 I feel horrible that you have to. I hope that they do something and that no harm comes to you. Its just not right. *hugs to you* The fact that you are still able to sit and be creative and do such amazing work speaks volumes to what your soul is made of. 🙂
stacks! I just love stacks. journals, books, gift boxes, whatever. but especially journals! have a happy weekend….
I cannot imagine a more blissful afternoon than one spent with those journals! Maybe tea and cake too!
Aaah, stacks of journals….is there anything more pleasing to the eye? I think not! 😉
Looks like I missed a doozy of a post yesterday. Being about education, I can only imagine. Could you become an art teacher? That’s what’s made teaching worth it for me.
Nothing like a book or piles of them to get lost in! Between the books and the orange chair, what a treasure you have.
Marissa
So if I bring you a maple bacon donut could I possibly have a few hours to peruse a few of those bad boys?
I like it too! Deliciousness!
As for your other post, I just can’t get it off my mind. So grossly unfair to you and the other children. Wish I had a solution ;( But, I can say that you are heard and appreciated and cared for… Keep making your beautiful art…good for your mind and a stress releaser! 🙂
<3's
another Marianne 😉
Love love love your books. Thanks for sharing!
scratch scratch scratch… shh… if you find you are missing a couple journals, it might be little journal gnomes. I’m not saying any might be making their way into your garden, but if you leave out journal crumbs like that… they might. They have itchy fingers. But ignore the rustling. Pay no attention to the swaying of branches. Journal gnomes may borrow, but they just can’t resist feeling all those pages, touching and pressing their little gnome faces down to get a better look. But then they bring them back. They have nice manners, those little journal gnomes. Also bad grammar.
Your journal pictures are pure heaven!!! Can’t wait to hear more about your upcoming class, and p.s. LOVE the orange chair!
I’m completely devouring your journals with my eyes. I can’t begin to tell ya how dang happy they make me, sets my toes a tinggling and my fingers itchin for journal page turnin’. Ok right now my picture of heaven is like this, that orange chair of yours, along side the bed in your inspiration journal with all your awesome journals piled among the pillows; where I would be snuggled in deep, slowly paging through them, a visual feast with no end in site. Yup, that sounds like heaven to me. ***side bar please*** There is just something special and wonderful about paging through someone else’s journals, paying attention to every detail and nuance from start to finish. I guess it’s one of the reasons I like books and magazines that feature them. It’s the next best thing to actually holding someone else’s journal in my own hands. I love to look through my own journals too, but I know what each page holds, the mystery that unfolds in someone else’s journal, as each page is turned…OMG…so much heaven….!!!!
Every time I pile up all my journals and take a look at how many there are and how many more are in some phase of creation, I feel rich. Much better than money, it’s all those journeys and experiences, the creating the journal pages, the tapping into my own images and my own thoughts….it just makes me feel filthy rich. Looking at the photo of your orange chair I’d have to say, you are one wealthy lady!
Oh my goodness – this post sort of made my heart beat faster! I read what you wrote yesterday but didn’t comment because frankly, I didn’t know what to say. I’m glad “change is afoot.” I hope it’s a good change that inspires you because when YOU’RE inspired WE’RE inspired! That top inspiration book just about kills me. I can see I now have some “pinning” to do. Pinning and pining! 🙂
I sort of like it too.
And I like that you created the little window thru which to be heard, and then vanished it before it would be heard by less hearty ears. So to speak.
I also like the scent of that “upcoming project”…
warmth from here to there,
xxxj
I love the look of ALL your books…and that orange chair is FAR OUT!
Mary Ann, I am glad you got what you needed yesterday to help you navigate thru a difficult situation at work. Your art, like knowledge itself, is something no one can ever take away from you. It will always be a respite for you on both good and trying days. It is your passageway back to your soul. I was honored that you would share your challenging day and also honored to see your hope…in the plethora of your inpirational journals and in the utter joyfully triumphant ORANGE LEATHER CHAIR! Now THAT gives witness to your colorful spirit indeed. The weekend is nary here…so enjoy!
How cheery an orange chair is. My daughter has an aluminum office chair that has been upholstered in orange and it is cheery, too. I have been partial to pink for many years, but orange is coming in there strong. I love the two of them together.
I love seeing your journals, open and closed – they do have a sculptural quality to them. They also have a sense of life to them, thoughts, ideas, dreams all residing together in their sanctuaries.