Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art

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Earth Chronicles Project,

The Artists Process: OKLAHOMA

CREATE A JOURNAL
Journals are a place to collect thoughts and ideas. Some people record their feelings and daily
activities in a journal. Others use journals as scrapbooks, capturing images and notes that
preserve events in their lives, or perhaps their history and culture. Writers use journals as a
starting place for stories and poems. Scientists record their observations and theories about the
world and their experiments in journals. For artists, journals are part of the planning process, a
place to capture sketches which act as drafts and guides for later artworks. Often, the journals
themselves become beautiful works of art.
POCKET JOURNAL:
Supplies (per person):
6 sheets of 12 x 18 construction paper
Ruler
Pencil
Glue Stick
Hole Punch
Binding (ribbon, string, leather, etc)
Stickers, buttons, markers, etc. for decorating
Prepare pages:
1. Fold 3 pieces of 12 x 18 construction paper in
half vertically, one sheet at a time, to make 3
folders (12 x 9).
2. To create a strong binding seam, open each
sheet. Use a ruler, measure 1 from the fold on
each side and draw a vertical line parallel to the
fold.
3. Fold along the drawn lines, first in and then out to
score the paper.

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Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art 1900 W. MacArthur, Shawnee, OK 74804 405.878.5300 405.878.5133 fax ww.mgmoa.org.

Create Pockets:
4. To make pockets, fold 3 pieces of 12
x 18 construction paper in half
horizontally, one sheet at a time, to
make 3 folders 6 x 18.
5. Glue these folders shut to create a thick
6 x 18 sheet.
6. Fold the 6 x 18 sheets in half vertically to
create 3 folders 6 x 9.

7. Nest one 6 x 9 folder inside each 9 x

12 folder. The original folded edge of
the 6 x 9 folder should be up (to form
the top of the pocket), and the raw
edges should align with the bottom of
the 9 x 12 folder.
8. Glue the pocket into the pocket journal.
DO NOT GLUE the top edge.

Bind the Journal:

9. After the pockets are inserted and glued, nest the pages one inside the other. Punch 3 or 4
holes along the folded edge. Bind the pages with string or ribbon. NOTE: Glue may also
be applied within the binding seam to provide extra strength.

Decorate the Journal:

10. Allow the adhesive to dry and then decorate the journal with stickers, markers, and other
items to coincide with the journals purpose and to make it uniquely yours!

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Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art 1900 W. MacArthur, Shawnee, OK 74804 405.878.5300 405.878.5133 fax ww.mgmoa.org.

SQUASH JOURNAL:
Supplies (per person):
3 sheets of white 9x12 craft or drawing paper (8.5 x 11 may be substituted)
1 sheet 8.5 x 11 card or cover stock (white or colored)
Ruler & Cutting Utensil (or ruled paper cutter)
Glue Stick or double-sided tape
String or ribbon for binding
Markers, crayons, stickers, decorative paper for
embellishment
Prepare the pages:
1. For the pages, cut off one side of each of the three sheets of
white paper to make each sheet a square. NOTE: Any size
square will work for this project, the smaller the square, the
smaller the journal. It is important that each of the pages is
exactly the same size.
2. Follow this process for all three pages. Fold the page in half
vertically, then, open it; fold the page in half horizontally; then, open
it. Turn the page over facedown and fold it in half diagonally (only
once); then, open it.
3. Hold one of the pages in a diamond shape, with the two
squares at top and bottom, and the triangles on the sides. Squeeze the sides in and
press together the top and bottom. Open the pages when done.

4. Page 2 is going to attach face down to pages 1 and 3, so put glue or double-sided tape
on the inside whole squares of pages 1 and 3. Press the whole squares of page 2
FACE DOWN onto the adhesive.

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Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art 1900 W. MacArthur, Shawnee, OK 74804 405.878.5300 405.878.5133 fax ww.mgmoa.org.

5. Now, fold up the squash book so that it makes a square.

Prepare the cover:

6. Cut the sheet of card/cover stock into two small squares
at least larger than the squash journal when folded
up. (That is larger in length/width than the
length/width of the pages themselves (i.e. for a 9 x 9
page, the length/width of the page is 4.5; thus, the
cover squares should be 5 x 5).
7. Apply glue or double-sided tape to the edges and center
of the back of the squash journal. Lay the ribbon or
string across the adhesive. Press the Back Cover to
back of squash journal over the ribbon.

8. Flip the squash journal over. Apply glue or double-sided tape to the edges of the front
of the squash journal. Press the Front Cover to the front of the squash journal. Tie
closed with the ribbon.

9. Allow the adhesive to dry and then decorate as desired with markers, crayons, stickers,
and other items to coincide with the journals purpose and to make it uniquely yours!
10. Your squash journal can be kept as a book or displayed as a poster!

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Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art 1900 W. MacArthur, Shawnee, OK 74804 405.878.5300 405.878.5133 fax ww.mgmoa.org.