When I was hanging out in airports while traveling back from Portland, OR recently I started jotting down on a single Post-It Note some ideas that I had for teaching and article topics. The only other papers I had to write on were the pages in my art journal. Then it (finally) clicked that I should simply write my ideas down in my journal
instead of trying to cram everything onto a tiny little Post-It-Note.
The background is a junk piece of white butcher's block paper from my art table that I'd used when doing hand coloring on an earlier journal page. Afterwards I'd cut the scrap paper to fit my journal page and then affixed it with double-stick tape. The next layer is bio blurbs from authors in an art magazine. These bios inspired me to think third-dimensionally about my art/writing background. From there I began brainstorming article and teaching topics. The benefit of the tedious process of stenciling letters instead of free-hand writing is the slowness for it allows time to really think about what it is that is important enough to put onto a journal page. The tedium of stenciling becomes a tool for reflection even as the written words become inspiration for future action.
