One of the big and very important parts of any trip or vacation is to decide on what travel journal to take (or if I want to take any at all) and how to go about filling it. Art supplies and such are a much bigger issue for me than for example what clothes to take or what shoes to wear.
For this vacation I finally decided on this little book:
It's a 15x15 cm journal (6x6 inches) that was gifted to me by my friend Monk many years ago. I'm mentioning this as both a warning and a comfort to anybody who has ever or will ever give me journals or notebooks. I have tons of books that I received as gifts and I have tons of books that I bought myself. But I never buy them with a specific purpose in mind, nor do I use the ones I am gifted right away. But the occasion for use always eventually presents itself. It's just that sometimes this can take years.
I'm the same way with art materials, especially when it comes to imagery and pretty papers or fabrics. No, I don't plan a project and then buy the materials. I just start making stuff and gather the things that are in my stash and fit what I'm doing as I go. I'm very much for using what you have, but what I have needs to be full of options and choices. ;-)
Anyway, this small journal was perfect. It had pretty sturdy, but not too thick paper and 160 pages to work with. My approach was that the left pages would serve as a photoalbum and the right pages would be the travel report with the option of doing a bit of drawing or collage if I felt like it. This means that the left pages rarely are connected to the right ones. But it worked for me.
Here's a selection of the spreads for your viewing pleasure:
 |
| The right page is a nature print of a fall leaf that I bought at Slangenburg Castle. I want to learn how to do this. |
Now what I'm not showing you are the gazillion spreads where I simply wrote on the right side and had a picture on the left. The photographs you've all seen in my Achterhoek Slideshow posts, so you're not missing anything.
Most of the little collages are cut up flyers and free maps or packaging. My love for chocolate, flavoured coffee and tea may shine through here and there. ;-)
I did not do a lot of 'real' art, whatever that means. I'm not one of those people that does a lot of sketching and drawing of their surroundings. I'm way too busy exploring and photographing to take the time for that. The most important thing I want from a travel journal is for it to be a keepsake of a wonderful trip. And that I managed just fine!
I hope you enjoyed this peek into my travel journal and I wish you all a wonderful and artsy day!