Altered Books Dreams Boards and Shooting for Perfection

“An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's.” 

― J.D. Salinger

It is easy for me to get bogged down in doubt. Especially....no...not "especially"...but, BECAUSE of worrying about what others may think of it...or BECAUSE of comparing my work to 'others'.....and this is just a waste of time and energy...

Freedom comes by letting go....

Letting go...is freedom....

One thing that helps me to let go is do a few daily rituals... right now my ritual is to do a combination of mind mapping and dream boarding into altered books...

Here are my personal guidelines for altered book dream boards like above:

1. You can ONLY use ONE magazine, a bottle glue or gluestick, and scissors

2. cut out what really catches your eye, or you feel the most connection to. If your drawn to it, there is a reason. Use it. Don't question it, just cut it out and move on the next thing.

3. You HAVE to use ALL of the items you just accumulated, even if it means some things get covered up. That is just part of the process. Again, DON"T QUESTION IT. Just go with the flow.

4. You can ONLY glue everything on two facing pages...none of this "spreading everything out on several pages" business.

5. Once it is all glued down...let it dry...and walk away from it for a while..Clarity comes with distance.

6. Later, when you look at the work, simply read it...and the way it flows will be a message to you. This is your subconcious, your gut, your instincts, your higher self, speaking to you through your work.