Above: Roz’s Minnesota 2005 State Fair Journal. A portfolio was made at the end of the fair when the thickness of the 7 inch square cards was known. Photo by Tom Nelson. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
To say a journal has to be in a bound volume is to ignore the variety of ways in which people think and create. The reader of a journal might selfishly want everyone to keep a journal in a bound volume so that a journal can easily be paged through, but keeping a journal isn’t about the comfort and convenience of the reader, it’s about the comfort, growth, and output of the artist keeping the journal.
With this in mind I have over the past several years taught a number of classes about the “unbound” journal. My goal has been to encourage people to think differently about how they might produce, organize, and contain their journaling. Sometimes I have advocated a portfolio to hold cards, such as the 2005 Minnesota State Fair Journal shown above. Portfolios are reasonably simple to create if you have a bit of binding skill. All you need to do is produce your stack of cards and when the event is over, create a portfolio that is a custom fit for those cards.
This is actually my favorite way of keeping a State Fair Journal. First, you only need to have a few cards out at a time, so if you drop something in a barn, you haven’t soiled the entire journal (so far I’ve been lucky!).
Second, with the journal card method you also don’t have to worry about filling an entire book, or leaving part of a book unfilled at the end of an event. What you end up with at the end of the event is what you end up with. For some people, fighting their internal critic who tells them they aren’t capable of filling an entire book during a trip, or a special event, this is just the trick of thought that allows them to go ahead boldly without fear of waste.
Third, you don’t have to be a bookbinder to keep an unbound journal. Find a box that will contain the size cards you want to use and fill it will cards. You can also make your own boxes or alter existing boxes as seen on my website.
A box or portfolio that has some solid structure to it is also a good choice if you want to add some ephemera in containers, such as little bottles or metal cases. In my selection of boxed journals you’ll find one with a collection of glass covered containers, all filled with things like lint and fluff and dog-hair, related to Dottie.
Another great aspect of the unbound journal is that you don’t have to cut pages out of a bound journal to make space at the spine for thick collage material. You simply stack your collage-encrusted cards together at the end of the project and measure the stack to create a portfolio or other container.
Additionally, if you don’t want to make or buy a box, but are handy with glue or thread you can sew containers for your journal cards.
If you want to simplify matters even more you can use a manila folder from the office supply store! The point is you really just need something to gather the cards into.
If you are a bookbinder you can adapt book structures to contain cards, which is what I did in a couple of the sewn-on-the-spine books, shown here. Some of these books, instead of having pages, have pockets which hold cards. If you enjoy embellishing the final book structure, this solution might be just the thing to try. You don’t have to carry a ribbon festooned book about with you when you are drawing—it’s just going to be there when you’ve finished all your cards.
When I bring up the concept of the unbound journal to friends and students one question or point invariably comes up: What’s to stop me from simply tossing out the cards I don’t like, am embarrassed with, hate, [fill in the blank with your own perfectionistic pitfall…]?
Nothing—except yourself, your own will, your own sense of what it is to keep a journal, warts and all—a journal which is about your progress and growth as an artist, not a beauty contest. Think of it as a way to build your own character, your own self esteem. Make a promise to yourself as you prepare the cards, to keep each card that you even partially work on. Sell yourself on the idea of output without interference from the internal critic. You’re safe, you can do it.
Open yourself to the discoveries that altering your practice for a short period can bring.
In 2000 I traveled with four individuals I hadn’t been on a road trip with before. I prepared a number of cards for our short 3-day trip. I painted some cards. I collaged decorative papers on others. I then placed them all in a plastic bag in my pack and went off with some art supplies. For the most part, since we were traveling fast, I sketched on a drawing pad of archival paper with my Staedtler Pigment Liner, or I made rubbings with a special wax-rubbing crayon and ultra thin Japanese paper. In the evenings I tore and collaged these items on to the journal cards along with ephemera and maps I had gathered during the day. I ended up with exactly the right number of cards. This seems to always happen to me. I look at the duration of the trip and estimate how often I’ll draw each day, add in some extras, and then subconsciously push myself to meet that quota. It’s funny how the brain can be urged forward. And it is gratifying to learn what your own rhythms are.
When I returned from that trip to Madison, I made a small packet to contain the 6-inch-or-so square cards. I used watercolor paper I had painted. I then created a slipcase to contain and protect that packet. The slipcase was covered with fabric for durability. An internal ribbon along the back and bottom could be pulled out to “release” the packet.
I did a similar portfolio construction for my 2008 Minnesota State Fair Journal. (I haven’t posted this on my website where I post journal selections. I started a blog before I got around to it and well…)
Left: My 2008 Minnesota State Fair Journal. I cut 7 x 5.5 inch cards of 300 lb. watercolor paper for this journal. The portfolio is a red cardstock slipcase with a laminated print of my spin art. This slip case then slides into the fabric-covered slipcase at the top of the image. The window in this case allows the spin art to show through. The ribbon allows you to pull the inner slipcase out. Click on an image to view an enlargement.
If you go to my website page where I post selections from some of my journals you can scan the list for other State Fair Journals to see the portfolio and box solutions.
Suggestions on Keeping an Unbound Journal
1. Use heavy cardstock or 300 lb. watercolor paper with a surface texture you enjoy working on. The stiffness of your card will then be sufficient for you to work on when you stand (or sit) and sketch.
2. I recommend you pre-paint your cards. You remove the “blank page” issues some people have, but it also creates a “set of cards.” This helps people a.) create a more unified series of cards, and b.) persuades some people to keep all the cards in the set (if they were wavering about throwing out a card that didn’t satisfy them).
3. Cut your cards to a size that is easy to hold and work with. If you are going to be in tight quarters sketching with crowds small cards might be what’s needed. If you are going for a weekend at the beach and will be all alone with the ocean view large cards are the way to go. Keep in mind also that a square card can be difficult for some artists to work with, while a card that is longer in one direction than the other can be used in both a portrait orientation or landscape orientation without difficulty. Pick something that works for you and the way you enjoy working, or the way you want to encourage yourself to work for that journal.
4. Make and take more cards than you need for your trip or excursion. Think about how long it takes you to finish a drawing on a similarly sized sheet of paper. Think about the conditions you’ll be working under (travel, or just an outing; friends with you or alone). Work out an estimate of how many drawings you’ll complete in a day and multiply it by the number of days, then add extra. How many extra will vary depending on your working style. For some it will be an entire day’s worth of extra cards, for some it will be only two or three extra cards. It’s better to come home with extra cards, than to not have something to draw on.
5. Carry the cards you are going to use in the immediate future (that day’s allotment, for instance) in a plastic folder or bag in your pack. Have 3 or 4 that are in another plastic sleeve or bag that are readily accessible (in a front zipper pocket in your pack or jacket for instance)—you want to be able to whip them out and start sketching at a moment’s notice.
6. Leave finished cards behind at your home or hotel when you go out the next day. Just carry the blanks. This will keep them all crisper and unbent, and your load will become lighter and lighter.
7. Approach each card with the same drive and attention you give your bound journal page. If you start a drawing and your subject moves, find something else to draw and keep going on that card, or fill it up with notes about what just left your view.
8. Don’t forget that you can add additional sketches and notes on the backs of your cards.
9. Date and time your cards so that you can order them chronologically when the day is over. It seems like you’ll remember this easily, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been glad I had this information on my cards. (Of course chronology is important to me, as I’ve discussed in other posts on visual journaling. If it doesn’t matter to you…)
10. I love bound journals. I love having all my work in a book with sewn signatures. I tend to use unbound journals for special occasions such as the State Fair or road trips. I look for events that can be contained by time and theme (I've done zoo journals that are unbound). You can, of course just as easily keep working in your regular journal when you come to these events, but I've found that if I am half way through a current journal, the idea of taking it on a trip and filling it before the trip is over bothers me. I like certain experiences to be encapsulated. This means I will take a new journal (bound or unbound) on a road trip or to a special event of more than 2-days duration. You get to decide the constraints that bind your unbound journal!
But Wait, There's More…
There is one additional positive feature to cards that I must mention. It is very easy, when painting on journal cards, to set a wet card aside to dry and start a new card. When you are working in a bound book you can’t turn the page until that page spread is dry! One of my friends draws when we go on road trips. She sits in the passenger seat and draws the passing landscape while I chatter away. Last year, encouraged by her example I sketched and painted while Dick drove me north to Brainerd for a wedding, and then about a month later we returned, to visit friends. For both trips I made small 5 x 6 inch cards of 140 lb. watercolor paper (I didn’t need thick paper because I was going to be seated in the car and could rest the paper on a clipboard in my lap). I sketched quickly with the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and then added watercolor with pan watercolors and a Niji waterbrush. I set the wet cards on the floor and dashboard, and just about everywhere, as I worked along furiously. I could go on to the next card without waiting until the first had dried.
I will always prefer bound journals, but I have to say, there is something wonderful in being able to move on to the next painting before the previous one has dried.
Don’t let someone tell you journals have to be bound. You get to define the form your journals take. They need to suit your working methods and creative needs.
How To Make a Container for Your Journal Cards
I custom design each container for my unbound journals, based on whim, current interests, materials at hand, whatever. If you are new to bookbinding and don't know how to go about constructing a portfolio I recommend you take one of my classes (a little shameless self-promotion). If you aren't able to attend an unbound journal class take a look at my page "Essential Bookshelf for Bookbinders" in the column at the left of this blog. There you will find my recommendations for books on binding—several of which have instructions on constructing portfolios and also boxes. Once you have worked your way through one you will feel confident to experiment.
If this seems too complicated for your current skill level and you don't have an instructor at hand, I recommend that you find a cigar box or well-constructed gift or craft box. Use that box as your starting point. You can measure and cut your cards to fit that structure, and you can have the fun of altering and embellishing your container. (The metal container I used for my "eraser carving a day" journal project just YELLED out to be beaded because the metal sides were pierced with evenly spaced holes. You will find other synchronistic intersections between your needs and your love of materials.)
Great article, Roz! This advantage to working outside a book is exactly how I came up with a binding technique to add pages into a journal one at a time as they are finished! ;) I"m teaching it at Art Unraveled for the first time next month!
Posted by: Angie Platten | July 04, 2009 at 08:53 AM
Your blog is always interesting and informative! I loved going back through your bookbinding gallery on Rozworks! A nice relaxed holiday morning activity!
Posted by: Carol C. | July 04, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Good luck with your class! It sounds like fun.
Posted by: Roz | July 04, 2009 at 12:22 PM
Great post, Roz. Now I'm rethinking my idea of bring a bound sketchbook on my vacation in Colorado. I wish I knew the first thing about bookbinding so I could make a slipcase, but I can at least aspire to taking one of your classes some day.
Posted by: Kim Zoph | July 05, 2009 at 05:34 PM
Kim, your comment about slipcases reminded me that I wrote notes and made diagrams to do a post on a simple slipcase to post on the blog. (A local friend asked for help with this and I sat and sketched while I was explaining to her.) I used to make them for my journals to protect them when I was carrying them around.
Look on the "pages" section when you get back from your vacation. I hope by then I'll remember to post it. (If not maybe you can remind me when you get back.)
If you want something really substantial Franz Zeier's book "Books, Boxes, and Portfolios," is an excellent book on the subject.
Have a great trip.
Posted by: Roz | July 06, 2009 at 01:03 PM
I am bad about buying new journals and never finishing them...for various reasons. Unbound journaling sounds like a much better plan for me. Great post! Thanks!
(The watercolor journaling gals recommend this approach in their video:
http://www.watercolorjournaling.com/)
Posted by: Katy | July 06, 2009 at 03:03 PM
Katy, I do hope that people realize I'm not advocating unbound journals as the greatest solution—just reassuring people that it might be something to try based on issues raised in my post. I will always prefer bound journals for more reasons than I could even begin to list. (Though several of my posts have attempted to list some of them.)
Also Katy, there is no rule that you have to finish your journals. If you wanted to start 10 journals and not finish them that would be OK, unless of course it bothered you on some level, and I'm sensing that it does.
Ask yourself why you don't finish the journals, what happens to stop you or get you onto a different book. If your journaling continues on without a hitch when you jump from book to book, who cares. If it stops short, well then asking yourself some questions will help you get started again.
If you don't find the underlying reasons for why you are switching from book to book you may take that issue with you into unbound journaling! (Something for you to journal about on your first journal card.)
I couldn't see the video you were referencing when I went to the link you provided—unless you meant the DVD being sold on the linked page. I don't know what this couple is advocating so I can't comment one way or the other.
Posted by: Roz | July 06, 2009 at 04:23 PM
I always work on loose paper and bind at the end of the year (Okay, so I've only bound one year so far)
This way I can journal anywhere, everywhere with whatever is at hand because I stink at carrying a book with me, tho I bought a new one with tear out pages yesterday so I can try again.
Posted by: Studiopashnada | July 13, 2010 at 08:53 AM
Studiopashnana, Stop that, saying you stink at carrying a book. You know, not everyone is meant to carry a book. I sing the praises of casebound books because I love to make them and use them and want to share that joy with other people. But I'm much more interested in sharing journaling with people, however, they can get the bug. And here you are, happily working on loose paper. GO FOR IT. It works for you. You're working your creativity muscles right?! Just do it.
I don't see the efficacy of carrying a book with tear out pages though? If you are going to carry a book you don't need the tear out pages right? Or will you be tearing those pages out to bind with your other loose pages???
If that's the case and the book protects your pages until you get home and can tear them out and put them in your other book then go for it, but I have to caution you—you're paying a premium for that book. You would be better off making a little portfolio for loose pages to protect the pages, or cutting down a file folder to size for protection of those pages—and then using ALL THE MONEY YOU'VE SAVED not buying the bound book you're really not interested in anyway, to buy quality paper that you'll love working on!
Think about it.
And keep journaling.
Posted by: Roz Stendahl | July 13, 2010 at 10:06 AM
Hi,
FYI I got back to this post from Aug 2010 and cannot get the "you can sew containers" link to work. Don't know how important this is to you.
Love your blog, could stay here all day. Hope you're feeling better.
Diane
Posted by: Diane | August 18, 2010 at 09:33 AM
Diane, thank you for the heads up. I am running short on time, but have added this to my fix it list. Please check back to this link next week! I want you to see all the examples!
Posted by: Roz Stendahl | August 18, 2010 at 06:20 PM
Diane, I'm sorry it took so long but I got that "you can sew containers" link fixed, so please go have a peek! Thanks again for the heads up!
Posted by: Roz Stendahl | August 26, 2010 at 02:25 PM