I recently went to the Morgan Library in New York City, primarily to see the Holbein exhibition that’s currently being shown there. (Well worth seeing and it closes soon, so go if you can!) The Morgan is also currently showing an exhibition about Woody Guthrie, which happens to feature quite a few notebooks! This composition … Continue reading Woody Guthrie’s Notebooks→
Architects’ sketchbooks are always some of my favorites to look at. And having worked with an architect and contractor on a renovation of my own home, the quote below really resonated with me, as I found myself frequently pulling out my own notebooks to draw ideas that I couldn’t otherwise explain! From architect to contractor, … Continue reading Architects’ Sketchbooks as Visual Conversation→
I love hearing from past notebook addicts who update me on how their collections have grown. JournalJoy was featured as a Notebook Addict in April 2015. Since then I my notebook collection has grown substantially and I recently uploaded a video on my Youtube channel featuring my entire journal collection. I love to take my … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week (Again): JournalJoy→
Maria Faller writes about finding her teenage diaries, written in composition books: I have journaled on and off for most of my adult life. As a kid, I journaled all the time, but we called it a diary. Keeping a locked diary was one of the cool things to do in the 80s, but it … Continue reading Old Diaries Full of Surprises→
Sometimes I see a notebook and just think, “Ugh. Why??” Here is an example: A notebook dedicated to composing Twitter tweets in 3 drafts? I guess it could be a good gag gift for someone but otherwise it seems like a waste of paper to me! If you disagree, you can buy one here!
I don’t remember how I came across the website of artist Gordon Powell, but I loved this photo of his work space, with a composition book in progress: Gordon Powell, Visual Artist drawing table 2013 My studio drawing table with assorted tools and one of my “Composition Books” Powell has published a facsimile book with … Continue reading Gordon Powell’s Composition Book→
This is an interesting alternative to the Bullet Journal method. Torey Van Dot lays out each day’s tasks divided into categories and then slotted into time blocks on a schedule. As she writes in the linked post, a graph paper notebook made this layout workable. Who knew graph paper could make such a difference? She … Continue reading Daily To-Do Schedule Using Graph Paper Notebooks→
I noticed this in the Wall Street Journal recently: Rachel Ray says “the most important things in my life are my notebooks.” She uses composition books to record recipes and ideas.
Several weeks ago, I went to the Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C., where there was a large exhibition about Burning Man, the annual festival in the Nevada desert where lots of creative people gather to enjoy each other’s art and self-expression in a variety of forms. The Renwick exhibition included a couple of notebooks: This … Continue reading Notebooks from Burning Man→
Is there anyone who can resist a composition book? I can’t, even though in some ways they really don’t fit into my notebook usage patterns these days. They aren’t my favorite size, they aren’t my favorite shape, and it’s sometimes hard to find ones that aren’t wide-rule lined, but I love them anyway. I admire … Continue reading Review: Roaring Spring Composition Books→
Notebooks, journals, sketchbooks, diaries: in search of the perfect page…