Daily Challenge Book Update

It's been a while since I mentioned anything about the book of daily challenges that I've been writing, so I wanted to take a moment and give a little update.

I have been slowly working on writing the 365 challenges, and I'm up to 223, so I am a little over two thirds of the way through writing it. I haven't gotten very far, though, in designing the book and getting it laid out. The issue has been that there has been a lot going on over the past few months, and I haven't had the time that I would have liked. I was really hoping to have it ready for publication by late summer just in time for teachers to start off the school year with it, but that's not going to happen. Besides, I really wanted to publish it with one challenge per page, and a full-color book with more than 365 pages would be extremely expensive. So, I've come up with an alternative plan.

Here's my plan.

I'm looking at releasing two versions of the book - an ebook version and a physical version. They'll have the same content, but they'll be formatted differently. For the ebook version, I've broken it into 12 parts, one for each month of the year, and my plan is to publish a new part each month that will be sold for download through my online store for $5 a piece. Each part will be just under 40 pages in length with one challenge per page, in full color. That'll be over 400 pages when everything is released! And at some point within the next year, I would like to follow up with a 144 page, physical book with 3 challenges per page that I'll hopefully offer through Amazon's CreateSpace for $25 each.

My thinking was that there are probably teachers out there that would love to use the challenges with their classes at the beginning of a new school year in the fall, as well as artists who just don't want to wait another 7 or 8 months for something to be published. So, come August 1, 2017, I'll release Part 1 of The Journal Fodder Junkies Daily Challenge as an ebook, Part 2 will come September 1, and a new part will be published each month there after. As an ebook, you'll not only be able to view it on your computer or any of your devices, but you'll also be able to print the book in a variety of formats. If you print it with 4 or 6 pages per sheet, you'll be able to create a perfect set of challenge cards for yourself or your students. If you'd like a physical book, you'll have to wait a while longer for it.

Part 1 is almost done, and I can't wait to share it with you in a month and a half!

Find Your Style

This is just a little reminder that I am part of Find Your Style, a collaborative ebook put together by Kristal Norton. Along with eleven other artists, I share my creative journey to finding my style giving a little bit of practical advice as well.

I am honored to be a part of this collaboration, so please check it out!

For more information or to purchase your own copy, visit Kristal's website, and see how you can FIND YOUR STYLE!

Journal Friday #1

For the past month, I have been trying to work in my journal on a daily basis and post about what I have done on the blog and on social media. I must say that I am pretty proud that I have kept it up for 34 days now, and I hope to keep working in my journal daily for as long as I can. But I won’t be sharing daily from now on. As not to bombard your social media feeds with daily in progress journal pages, I am going to begin sharing on a weekly basis. When I taught high school art, I had Journal Fridays where I would share something with my students, and allow them an entire class period to work in their journals. It was the only day where students worked all period and did not clean up early.

So, I’m going to implement Journal Fridays here on the blog, where I plan to share the things that I have done in my journal throughout the week, and if you want to join in and try some of those things, great. From now on you will be able to catch what I've been up to in my journal every Friday instead of everyday.

And if you started to add things up, you may have suspected that the pages and ideas that I have shared over the past month are related to the new book that I’ve been working on since October, and you would be correct. I have been using a different challenge each day to guide my work in the journal. It’s been fun to focus on just one thing each day, but of course, there have been many days when I have done additional work in the journal. That’s the beauty of working with daily challenges, they spark new ideas and new directions.

Unfortunately, work on the book hasn’t been going as quickly as I had originally envisioned. It’s absolutely amazing how many things can get in the way, and my attention is easily diverted by the other projects and work that I have to do. I was really hoping to have things wrapped up and have the book published by the first of March, but that’s just not going to happen. I’ve written two hundred of the 365 challenges, but there’s still the matter of designing the book. I’m now looking at the summer or fall. I will keep things updated here on the blog and on social media. Until then, please follow along as my new weekly feature Journal Friday!

A Sneak Peek!

Since October, I've been working on a new book, a book that I'd like to self publish by the spring. This solo venture, is based on a couple challenges I've done over the past couple of years, the 15 for 30 Challenge and the Big Idea Challenge, and I've had the idea of packing a book full of such challenges.

We could all use a creative nudge every now and then, especially when we seem to have run out of ideas. We can easily become creatively blocked, and it’s during those times when we could use a little jolt to get the creative juices flowing again. This book will be full of such creative nudges and sparks, and I'm envisioning a book of 365 challenges, a year's worth. Readers will be able to use it everyday, or they'll be able to turn to random challenges when they need a nudge. Some people have criticized Journal Fodder 365 for not having 365 prompts, and in a way I wanted to answer those critiques with this new book.

It took some effort to brainstorm and develop 365 distinct ideas for challenges, and I found that I had to get very specific in order to come up with them all - 365 ideas is truly a lot of ideas. There are challenges with materials, ideas, tools, and techniques, and I've tried to spread them randomly throughout the book so that there is consistently a good mix.

The biggest challenge for me is design. Since my plan is to self publish the book, I need to design it myself, or pay someone else to design it. I'm an artist, but not a graphic designer. It's a challenge to use the software, but I think that I'm getting it figured out. I've written more than a third of the challenges, and I've begun playing around with the page design for the challenges. I'm thinking that the book will be 144 pages with three challenges per page, and I mocked up the first page of challenges just to get an idea of what the pages might look like (See the image above).

This is by no means the final design for the pages, and I'm certain that things will change drastically over the next couple of months. But it helps me to visualize the book.

I just wanted to give you a sneak peek into what I've been doing. I hope that I can pull it all together by spring.

Something in the Works!

I've been excitedly working on a new project over the past week after attending a talk by friend and writing coach David Hazard. David talked at a local library about becoming a self published author and how easy it is now with print-on-demand technology. It got me thinking about the possibilities of self publishing more Journal Fodder Junkies books as well as some other books that I have had in mind.

An idea has been brewing inside of my brain for the last few months, and I kept thinking about how I could bring it to fruition. David's talk sparked a catharsis, and I now have a clear direction in mind. Over the past couple of days I have been brainstorming, writing, and diving back into old journals working on an idea for a new book.

That's right, I want to self publish a new book, and I'm setting myself a deadline of next spring to get it done. I'll nail down an exact date in a couple of months when I get a bit further along in the process. I won't share too many details right now, and I think I have a title. I need to think about it a bit more, but my idea is to create another visual journaling book that would fit in with our other two books - 8.5"x11" with 144 pages, full color. I'll share more details over time.

I'm so excited! I can't wait to share this new creation with the world. But I'll have to wait because I'm just in the very first stages. Until then, I'll be sharing my progress.

Journal Fodder 365: Chinese Version

I had a bit of an unusual surprise when I got home last Thursday. David had already posted about it on Instagram, so I wasn't surprised when I got home to find two complimentary copies of Journal Fodder 365 in Chinese. This is the first, I have seen of one of our books being published in another language. It's a bit surreal to look through the pages, but pretty awesome.

Book Launch Party

It's a party and you're invited.

David and I are very excited that our new book was released a little more than a month ago, and to celebrate, we are throwing a party. And you're invited!

When: Saturday, September 29th, 2012, 6-9 PM
Where: Leesburg Veterinary Hospital
What: Launch Party and Book Signing

We'll have artwork, artist prints, and of course copies of our books for sale. We hope that you can can join us.

Check out the invitation above for more information.

It's Official!

Journal Fodder 365 has officially been released. I received ten copies of it today from the publisher, and I was able to order copies of it for Art Unraveled in Phoenix next week. It is currently in stock and on sale in the North Light Shop, and I've been informed that Amazon will be shipping for an expected delivery date of August 1.

I am so excited. I can't wait to hear people's reaction to it. In some ways it's a much better book than the first.

I hope that you enjoy it.

New Book

Our new book, Journal Fodder 365, is featured front and center on Create Mixed Media which is a website run by our publisher full of great mixed media info. The book is available for pre-order from the North Light Shop with an expected shipping date of July 26. That's about two and a half months away. How awesome is that? Can't wait for it to come out!

Have you pre-ordered your copy?

New Cover and Other News

A recent search of Amazon showed that the new book is listed for pre-order, so I figure that I would share an image of the cover. The book should drop in July or August 2012. Can't wait.

 

As for other news, Dave and I have just wrapped up our busy fall with a weekend at the Virginia Art Education Association's Fall Conference in Roanoke, VA and another weekend at Art of the Carolinas in Raliegh, NC. The conference was great, and we conducted two presentations and two hands-on workshops. All were well attended, and we got a lot of positive feedback.

Art of the Carolinas was a blast, and our two workshops went very well. Strathmore Artist Papers sponsored the workshops and generously gave each participant one of their 9"x12" mixed media Visual Journals. They were more conceptual in nature, and we focused more on process than product. We even implemented a few new techniques that will probably become pretty standard in our workshops. One was the idea of stream of consciousness doodling. Similar to stream of consciousness writing, this creativity exercise enables one to let the ideas flow. Thanks to Strathmore rep Don Bradley for setting up the weekend for us.

Along with the workshops, Jerry's Artarama conducts a huge art sale filling a ballroom at the hotel with every conceivable art material. I took advantage of the discounted prices and picked up a 72 color set of Derwent's Inktense pencils. Similar to watercolor pencil, Inktense pencils are water-soluble ink pencils, and I have been having fun this week experimenting with them. Some of my attempts can be seen in the photo above.

Editing

The deadline for the new new book is quickly approaching, and Dave and I are in the middle of some majoring editing. Meeting up halfway between Boone, NC and Purcellville, VA, we sequestered ourselves in a hotel in Roanoke, VA this past weekend to plod through the first half of the book.

We split the book in half, and each wrote six chapters. Although we both have read, reread, and edited our respective chapters, we wanted to make certain that one voice speaks throughout. Slowly we made our way through the intro and the first chapter. These two sections by far took the longest time, mostly because they were written when we first proposed the book back in March, long before we had the photo shoot, sat and discussed the outline, and before we wrote the bulk of the book. But we hit a groove with the chapters after that. We have two and half weeks to get through the other chapters, and are confident that it will be done. There is nothing like a looming deadline to motivate you.

But we feel really good about this book, and it's nice to work with someone who you are so in synch with. Time and again this past weekend, we finished each other's sentences and had the some thought or idea. And the vision of the book became clearer and clearer as we worked. We are really looking forward to this thing hitting stores next summer, and in some ways it is a much better book than the first - at least a lot different and more focused.

We'll the keep updates as frequently as we can, but we both have been very busy.

Signed Copies Now Available

Now for what you all have been waiting for. Well, at least some you. Signed copies of The Journal Junkies Workshop are now available. Dave and I were able to find some time to get together this weekend and were able to sign a few copies. Those copies are now available on our Website for $25.00. While you're over there, check out some of our other merchandise as well.

Now I've Seen It...

I have finally seen our book - well four copies - in a bookstore, so I guess that it's official. We're published authors Not that we weren't before, but as I said in a previous post, it's one thing to see it online or even a box full of copies in the living room. It's another thing to see them lined up on a bookstore shelf. I was near a Borders and had to stop in, and there sat four copies of The Journal Junkies Workshop. Why they were on the jewelry shelf, I really don't know. I guess that it was better than the paper craft shelf which was the bottom shelf.

I am asking anyone who has purchased the book to please offer a review of it on sites like Amazon. If you posted one on your blog, I ask that you copy your review to those same sites. I would love to get the word out. I really believe in the book, and think it's a great resource for anyone interested in the visual journal.

Thanks again to all you who have supported us and have taken an interest in what we do. You are the reason we wrote the book and have offered workshops and presentations. We're just spreading the journal love.

It's Here!!!!!!

Without much fanfare or hype, it seems like our book has been released - at least in the online world. We haven't received any "official" notice, but it seems like overnight most online vendors dropped the pre-order feature and are outright selling it to be shipped ASAP. Amazon sent an email notifying it's pre-orders that a May 6th shipping date is expected, and Dave and I have received our first shipments and have started hawking it to willing friends and associates. We are expecting to place signed copies for sale on the JFJ website by the end of the month. We wish it could be sooner, but since we live 360 miles apart, it's difficult to get together casually and sign a bunch of copies.

I'm not certain if the book has dropped in bookstores, but if hasn't yet, it should soon. I'll make certain to have the camera ready for the next time I go into a bookstore just to snap proof that our book is indeed there. I think that's when it will really hit me - when I can see it in person for sale in a store. It's one thing to see it online and to see the stack above sitting on my coffee table, but to walk into a store and say, "Hey, that's my book!" will be beyond words.

We thank all of those who have pre-ordered it and who plan on buying it, and if you ever see us at a conference, convention, presentation, workshop or on the street, we will be more than happy to sign your copy.

We think that the book looks awesome, and the folks at North Light/ F+W have done a great job. We think it's a great resource, and we would appreciate any reviews anyone and everyone could offer on blogs and on online vendor sites like Amazon.

Fodder On!

Sneak Peek

I found a nice surprise when I got home today. Two advance copies of our book were waiting for me. What a thrill. I must say, that I am very pleased and excited with the design, look, and feel. I can't wait for it to hit retail outlets.

It's such a high to see MY book on the coffee table. I couldn't wait to show it off, so my dog Poi got one of the first sneak peeks. I can't wait to share it with friends and family.

Thanks to all who have pre-ordered it. As soon as it's released, we'll have signed copies available for sale on the JFJ website.

Book

I've been meaning to share this ever since I saw that Amazon.com not only had our book up for pre-order, but also posted an image of the book cover. We've known for quite some time what the cover would look like, and we've reviewed a design copy of the book. And we must say that it looks awesome. The designer at F+W, Kelly O'Dell, did an amazing job making the book feel like it is a journal. She used one of Dave's journals for the cover, and converted one of the stickers into the title, and added little bits and pieces of digital fodder - including pictures of the two of us - to give the cover the feel of one of our journals. The inside is just as well designed, and she used many of our journal pages as the backdrop to the text. I can't wait to get a copy of the actual book in my hands.

If you would like to pre-order it, you can go to Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. If you would like to wait for a signed copy, Dave and I will be selling those directly from our website once the book drops in May. It's still unbelievable that soon our book will be in bookstores across the country. Very, very cool.

Journal Pages and News

I wanted to share this journal spread from my current journal. I began it back in December. It's all about the impact that we have on other beings. I wanted to do something a little different, so I kept it all black, white, and grey. I began by writing about the word "gravity" using water-soluble graphite. I spread water over the page, and allowed it to dry. I then built up layers of more water-soluble graphite, ink, silver paint marker, and collage. I don't know if it's finished, but I wanted to share.

Now, the news - the manuscript for our book is done, and has been sent off to the publisher. But not before a big scare. My computer crashed as I was finishing the final edits. I was just about finished, when my laptop froze. No big deal - a forced shut down would clear it up. But when I tried to turn it on - all I got was a flashing question mark. Hours and hours of trying everything and still nothing. Turned out to be a failed hard-drive. Luckily, in one of my all-too-rare moments of brilliance, I had all the book documents on an external hard drive. I only lost a few changes, and was able to finish up the edits the next day on the desktop. Other than losing all my data including photos and my iTunes library on the computer hard drive, it wasn't anything valuable. All the really valuable stuff is on the external hard drive and my two flash drives.

So, we have a title, a cover (the publisher has finalized a cover, and I'll share that as soon as I can), and a manuscript. I'll post updates regularly.

The New and The News

Time slips by so quickly and so silently, and I keep meaning to do the one hundred things on my to-do list, but they fall between the cracks. But I found some time this morning to scan some pages from my current journal, and I'll post some more throughout the next week or so.

The New: So this is a new scan of Page 1 in Volume 12 of my journals. I began this page back in November, and I have slowly added to it. I began this page with watercolor and then drew the self-portrait from a photo that I took, and I've added watercolor pencil and ink. It is by no means finished, but I don't know if I'll go back to it much. I haven't worked much in my journal lately. I've been busy with so many things as well as just being plain worn out and exhausted. Perhaps with the school year wrapping up, I'll have more time soon.

The News: As mentioned, another school year is quickly coming to an end, and I am finishing my 13th year as a public school art teacher. I'm already looking forward to next year thinking about all the things that I'll do better and differently.

Our book finally has a title. Actually we have known about it for some time, but I just keep forgetting to post about it. But our book will be titled, The Journal Junkies Workshop: Visual Ammunition for the Art Addict, and will be released by North Light Books next year. We've actually have seen a design for the cover, and I'll share the finalized cover when I can. We are very excited about it.

And finally, Dave finished up his MFA in May, and has landed a teaching gig at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC where he will be teaching both Art Education and Studio Art courses. Congrats Dave.