Many of us will remember the workbooks that accompanied our “Fun with Dick and Jane” readers when we were children. They were called “Think and Do” books, and A-Muse-ings is sort of a think-and-do book for this stage of our artistic lives. It is my hope that every issue will take you on a creative adventure as it has taken me - following ideas around to see where they might lead, and what we may be inspired to create. And I would like you to share those creations with all of us. We will put them in the Gallery where they will be seen by our thousands of readers and perhaps inspire them in turn to further creative endeavors.

I see this Artist Journal as a collaborative experience. Hopefully you will print each issue and keep the pages in a binder - and hopefully, you will add pages of your own as well - inspired by what you discover in A.Muse.ings. Maybe someday, you will bind it all into a wonderful handmade book or a series of them that will become treasured keepsakes.

The format of A.Muse.ings is different from our other publications. Having spent many years in graphic design, I sometimes get frustrated with the design limitations of web pages. So, this time, I am working in the more creative environment of Adobe InDesign, and I am able to publish in a PDF format which will print at high resolution for you, allow the use of fonts and design formulas that are much more pleasing, easily print complete pages where they belong, and still contain live links and bookmarks like a webpage. Each issue will download automatically to your desktop and be your own from the very beginning.

There is no other publication like this, You have to experience it to understand what it is. Therefore, we provide you with a Sample Issue that is free - just like our other publications have been. After that, we offer a subscription that is extremely affordable ($10) and offers thirteen issues over a six month period - giving you two weeks between each issue to experiment with some of the ideas and do some art!

Why am I charging for this publication when my others are free? Because I want those publications to remain free, and I am getting to the point that almost all of my time is involved in publishing. I love doing it and I wish that everything could always be free, but there is this reality issue about making a living. Usually the last thing we artists think about, but a necessity all the same. With the success of this paid subscription, we should be able to continue the other two at no charge - just like they have always been.

So, download, read, and enjoy your Sample Issue of A.Muse.ings, and then please join us on our first six month adventure. Let‘s see where it takes us!

jessica