The Decorated Journal: Creating Beautifully Expressive Journal Pages

Given the popularity of scrapbooking and memory books, which has spawned an industry of kits, supply stores and weekend seminars, I at first mistook THE DECORATED JOURNAL from its title as belonging to this trend. In fact, this book can well serve that audience because it encourages crafters to seek original artistic expression and materials. THE DECORATED JOURNAL is also valuable as a fine arts resource because it is talking about using visual art media, techniques and aesthetics to create a record or reflection of experience either in place of or in the company of text. The author, who teaches journal making as an art form at the college level, has produced a neat exploration of ways in which artists and amateurs have created meaning in the format of journals that marry the visual and text. She speaks plainly and concisely for those of us untrained in art and provides an excellent overview of materials and choices. She sorts through various paper, media and adhesives, explaining their plusses and minuses, their ease in use and mess quotient. She takes us into the world of making our own pigments and books. She gives us "the how" and "the what" in spades. She also gives us "the why" through color photographs of a variety of artist's journals, including her own. She references a number of books worth reading, including some out of print that sound wonderful enough to hunt down.

I thought The Decorated Page was a great book and had checked it out from the library so many times that I decided to buy it. When I saw The Decorated Journal advertised, and read other reviews, I knew it would be good. I wasn't disapointed. It's every bit as good as the first and maybe better. I especially like the book binding portion in the back of the book. My favorite journaling book so far. I would highly recommend this book.

This book brings a lot to the table! I was really amazed at how much there is to read, learn and digest from this wealth of information. It has simple descriptions of materials, techniques and styles, many of them charted out to compare easily. It gives you many reasons to create a personal art journal, helping those who have problems deciding where to start, like me. It may daunt those who don't feel they have any drawing skills, as the illustrations in the pictured journals are hand-drawn, however, there are many other examples that show you can take the materials around you to create interesting and intriguing layouts. It also gives simple step-by-step instructions on how to re-create certain drawings in the book. I particularly liked the section on the ways to bind books and bind existing books. That, on it's own makes this book a very valuable resource! I think this is a great addition to any altered book artist or art journalist!

A new book by Gwen Diehn is like freshly discovered wine: rich, pungent and colorful. Not only does Ms. Diehn know how to make a book, she excels at writing one. I spent an entire hot summer day savoring the words and images in Decorated Journal. This book is a feast for the journal maker and perhaps a lifesaver for the novice. From page one, you are taken on a journey that covers materials, journal writing and the history of journaling. The breadth of Ms. Diehn's "The Decorated Journal" is nearly encyclopedic. Early chapters include such tidbits as a new way to use absorbent ground. Sprinkled with fascinating trivia, but never trivial, you discover in "Brains on Paper" about Tupperware's Mr. Tupper's journals and rediscover in "Patterns Lost and Found" how others make a journal personal. The book's concluding chapter is filled with impressive instructions on journal making. If you are not familiar with Ms. Diehn's work, look for her other books and find her instructions on the coptic stitch in Making Books That Fly, Fold, Wrap, Hide, Pop Up, Twist, And Turn: Books for Kids to Make (don't let the title fool you); no other book binding instructor or writer describes this stitch as well. This book is a must have for any journal reader or maker, newcomer, late bloomer or daily record keeper. It's intelligent and written intelligently, the way I've come to expect from a book by Gwen Diehn.