An Adventure So Big It Needed Its Own Journal

Last month I went on a grand adventure to visit my daughter in Bangkok, Thailand. Even though she’s been living in Thailand for over a year, it was my first trip there. (or anywhere, for that matter.) 
 

 

Before I left, I made a journal and filled it with a variety of papers and bound it with a long stitch binding.

The image on the cover came from an old book I rescued from the landfill.

I packed a small bag of art supplies that included markers, glue sticks, a travel watercolor set, a burnisher, washi tape, a ruler, and a tiny pair of kid’s scissors which was confiscated by security on the way home. 

I journaled every single day and included whatever ephemera I accumulated or found while I was there. 

 

The more I wrote, the easier it became and the more I wanted to write. 

 

I did a good job of estimating and rationing the pages because I ended up filling the book without running out or having too many empty pages.

It truly was a grand adventure, and one that I can relive over and over whenever I page through my journal.

My Third Adventure Journal

I finally completed my third adventure journal which chronicles a day trip that I made to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh this past October.

Since this was just a one day adventure, I made a smaller journal than what I used for the two previous adventure journals. This one doesn't contain any flaps or fold-out pages--it's just a very simple 10-page journal made from watercolor paper. I'm all for using whatever supplies are on hand, but I don't really care for the paper that I found in my studio and used on this journal. It has a very soft texture and didn't take watercolor as well as the paper that I used for the other two journals. By the time I realized I didn't like it, I was too far along to quit.

The majority of the journal was created after the trip, but I did do some sketching and writing on the day of the adventure. 

This page tells the story of how I got busted sketching a stranger on the bus.

Luckily, the museum was only a short walk from the bus stop. A quick stroll across the bridge and we were there in no time.

The museum is quite large as you can see from this photo which I cut from the museum brochure.

About half of this spread was written or drawn on-site from exhibit text or images.

In addition to the artwork of Warhol, the museum also featured exhibits and work of other artists. I sat on a bench and sketched this giant paper mache elephant by Keith Haring. I only managed to sketch a few of the black and white figures while I was there and had to fill the rest in later. I basically just made it up--but I think you get the idea of the piece.

The final spread is just a few memories from the day written around an iconic Warhol soup can which I cut from an old 365-day calendar of art from the Metropolitan Museum.

Naturally I had to eat tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch in the museum cafe.

I had a lot of fun taking these adventures and then recording them in these little adventure journals. You don't have to go far or do something extravagant to have an adventure. I think adventure is primarily a state of mind.

I probably spent more time journaling about my adventures than actually living them--but now I can re-live them over and over and over. For someone with a rapidly shrinking memory, that's priceless.

So there you have it--my 2011 adventures all neatly tied up with a bow. I don't know yet what adventures 2012 will hold in store for me, but I have a brand new blank journal all ready to go when the times comes.

Happy journaling my friends!

Adventure Journal #2

A while back, I completed my first adventure journal and blogged about it here. I finally finished up adventure journal #2 which chronicles a weekend visit to DC to visit our son.

The day began with the much anticipated wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I thought it was a big enough event to warrant a mention in the journal. I like the idea of including a bit of history into an adventure journal.

Under the flap I included a list of the essential items needed for a road trip along with a bit of what has become standard road trip dialog.

He drives and I assist with the small, but important, tasks best left to the passenger.

I worked on the journal whenever I could during the weekend, but also made copious notes to help me remember all the details long after the trip.

I incorporated a few photos into the journal that I altered electronically and printed on my home computer.

I also like to incorporate business cards, menus, or napkins from places where we eat. In this case, the restaurant didn't have any of those items available, so I had to find the logo online and draw it myself.

This is what I imagined Lincoln might be thinking about.

That's my son buying train tickets from a very complicated looking vending machine.

This was my husband's reaction upon seeing the Washington monument. Including funny quotes has become a favorite part of these little adventure journals. The memories are priceless.

I got to spend a little time in the Corcoran Art Museum and saw some absolutely fabulous modern art up close and personal.

As it turned out, the weekend began with one historical event and ended with another. Lucky for me I was able to record both of these events along with my own personal memories of these couple of days.

Next up--adventure journal #3 which is still in progress. Stay tuned to find out what I did in Pittsburgh recently.

My First Adventure Journal

I’ve long admired the travel journals of my fellow bloggers and have always wanted to create one myself. Who wouldn’t want to record everything about a fabulous trip to London, Italy, or Paris? The only problem is that trips like that are just not happening for me right now. When my friend Cathy went on a weekend excursion to Philly and came back with a wonderful little adventure journal, I thought that was a great idea. Even if I’m not taking a major trip, I can still journal about my little adventures, right? 

Cathy made hers by following these directions from Teesha Moore. She changed the size to make it a bit smaller and filled it with ephemera, stories, quotes, and sketches. Cathy was kind enough to make a journal for each of us when several friends and I went to the Artiscape retreat in April.

I spent every spare minute of the weekend working in my journal and then spent the next two months finishing it up and adding color and ephemera. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m a wannabe journaler but I have trouble sticking with it and being spontaneous and consistent about it. I do think if I practice enough I may eventually become the journaler I’d like to be.

I used sticky notes to make lists of what I did each day or things I wanted to remember and stuck those throughout the journal. Those notes were invaluable to me when it came time to finish up the pages. Having a faulty memory is a huge reason for journaling in the first place.

I filled my journal primarily with lettering and doodling about what we did or funny things that were said, and then included ephemera I picked up along the way. 

I glued in bits and pieces from retreat literature, business cards from instructors and vendors, samples of class projects, logos from stores or restaurants visited, and even my retreat ID badge. 

Afterward, I used watercolors to add a splash of color. When we started out I worried about being able to fill all the pages in the book. But in the end, there were things I had to leave out because I just didn’t have room for everything.

A few weeks after Artiscape, my husband and I went to visit our son in DC and I’m still in the process of finishing up that adventure journal. I’d eventually like to get to where I’m so good at this that I can finish them off much sooner. (Although taking a while to finish up does make the adventure last a little longer) I like the idea of being able to pull them all out some day and fondly remember all the adventures I’ve had. And when senility really sets in, I’ll know that I must have led an exciting life even if I can’t remember a thing about it!