For a significant chunk of this blog - from about 2011 to 2017 - a big part of my artistic exploration was the Embodiment Challenge. Embodiment originally started over on LiveJournal, and I was introduced to it by a good friend. The challenge is to keep and update a paper journal for an entire year. Below is the page I wrote when I was still doing the challenge - while I don't keep a journal with any regularity these days - I should probably get back on that, aye? - my pages will still have a home here regardless. Read on for more.
There's something quite wonderful about a paper journal - it's your life in those pages, something that can't be deleted with a click. Even if you don't consider yourself a writer or don't hold a lot of pride in your artwork, you've created something really beautiful there - something that's yours.
I took up Embodiment because I was freaked out by how quickly life was going, and because I was worried I'd lose or forget some great memories because of how busy I was. My parents had always encouraged keeping a diary when I was a child, and were very respectful of my privacy, but I'd not had the attention span for it as a kid. Quite strange as I'd been a sedentary little kid and loved to paint and write, but I guess I thought my own life was "too boring" - or that a "real diary" was too structured, beginning each entry with "Dear Diary" in your best handwriting. Even now I go through a lot of phases with my journalling; pages of nothing but writing followed by many collage spreads followed by watercolour followed by more text. I have a lot of 'ugly pages', too.
I digress. Forgetting memories was the kick in the butt I needed. I'd already started to forget some of sixth-form after just a few months into my next course. I was nearly nineteen and my Art Foundation year was going more quickly by the week. By the end of that year, I would have a place at university (or so I hoped at the time) and would be moving out on my own. As an artistic person, I took - and take - comfort in this little book that documents this fast-paced journey.
While I share a lot of photos (mainly of the prettier spreads), I mainly keep the journal for my own eyes. I've become more open in recent years regarding my personal life but I think I'll always remain somewhat of a private person. Occasionally I show my own pages in the hope that they'll inspire other journallers or even get a new person to give it a go. With Embodiment, there's complete freedom - the only rule is that I keep it up for an entire year. So far, so good.
Any materials go in Embodiment. I've used almost everything I can think of in it - paints, fabrics, pastels, magazine clippings, inks, glitter, tea and coffee, even sewing buttons into the pages - and it makes for a very interesting spread. I go through phases of collecting nice papers, or stickers, or inks - and my journal reflects this. Sometimes I just go through phases of pure writing (although these don't last for long particularly as my books are often unlined!). Often, I collect things like receipts or tickets - little things that I'd usually throw away without a second thought. For example, when I found my (expired) bus pass that I'd used during Foundation year during a room clearout, it went straight into the book - bus travel was a pretty big part of how I got around that year and the pass (now technically trash) was invaluable back then.
There's a lot of trial and error with journals but that's part of the fun of Embodiment. Personally speaking, at least.
What do I plan to do with all these books? After I finish one, I put it into storage with its brothers and sisters. At some point in the far future I'd like to sit and look through them all, the same as I like to do now with childhood keepsakes. After I shuffle off this mortal coil, I'd like them to go to a place like the Brooklyn Art Library, so other people can read them - hopefully by that point there'll be a good collection, so I'll be sure to leave enough money for the international shipping.
If you fancy finding out more about Embodiment, check out these links:
Embodiment at LiveJournal
Polyrillustration's tag on Embodiment
Polyrillustration's Flickr link on Embodiment - all photos so far (there's over 150!!)
Good luck!
