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2018 Fake Journal Wrap Up ~

a very delayed summary of my April 2018

Fake Journal. (prepare yourself for a long post)

My character was an 'Old Woman.'

Who am I kidding?! I am in my 60's, and when I

was a kid, that seemed old to me.  Now that I'm

there, I think maybe 85 or 90 is 'old.'

Consequently, I had an extremely difficult time

keeping this character separate from myself.

"Me" kept creeping in...my fears and desires for

the future.  So I'm not sure that 'me in the future' 

counts as 'a different character.'

I've re-posted all of the pages here, for ease

of viewing 'in order.'

Well, it is what it is.  And the daily

drawing practice is always good.

Thanks to my friend Diana R., who gifted me with

a little spiral bound book with various sized pages

that had pre-printed backgrounds!  It' small. The

pages are about 4 1/2 " wide by 6 1/2" tall.

On day three, I drew my own hand, emphasizing

wrinkles and veins in and effort to make it 

look 'older.'  But maybe my hands already look

old?  They say your hands tend to really show

your age....sigh.  One example of how

much trouble I had making this be a 

character separate from myself.

I thought if my character were in a nursing home,

plants from home might be one comforting thing

that might have been brought with them.

Used myself as a model. Continuing

confusion if this is a character other than me.

Use of Random phrases, quotes, and song lyrics

for added interest, and sometimes ended up 

creating an additional layer of meaning.

I picked "snarky quotes" because I think they

are funny, but it also denotes a fear

that the future 'me' will become a mean old woman.

I know that illness and physical pain can 

make a distinct change in personality

of some aging folks.

My husband's canes standing in the corner

became likely models for the day...

as did my flannel nightgown.

Vintage coffee cup drawn sideways in the

journal, with collage added. (text reference

to doctor's appointment came from an old

flyer for a Red Cross blood drive.)

The doctor's office chair drawing (above) is not 

dated because it was done prior to the month of

 April-in an actual doctor's exam room.  I found it 

tucked away in my purse, and glued it 

into this journal.

I decided I wanted to be able to add collage

to my Fake Journal as well. Drawing over

a vintage music file index card on the left.

This year, Roz Stendahl also provided prompts

and quotes which we could use (or not) on our

pages.  Roz is the creater of the Fake Journal

project, which has been ongoing every April.

Visit the link to read more about the project.

About half way through the month, the stamping

of the date became annoying to me, even though

I liked the way it looked on the page. I just

began writing the date and time.

Sometimes the day would go by me, and it

would be the last minute to get

my page done...note the time on the right-hand page!

I really think we should adopt the "levels"

way of referring to age...

Yes, there is definitely sagging and shifting.

And some of us may just learn to care

a little less about what others think of us.

The oxygen mask was a photo on my phone,

taken at an antique mall.  I had sent the image to

my son in reference to a Dr. Who episode. I thought

it was cool.  The pain reliever needs 

no explanation...

Above, a quote from a TV show, I'm not sure

which one.  It may have been 'Father Brown,' or

maybe 'Midsomer Murders?' 

Did you spot the quote from Clara in a Dr. Who

episode on the left?  "Will there be cocktails?" is

a crucial question.

Maybe this is the end of the story, or maybe not.

Reflecting on my goals for 2018, above all

was to keep it simple. Less preparation and 

little research makes it much more likely that 

I will keep going and finish the project.

I've been doing a Fake Journal in April every

year starting in 2012. The first year I didn't come

close to drawing every day.  This year there

were only two days that I missed creating

pages.  And that's ok either way.  It's for 

fun, not for a grade.  

It seems like the last two years of Fake Journals

were in many ways difficult.  The topic of 

homelessness (last year) was difficult because I

had so much difficulty envisioning what life would be

like.  This year it was difficult because I had 

trouble separating myself from 'me in the future.'

 I learned about myself in the process, and

kept going despite sometimes feeling that

I had chosen a depressing topic!  You gotta

keep your sense of humor, after all...

See you next April!