more on process . . .

so I thought I just better show you some pages and how they are created. . . .
step one: assemble materials - collage papers I made with photoshop - some whole sheets and some torn strips, ink stamp pads for creating color, sharpie marker for juicy writing:



step two: Then I spray mount the paper into the journal - I use torn strips and whole sheets of paper I made using photoshop:



step three: I felt it needed more contrast, so I added two strips torn from old Blueprint pages, then I add some color using the stamp pads:



step four: Added a photo of a bird torn from the New York Times Magazine, and finally, the mood feels messy and arbitrary enough to open up the verbal side of my brain, and let loose with some words; the pages are done:



kinda messy and arbitrary, but when I hit the writing part, the collage work has loosened me a bit, and instead of getting boring to do lists or gripes about how much I suffer in this cruel world, I seem to find words that get to the authentic voice I look for in my journal.
a dose of gratitude always helps, as well.
It's not about pretty, it's about feeling good in the process. . . .
Capiche?