I have been doing lots of experimentation in my Trip Prep journal during the last week and doing a lot of thinking….

My goals for this years books include:

• trying to do something a bit different
• add more ephemera -more collage elements
• variety in line – colour
• make sure that I draw maps of every day
• more consistently record the funny/silly ‘moments’ during the day. (I did this and the maps very consistently during my 2009 journals but last year was too full on for me)
• take a little more time before sketching
• dare I say it ‘slow down’ SOMEHOW!?! Even a LITTLE!?!
• make sure that my writing is always ‘neat’ (last year I achieved this – 2009 there were many messy scribbles.. Please take this comment in the light of the fact that I am an architect and getting a job used to be dependent on having perfect handwriting!)
• and of course… Improve my sketches – colour – capturing light – eye-hand coordination etc. I am in high hopes of the symposium being a big boost in this regard.

Anyway for the last week or so I have been refining my opening spread for each day of my trip (refer also an earlier post last week) and will continue to do so till Saturday. Following a similar formula from 2009 – my morning devotions, moments of the day, a map and a detail sketch (or collage or both) from the day. Experimenting with maps, text boxes, coloured pens, collage.

Introducing collage is a risk and might take away from the sketches on some pages. But I am willing to experiment and will still have many collage-free pages in my book.

Also, I am planning to start my trip journals on Saturday – 4 days before I leave (I leave on Wednesday 13 in the evening ie. I work a full day at work and go straight to the airport – BTW this is one of the reasons why I am trying to be very organised!) I want to blur the edges of the start of my trip and record some of the last minute thoughts / activities and record goals and anticipations etc – a little more interesting that the opening plane sketch.