Brenda and Mary

I wrote an article on Brenda Shackleford for RubberStampMadness last year, and I was wowed by her just-go-for-it approach to life and art. One of the things Brenda told me was that when she travels, she always packs a fresh journal and her basic artist’s tool kit. She glues in things that she finds and generally riffs (is that a word?) about what she’s experiencing.
Just before Mary left for Cuba in June, she told me that she didn’t think she would have time for art while she was there. Mary being Mary, I couldn’t imagine her going a day without doing something creative, so I told her about the Brenda approach to travel. And Mary being Mary loved the idea.
I’m laughing as I write this, but here’s the thing…Mary started working in her Cuba journal on the flight down. Had the plane even taken off, I wonder? By the time she got home she’d finished her journal of course. Now I haven’t been to Cuba, but Mary’s journal gave me an idea of what it would be like…full of color and light.
Mary brought me back a dear little blank book that she bought from a guy on the beach in Cuba. I’ve been thinking about what to do with it, and I’ve decided that it’s going to be my Cape Cod journal. I glued this heart on the cover and painted all the pages inside the same color. Will I be able to work on it while I’m away? I’m going to try. I’m not as spontaneous as Brenda and Mary, but hopefully I can just enjoy playing in it without over thinking things like I usually do.