Kind / Unkind

The Archaeology of Self Series

I am continuing in sharing my past work. This series of posts are documenting the art journals that were in storage for up to 13 years and that I reconnected with upon our return from China. Today I am sharing the Kind|Unkind journal I made from Get Messy’s Season of Kindness.

I had a very cute Coptic stitched journal. It was a small one, just a bit bigger than a passport. During that time I was travelling, so I really needed something portable and easy to work in.

I decided to focus on using gouache for the background, two/three colors maximum. Then I would draw something with a sharpie and add the statement. The front of the book would be the ‘Kind’ section and the back of it the ‘Unkind’ one. I would simply flip the book over when working in each section.

I would start with the Kind statement and then flip the book over to do the corresponding Unkind one. I will share them side by side here.

This was a good way to work through some difficult emotions relating to a toxic situation that was unfolding in my life. It also allowed me to feel better about my drawing skills and learning about gouache.

It was a really intense period of time and being able to address these emotions like this was helpful. It’s kind of crazy how easy it is to see both sides of a same idea. Documenting or working through these notions in this way was very interesting and helped change my perspective.

The fact that the journal was small made it quite portable and easy for me to work in, even though I was travelling in that time. Minimal supplies, maximal impact.

Revisiting this work has reminded me of what it means to have a cohesive, immersive project that truly becomes a healing force outside of the art journal. That is, after all, what I want my art practice to be all about.