Thinking about Participating in International Fake Journal Month?

If you've found this site or the sites of past participants in International Fake Journal Month (IFJM) and are intrigued by the idea of spending April 2012 creating a fake journal I suggest that you read the following posts, because they provide a great background and foundation for how to start, how to jump in, and ultimately have a great, creative, fun April!

If you know nothing about IFJM begin with a brief background of IFJM.

You can see a video flip-through of my 2009 Fake Journal here. There are other video flip-throughs on my blog, but this one will give you a quick idea of what's going on.

A recurring question from readers of this blog focuses on what the differences between Faux, Fake, and Fake Historical journals are.  This post will help you understand the differences and help you define clear boundaries for your project that will be ensure your success this year.

If you are wondering how to go about preparing for IFJM I have a description of my process from 2010 that will be useful. It will help you decide how to select a journal (the paper, the media, and so forth). It also discusses considerations of time management, goals, and subject matter. You want to be realistic in your goals so that you can be productive each day and still have fun.

If you're still sitting on the fence about preparation you can hit the "preparations" label in the category cloud and read a number of posts about preparation, but perhaps one of the most helpful is "Get Ready, Get Set—Now Throw Out All Your Prep."

I would also encourage you to check out the lists of participants from past years. In the right-hand column of this blog if you scroll down you'll find a list of 2011 participants and then later a list of 2010 participants. As 2012 starts up a list of those participants will also be added. These lists provide links to the participants' blogs or Flikr sites where they have posted their fake journals for that year. There is some delightful and inspiring art from these fakesters. Additionally you will see how each of them set up a "character" and circumstances for the author of the fake journal.

I hope that you will all consider joining in the festivities of International Fake Journal Month 2012—30 days of fabulous (I mean that in several ways) fun. (I'm working on the button right now!)

Time to Start Thinking about Which Journal You'll Use for 2012's International Fake Journal Month!

Above: Clairefontaine notesbooks.
Click to view an enlargement.

April first is still a couple months away, but it isn't too early to start thinking about selecting a book to use for your 2012 fake journal. I've been keeping my eyes open for likely commercially bound journals. Since I typically use my own handmade journals for my visual journaling habit I find that using a commercially bound journal helps to distance myself from my character for the month.

I received a note from Goulet Pens the other day that they had new Clairefontaine notebooks in stock. I use the larger lined notebooks (about 8.25 x 11.75 inches) for my written journals. I use the smaller journals with grids on the page or blank pages for notebooks and logs in the studio (computer log, blog log, etc.) It was time to reorder. Then I noticed that they had the French rule journals in a smaller size. (Typically I've only seen them in the 8.25 x 11.75 inch size.) I use the larger French rule journals for collage and sketching journals when I want to work on smooth lined paper and wet media is not going to be used a lot (the pages will buckle probably more than most people would endure).

Above: View of a page of French ruled paper.
Click on the image to view an enlargement.

I ordered three of the French rule notebooks in the 6.75 x 8.75 inch size. These are perfect for carrying everywhere and could be just the thing for a prolific character to journal in (lots of pages). (I have no idea yet what direction I'm going this year.)

I also ordered 3 of the small journals with gridded pages. Goulet took great care in wrapping them securely in plastic wrap and bubble wrap. They arrived quickly in perfect condition. You don't get to select the cover color that you like, but I'm happy with all the colors in which they are made so it's all good.

Now that I have them in my hands I'm thinking more and more what character would use one of these French ruled journals for a visual journal.

I'll keep my eyes open for the next several weeks and my mind open to possibilities—I suggest you do the same. Read past posts on how to select a journal for the event (the types of considerations to keep in mind) if you haven't participated before. Most important—keep in mind what medium you'll be working in. I haven't decided yet, but I know, looking at these journals that if I decide to go completely with pen and ink they will be a great choice. It's time to start thinking about all the possibilities for 2012's International Fake Journal Month.

Note: I'm not affiliated with Goulet Pens at all, except as a happy customer.

Time to Gear Up for International Fake Journal Month 2011

It's time, if you haven't already begun, to start thinking about this year's fake journal project. You've read my post on International Fake Journal Month, what it is and what a fake journal is.

To broaden your understanding of International Fake Journal Month and the process of keeping a fake Journal I also suggest that you take a moment to read my post "To Prep or Not to Prep…"

In that post I walk you through my process of selecting my 2010 book, my testing of art materials, and how I set parameters for the project's daily activity. This overview will provide a template for your own decisions if you have not worked on a project like this before. There will always be little inconveniences, and sometimes large inconveniences, that pop up. Part of the fun of IFJM is the surprises that you're faced with on the spur of a moment. How you negotiate those surprises will give you new skills to bring back to your regular journal practice.

I harp on this a lot, so this year will be no different. Remember it is important that you consider the time commitment you give to this project. I want you to have a successful 2011 IFJM. I want you to have lots of pages at the end of April, as well as a sense of having reached something inside your journaling process. To do that, to have the best possibility for success I know that you need to keep the daily time commitment small. Thirty minutes is great, sixty minutes is pretty much the end of the world.

Fake journaling is not something that you can do on weekend journaling binges. Fake journaling, just like your regular journaling, is something that is done on a daily basis. Finding time for a fake journal on a daily basis means that you need to look at your life, your current commitments, your family obligations, your work schedule, and then make an honest assessment of how much time each day you can give to this project. Perhaps you'll do a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule and only produce 12 entries for the month. That's huge. If that fits with your life, go with it. It is better to commit to something that is doable than to overwhelm yourself and bow out before you reach your goal—exhausted and frustrated.

If you haven't selected a journal to house your fake journal yet, I recommend that you read this post: "International Fake Journal Month Is Only 56 Days Away! In that post I walk you through some steps that will help you decide what type of journal you'll be using.

For me, because I make my own journals 99.9 percent of the time, IFJM is my opportunity to try out commercially bound journals. You have to think about things like the type of media you'll be using, and who your character is and the type of art that character will be creating. Does he need smooth paper for writing or rough paper for watercolor washes, etc. Will the art be black and white, full of color, lots of collage (so heavier weight papers for pages will work as better support), etc.

Journal size and page size are also important, both because of the type of media you're using (if you use a fine tipped pen and have an 11 x 15 inch page to fill that's a huge time commitment each day) and portability issues (will you be taking the journal with you or will it be sitting on your desk for the start or end of the day?). If you would like to use a commercially bound journal but don't know many choices, read my "Commercially Bound Journals" page at Roz Wound Up, my regular blog. That page will give you some suggestions and possibilities to which you can begin to apply your character's criteria and tastes.

What am I going to do in 2011? Currently the plan is to use a large 8.25 x 11.75 inch Moleskine, portrait, sketchbook—with those slick, yellowy pages that people always complain about. I'm thinking that I'll use acrylic paints if I can't get gouache and other media to work on the pages. I'm not doing any pre-testing of the pages, I'll just see how it goes as my character dives in. One thing I am convinced of is that this year's character does not pre-cut pages out of her journals to make room for collage on other pages, so I expect that by the end of the month the journal will start to bulge at the fore edge.

The one potential drawback to the Moleskine plan right now is that when I took the wrapping off the journal it had a rather strong chemical smell, and the smell is coming from the paper. This year I have set aside time to work in the larger format and if the pages don't air out in time, I might have to go with a different book.  There's no way I can bend my head over these smelly pages for the working time I've set aside. I have a landscape format watercolor paper Moleskine of the same size that I could use. I am not fond of the landscape format (and I wanted to use those slick pages), but I bought that book 2 years ago and it has aired out.  We'll see.

If you've read this introductory material and have selected your book to work in, take a moment to read "Get Ready, Get Set—Now Throw Out All Your Prep…" This post is a sort of final pep talk for participants last year, and the information still applies.

Whether you are a returning participant or this is your first go at keeping a fake journal, the main thing to remember is that IFJM is really, really fun. You get to leave your internal critic behind and go exploring. You get to explore not only new ideas and new character traits, but also new visual ideas and methods (if that appeals to you).

If you are going to spend 30 to 60 minutes a day for the month of April, you need to spend a little prep time now, reading the above links and becoming aware of the ins and outs of the possibilities of the project. It might be that you discover this project is not for you. It might also happen that you end up starting tomorrow (you can keep a fake journal any time, it's just that April is International Fake Journal Month and it's fun to celebrate then!).

If you do decide that this project if for you, I look forward to hearing from you about how the project is going for you—what are your discoveries and epiphanies? Do you have a sticking point or problem you need feedback on? If you do, chances are someone else does too, so I'll try to answer as many questions as I can relating to the practice of fake journaling.

Tomorrow I'll start posting details on this year's contest–drawing. It's divided into three parts. I'll explain the entry process and announce the prizes in three posts.  And again this year, you'll be able to help spread the word by putting a small linking button on your blog. (I'll have details about that in a couple days.)

My main goal for today was to get you all thinking about picking up a new journal, and letting your character speak.

I hope it's a great 2011 IFJM for you all!

Get Ready, Get Set—Now Throw Out All Your Prep…

OK, I'm not advocating that you toss out all the ideas that have been simmering in your head as you gathered (or bound) a journal and materials for International Fake Journal Month 2010, but on the eve of this year's celebration I wanted to point out that sometimes throwing out all your prep is the best thing you can do.

Sometimes, when you get ready for a project that will last this long (or even a short project) you might reach a point where you simply feel odd, feel as if things aren't coming together as you would have liked or hoped, feel that something is missing.

I want to reassure you that this is normal and you can have one of two approaches—you can toss out your prep and just go with the flow tomorrow, or you can stay the course and trust that the time you spent thinking out even a vague plan was well spent.

Neither of these approaches is wrong or right. Only you will know what is right for you when you get up tomorrow, start going about your day, and then at whatever point you've decided you're going to journal, you actually sit down (or stand) and create the first fake journal page in the new journal.

No one else can tell you which course of action will be best for you. And one of the great things about fake journal month is that if you find yourself going through this moment of indecision and second guessing, you can actually learn about yourself. You will learn if it is "real" indecision or simply the nagging of your internal critic. You will begin to see (if you haven't already had experience with this) how the two differ. One—real indecision—is healthy and necessary for every artist who is trying to find her voice, her character, her style. It's something you work through, and frankly, you just have to work through it. The sooner you get to that point and learn what it's like the easier it will be to work through it in the future.

The other aspect, the nagging of your internal critic, is of course, not healthy. By hearing it loud and clear at this juncture you can better equip yourself to turn it off, both now and on other projects.

They may at first seem to be very similar. There is a key difference—real indecision is something that you can and should work through as an artist. It is a final examination of your plan, your goals, your vision of the project, before you launch it. It's like a pre-flight checklist. Go through the points on your list one more time, not because you are being obsessive, but because you are still "trying out" the feel of aspects of your plans, still listening to hear the voice of your character.

If the stress and second thoughts you seem to be experiencing come instead from your internal critic, everything you come up with will be shot down not in a helpful and specific way, but in a general way of "why am I doing this anyway," "why bother?"

I don't have much trouble with my internal critic. Long ago I found ways to work around him, through him, past him. Mostly with my own sarcastic humor. What I can tell you is that if it is your internal critic popping up, to set you up to stop, then learning to recognize that, and learning to work around it, will benefit you on every future art project you ever do.

And if it is matters of logistics and artistic choices which are gumming you up, well, working through those will also benefit all your future art endeavors.

It really is a win-win situation if you allow it to be.

So this note is just to encourage you to take stock of what is happening and work through it, because keeping a fake journal for International Fake Journal Month is really, really fun. It's not a chore, or a task, or homework, or a exercise regimen. It's an adventure and an exploration. You take yourself and you leave your internal critic behind (and don't even bother to send him any postcards!).

Last year I knew early on who my character was, and the situation she was in gradually emerged. It came out of my love of birds, my use of an Alvin Field book, my response to the recent death of a friend. Bit by bit everything came together in a way that was both challenging and fulfilling for me.

This year, I've been pulled this way and that by all sorts of obligations I would never have expected. But I will not give up my month without a fight. It is one of the two "art vacations" I take during the year (the other is the Minnesota State Fair of course; and I work through both of them so they are vacations only in the sense that a project gets done in a specific time frame). When other events or complications in life start block my view of the project, I look at how I can modify things to still make them work. (I talked about how to focus on your goals in my prep posts.)

It does not surprise me that this year, only a few hours from starting my 2010 fake journal, I'm wishing I had a little more time to think about my approach, my book choice, my media, and most definitely my character.

But I also know that tomorrow everything will be fine. I've done enough prep that even if things go "horribly wrong" I can suck it up for 30 days and make it work. I've had practice with that in life and work outside of the fake journal. The flip side is that if I jettison my prep and go with a new direction I know I'll make it work (within the time constraints I have to work in). I'm realistic about my goals and expectations.

So all that is left is to sit back, wait to start, and then simply jump in and see how it all goes; all while enjoying myself, and challenging myself.

I want to encourage you to do the same. Tomorrow listen to that part of you who knows what will engage and entertain you. Don't listen to anything else. Then open your fake journal and begin.

International Fake Journal Month Is Only 56 Days Away!

Above: A selection of commercially bound sketchbooks that might be suitable for my 2010 Fake Journal. From top left: wirebound Monteval Watercolor Paper Sketchbook; Moleskine watercolor sketchbook; square, soft-covered sketchbook with drawing paper from Kunst & Papier (blue cover); a fresh, soft-covered Alvin Field Book (yellow cover) of the sort I used last year; and an APICA notebook with ruled pages. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

While Punxsutawney Phil may have emerged yesterday and told us all there are 6 more weeks of winter, there is a more important deadline approaching: International Fake Journal Month 2010 begins on April 1. That gives us fifty six days to gear up.

If you are new to fake journals and the celebration of them during April every year, I urge you to go to the side bar on this blog, "What Is International Fake Journal Month?" That paragraph will provide a link to this blog's first post which explains fake journals and the celebration in detail. Also in that sidebar paragraph you'll find a link to the video of my completed 2009 fake journal, which I kept using an Alvin Field Book like the one in the above photo.

A fake journal is something that is kept in real time, so you may think there isn't a whole lot to do to prepare. Actually, there are a number of things you can do before April to ensure you have success [you actually keep working in it throughout the month] and fun [you actually want to keep working in it throughout the month] with your fake journal.

Here are some helpful suggestions:

1. Start thinking about what you will use as a book for your fake journal this year.

You might consider using a book you have bound yourself. For me, since I bind my own books, I like to use commercially bound books for my fake journal as it helps me distance myself from the "author" of the fake journal—i.e., he/she isn't someone who binds books like I do.

I went to Wet Paint (my favorite art supply store) yesterday to check out commercially available options. They have an extensive selection of sketchbooks and journals. I was weighing the many options when Christina came over to help me. She showed me many books she thought I might not be aware of and remained cheerful when I said things like, "the paper smells when it's wet," "The paper smells like musty plant material right now," and "I really wanted to have pre-printed lines on the page." Suddenly, I realized that since it wasn't "me" keeping the fake journal my personal prohibition against wirebound journals didn't apply and it was back to that area of the sketchbooks. And so it went.

(One of the advantages of supporting your local independent art supply store is that they are exceedingly helpful and they realize that while you may be peculiar you aren't dangerous.)

I came away with a selection of books because I needed to think about it a bit more. I know that I will use these sketchbooks for other projects (perhaps life-drawing) if they aren't picked for a fake journal. Doing additional thinking before you go to the store is always recommended—it's just that for me this is one of the few times a year I get to buy commercially bound journals. I like to bring them home and hold them and test the paper.

2. Consider what media you'll be using.

The media you work with will determine your paper choice in your selected journal. You may elect to create an Altered Book Fake Journal. If so you'll pick a book to alter and the paper in that book will determine which media you'll use. Some printed books may only tolerate dry media. Some printed books may have slick pages suitable for use with only certain inks.

Think of the options in another way as well. Is there a medium you would like to experiment with? Do you want to apply yourself to using pencil, or pen, or acrylics for a month? What speaks to you? Now is the opportunity to take a risk-free venture into experimentation with that medium.

Last year I elected to use the Alvin Field Book. It has water resistant pages that actually took dip pen and watercolor extraordinarily well. (I tested this on the back page because I had never used one of these books before.) I was smitten. That's why I have another one on hand for whenever I have an urge to work that way again. This year however, I don't think I want to work with dip pen. (I work frequently with dip pen as it is, and would like to do something distanced from last year's fake journal.)

The square Kunst & Papier sketchbook in the above photo is a possibility, because I love square formats, but it is not suitable for wet media. Do I want to use only drawing media?

The wirebound Monteval watercolor sketchbook as thick pages that will take just about anything I throw at it and will give me the fun of working in a wirebound journal—something I only very rarely do because I prefer to bind my own books and enjoy working across the gutter of a page spread.

And so it goes. Look at the book you're considering and ask yourself whether or not it will allow you to work with the media you want to use.

3. Consider the page size.

I mentioned in item two how the selection of media will effect your choice of a fake journal. But page size and orientation is also a consideration. Do you like to work in a landscape (wider than it is tall) format, a portrait format (taller than it is wide), or square format? Do you like to work across the gutter on a page spread (which means wirebound journals are not for you)? Do you like to fold the book back when you work with it (which means wirebound books are for you)?

Now ask yourself what does the author of the fake journal like to do? This might surprise you. Working in a fake journal can lead us to explorations we are aching to make, but feel constrained to make in our regular visual journals.

Next, consider the size of each page. Are you used to working large? Do you want to work small on a large page and leave lots of white space? Do you normally work one way with page size and space? If so, a great way to mix things up in your fake journal is to select something opposite to all your regular choices.

And finally, when considering page size also consider whether or not you are going to be posting your fake journal pages on your website or blog, or if you are going to be sharing it in other ways. If you intend to post it is the page so large it can't easily be scanned? Will you have to take digital photos of each page or page spread? Will you have to scan each page in a spread and then knit them together in Photoshop before you post them?

If your intention is to share your fake journal remember that every additional work step you add to the project to share it will actually eat up valuable time you could spend working in the fake journal. You might be best served by not sharing the journal at all until the completion of the project at the end of April—then you can make a video of the completed book. Or you might find that by posting every day you will keep yourself working on the fake journal.

Whatever you decide about how you will share the journal, remember that it will have an impact on your time. Make it as easy as possible on yourself by making a "sensible" choice now.

4. Consider the time you will have to spend on the project in April and the number of pages you will need in your journal.

In 2009 I tested on the back page of the Alvin Field Journal and then cut it out. When I counted the remaining pages it left a title page and exactly 30 page spreads, which meant I could fill one a day. Work and my regular journal lead me to expect that one page spread a day in the fake journal is the limit of what is realistic. Maybe you aren't going to keep your real journal in April (I advise against this, but I know people who have tried it). Maybe you know that you will only be able to fill a page a day.

Whatever realities of life you are facing I recommend that you count on spending no more than one hour a day on your fake journal. Some days it will be less, some days more, but even at an hour, it will mean shifting things in your regular routine. And if you can't find an hour and are going for 15 minutes a day in the fake journal it's unrealistic to plan to fill an entire page spread unless you are working very quickly indeed.

When I looked at the books in the above photograph I found that there were 20 sheets in the wirebound book. Will I work on both sides? One side only? Will I be OK with not having a page a day? When I looked at the Kunst & Papier book I realized there were also fewer than 30 page spreads. Would I be happy working on a spread over a couple days? Maybe that's what this year's author does? That leads me to another crucial consideration…

5. Consider who the author of your fake journal will be.

Since fake journals are created in real time doing elaborate planning about who your author is can be counter productive. It can wear you out before you even get started. However I find that as I start to choose a book to contain the fake journal some inkling of who the author is starts to come to me. I keep these ideas rolling around in my head, so that when April 1 comes along I can hit the ground running with sketching matter and media suited to that author. Comments and other personal details just naturally flow.

Also, if you start considering at this point who the author will be, ideas which seem excellent will have time to show themselves as one-trick-ponies that are not sustainable for a month.

So let some ideas start to jostle around in your head. Just tell your brain to think on this issue and then forget about it.

Getting Ready for International Fake Journal Month
Remember, there are only 56 more days until International Fake Journal Month. This could be just the creative adventure you need this spring. So whether you ponder the above considerations or simply grab a book April first and start in, I hope you'll consider joining me this year for International Fake Journal Month. Remember, Life's so short, why live only one?