Ellen Ward

High Lonesome Ellen Ward

Roz Stendahl invented INTERNATIONAL FAKE JOURNAL MONTH, an activity which encourages participants to engage in visual journal work as someone other than oneself. In 2013 I participated and my initial choices entailed too much work. The theme for 2014 is NO EXPLANATIONS. I kept things very simple: - The style is one I can do quickly, and is much more graphic than I would use in my regular journal. - The tools are simply india inks and Pro-White. - I worked in panels because this is an approach that is foreign to me for the most part. My journals are usually just collections of drawings, and can have a very random feeling in style and content. - The images are stream of consciousness, generated by a character who is in her 20's and sees the world through the format of a graphic novel. Anything can end up in her visual journal, including her friends, her work, her odd ball dreams, and her old photos. - I can accomplish a lot in 30 minutes with a brush and ink. - I had no idea what would happen from panel to panel. The month revealed what lay in store.