Ohnooo!! Sticky page!

Last night on the Artistic Biker's Ustream show (I felt a bit silly about how I was slightly nervous before the interview started, because as it happens, I had nothing to worry about. The interview was soooo much fun, and I'd love to do it again! Missed it but want to see it? Check the recording here. My interview is about an hour into the show, but don't skip straight to it because you're going to miss tons of great information and a lot of fun!!) we were talking about pages sticking together, and what I do to prevent that...

I showed him, and everyone in chat, this page:


It's on the Vuvuzela, the annoying horn that people at the World Cup have been blowing and that makes it sound like you've got some angry bees stuck in your telly. I figured, ten year from now, I might remember the horns, but not the name, so I'd best put it in my journal.

And then I left my art journal out on the windowledge overnight, and forgot about it until the following evening... and when I opened it up I heard that horrible sound that I'm sure lots of art journalers are all too familiar with... the sound of having to rip apart pages that have stuck together..!

It even ripped a hole into the page!!

Now, I could've prevented this, but putting some waxed paper between my pages, or by not using too thick a coat of paint in the first place. But you know, it's my journal and I don't think about these things...

So what to do now?

You know what, I'm not sure. I might paint over it. I have already stuck a bit of paper on the other side to cover the hole up, so that would be no problem. But then I'd never get it the way it was, and it will look odd anyway.
I might draw over it. Lightly sketch the vuvuzela back and maybe add a bit of colour, and add the text that I have lost.

Or... I might just leave it like this!

In my written diaries I kept since I was about 10, I sometimes stuck bits of daily life stuff in with ordinary tape. And yes, it yellows and it doesn't stick anymore. But that's what happens. Like yellowing paper, you can't stop that unless you keep your journals in an air tight box somewhere and not take them out ever. But then what is the point.

My Art Journals will hopefully stick around for a long time. If I'm lucky enough to have children some day, maybe they will look at them and wonder what I was thinking and feeling when I did those pages. But I don't worry about using 'archival' materials. Paper will turn yellow, paint will crack, tape will lose its stickiness.

The word 'vuvuzela' is still visible. So the page still serves its purpose. The inevitable decay happened a bit early, that's all...