Words, words, words and a naked lady

I have a deep and abiding obsession with words.   If you think about it, the purpose of words is only to convey a thought.  And words can be meaningless.  If you spoke to me in another language, those words would be useless, because I wouldn't understand what you were trying to tell me.  Yet words are functional.  You can learn how to do something new, you can communicate your thoughts and feelings, or find out where the bathroom is when you really need one!  So, words can be functional and useful, but that's not why I like them.

I like words because they can be more than just functional.  The right words can paint a picture in your mind more beautiful than any artist could ever create on a canvas.  They can make you connect to a person you've never met or bring to mind memories you had forgotten for a time.  A line or two of words, strung together in just the right way, can inspire us or defeat us.  

I've collected words and quotes for a long time, way before I started art journaling, before I started doing anything artistic or crafty.  I've also been writing (or trying to anyway) my own poems from pretty early on.  (You can read my poetry at my other blog HERE if you'd like to check it out.)  So I have this huge collection of words floating around in my brain (and on scraps of paper, and written in the margins of books, etc.), and so now, if I see something new or rediscover an old favorite, I am trying to put it into one of my art journals and illustrate it.  I find words I love everyday, sometimes multiple times a day, so if I make the effort to slap a quote onto paper and then take the time to modify the page (e.g. -work on drawing, or some new technique I want to try for the background), I should be an expert in no time!

So, here's a recent thing I'd seen while scrolling around the web late one night.  I just love that first line, "I think of you in the in-between spaces, ..."  It's so perfect that I can barely stand it! :

"I think of you in the in-between spaces,
in the pause before the next heartbeat,
in the clench of my chest before I exhale,
in the swell of courage before I say hello."
-Quoted from Kitkat Pecson, originally
seen HERE

In my last post, I mentioned that my black illustration pens were water 'resistant', not 'waterproof', and there's a BIG difference between the two.  Then I realized I had a set of sepia toned micron pens and when I checked, I saw the magic word (waterproof), so that's what I used for doodling this.  I did, sneakily, drive to Michaels after work on Saturday to look for a waterproof black pen.  I ended up getting two Pitt pens, a 0.1 and a 0.6, and now I understand why people love the Pitt pens so much!

The other page I've finished was another learning experience...very similar to the 'resistant' does not equal 'proof' in terms of the water solubility lesson that I learned last time...I've learned that gesso (or at least the brand I have) is not super waterproof (it will take a little water, but a VERY little only...)  ...I think I've fixed it enough that it isn't too obvious, and now I know for next time, right?  Not a mistake, just a new way NOT to do something...  :)

So here's the page:

"It's much too risky to let myself be vulnerable,
to lay there bare, naked and prone,
without any defense from the outside.
Ah, I have built up a tough hide.
And now you ask me...how I feel...
and you expect me to lay aside the thick skin
I have acquired through years of hard work and let you in!
...I can not say 'I love you', my dear one.
But I can try, slowly and scared,
to undress down to my soul
and let you see the truth for yourself."
-Quote by me, and you can see the entire poem HERE

If anybody out there would like to share any techniques or quotes that they enjoy, I would really love to hear them.  I'm always on the lookout for something new...and please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of my stuff, good or (nicely) bad...I'd love to hear what you think either way.