Penlowe
06-19-2011, 08:06 AM
I wasn't sure where to put this, but thought the Lounge would get the most traffic.
So you want to join a book journal group? Okay, great! You’ve been here three months, you’ve got the required iT points, you think it’s an awesome idea, so…
How can you tell if you are ready?
Have you:
Made art or used your creativity consistently at least three days a week fairly consistently over the last year?
Lived at the same address and expect to continue there for more than a year?
Have a stable income?
Know your own skill level in more than one media?
Can recognize your own style in at least one media?
Book journals are a HUGE responsibility!! To join a book journal group means committing to making art every month for at least six months, on a specific theme not chosen by you, sometimes in specific media not chosen by you. Quite often books travel over the oceans, meaning instead of 25 days to work in a book, one actually only has 15- or sometimes even only 10 days to work. Book journals require that you constantly look ahead to the next book and are thinking on the theme so when it arrives in your hands you are ready to work. Book journals mean your muse cannot go on vacation for months at a time. Book journals mean that you must check in and post to these forums every week, consistently for six to ten months straight. Book journals require a fluid enough income that not only can you afford shipping every month, but the occasional art supply for a specific theme or media required by a specific book. Book journals mean that your life is reasonably stable in the housing & employment areas and you expect it to remain that way.
I would not recommend a book journal commitment to:
Someone getting married in the next year
Someone graduating school in the next year
Someone who knew they would be moving home or changing careers in the next year
Someone expecting a child in the next year
Does all this sound like a deterrent? Well, yes, it sort of is. We all want an awesome book filled with amazing art created by incredible people, but unless each of us is capable of pulling our own weight in any given book journal group it only leads to heartbreak and ill will. International mail is only responsible for about 25% of book journal issues, the rest of the problems are created by inability to stick to the commitment by people in the group.
So you want to join a book journal group? Okay, great! You’ve been here three months, you’ve got the required iT points, you think it’s an awesome idea, so…
How can you tell if you are ready?
Have you:
Made art or used your creativity consistently at least three days a week fairly consistently over the last year?
Lived at the same address and expect to continue there for more than a year?
Have a stable income?
Know your own skill level in more than one media?
Can recognize your own style in at least one media?
Book journals are a HUGE responsibility!! To join a book journal group means committing to making art every month for at least six months, on a specific theme not chosen by you, sometimes in specific media not chosen by you. Quite often books travel over the oceans, meaning instead of 25 days to work in a book, one actually only has 15- or sometimes even only 10 days to work. Book journals require that you constantly look ahead to the next book and are thinking on the theme so when it arrives in your hands you are ready to work. Book journals mean your muse cannot go on vacation for months at a time. Book journals mean that you must check in and post to these forums every week, consistently for six to ten months straight. Book journals require a fluid enough income that not only can you afford shipping every month, but the occasional art supply for a specific theme or media required by a specific book. Book journals mean that your life is reasonably stable in the housing & employment areas and you expect it to remain that way.
I would not recommend a book journal commitment to:
Someone getting married in the next year
Someone graduating school in the next year
Someone who knew they would be moving home or changing careers in the next year
Someone expecting a child in the next year
Does all this sound like a deterrent? Well, yes, it sort of is. We all want an awesome book filled with amazing art created by incredible people, but unless each of us is capable of pulling our own weight in any given book journal group it only leads to heartbreak and ill will. International mail is only responsible for about 25% of book journal issues, the rest of the problems are created by inability to stick to the commitment by people in the group.