journal alternatives

Well, folks, I think I am almost recovered from this illness.

I keep getting crazy headaches and still feel  a bit sore, but the rest

of the symptoms have abated. I've been napping like nobody's

business! My daughter's now down with her annual cough, and we're

trying to figure out how to best treat it and prevent a winter full of sickness.

On the artistic side of things, I have been trying to live by the motto:

"Work with what you have".

Not easy for a shopping fiend like myself (with a tender spot for art supplies),

but the fact that things have been really tight lately helps constrain any temptation.

And let's be real here: I have plenty of art supplies.

Part of what I like about 'work with what you have' is the way it forces me to

be more creative in getting the results I want.

So, all that said, my favorite sketchbook is the Raffine ArtSketch (at right in photo).

The backing and the double spiral are very sturdy, and the paper holds up well to

all sorts of paint applications, whether watercolor, gouache, or acrylic. It works

well with pencil and ink, as well, so it's just fine for plain old journaling. I prefer the

5.5" x 8.5" 48 page version, because it fits in my bag perfectly, scans well, and is 

neither cumbersome nor overwhelmingly large to work on. Unfortunately, this

particular sketchbook is only sold by ASW Express and JerrysArtarama.com.

I was hoping to pick up a new Raffine sketchbook before my upcoming vacation, but in an attempt to honor 'work with what you have', I decided to alter a book instead and see how that works for the next journal/sketchbook. I had already glued clumps of 2-3 pages together throughout the book with acrylic gel medium, and today I started covering the pages with gesso to prepare them for the next stage of alteration. I'm also considering the possibility of cutting down some watercolor paper and looking for a smallish 3-5 ring binder, but I'm not sure how the binder will fit in my little backpack; they always seem kind of bulky. I realize that these aren't the important questions in the grand scheme of things, but I really do think about them, and they do seem to have some impact on how and if I will create the next thing.