Happy New Year!

And I do mean that. Completely. It is good to have a chance to begin again. Of course, you don’t need anything to begin again except NOW but we do love a sort of “marker” for the occasion, don’t we? So having a day where most people in the world can mark as a day to begin again is a blessing (and a curse - but I’m not even going to touch resolutions with a long pointy pole).

In an effort to pursue my journaling and to scratch an itch to be all “artsy-fartsy” in the autumn of my life, I’ve signed up with Effy Wild to participate in her Book of Days 2012  project.

To start things off, I took a few of the last days of 2011 to think about what I want from 2012. Then with that in mind, I picked one word to focus my intentions for this book and my real world life. I chose DISCOVER. This fits where I am in my life so perfectly.

The book I chose to alter is a good one. In its former life it was Who Killed Society by Cleveland Amory. I picked it up at a used book sale thinking it was a humorous novel. Instead, I got a book ripping apart a group of people who in turn developed ripping other people apart into an art form. A wholly negative book that I am making into something positive.

I’ve scanned what I’ve done so far.  (Click images to enlarge.)

The cover - yep, that's me!

Inside cover.  In each envelope/pocket there is a letter
to the year.  I gooped this one so deep in paint that it is
STILL tacky!  LOL!

January 1, of course.  I love Neil Gaiman's
writings and had to include his New Year's Wish.

The weekly spread so far.

My reptilian brain decided to stay with a traditional calendar approach and so I will start every week with a large spread on Sunday and the rest of the week on the next spread. This differs from Effy’s format a wee bit but as she has encouraged us to make this project our own, I will indeed do so.

Effy's pages are filled with drawings and collage which I hope to do in mine, too.  Each Sunday in her "Church of Art" livestream broadcast Effy covers new ideas, new techniques, and gives us a prompt for the week.  I don’t have the huge stash of art supplies that she does but I do have some left behind by my ex-husband, so LEMONADE! Yay!

Anyway, this project is to encompass a year. A whole year. I hope I can keep focused enough to do it, but if I “fall of the wagon” a bit as Effy mentioned, I will just acknowledge those missing days with a note somewhere and pick right up again.

So, here’s wishing you a Happy New Year! I hope you find it a year filled with discoveries.