Claudia Dominguez Gives Us a Peek into Her Approach to Her 2015 Fake Journal

Image ©2015 Claudia Dominguez, from her 2015 fake journal.

As a first-time participant in the project Claudia Dominguez elected to post about her progress on the Facebook group. Because of that her images were not posted elsewhere and she gave me permission to post the images included here. Click on any image to see an enlargement.

From these images you'll see that she created strong, colorful illustrations all month. Her wrap-up is heartfelt and personal. What I saw all month was someone beating her inner critic, and I think her work shows that. I'm glad that Claudia is keeping Josefina close by for her fearlessness! I'm glad Claudia is believing in herself. I'm glad that she switched formats and started to use large sheets towards the end. This is a great reminder how we all need to adapt as our projects go forward and change and expand.

Image ©2015 Claudia Dominguez, from her 2015 fake journal.

Here is what Claudia wrote about the project:

GOALS: I needed courage. am a visual artist but I have always been rattled by fear. I have had pretty bad experiences in art school. (in that many of my teachers agree that I should not pursue art) and the critiques of graduate degrees and such have frozen me in my pursuit of art and my love for it. I have been working on a really personal and intense graphic novel and I have been having trouble following through with it. I was so afraid of not being able to deliver. I needed courage and to believe in myself now more than ever. 

I created the CHARACTER OF JOSEFINA to help me out. She is a super duper illustrator that knows that everything she touches is gold. She is not afraid to make art and believes in her gifts. 

She surprised me from the very beginning. 

Image ©2015 Claudia Dominguez, from her 2015 fake journal.

THINGS I LEARNED: 

1. That I do have it in me! Josefina can finish pieces and she can do it well. With little research and in short bursts of time. if she can do it , I can do it too!

2. My inner critic is EVERYWHERE and I really unveiled it with this exercise. Instead of procrastinating on projects I can now see fear for what it is and address it head on, or in gentler ways. (I haven’t won the battle but it is a huge success for me to see fear for what it is as opposed to let it control my actions) 

3. I am usually very prolific and this time around. I slowed down to feel myself, the place around me and to express that back. I realized how I had been running around in circles afraid to really look at what I was doing. 

Image ©2015 Claudia Dominguez, from her 2015 fake journal.

4. Josefina was not pleased with a plain sketchbook. I realized I need to make them special, make them my own. It sends a clear message to my brain, when I take the time to make a book, that what I do matters. ( I signed up to Roz’ bookbinding class! ) 

5. In the middle of the month Josefina had a rant about what she wanted and jumped out of the sketchbook into larger (11 by 14 ) pieces of paper. That required more time but these compositions were also more satisfying. she had no problem solving problems on the fly. The lesson here is that when I believe in myself I come up with odd and marvelous characters like Private Mermaid! or the Superhero of Tea!

Image ©2015 Claudia Dominguez, from her 2015 fake journal.

6. EXIT strategy: Not to exit! ha! I am keeping Josefina until her fearlessness spills onto my other projects irrevocably. I will turn in a drawing made by Josefina every Wednesday and Sunday. My family is far away so I travel a lot so if I am away or in any kind of time crunch I cut out small squares so that I can sit and remember the feeling of courage for at least 10 minutes. I will keep Josefina until next April! or until I am confident I don’t need her any more. 

That is all I have for now. Thank you for making this event.  I will certainly participate next year.