Manual labor

Box of my old diaries and letters

As much as I enjoy social media and blogging, I sometimes long for the days when I would write for hours on end in my journal.

I've kept diaries since I was in elementary school.  During my residency last year at labotanica, I blogged about how my childhood journals serve as a reference point for my work.  There is something magic about rediscovering through my own handwriting how I used to think and how I navigated the world around me.  There is an intimacy in that process that I miss.

I still keep several notebooks on me at all times, where I record scraps of thoughts, words or phrases that I overheard or read, and quick sketches.  I later mine these notebooks for ideas and glimpses of inspiration. Recently I have started to write at length in my art journals, and I'm excited by how easy it feels to slip back into my old habit.  It feels more natural now instead of the shorthand and doodling I came to rely on when I felt the most pressed for time with my previous job and schedule.