Episode 80: The Travel Journal - how and why you should make one!
In this episode I share pages from ‘Italian Hours’ a travel journal I am in the middle of creating. I share my feelings about creativity and my artistic process on making pages happen! I also give tips on stationary, art paper and how to build the momentum one page at a time and not get stuck in feeling overwhelm at the beginning. I talk about art journals and travel journals and at the end read from my book ‘Italian Hours”…
A Travel Journal is a keepsake, a memento and a beautiful journey. It is place to explore and share a special day, a significant moment, an image, a capture, a day to hold onto. The book is unlimited. You can add tickets, diary entries, photographs, Instamatic photographs, serviettes, pamphlets, anything you bring home from a travel journey. Or you can make it like my recent book, simple but unique. Just a page, a glossy photograph and a black pen….
Shownotes:
Spilling Open and Brave on the Rocks by Sabrina Ward Harrison
The French Cat by Rachel McKenna
Woman on the Verge by Michelle Johnston (see My Book page) if curious….
Here are the Steps to making your Travel Journal sing….
You will need: Photos (glossy or matt), double sided sticky tape or photo dots, scissors, 7mm black pens, ruler, the visual diary 
This visual diary is hard cover and has ivory pages and 26cm by 21cm landscape, but you choose your size! Make sure the paper is not too thin, it helps to have a sturdy page to write all over and to turn the page and not tear!
I start with sticking photos on the page with a theme in mind, this happens to be from a day in Ravenna. The colours are contrasting this time but still have an element of personality and beauty.
From the Podcast Share… I like that the pages harmonise and happened on the same day so there is a rhythm to reading the book too... Here you can see I have journaled around the images.
Genova from the Podcast Share - You might notice my writing is often very natural, kind of messy and happy and I keep most of my mistakes, even though it is annoying when I write something wrong! I like that the colours are synchronising and pleasing to the eye. I think it does make for a better page visually....
Here I did two images on one page - something I have rarely done in this journal but it worked a treat, beautiful Venice, yes it's hard to hold back, it does look good...
From Milano and the first day Last Supper Moment - What a joy. It is fun to go back and reflect on the adventure. Creating a travel journal later adds a new layer to the journey
“These journals share my thoughts and experiences about the scenery, culture, customs, and people of the countries in which I have travelled and serve as a memory source for the things I have learned . However, after fourteen years of journaling I find they have added dimension I had not anticipated. I am able to look back over my experiences and realise how I have changed and grown and to see things that have remained so much a part of my life” - Eleanor Smith
Source - A Voice of Her Own: Women and the Journal Writing Journey by Marlene A. Schiwy
You can also use a guidebook to help you sustain the inspiration to write… it doesn’t really matter, the book is yours, do what you want.
A beautiful long lunch in Liguria makes for a sumptuous story telling page. Talk about the wine, the spaghetti alle vongole, the waves crashing up against the restaurant door, the dog asleep next to your foot, all of it matters, all of it is alive on the page.
Here the delight of fresh produce is a sweet Italian moment. In Europe the colours of the fruit and vegetables seem to have special qualities especially for the photographer… all of these details seem to radiate when on a travel journey.