Paper Crafts by Kathleen

There are times in one’s life, well my life, that I have dreamed big things.  I have seen them happen so many times in my mind I truly believe one day the possibility of reality being realized will happen.  I proved it true.  Jann Arden‘s music and words have played in my head and in my car for as long as I can remember.  Anyone who knows me knows that when I’m needing alone time I retreat to my car and drive with the music cranked so that my thoughts become the storyline to the movie playing in my head and the music playing is the soundtrack.  I tend to disappear into the music ~ yes I’m still focused on the road but there is something about the car and the music that speaks to me.  It takes me to the place mentally I need to go to find a way to bring clarity to my clouded mind.  Jann’s music has saved me many times from moments in life that were life altering; whether it was family issues or finding out a boyfriend had cheated on me.  Some of Jann’s songs had actions and yes, they were once performance on a dance floor in a really shitty bar in Kelowna after too many drinks!  I have all her cds, seen her in concert six times, have her book and I have been a follower of her blog for years.  Something about her music, her voice, her presence has always spoken to me.  She is always great in concert as it’s really two shows in one – comedy & music!

Her concert was last Wednesday and I took the always fun Glamma.  I knew we would have a blast and I was soo excited to be going with him.  We hooked up with our pals Michelle and Dusti of Kiss Kill Rocks from Portland, Oregon prior to the concert and cabbed it with them to the Queen Elizabeth Theater.  We have a bunch of Jann Arden fans as mutual friends and we knew those people would be anxiously awaiting our reports of the night.  Glamma and I decided to do better for two of our friends.  We’d phone and let them hear their favorite songs “live” with us!  Glamma was in charge of phoning Pammers knowing that she’d be up even though she lives back east!  Our friend Linda had texted me earlier asking me to love Daughter Down that much more for her as it’s her favorite song.  I texted Linda and told her to actually answer her cell if it rang cuz Daughter Down would be calling.  It was sooo much fun to include them in our night.  I’m sure the people sitting beside us thought we were lunatics but we didn’t care.  We also didn’t care when Jann sang Total Eclipse of the Heart and wanted the audience to sing with her…I’m sure Pam was having a chuckle as we sang along and she listened.

After talking to a friend of mine who is a good friend of Jann’s it was decided I would make Jann a sketch book.  She is an artist as well as a singer/songwriter.  It would be perfect for her art or if she wanted to write.  I took a photo of hubby’s guitar and then turned it hot pink, I tore out words from paper that I knew would be meaningful to Jann as well as other scrapbook style paper.  My dream was to give it to her in person.  I tried to win tickets to the Meet & Greet she was having but didn’t.  I knew Michelle & Dusti were meeting with Jann after the concert so I asked Michelle if she could give the book to Jann on my behalf.  She said sure but wanted me to realize my dream of giving it to her in person.  So…after the concert, Michelle and Dusti told Glamma and I not to leave they were going to ask if we could come back with them.  Two minutes later my cell phone rang and the answer was “YES” and I do believe I peed a little with excitement.  I composed myself and tried not to giggle as I tend to do when I get really excited and nervous.  There she was sitting casually in a cozy chair tired from her amazing performance.  We were introduced and although Glamma had not met her either she had heard a lot about him from our mutual friend and also knew of me.  I handed her her gift and she knew all about the books I made through our Twitter connection.  She was so genuine when she opened it, so thrilled it made me feel so good.  My nervousness completely dissipated after meeting her as her presence is full of warmth.  As she is funny on stage, she is funny in person too!  Glamma, who knows me so well, knew I must have that photo but would NEVER ask for it offered up the idea.  There was no hesitation from Jann, she just grabbed me and hugged me as if she’d known me for years.

I don’t keep a journal but I do love art and so the concept of art journaling speaks to me. I decided to art journal my amazing day but not in a book, I did it on canvas.  I loved the end result even if my gel transfer is the mirror image of the ticket stub!  As Linda says “There are no mistakes in art”.