Journalfest 2011 - Day 2

The first class I took at JF last week was called "It Is Written" by Juliana Coles.  I had taken a class with Juliana last year, so I had an idea of what to expect but there were still surprises.  I knew she would arrive in costume but I didn't know her boyfriend John would also be in the class (he sat at my table):

I knew the class would be fast paced and that I might not like some of my pages at first but that I would like them much better by the end of the day.  I knew it would be intense but at least this year, no one cried! (last year, we had such moving introductions around our table, we all ended up in tears.  And that was just the first five minutes of class!)

The first exercise she had us do involved writing our name on our journal page in various ways. Here's how my page first turned out:

which I didn't like very much (too mauve), but then John let me use some of his red paint and I liked it much better.

Here is another page I did in Juliana's class.  "Trust yourself" was the message written on the back of the door of the bathroom stall I had used on the way to class, I figured it was a good message to record!

In spite of the weather forecast, it turned out to be a bright, sunny day and after spending all day indoors, I suggested we take a walk on the beach to take advantage of the perfect weather.  Carrie and Irene quickly agreed.  I took this great photo of them laughing, I love it!

Carrie and Irene

It was such a clear day, we could see Mount Baker in the distance (this is the same mountain you can see from Vancouver if the conditions are right).

That evening was bonfire night.  We all gathered at the Kitchen Shelter, a wooden building on the beach filled with picnic tables and a woodburning stove for warmth. Outside, a huge bonfire was blazing.  Ingredients for S'mores were on hand - marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers - yum!

Tracy, Steve, Laurie and Sue cooking marshmallows
while a fellow journaler eats a s'more

We all sat around and worked on our journals while chattering away.  But first we all had to put on our glow-in-the-dark bracelets.

Kimber, Laurie and Irene

I spent more time bopping around, talking to people and taking photos, than I did doing any actual journalling that night but that's okay, I was having too much fun to sit still!