travel journals: the power of glue, tape and memories

These journals were handmade at the Spring Soolip Creative Arts Workshop by June Sobel with the intention of being used to document two special trips. The terracotta journal captures her experience in China, the blue one, Japan. 

Keeping a journal is an exercise in personal expression. And the hand-made journals Wanda Wen helps students make in her Creative Arts Workshops and in her YouTube videos elevate the journal to an art form with hand-made artisanal papers from Europe, sheets of painterly papers from Asia, and hand-dyed silks used for binding.
 
With journals as creatively vibrant as these, it’s no surprise that people keep and use it for special occasions as June Sobel did. The author of 17 children’s books, June took one of Wanda’s Spring workshops with the intention to make her own journal for an upcoming three-week trip to Asia.
 
With her son’s wedding in China as part of her trip, she knew she wanted to commemorate the experience with more than a photo book. A seasoned scrapbooker, she used a lot of her techniques to fill her travel journal with ephemera she collected along the way, from ribbons that wrapped favor boxes to menus and cards to flowers and stickers, as well as hand-written prose about what she had seen and felt.
 

Tips to creating your travel journal

 
June advises against stressing over your journal during your travels. Instead, take a few moments each evening to jot down observations, perhaps using your phone’s “Notes” feature, or relying on your photos as memory cues.
 
Most importantly, assemble your journal immediately upon returning. "The sooner, the better," June emphasizes, to prevent memories from fading.
 
Back home, when you are assembling the journal, try not to overthink it. “I found the process to be organic and spontaneous,” June says. “It's about embracing creativity.”

Wanda will be teaching journal-making again at S E E D., an all-day, soul-nourishing retreat in the Santa Monica Mountains on August 10. She and Jen Dohr, founder of Authentic Voice, have curated an integrated day of movement, nature, art and community designed to access your innate creativity and your authentic self. Click here to register.