So, about my writing . . .

My darling husband came across my bound thesis while dusting a few weeks ago, and when I got home from work, he offered to do whatever he could to give me enough time to allow me to write regularly again. Note, he came to the decision to offer this while dusting the living room--he is wonderful. So, I need to get a bit caught up with grading and work, but I'm giving myself until November 1 to get myself into a position to write for at least three hours a week. I know it's not a lot, but it's a start. I figure that if I start now, then by winter break, I can up the hours per week while I'm not teaching for those three weeks. So, cross your fingers--I'm going to try re-dedicating myself to getting some new poetry flowing. I love this comic, btw, by Drew at Toothpaste for Dinner. I love his comics in general, but this one might be my very favorite. :)

Driving through Scottsburg, Oregon

Last week, Steve took a rare week-long vacation, and while we didn't have any one set place to go, we thought we'd make a few minor road trips. We've lived in Roseburg for two years now, and when we end up with a day together, we either run errands, garden, or drive to Bandon-by-the-Sea. And Bandon is beautiful, but we wanted to expand our realm a bit. I'll probably write a few of these, because I really loved having the time to explore the state a little.

Scottsburg's landing, circa 1900.

We drove west on 38, eventually ending up in the little fishing village Winchester Bay. It was nice--much more like Eastern beaches in that it is all flat, yellow sand and blue water and sky, no crags or rocks or anything.  Plus, people are permitted to drive on the Oregon Dunes using their ATVs there, so the bulk of other tourists and visitors are people who've come to ride four-wheelers.  The really lovely part of this trip was getting to the coast--the road follows the North Umpqua River through Elkton, then Scottsburg, then Reedsport. The drive is gorgeous, and the river is beautiful, and the towns are small and quaint--with a lot of history attached. Scottsburg, which is now VERY small, was once a growing "Gateway to Oregon" community, but after a horrendous flood in 1861, the town never fully recovered. The image here is from the Salem Public Library's archives, showing boat travel to the town. I've been scouring the Internet for info about Scottsburg--I'm intrigued.

Outside of Reedsport, which is an adorable town, there is an Elk viewing area that always has many elk hanging out--that was a treat, too. We'll definitely take this route again, though probably to cut up to Florence, Oregon, or to cut down a bit south.

Roseburg Book and Stationery

I love this store! It's in Roseburg's little downtown, and it's within a bike ride of my house--and trust me, I'm a chubby little thing, so I can't bike very far. The store actually opened in 1910, and for a good amount of time this winter, they had a window display built of old office supply goods that they still have in storage from the early 1900s. They may have frowned on the moderate amount of drooling I couldn't control as I inspected it all, nose pressed to the windows, eyes wild with covetous desire.

Roseburg Book & Stationery is now a Hallmark store + a scrapbooking store with a little rubber stamping corner, but they do still sell office supplies and office furniture, too. I love shopping here when I can--their prices are competitive, and I would rather buy the occasional ink pad or handful of coin envelopes or patterned paper or package of map pins here than at Staples or Michael's.

And frankly, who WOULDN'T love this sign--I want that large fountain pen in my house! :) http://www.roseburgbook.com/Aboutus.asp

Women Writers Moleskine Spread

Women Writers Moleskine Spread
Originally uploaded by amyfaerie

I kept delaying the process of taking photographs of this wonderful little art journal that was completed by sending it out to seven mail artists all over the country [and one in Canada]. We all exchanged japanese moleskines, once per month, for about 8 months. My theme was "strong women writers," and some of the entries in the journal are just incredible works of art. I plan on keeping this close to my writing desk, so that it can inspire me often.

See more closeup photos of the individual spreads, and see who created which ones, at my flickr account.

Art journaling . . . the first few steps of the first spread.

So, the first prompt was "WHAT." Basically, "what keeps you silent?" So I had to write out those things that stop me from journaling and making art--from doing anything really--then paint and layer a journal page over, essentially "erasing" those thoughts that keep me still.

I have the first few steps completed . . . I'll work more on this later. First step, i gessoed over the vintage pages in my altered book after adding a few images.

Second step, I used a raspberry-colored paint pen to write out some things that keep me from my journal.

Third step, I used Ceramacoat acrylics [in "cricket" and "ocean"] to "gesso" over the paint pen. I like using this brand of paint in journals because it's still pretty loaded with pigments, but it is chalkier that artist-grade acrylics, so the pages are less likely to stick together when i close the journal.

Fourth step, I used a chisel-tip sharpie and a black pigment marker to write WHAT? across the spread. I have no idea what I'm doing next. lol.