Articles by peggy

Six of us spent much of day last Friday floating down the Ichetucknee River, one of the few pristene waterways on this planet.Thankfully, this pure and beautiful place is right “in our backyard.” “The Blue Path,”  an exhibit at The Florida Museum of Natural History, is about to open in Gainesville. This show will celebrate our magnificent springs and their importance to the people of the State of Florida. Be sure to check this out.

I have attached some photos of us as we floated, made art, and spent three hours contemplating our exquisite crystalline surroundings. At the end of our run (Yes, we did the entire trip!), we enjoyed our picnic lunches and had our usual review between rain showers that held off until 2 PM. What a beautiful day we had!

Look at my site for the image that I made and visit the page, “Notes and Journey Daybook pages to see the pages made by the other alumni participants.

Ancient bald cypress on on shore

On Friday, June 11^th , eight Journey Daybook alumna met at Kanapaha Gardens in Gainesville for our monthly adventure.  We had time to stroll in the, gardens before having our lunches in the shaded picnic area behind Summer House (though a couple of us couldn’t resist starting our pages right away).  After lunch and lively conversation, we spread out to work on our pages and gathered 1 ½ hours later to share the results:  eight individual, inspired takes on various sites in the gardens, including bamboo, a memorial waterfall, the view from a gazebo, reflections in a gazing ball, trees and flowers.  Though the weather was very hot and muggy, we were energized by our efforts and our fellowship.  We all agreed that a return trip to Kanapaha Gardens is in our future!

Anne sent this fine photo of the assembled group observing the finished pages at the end of the adventure.

On Saturday, our Journal Keepers group makes a stop at the Nature Center State Park on the Rio Grande bosque. The highlight of this excursion is seeing the blind designed to observe indigenous plants and animals in their environment. Margy O’Brien created tiles, some of which were made from journals pages in collaboration with Bonnie Schmader, an Albuquerque naturalist, for this useful practical monument,  The structure is very accessible, located on the corner of the parking lot where everyone has an opportunity to not only read the journal entries but also to watch the animals that include a host of different ducks, geese, migratory birds, and turtles without intruding on their natural activity. This group of photos of the blind show the site, Margy’s work, and the recontextualization of the journal pages - here in a very different art form - ceramic sculpture. Bravo, Margy! You have made a wonderful piece of public art from a your personal journal pages and in so doing you have changed our thinking about the untold ways that our journey daybooks can be reused.

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Three of us move around the open, green spaces of the city. Ruthy from California joins Patty and me for a morning of sketching in the main square of Old Town, where we each occupy a different spot in the park - foreground, middle-ground, and background - as we work. The subject we face is St Philip Neri church, the oldest Catholic Church in Albuquerque. As we draw, a mass is underway, music fills the empty spaces of our consciousness, and, finally, a funeral procession exits the church. Many Hispanic families gather in the courtyard as the coffin and flowers are loaded in the hearse. How special it is that we are able to witness these private moments in the life of a different culture!

Later, the three of us drive to Sandia Mountain and ride the Sandia tram to the crest, where we each draw and paint. I plan to post images before too long. I promise!

There has been a heat wave in this part of New Mexico; although, from our perspective, it seems comfortable - with dry heat and cool evenings. Last night a cold front passed here, and we look forward to cooler weather in the next few days. How thankful the 28 or so of us journal keepers are for this time together we are together!

We arrived safely at the Spiritual Renewal Center yesterday after a wonderful four-day road trip from Cedar Key. There are about 25 illustrated journal keepers retreating here and preparing for our exhibit opening at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History in Old Town tonight. The women participants come from a different parts of the United States and Canada and bring to the table a wonderful diversity of talents and interests. We have botanists, ornithologists, nature lovers, college professors, writers, artists, and journey daybook keepers, like us.

One of our littermates bound journal pages after our gathering in Zion in October. Because many of you have seen a book that Beki produced in 2007, I am posting a photo of this “2009 edition.” More later . . . .

While some alumni will be attending scheduled Alumni Adventures (See the next post,) others of us will be traveling this summer. I hope that everyone will make an attempt to scan and send images of the pages to me so that everyone can enjoy them. As a Preview of what is to come, I am posting one of Anne’s pages that she made last week when she made a trip to the North Carolina beach with her grandchildren. Go to the Notes and Journey Daybook Page to see the remainder of these pages. Thanks, Anne!

At the JDB Board meeting 17 May, three summer Alumni Adventures were scheduled. These will occur:

11 June at Kanapaha Gardens in Gainesville. The group will meet at 11 AM. Barbara Beynon is hostess. Below is an image made at Kanapaha Gardens. A few years ago we took a group of girls (the Cedar Key Sisters) to Kanapaha to make journey daybook pages. 16 July (tentative) in Cedar Key. The group will meet at 11 AM at the St. Clair Witman House on the State Museum property. Sue Reichert is hostess.

August (date t.b.a) in Chiefland, FL at the Dakotah Winery. Patty Jett is hostess.

Seven of our Journey Daybook members met yesterday for several hours to make pages that reflected our impression of the joyful yearly gathering of small, often handmade wooden sailboats. We planted ourselves in some tree shade that made the experience of working cool and comfortable. The breeze was fresh. The day was clear. And, we each made pages that were individually special. See these pages in the NOTES AND JOURNEY DAYBOOK PAGES page.

Journey Daybook Adventure at the Tench

These photos show some of our members enjoying lunch at Big Lou’s Pizza. From left to right: Carol, Barb and Patty, and Sue. As always, be sure to look for the pages on the Notes and Journey Daybook Pages.

Be sure to check out Alumni Adventures where three new Adventures are described.

Making a journey daybook page on Astena Otie during 2009 Small Boat Meet

Eight Journey Daybook alumni spent three hours at this magical Florida State Park today. The weather was in the balmy 70’s, and, of course, the water bubbling up from the spring is a constant 72°, year ’round. Anne planned this adventure beautifully, hoping that the spring flowers would be blooming. We, of course, were not disappointed.

Each of us worked in a different part of the park, and each of the pages that we made showed a unique point of view. All of the pages were colorful and exciting, reflecting this spectacular, bright, warm afternoon. Be sure to check out Notes and Journey Daybook Pages to see our individual pages.

Over the past 6 months or so several of our members have become interested in learning to make books with the purpose of finding different ways of binding and using our journey daybook pages. Three of us made books at a retreat at St John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Several other journey daybook members will learn to make books at a workshop at the Cedar Key Arts Center at the end of March. Because of this burgeoning interest, I have decided to begin a new page called BOOKMAKING. To inaugurate this new blog subject, I am posting a book made by Patty Jett. This construction is called a Tunnel Book, and Patty made it as a birthday card for me. The “pages”of this bookwork are made from xeroxed journey daybook pages that Patty made during a trip to New York two years ago. What a lovely gift I received, and I am most grateful to Patty!

Instead of drawing my cappuccino cup, I am eager to get out and work on this beautiful spring Florida Saturday. I that you feel the same way! We have all experienced such a cold winter with more inside than outside activity lately. To wet your appetite for group Journey Daybook activity, I am reminding you that there will be an Alumni Adventure Friday, March 19 at Rainbow Springs State Park. The plan is to meet at the concession stand inside the park at 11:30 AM with a bag lunch. Anne Miller is hosting this event and she has more information, if you need it. We will carpool; therefore check with others for driving opportunities. Also, check the postings on the Alumni Adventures page for more exciting future opportunities to work with a group. We now have one adventure each month, planned and arranged by a different JDB member.

Our next board meeting is planned for Tuesday, 16 March at 6:30 at Liquid Ginger in Gainesville. The meeting is open to any interested JDB member. If you are not a board member and wish to come, please call Anne Seraphine. If you are a board member and cannot come, please call Barbara Beynon.

There are some interesting public art exhibits that might be of interest to some of you -

Gainesville - Ruth Whiting at Randy Batista’s Media Image Gallery (by the Hippodrome) The work of this young artist includes a tiny handmade artist’s book.

Boston - at the Museum of Science. The work of Leonardo da Vinci is explored in exhibits and lectures.

New York - at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian  Photocollage.” The work of several obscure 19th century Victorian English women who may have been the first artists to use the medium of collage in shown in an exhibit curated by the Chicago Art Institute.

Sadly, Mama Kia lost her battle with bone cancer this Saturday, 20 February 2010. Some of you knew Mama Kia. Several others of you may remember that we stayed with her and worked with the children of Casa de Milagros, near Cusco, Peru, in November, 2007. Kia was a remarkable person! I have just spent an hour perusing the Chandler Sky Foundation website and watching the most recent video. When you can, I urge you to do the same with the expectation of being inspired by Kia’s life and work.

I feel that it is imperative that we complete the exchange of journey daybooks and ship the pages from Cedar Key and Florencia, Cuba to Kia’s children - her
“children of our one world.”

Last Friday, 11 of us gathered in Gainesville to view the wonderful quilt show at the museum. Joyfully, we prefaced our work of making journey daybook pages by celebrating with a birthday lunch at the Harn Museum. Thank you everyone!

If any of you have pages to post, please bring or send them to me. I will continue to post them on the page “Notes and Journey Daybook Pages.”

Eight of us spent last weekend at the Suwannee River State Park near Live Oak Florida. We shared three comfortable cabins, walked the leafy foot paths by the river, worked in our journey daybooks in solitude and together, and enjoyed comfort food furnished by our Journey Daybook board members.The food was so good that we voted to “stay home” to read, paint, and make star books with Patty Saturday evening.

Here, at the end of the retreat, we admire our journey                     daybook pages on a cabin porch.

We are happy to present our pages for you to see.

Pages by Peggy Herrick can be seen on her blog.

Pages by Anne Seraphine -

Pages by Anne Case -

Two journey daybook keepers went to Robinson’s Seafood on New Year’s Day to make pages at the fish market. View my page at http://margaretherrick.com/blog/

Our Board has decided to sponsor a retreat January 22-24, 2010. Looking for a place close to our homes in North Florida, we settled on the beautiful Suwannee River State Park. We hope that you will be inspired to join us after looking at the site and our description of the retreat (on the RETREATS page of this blog). E-mail us to reserve your place as soon as possible.

Our September Journey Daybook Alumni Adventure is held Friday, 13 September at this Alachua County historical museum. What an extraordinary experience for the 7 attendees who enjoy the museum for close to 3 hours! Please be sure to enjoy the posts on the “Notes and Journey Daybook” page and on my site.

On Friday, August 7th four of us float down the Ichetucknee River from the mid point to the low point for floating in this river State Park. With care, I bring along my camera and my journey daybook.The weather is hot. We bring lunches and picnic in the park before hiking down to the river for our excursion. We all splash, muse, and meditate in the beauty of this pristine Florida river, behaving like the many young people who are in our midst. As we float, we see turtles (who are tame and do not move as we close in on them) and numerous wildflowers. I am attracted to the rare spider lily, which I draw and paint. See my journey daybook page here. We carefully bring cameras and journey daybooks. Some of us work. Others just enjoy the view.

We will be leaving from Cedar Key Friday, 7 August at 8:45 AM. I calculate that there will be 5 of us in one car. Please meet at my house on Second Street. Bring your lunch and money to rent a raft. We will stop just outside the Ichetucknee State Park to rent the rafts which make this adventure a little easier, especially for those of us who wish to carry a camera and journey daybook.

If you have further questions, please call or e-mail me.

Our Journey Daybook Alumni have scheduled a journey to the Ichetucknee State Park for a 3-hour float on Friday, 7 August. In the past, we have been able to rent small rafts that accommodate journey daybooks, drawing materials, and cameras (with care!). This will be the first of our regularly scheduled alumni adventures planned and hosted by an individual. I, Peggy Herrick, am the host for this trip.

As plans are finalized, I will post these plans on the “Alumni Adventures” page.

4 July 2009 - The Great Clamerica Celebration in Cedar Key

I think that this one-day festival was the best ever of this 6-year annual celebration. Everyone seemed to have a great time in spite of the blazingly bright, hot, humid day, Thanks to the kindness of a houseguest, I have included a photo taken from the Cedar Key beach My own journey daybook page can be viewed on my blog. After various picnics, the day was topped off with a beautiful fireworks display which we watched in the coolness of deck chairs, overlooking the Sandspit. What a gift to be in Cedar Key on the fourth of July!

26 June 2009 - Making Journey Daybook Pages at Peggy’s House

Patty (not pictured) sat on the first floor back porch and worked before Tonya Witt’s hypertufa (cement sculpture) in the garden. She bravely painted in occasional rain showers.

I was the sissy of the group, working on the inside dining room table.

Please go to Notes and Journey Daybook Pages in order to see the work that we made.

Sue and I went to Poe Springs, an Alachua County park yesterday. It was a rainy day in our area, and the weather discouraged several alumni, but Sue and I were happy for the pleasant experience of working together quietly and peacefully. We encountered only one brief shower while at Poe Springs. Therefore, our determination to set out for this destination was affirmed. My journey daybook entry is found on my website. Here, Sue paints on the dock that extends into the Santa Fe River.

I am posting a link to the journal pages of Shirley Ende-saxe, who went on the 2008 Crizmac Day of the Dead trip in Mexico. Shirley keeps a daily journal. She is chiefly a collage artist. She teaches, sells her work, and has several published books. On this blog site, her images are descriptive and contain a running narrative. She also posts some lovely slides. I hope that you enjoy this art, as I have.

A friend recently sent me this link to a retreat sponsored by the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at St Johns University and Abbey in Minnesota. This is the monastery which commissioned The St John’s Bible and where this amazing work of art is housed. I am presently pondering the notion of attending this year’s retreat. Please follow the links if any of you are interested in doing the same.

I have just signed up for an October trip to Mexico. It would be fun to have other journey daybook keepers join me on this Crizmac trip. See my blog and follow the links for more information.

Each year, small boats, often hand-made by their owners, congregate around our island during the beginning of May. This year, on Friday, May 1, several of us made journey daybook pages showing the boats and, in some cases, their sailors.

Here, Sue and Trent work in the shade near Cedar Key’s Sand Spit Park where the boats are launched. 

Don’t forget to look at the “Notes and Journey Daybook Pages” to see the images.

Our board member and accomplished artist is having a show this weekend in Gainesville. Anne’s work will be exhibited at Eleanor Blair’s studio, 113 South Main Street, at an Opening during Art Walk this Friday night, March 27. Let’s all show up and cheer Anne on!

Five of us spent five days on a journey to view the St John’s Bible at the Moble Art Museum and then on to New Orleans last week. This was an amazing trip filled with many images, both seen, experienced, and produced. Here, on the last evening, the five of us sit enjoying dinner together. Visit “Notes and Journey Daybook Pages” to see more images.

In an effort to increase our blogging proficiency, several of us gave up our Friday JDB ALumni Adventure to work on our computers blogging together: writing and posting new images. We flung open the French doors and worked in the fresh Florida air on this beautiful day. Although there were a few challenges (my Airport stopped working toward the end of this process!), in general, our work was rewarded withl published posts and images. Look under “Notes and Journey Daybook Pages.”

Several of us will be going to Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans this week. With Lauren Garber Lake’s UF class as a model (see post below), we hope to continue our blogging efforts as we travel across the Gulf Coast. Keep watching!

This morning Diane sent me a wonderful set of journal pages about Abraham Lincoln by this well-known NY Times artist. E N J O Y !