The Contents Of An Artist

abridged & abstracted

e-zine release february 2o15

This is the concept cover art for excerpts from my personal diaries, journals, sketchbooks, and rough drafts from 2k14, uneditied, yet curated for an e-zine. I've been dreaming of making a new zine for months and had a lot of material building, but it was all just in it's first stage, or so I thought.

I've re-discovered the art of imperfection as beauty and so I'm sharing the unfinished work of the year. I'm sharing a very important part of my entire life that's unique to me in it's own way.

I'm a passionate journal keeper and have been for a very, very long time. In a way I feel like it's my only opportunity to express myself despite time and space. The journals are not permanent by any means, but there is still a record actually being kept. I can't know what will happen to this material and that's part of the wonder of making the books, wanting to immortalize a moment in life in a medium that may not even last beyond my own life time.

I've picked up as many transcribed and facsimiled diaries as I could find from writers and artists I've admired. I've even ended up with a few abandoned journals written by complete strangers. Like with most things there is lots of chaff. The really interesting pages have a visual element to then. There's specificity alongside vagueness. In mine, too, are bits about my personal life to stream of consciousness writing and even bits art marketing plans and concepts.

In editing the work into one volume I've been reading back into what was a full year I find myself entertained by my odd thoughts and sad for some of the down times I endured. There's a range from silly illustrations pondering what's cracking the pavement from underneath to beat word play about negativity itself. Not only do I get to share my creative process and learn more about e-publishing and formatting, but I get to dig back into my recent experience and pull something relevant out to move forward on.

Links for buying the book will be out soon, until then! -Courie Bee