You can take it with you: Christina Lopp Schwabecher, artist

Christina Lopp Schwabecher

“I’m the poster child for artists who aren’t Artists,” says Christina Lopp Schwabecher.  “I don’t have a degree in art.  My art doesn’t go on the wall; it stays in my journal.  And that’s just as valid.”  Christina is a watercolor journal artist who also teaches others to do what she does.  “So many people have told me, ‘I wish I could do that.’  My answer is, ‘You can!’”  Through years of teaching others, Christina and fellow artist Gay Kraeger have introduced hundreds of people to the art of illustrated journaling (including yours truly).  Their classes focus on creativity, learning and just plain fun.  Combining drawing, writing, watercolor and calligraphy, the completed journal pages are a very satisfying way to record one’s life.

It all started when Christina was twenty-four years old.  An artist friend of hers, Michelle Berg, planned a trip to Paris with the intent to study the art of Europe and do her own painting and drawing.  In preparing for the trip, Christina thought it would be fun to do some of her own art.  With no previous experience as an artist, she signed up for a class on how to appreciate the masters whose art she was about to see, as well as a workshop on travel sketching and quick watercolor.  Combining the ideas from both classes, Christina bought a small travel art kit (there wasn’t much room in her backpack!) and embarked with her friends on the fateful trip.  “I was young, in Paris – I didn’t know if I would ever return.  I felt inspired to capture the trip from the experience of being new to the place.  My pages were simple and unpretentious.  I was surprised when people watching me said, ‘Oh, you’re an artist!’  I felt free to do what I could at the level I was at.”

Seeing the art of Marc Chagall, especially his Bible illustrations, opened up new possibilities for Christina.  Chagall’s sketchbooks resonated as well.  “I thought, I’m doing that right now!  I was seeing, for the first time.”

Christina returned from France and continued the process of recording the world around her.  “I drew ordinary things: my cat, the backyard.  I took my journal with me.  The blossom that opened during the Paris trip just kept growing.”  Christina’s friend Gay Kraeger saw what Christina was doing and began keeping her own illustrated journal.  More and more people asked, “How can I do that?”  Eventually, in 1997, Christina and Gay launched their first class.  Since then, Illustrated Watercolor Journaling (IWJ) has become something of a cottage industry, with a website, regular classes, field trips, a popular DVD, and a set of class notes compiled by long-time student Jerome Domurat. 

Christina and Gay have a motto: “Strive for imperfection!”  This oft-repeated phrase is not just meant as an encouragement for the fledgling artist, it’s a real philosophy.  It gives their students permission to make mistakes, to “accept that you are a human being, and that having a representation of where you are now is more important than having a perfect piece of art,” states Christina.  “If you wait for perfection, you will never have anything.  If you wait to be perfect, you will not live your life.”  In IWJ classes, students often struggle with this concept; some are even moved to tears before they can draw.  Through Christina and Gay’s gentle support, even the most reluctant artist walks away with something he or she can be proud of.

As a mother with two young children, Christina has less time for art than she wishes.  The portability of IWJ is helpful, however, in capturing scenes of everyday life.  “I take my book and watercolors everywhere,” she says.  “At the movies recently, I had an hour wait to see New Moon, and I spent that hour working in my journal.”  Influences include Chagall, Modigliani, Susan Dorf, her husband, who plays guitar and bass, and her mother, the photographer Nancy Jo Lopp.  “I’m drawn to artists who have a sense of freshness, play and imperfection about their work.” 

Although Christina’s other work includes web design, she has her hands full right now with raising her family, teaching and making art.  “I imagine my daughter reading my journals years in the future.  She’ll have a picture of me – an idea of who her mom was.”  As a parent, Christina realizes how valuable her journals will be to her children.  “Journals are historically important.  We’ve become more and more involved in the digital world, but illustrated journals are something real.”

“A piece of paper is worth little until you put a mark on it,” Christina says with a smile.  “If you have a little bit of life, spill it onto the page!  What are you waiting for?”

To sign up for classes, view pages from Christina’s and Gay’s journals as well as their students’, see www.watercolorjournaling.com. Christina Lopp Schwabecher and Gay Kraeger were both featured in An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory (HOW Books, 2008).