1. Today was one of those wonderful Fall days here in Washington with blue skies and enough leaves clinging to the tree branches to add unexpected touches of color.
2. Jim and I stopped by the Phillips Gallery today for a sandwich and an art-feast. This time we stayed with familiar color painters from the permanent collection: Cezanne, Matisse, Sam Gilliam, and Gene Davis. It does not take a long visit to the Phillips to feel filled.
3. On our way back home we stopped at Politics and Prose - my favorite independent bookstore that seems to flourish despite the tough battles with the mega chains. I found exactly what I was looking for - my favorite 5" x 8" Moleskin plain notebook which is perfect for collages. And a plus -
an inexpensive soft-cover French journal - which has blank paper with a "tooth" that will fight the pen a bit. That makes writing notes, lists, sometimes thoughts a good feeling. I also like the cover - with its art-deco design - a yellow background, with a peacock standing on a black branch - surrounded by little orange blossoms. All very 1920s Japanese influenced.
I am one of those people who carries a blank book with them
everywhere. I start a new one each month. So - the size, the kind, the feel of the paper - choice of pages - lined, grid-ruled or blank makes a difference to me. Also the color and type of cover. Is this something I want to carry and write in for 30 or 31 days?
My journal is my brain - lists, telephone numbers, notes, sometimes poems, journal entries, ideas - you get the idea - in the brain - onto the paper. This is a habit of
long standing and I have the boxes of these journals to prove it. Occasionally I re-read random books - and sometimes I find story-bits. But mostly I catch the essence of the days. I try to hang on to them.
