Back in the waning days of Heron Dance as a print publication, I introduced the fictional private journal of Archibald Campbell, wild artist. It generated both the strongest positive and negative reaction of any of my work over the last thirty years. The problem in the eyes of more than a few was that Archibald was prone to erotic misadventures with wild women, including with his nude models. All in all, I thought it was my strongest work. There’s more background on my Archibald stories here.
For the next little while, I think I’ll explore Archibald’s more recent journal entries. He is, after all, now eighty and less inclined toward chaos. His journal entries show us journaling in action. Archibald looks back on his life as a younger artist, and records his thoughts on success and failure, on joy and tragedy, and reflects on his current life, still living in a tiny, remote cabin back in the woods, having found a degree of peace and harmony with who he is and who he could have been.
Here's an example.
. . .
Journal entry, November 19
Deep in dreamworld, an owl called from the trees above me. I’ve been painting owls over and over these last couple of weeks – a hundred times, three hundred times? – and as I woke up thought at first that my preoccupation had forced its way into my sleep, as often seems to happen. But then, as I lie half-awake in the darkness, came the resounding hoo-h'HOO-hoo-hoo of an owl no more than fifty feet away. It was a booming sound, penetrating the rustling of beech leaves stirred by the fall wind. A chill ran down my spine, partly owl, partly the encroaching cold of the night and the changing season. I got up, threw a log on coals in the woodstove and sat in the darkness.
As I closed my eyes and searched my imagination for a way to capture that haunting call in a painting, it hooted again. Its wild beauty, its solitude – solitude not loneliness – a predator that strikes fear in the shadowy night world of mice and moles. How does an artist capture that?
I grabbed my journal, a cup of water and some watercolors. With the owl hooting every few minutes in the background, it is time to try yet again.
A mockup of the first two pages of the new book, Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery. It is available now as a PDF, and in the next few days as a hardcover.
A mockup of the first two pages of the new book, Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery. It is available now as a PDF, and in the next few days as a hardcover.
A mockup of two pages of the new book, Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery.
Front cover, The Pausing For Beauty Poetry Diary. PDF and Softcover (Lay Flat, wire-o binding) versions available. Visit here.
Two interior pages, The Pausing For Beauty Poetry Diary. PDF and Softcover (Lay Flat, wire-o binding) versions available. Visit here.
Below, two sample pages from my recent art journal, and the related diary/planner
Nurturing The Song Within
There are a few copies of the first edition (hardcover, dust jacket, premium art paper) still available. After they are sold out, we don’t plan to republish, at least in that format.
If you are not subscribed to either or both Heron Dance Art Studio Substacks, you can do that here:
Creativity as a Way of Life: The use of journaling as a tool in creative work; an exploration of the inner work underlying creative work.
A Pause for Beauty: a gratitude art journal celebrating the beauty and mystery of the natural world, and the gift of life.
. . .
If you appreciate this work and can afford to support it, please do. In late October it will become a paid Substack:
$5 a month
$50 a year
$150 Founding Membership includes both Substacks and two upcoming books:
Meditations on the Beauty and Mystery of Life, A Gratitude Journal
Using An Art Journal to Probe Deep.
. . .
The cost of subscribing to both of my Substacks,
A Pause for Beauty and Creativity as a Way of Life
is twice that indicated above.
You can make a one-time or recurring contribution here.
Any contributions received prior in the months leading up to the launch will be credited against a subscription.
And thank you.
Recent Projects And Random Thoughts
Our new art journal, Nurturing The Song Within, explores the inner work that underlies creative work, and creating a unique life.
If you are not subscribed to either or both Heron Dance Art Studio Substacks, you can do that here:
Nurturing the Song Within, a chronicle of one artist’s efforts to evolve. An exploration of the inner work underlying creative work.
A Pause for Beauty, a celebration of the beauty and mystery of the natural world.