Some More Thoughts on Fake Journals

Above: the fourth page spread in my IFJM journal. Ziller Acrylic ink with dip pen; Schmincke pan watercolors. Alvin Field book with water resistant pages. Click on the image to see an enlargement.

Something to consider as you go along in your fake journal—what are things that you can include which are "normal," and give a sense of life as usual even in unusual circumstances? For instance the person keeping the journal presented here is a voracious reader, frustrated by the lack of reading material. This isn't stated in the journal yet and perhaps won't be. But one of the things this person does is note down quotations from material that she is currently reading (e.g., a quotation from the New Yorker on April 2).

What do you do normally in your journals? What types of things do you note down? Weather, books, news items? Are these things of interest to the author of your fake journal? If so consider including some of them from time to time. If these items don't interest your author, what items do? No one keeps a journal without pet interests (even if that pet interest is a pathological self-interest). Consider what those interests are for your author and let them appear in your fake journal. This creates "normalcy" and creates a new reality.

You'll also notice in my pages that I'm not concerned about misspelled words or crossings out. Of course this doesn't bother me in my real journal either, so maybe that's not saying much. My point is, don't let worries about spelling and such slow you down.

At the start of this post you'll find the next spread in my fake journal. I didn't plan on posting all my pages from this year's fake journal, but I'm having so much fun with the paper in the Alvin Field book—then I thought, if I don't post them in order people won't get the sense of what's going on…So today at least I'm posting another in order. I would like to create a little "movie" with the pages turning at the end of the month. Maybe I can work that out. I'm buried beneath too many other projects and the idea of new software bothers me right now. Regardless of what happens at the end of the month, here at least is another installment, with a close-up crop at the end of this post.

The text of the page spread:
Across top of the spread: Roger, who looks totally worn down and used up (I read in his bio in the handouts that he's been in the corps 6 years), told me this morning there's still no word on my missing supplies. I gave him a list to send in for replacements. He laughed and said, "It's scratch as to which will show up first, the lost of the new." I just count mentally to ten and remember to breathe. I came out here to take my break with the turkeys. This guarantees peace and quiet because everyone else avoids them…even the other team artists. Maybe it's just the gruelling [sic] boredom of orientation but no one here seems very friendly—not at all like Chicago—but since I'm sitting here alone with the birds maybe I need to ask if Chicago was all Gordie's doing?!; Second lunch bell—better jump. There's always fresh bread. The luck of drawing a Paris-trained cook!

Verso labels top to bottom: some kind of skin horn sort of wattle? look up… is this an immature tom?; splotchy skin and fine "hairs"; sun shining threw [sic] throat where stretched; *look in the old records for info on this flock and turkey related facts; 09.04.04 11: 55 a.m.; Outside the compound 2 of 6 turkeys feeding now.

Recto labels top to bottom: more stiff feathers and brown…less blue face skin; 12.05 p; not standing as still much more cautious very dishevelled—everything here is dishevelled. Is the fluffing of the neck fear? warning?

Right: Cropped close up of the turkey on the verso page. The watercolor use is clear. Also the bending of the paper which causes shadows when I scan. Click on the image to see an enlargement.