next month prof. parks and i are going to manhattan. his days will be occupied with theatre work, so i will mainly be a solitary tourist (which is kind of my introverted preference). i love having all the time in the world to explore and observe the (2nd) most beautiful city in the world (i am, at heart, a west coast girl, so san francisco takes first place with me).
i'm creating a travel journal and sketchbook to take along and capture memories and to keep me present within my surroundings. i was inspired by:
(clockwise from top left)
- painted pages by sketchbook queen sarah ahearn. sarah was the first to introduce me to the concept of capturing ordinary and beautiful moments with sketches, color and words. her book is like taking class with her, which i also highly recommend.
- how to be an explorer of the world by keri smith. i just love this book and its reminders to look at things differently.
- side walks, a journal for exploring your city and i was here, a travel journal for the curious minded by kate pocrass. both of these books have amazing prompts and ideas for noticing and remembering the little quirks of your day in the city.
i started out planning to use a regular sketchbook but then i found a vintage book about new york city that was falling apart. i couldn't wait to repurpose its amazing covers for my sketchbook.
i carefully cut free the interior pages (which will be saved for future art projects) and separated the front and back covers. i repapered the insides of both covers, repaired the frayed edges and corners, and collaged over worn areas. the book is bound with metal rings for easy access. this is the inside of the front:
i especially love the vintage street scene on the back cover:
i added a pocket to the inside back cover for collecting little mementos of my days. it's the receipt envelope from a recent anthropologie purchase decorated with some washi tape:
a variety of pages fill the sketchbook. there are lined pages for journaling, printed pages for gluing in found ephemera and photos and watercolor paper for sketching and painting. i added a few printed prompts as well to capture overheard conversations and list all things teal (or yellow or green or rainbow...) spied on any given day.
a head start:
my hope for this project is that it helps me stay present in the everyday moments of each day in the city. and i'll have a uniquely meaningful souvenir of my journey.
