48 Hours Later…

Have you ever had one of those ideas that woke you up from a dead sleep, grabbed you by the shoulders, and shook you until you said "FINE! I'LL DO IT!"?

I had one last week and within 48 hours, this happened.

Those of you that have known me for years will know that this isn't new for me. On line magazines were my thing for a long time - poetry magazines, specifically - and I ran two of them over the course of a few years. They were successful in the sense that they helped launch a few poets into the world of chapbooks (some publishers will only take you on in print if you've been seen in zines like the ones I produced), had lots of subscribers, and I was drowning in submissions each and every quarter.

I didn't make any money. It was a labour of love for poets and poetry and for the process of creating a beautiful virtual home for poems to live. One of the features of my zines was that I would select art to accompany the poetry, and let me tell you - THAT was my favourite part. Read the poem. Go looking for the perfect piece of art to accompany it.

I think that was why I so easily turned to art journaling after my poet's well dried up back in 2009. It was a natural progression. It made sense.

This is not a poetry magazine, and in fact, it isn't really a magazine at all. It's a showcase - a kind of ever evolving gallery - where journal artists can submit their work any time with no deadline and if I like it, it will go up. I am not an 'editor', but a curator, collecting and arranging the work, giving it the spotlight, leaving commentary for smarter people and just basking in the beauty that my on line tribe produces.

I'm very happy about this, and I hope you'll subscribe and submit.

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In Other News

Life Book 2015 opened for registration and I am *very excited* to be teaching in it once again. It is always such a pleasure and a honour to be included among such talented mixed media artists. This year, the line up is incredible. You can download a teacher line up in PDF form here.

If you've never done Life Book before, you're really missing out on a wonderful library of mixed media projects that will keep you creating all year long! Do consider joining me?