every journal has a story

My journal project:  eco-friendly journals made in Canada with covers screenprinted by me in my Vancouver studio.

Every journal compositions starts somewhere, either inspired by a phrase or by an image. If I start with an image, I then look through my collected phrases or sentences and look for a match. If I start with a phrase that I really want to use, then I start looking through my old film photos and newer digital photos…scroll, scroll, scroll — I look at a lot of images.Screen printed journal/notebookI hope you never read this. In this journal I really wanted to make use of that phrase and I also wanted to use this pattern. With my use of text I always want to make reference to the object, to connect the text with the object — the notebook/journal. This pattern has special significance for me. Can you guess where it came from?

One day driving in Cape Breton (Nova Scotia, Canada) with my partner, Lenny, we stopped for a bite to eat. I remember a very nondescript restaurant with its only redeeming feature being the cool Formica tables. There was definitely a picture in the tables, so I snapped a pic without really knowing how I’d ever use the image. But almost 10 years later, I have found a use.

This image also feels right because in my mind I recall two people sitting over a cup of tea at a table. The reference or implication of another person is an important element of the journal project. The first person is the owner of the journal, the second person is the one in the relationship.

screen printed journal/notebookAt the moment I have printed only a very limited edition — only 4. I may print more depending on how they’re received. I will have these at the Culture Crawl (Nov 18, 19 20) and the One of a Kind show in Vancouver (Dec 8 – 12.