My travel journal was filling up, and I was less than halfway through my “Road Trip to Nowhere.”Β I tried to squeeze in Friday and Saturday, September 13 & 14, but sadly I couldn’t leave any free pages to do a journal spread later.Β I would have to move to a new journal on September 15. Instead of doing art spreads, I thought I’d just share my journal pages for those two days.
My pages for Friday, September 13, 2019 cover my trip from Bismarck, North Dakota to Gladstone and the Enchanted Highway and onward to Dickinson and Watford City, ND.
Journal spread for September 13, 2019
Travel journal for September 13, 2019
My pages for Saturday, September 14, 2019 cover my trip from Watford City, ND. to Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, on to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National park, and finally to Medora, North Dakota.
Travel journal for September 14, 2019
I filled up my first journal, and I still would be traveling from September 15-October 4.Β It turned out I would fill up two more journals. :-)
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βART JOURNALβ INVITATION: I invite you to post a journal spread on your own blog about your travels. You can do collage, watercolor, acrylics, stamps, drawing or stencils β whatever art form your heart desires.Β These are my first art journal spreads and drawings, so I can only hope Iβll become more creative as I practice and play. I invite you to do the same!
One of my intentions for my βRoad Trip to Nowhereβ in September of 2019 was to βMake art journal spreads for each state (Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado) through collage, drawing or collecting items.βΒ Iβm having so much fun with this that Iβve decided to make a journal spread for each day of my journey.
If youβd like some ideas on creating an art journal, please see my page: on creating art from travels.Β I actually donβt have many ideas yet, but I hope to add more as I experiment with different art forms.Β Also, I would love to see any great ideas from the artists out there. Feel free to add a link to your own blog if you do bullet or travel journals of your own.
Include the link in the comments below by Thursday, August 6 at 1:00 p.m. EST.Β When I write my post in response to this challenge on Friday, August 7, Iβll include your links in that post.
This will be an ongoing invitation, once on the second Friday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. π
I hope youβll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!
the ~ wander.essence ~ community
I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community.Β I promise, youβll be inspired!
- Pauline, of Living in Paradiseβ¦, creates some magnificent art journals, using sketching and watercolor, from her travels.
Thanks to all of you who shared posts on the βart journal spreadsβ invitation.
~ wander.essence ~ 
You do transform the ‘scribble’ rather wonderfully, Cathy, and yet again I find myself wondering how many hours you have in your day. I’m convinced you must have more than me. π π Just joking! I know that you put the hours to much better use than me. Strange to see the journal in longhand. I tend to print these days so that I can still read it!
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My writing really is a scribble, Jo. I don’t know what has happened to it over the years. I never have enough hours in the day, especially as I waste a lot of time! Is my journal in longhand? Maybe it is but I think it seems more a combo of printing and cursive, a hodgepodge of everything. π
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I have to agree with Jo. I often wonder how you manage to do so much while still travelling, running a home and keeping relationships going. Totally beyond me, but then I admit to being slow and lazy. Today, for instance, I had my usual leisurely breakfast, spent over two hours reading the newspaper and drinking coffee, answered a few emails, made a few phone calls, tidied up, pottered in the garden dead-heading the roses and other flowering plants and planning next year’s changes, then it was lunch-time. Now I’ve spent nearly an hour on the computer again, deleting unwanted messages and posts (and reading my favourites), reading the Huffington Post and the Bangkok Post, and I’m saying as I do every day “where has the time gone”. I plan to write a post so often but then I think “Nah, I’ll do it tomorrow” but i know tomorrow will be the same as today. Still, your writing keeps me going, informed and feeling as though I’m still travelling! Reading your script seems strange though, as though looking over your shoulder and learning your secrets! Lovely journals though. Keep ’em coming, I love ’em.
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Thanks so much, Mari. It’s so nice to hear how you spend your days. I don’t have a garden, so I can’t spend time puttering there. I take a walk or a bikeride or do PIlates everyday. I edit photos, and write my blog, and read books. But there are no travels for now, so I have plenty of time. Also, my goal is to take at least a year off from my blog after December 16 when my subscription expires; so I’m trying to get all of last year’s travels up to date before I take a break!
I’m glad you like the voyeurism of looking at my handwritten journal. I’m always fascinated by other people’s journals, but mine are never quite what I’d like them to be. There’s something revealing about how other people write in journals or letters. π
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Thanks, Cathy, for that post with the pictures fro you amazing journal.
Have a great weekend,
Pit
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Thanks, Pit. I’m always happy that you like them. You appreciate journals, from Mary’s, I think. π
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π
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Amazing…the set up and the patience.
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Thanks, Indra. It does take patience. It also is very time consuming to keep up with it while traveling!
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Cathy, your journal is amazing, gorgeous, and inspirational. What an incredible recording of your experiences. I feel like I’ve been sitting on my hands. π You must get great joy from creating these works of art. I did something similar from my years living in Khartoum, but I have not kept up with it since then. Thanks for the inspiration. ~Terri
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Thanks so much, Terri. I wish you’d seen the others I’ve posted; this one didn’t have much room for artistry because I was running out of room. I think it’s very satisfying to have a journal at the end of a trip. You must know that from the one you kept in Khartoum. I’d love to see that. I was recently further inspired by Jo Hopper’s diaries at the VMFA. She was Edward Hopper’s wife and kept the travel journals for the two of them. I wrote about it here: https://wanderessence.com/2020/06/17/on-journey-an-encounter-with-edward-hopper-on-the-way-to-charleston/
So nice to see you here again. π
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It’s wonderful to be back, Cathy. Sorry I dropped off the scene for a while – you know, sometimes life gets complicated. But I’m back. I’m looking forward to checking out Jo Hopper’s diaries. Thanks for the link. My Khartoum book is really special to me because it’s got my last letters from my Dad ( he died while we were there) and I feel like it honors him. I will also check out more of your journals. ~Terri
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I’m so glad to see you’re back, Terri. Life does seem to get complicated sometimes, and now it seems especially so. It’s such a frustrating and even tragic time. I bet your Khartoum book is really special, especially with your dad’s letters. I wish I had kept journals for my whole life. They could sure clarify so many things I’ve forgotten. Take care, and be safe. π
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Journalling is such a pleasurable thing and your pages look beautifully crafted, Cathy. I love the natural samples culled during your journeys. They add the loveliest touch to the art of journalling. π x
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I just dropped in to your blog; I believe you’ve changed the format. I found your watercolors and sketches, which I loved. It is fun to write in a journal; I’d like to do more drawing, but I have little talent and maybe am afraid of my pathetic attempts. I’d love to see your travel or other journals if you care to share. π
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I have changed the theme of the blog. You are so kind. I have returned to the pleasures I used to find in art. Somewhere along the way, I left it behind. I am not sure why. For you, I shall share a bit of my botanical journaling. π xx
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Ok, I’d love to see your botanical journaling. If I miss it, please let me know in a comment somewhere! π
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Why thank you! I shall π x
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I see you did; I’m on my way to have a look! π
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π
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I write on the computer because my handwriting’s terrible. I have rather severe writer’s cramp, and my handwriting isn’t legible especially to others (often to me). So I especially enjoy the pages you create with words and maps and all the added art and texture. The conversation at the restaurant sounds pretty outrageous. A staff person shouldn’t tell you there’s no concern for service there.
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I wish I were more artistic, and that my handwriting were neater and more legible, but alas, I am what I am. As you are what you are. I can’t believe you actually read what I wrote on those messy pages (about the restaurant conversation). Funny!
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Nice blog
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Thank you so much, Saania. And thanks for dropping by for a visit. π
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[…] P.S.: This is for Cathy with her love of journalling. […]
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