Madison and memories

Shown are my altered textbook, Dynamics, turned to the "Lighten Up" page, my pre-trip pages "Going to Madison with my Sweetie," the latest in my series "Always Dance Barefoot," and two small reminder cards. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Last week I went back to Madison for four days of seeing friends, roaming around the marvelous Capitol Square, eating at restaurants that were new since we moved north, and reveling in nostalgia. Being a writer means you can indulge in this and have it be “work-related” since anything you do, see or think is a resource for your writing. Many people keep journals, especially writers. Your journal can help you get through a bout of blankness, document a great idea for a short story or news article, and provide details that are fresh rather than dredged from the back of your mind.

I have had an on-again/off-again relationship with journaling over the course of my life. I always have a notebook with me for ideas, and filled up several pages while perched on a stone bench on the Square. Since June, I’ve been also using art collage as a means of journaling. I find this foray into non-written expressiveness very satisfying. The photo shows some of the collages I did just before my trip down Memory Lane. In fact, now art collageing has become such an integral part of my day that I felt starved by being "collage-less" last week. We returned too tired on Thursday, but by Friday morning I was surrounded by scraps of paper and ink pads, and have created five new collages since the photo was taken.