Product Description

Who hasn't, at one time or other, kept a journal? The impulse to record our daily lives on paper is nothing if not universal. Still, only a few of us have the discipline to make it past the first few entries, and fewer still manage to create diaries whose insight and visual beauty can inspire anyone but their authors. Drawing from Life: The Journal as Art is an exploration of these exceptions books of obsessive wonder filled to their borders with drawings, sketches, watercolors, graphs, charts, lists, collages, portraits, and photographs.

Jennifer New takes readers on a spirited tour into the private worlds of journal keepers an architect, a traveler, a film director, an archeologist, a cancer patient, a songwriter, a quiltmaker, a gardener, an artist, a cyclist, and a scientist, to name just a few illustrating a broad range of journaling styles and techniques that in the end show how each of us can go about documenting our everyday lives. Excerpts from journals by such artists as Maira Kalman, Steven Holl, David Byrne, and Mike Figgis give us a peek at how creative souls observe, reflect, and explore.

For those who already keep a journal, Drawing from Life will be an inspiration. For those who have always wanted to or tried and failed it might just be the motivation needed to get past that first week.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30840 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
"Refreshes the power, beauty and possibility of knowing ourselves through daily chronicle and tactile sensation." -- Santa Fe Reporter, September 7, 2005

A richly illustrated exploration of 31 list-, chart-, and sketch-filled journals by painters, filmakers, engineers, designers, and other visual thinkers. -- The Boston Globe, August 2005

A window into the creative minds of people from all walks of life. -- Anthem, May 2005

Shows how various talented people use their journals as a record and rough draft for their lives and work. -- Metro New York, July 2005

About the Author
Jennifer New is author of the best selling Dan Eldon: The Art of Life . She teaches at the University of Iowa School of Education and lives with her husband and children in Iowa City.

Customer Reviews

Excellent
Art journaling has become so popular, I think by example. People see themselves in others' work and want to imitate and branch off and personalize. When we read about and see other's journal/art we don't feel so isolated and weird. Sometimes looking thru other's journals makes me feel kind of like this: -I've thought the same things, but I never thought about writing it down or expressing it -till seeing how someone else has journaled similar thoughts/feelings, and then my wheels are turning, and I'm thinking about how or what I want to express.

This is a great book for reading about how other people journal, how they got started, their style and how keeping journals have helped them in their lives. You'll read about some querky journalers, some ingenius journalers, and some just normal ones. Various contributors, some who are famous for their journals or other creative work have shared their journal experiences and examples for this book. You'll find people like Hannah Hinchman, Lynda Barry, and the 'someguy' who started the '1000 Journals' project just to name a few. Then there's the interesting Masayoshi Nakano who created beautiful journals where he chronicled his daily walks thru Musashino and then burned all but one journal later on. A very bold display,of non-attachment.

It's great for ideas, and to learn more about journaling and how it is art, personal and sometimes public. There are great color pictures/examples/snippetts of the contributors' journals throughout. I love the message that there's no wrong way to do it. It's very healing. I have enjoyed this book and pick it up often to read/look at.

Great for all kinds of creative expression!
I love this book, and it repeatedly finds its way into my bag to be taken out and thumbed through on the bus, on vacation, at work during breaks or while I am on the couch during those rare few minutes of "me-time". It takes the idea of "journal" and makes it multi-faceted. You see the artistic side of journaling of course, but the author proposes the idea that a scientific journal or furniture designer sketchbook is just as artistic as the watercolor journal. It really takes away the fear that just because you can't draw or have no idea how to collage you can't create a meaningful journal.
This isn't a "how-to", it's a "just-is". If you are looking for a book to teach you visual journaling techniques, this probably isn't the book for you. But if you like to see how others journal in a way that fits their lives, you will enjoy this book.

Great source of inspiration
I really like this book and it is one of my favorites, one I will return to again and again when I need a little creativity kick start.
As a mixed media artist who writes/draws in a journal daily, I really enjoy getting a peek at what other people are doing in their journals and how they work things out on paper,what inspires them or drives them as the case may be.
If you are looking for a "how to" book then this is not the book for you, there are plenty of fine books in that specific area of interest.
I like it because it is unique and real,not trendy or cute, or edgy, it's just a wonderful compilation of other people's journal pages.