Yikes, it’s been a week since my last post, where does the time go?! I guess it’s just that busy-busy time of year. I’ve got lots going on – how about you? Let’s see, what have I been up to? I made a new art journaling video, Insomnia Art Journal Spread – late night art journaling process. The size is a bit small here – if you view it on YouTube you should be able to see some notes I added throughout about my process. I’m still trying to work up my nerve to do spoken audio!

This is the first time I’ve tried out my new MacGyvered photography set up I mentioned last time. Here’s a photo of it in case you couldn’t picture it from the description last time.
How I film my art journaling process

The lighting isn’t the best, but hopefully you get the idea. As I said in the last post, the basic idea came from wondering how to film my work table while I create, so I can share it on YouTube. My tripod will not point the camera straight down without having the legs either in my way or in the video. So I got to thinking, “what else do I have that’s even remotely like a tripod?” At first, I considered using a fancy desk-clamping work light that we don’t use because the bulb burns out way too fast, but I realized we don’t know where the clamp got too. As I was stowing it back in the closet (why do we still have it?? why am I not just giving it to Goodwill??) I had an a-ha moment – my easel! I actually bought it not for painting but for displaying earrings, way back in the day when I was in the jewelry making biz. It occurred to me that it’s exactly what I was looking for – a tripod, but with an attached “arm” of sorts, which I can swing down to be level with the work surface, but a few feet above. The only try then was attaching my camera – I dug out an itty bitty four inch tripod that I never got much use out of, duct-taped it the the “arm” of the easel, and away I went! Huzzah!

In other arty news, I’ve been having a blast finding fun ways to share my antique magazine scans. I put up a new batch of free collage sheets, this time they are catalog pages – still with lots of great vintage ads, but also lots of amazing illustrations of Victorian/Edwardian era clothing. I also created an article on Steampunk Hair Style Tips and Ideas using, among other things, some great scans from a 1908 magazine. It’s funny to see how little these things change – over 100 years ago they were writing articles not too different from ones you might see now, all about how to get your hair looking just right for the style of the time. As you may have noticed, the vintage ads sport a lot of the same things you might see advertised in today’s magazines – beauty creams, weight loss pills, and work at home programs. Some things don’t change, I guess!