The poet Dylan Thomas held on to some of his school notebooks from his youth, and mined their contents for his adult work. For many years, only 4 notebooks were known of, but in 2014 a fifth came to light. John Goodby, the professor who edited it for publication, tells its story in an article … Continue reading A Dylan Thomas Notebook
Sometimes people find their way to my website by searching for a bygone notebook brand that has left few other traces online. Often they are looking to replace a long discontinued notebook, and I’m sorry not to be able to help. But sometimes I actually can provide answers! I recently received a message from someone … Continue reading A Great-Grandfather’s 1953 Marquette Diary
If you are fortunate enough to be anywhere near Leeds, you are lucky! An exhibition of Henry Moore’s notebooks and sketchbooks is opening this week: The Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Arts University are marking 100 years since Yorkshire’s own Henry Moore started studying sculpture, the first step on his journey to becoming a world … Continue reading Henry Moore’s Notebooks and Sketchbooks
I came across what looks like a very interesting collection of notebooks: Much like the celebrated journals from Lewis and Clark’s Expedition in early 19th century America, geologists with the Department of Natural Resources’ Missouri Geological Survey have been keeping journals since the mid-1800s. Thanks to a cooperative effort with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Geological … Continue reading Missouri Geological Survey Notebooks
These are some pretty amazing nature journals! The site where I first saw Jo Brown’s images described them as being in a “Moleskine” but that page layout doesn’t look like any Moleskine brand notebook I’ve ever seen. Does anyone recognize it? Many artists find inspiration in the diverse beauty of the environment. UK-based illustrator Jo Brown documents the … Continue reading Jo Brown’s Nature Journals
I love hearing from past notebook addicts who update me on how their collections have grown. JournalJoy was featured as a Notebook Addict in April 2015. Since then I my notebook collection has grown substantially and I recently uploaded a video on my Youtube channel featuring my entire journal collection. I love to take my … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week (Again): JournalJoy
The gallery exhibition below at An Lantair in Scotland looks like quite an amazing presentation of sketchbooks. The sketchbooks were created during the lockdown, and of course with pandemic precautions continuing, it’s difficult for many people to view it in person. But you can see it online in their virtual gallery. [An Lantair’s] Lockdown Sketchbooks exhibition is … Continue reading Scottish Lockdown Sketchbooks
Yet another reason why I’m dying to visit Japan! In Tokyo, a bar called Decameron opened recently, despite the fact that other bars in the neighborhood have been closing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In part due to concerns over the transmission of the virus through droplets spread while speaking, and in part due to … Continue reading Communicating By Notebook in a Tokyo Bar
I’ve previously featured Jordan Mechner’s Sketchbooks on this site, and more recently, I spotted an article he wrote on Medium about his habit of keeping a journal: I’m a journal-keeper. With over a hundred notebooks filled since 1982, it’s become part of who I am. I couldn’t have expected or anticipated all the ways my … Continue reading Jordan Mechner on Journaling
Australian artist John Lovett has a great article on his website about different kinds of sketchbook-keeping. Aside from using sketchbooks to capture ideas and practice drawing, he talks about using a notebook or sketchbook in the studio as a working book, for recording technical stuff about materials and methods: Artists Studio Notebooks I always have … Continue reading John Lovett on Artists’ Sketchbooks