As I was wasting time on the internet when I should have been studying (JRW asked "since we don't have cable, is that the equivalent of watching HGTV?" Yes...yes it is), I came across some amazing arty journals Don't ask how I got there...I'm pretty sure I was looking for something completely unrelated and different...but that, my friends, is the magic of the internet!
Being the non-tangential thinker that I am, I came up with the idea to use my own stuff as the embellishments instead of the found or collected items used in the one I have suddenly become obsessed with.
So, this morning I got up and sorted through 25+ years of stuff. Letters, cards, photos, trinkets. It's amazing how many things one can collect over the years. It was interesting to go through some of it because things I thought I would be attached to forever (photos and various other bits) just didn't seem that important anymore.
I did come across a folder of things that I had hung on my wall at one point...one of which was a cutout from a magazine that says "unfortunately sweat makes a great adhesive" which I had just been thinking about the other day. It's from when I was in 8th grade, one of my friends cut it out and crossed out the "un"...and now I'm glad I saved it.
After much sorting, a few good chuckles (who doesn't like to laugh at ridiculous pictures of skinner, dorkier versions of themselves?), and quickly tossing a few collections of things that I was tempted to go through but really shouldn't, I had a greatly reduced collection of memories.
However, the bag full of things to throw away is still not in the garbage can. JRW might have to toss it, as I'm not sure I can actually go through with it.
Next up was the process of, what I have deemed, upcycling my memories.
Below is a photo of the first two pages in my journal. On the left is a postcard that a friend sent me. I turned it into a flap and underneath I wrote my thoughts on the purge process. Old memory saved (nothing is on the back of the postcard so you can still read the message) + new memory/thoughts created. On the right is a collage with some quotes (I was going with kind of a general "earth" theme since the postcard has ocean creatures and the background for the right side is the ocean).
I think I will enjoy this process. I have always loved making collages and collecting quotes...and I'm not very good at drawing, so the process of "illustrating" with words is rather calming.
Maybe this will help wrangle the continuous vortex of thoughts and ideas constantly swirling around in my mind...
