Taking a journey as far north as possible has always been a dream of mine. So when we had an opportunity to travel to Sweden, I decided that we will do just that - go as far north as we can in 14 days with a family of 4 - my sweetheart, me, my 5-year old daughter Angeli and my mom - all the way into the Arctic Circle.
I always travel with a journal and make a point of journaling everyday. The marks that I make on paper while experiencing the sounds, sights, smells and textures in another country is for me, just magically different from what it would be if I'd waited until I got home. Even if it means just jotting down a bulleted list of highlights of the day in pencil or one smear of paint accross a page.
Before the trip, I received the gift of a lovely vintage geography book written in Swedish. So I decided to alter it and recycle it as my travel journal. I separated the book block from the book cover, then I reassembled my own signatures and put it in the cover before we left. Once we landed in Sweden I bought Finnish paper in Stockholm that I added to the book pages. Meanwhile I started journaling on the loose pages. 5 days into the journey, I made the book by stitching the signatures into the cover. It was in the middle of our first night in Lapland. I was too excited to sleep, and I was peeking outside every few minutes in the hope of seeing the Aurora Borealis. Now the book itself has much more meaning.
I plan to add more imagery and ephemera that I collected during the trip, some more writing, and incorporate more of my own photographs. I will be working on it a bit more because that way I get to enjoy the journey for longer.
Here is a flip through my journal.
Enjoy!
Music: Le Soleil Sur Nizas by Herman Bergman from the album: Mahai
I always travel with a journal and make a point of journaling everyday. The marks that I make on paper while experiencing the sounds, sights, smells and textures in another country is for me, just magically different from what it would be if I'd waited until I got home. Even if it means just jotting down a bulleted list of highlights of the day in pencil or one smear of paint accross a page.
Before the trip, I received the gift of a lovely vintage geography book written in Swedish. So I decided to alter it and recycle it as my travel journal. I separated the book block from the book cover, then I reassembled my own signatures and put it in the cover before we left. Once we landed in Sweden I bought Finnish paper in Stockholm that I added to the book pages. Meanwhile I started journaling on the loose pages. 5 days into the journey, I made the book by stitching the signatures into the cover. It was in the middle of our first night in Lapland. I was too excited to sleep, and I was peeking outside every few minutes in the hope of seeing the Aurora Borealis. Now the book itself has much more meaning.
I plan to add more imagery and ephemera that I collected during the trip, some more writing, and incorporate more of my own photographs. I will be working on it a bit more because that way I get to enjoy the journey for longer.
Here is a flip through my journal.
Enjoy!
Music: Le Soleil Sur Nizas by Herman Bergman from the album: Mahai
2 comments:
Dis totaal asemrowend! So 'n skat om agterna te besit!
Baie dankie vir jou wonderlike terugvoering Marie! xx
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