New Mexico Journal

I've been away for so long that it feels overwhelming to catch up, so I'm going to jump right in with a recent trip and new journal love.

I made this journal to take to Mexico several years ago and never used it.  It was done in Mary Ann Moss's wonderful Remains of the Day class.

Luckily, it was a perfect fit for my trip to New Mexico.  I had enjoyed making it, but wasn't sure if I would like keeping a journal in it because I'm used to working on blank pages and these pages were already pretty full with collaged bits and trims.  But I loved working in it!

The pages added little challenges to find areas to sketch or write or collage in.

 

It pushed my sketching in new ways as I had to figure out how to fit things in.

 I didn't add as much to the pages as Mary Ann did.  I knew I wanted some blank pages for sketching such as these for sketches from the Museum of International Folk Art--one of my favorite places on the trip.

 I did put in quite a few pockets like Mary Ann does and they are now filled with gallery cards and other bits of paper.

 I enjoyed working in it so much that I came home and made another one for my upcoming trip to Los Angeles.  This one has a lot of my hand-painted fabrics on it and that gorgeous button I picked up in Taos.

 The back:

A few of the busier pages inside and many are blank with a little edge or two.

 And a few of my favorite shots from the trip:  Love the adobe architecture.  This is Mabel Luhan Dodge's house, one of the prettiest.

 The colorful shrines reminded me of Mexico.

 These wonderful masks were from a children's art center.

Lots of places to take in Folk Art.

And some quiet beauty too.