To carry on a bit about themes.
Whenever I think
of a good theme, I write it on my secret list of theme ideas – a good idea
should never be lost! About October of
each year, I start to think about the next year’s theme. I look at the list for suggestions, and by Thanksgiving,
depending on my mood and current life interests, probably I have narrowed my
thinking down to about 5 or so topics.
However, life can change quickly, so I don’t lock the final choice down
until the last minute, like during Christmas week (or even New Year’s
Eve!).
Simultaneously,
in October, I start looking for next year’s journal books. They need to be bound (not spiral or ring
notebooks), a different color than the previous year, so that it is easy to
locate visually on the shelf, and have enough pages to see me through the next
year. This last means more that a-page-a
day, since I need extra room for sketches, drawings, quotations, clippings, birthday cards, book lists, color
samples, etc., as well as room for my customized pages (title page, theme
description page, end-of-month summary/divider page, index at the back, pocket
page(s), and possible tracking lists.
This can go beyond 400 pages, and few journal books contain that many,
and if they do, they can be unwieldy to handle.
In such cases, my solution is to buy extra volumes to handle the
“spill-over,” anywhere from 1-4 volumes total, based on the number of pages per
volume. If there are multiple volumes
for a year (and there usually are), they will be designated by the year and the
addition of A, B, C, D, as appropriate (ex:
“2009-A”). Sometimes it’s nice to
start the next volume when the seasons change, and if there are a few “blank
pages” left behind and not used, that is
not all bad because there’s still room to add something which turns up later.
The time between
the purchases in October and December is used to customize the exterior as well
as interior of the volumes, so that they become a clearly related set on the
shelf. On the outside, in addition to a
different color, both the front cover and spine of the journals have the year,
volume, and a short theme-phrase clearly written.
It all comes
together, at the latest, on New Year’s Eve.
That’s when I make the commitment on theme, add it to all the previously
prepared journals (front, spine, and title page), and explain on the theme page
inside what the theme is intended to cover for the up-coming year, knowing that
there can be surprises to come.
Some Theme Ideas for Inspiration
“Backyard Voices” “Gate-Keepers”
“I Will Never … “ “Point
of Balance”
“Pocket Poems” “Sign
Language”
“Persistence of Vision” “On
the Edge”
Every Day Well-Lived” “Bricolage”
“No Man is an Island” “Boomerang”
“Where Are They Now?” “Vision
Keeper”
“Fear Not” “Breathless”
“Reflections” “Sum
of the Parts”
“Believe” “To
Be & To Have”
“A company of … “ “Carpe
Diem”
“Forever Moments” “Patchworks”
“Transformations” “Circle
of … “
“Accidental Discoveries” “Heart’s
Garden”
“Left-Overs” “Story
Boxes”
“White” (or any other color) “Trick
of Light
“A Piece of String” “Living
Trust”
“The Wisdom of … “ “The
Mind’s Eye”
“No Matter” “Dangers
& Risks”
“Sights Unseen” “Lost
& Found”
Some Words of Encouragement:
·
“A house without books is like a room without
windows.” [Horace Mann]
·
“’Who says you cannot hold the moon in your
hand? Tonight when the stars come out and the moon rises in the sky, look
outside your window, then raise your hand and position your fingers about the
disk of light.” There you go – that was easy.” [Vera Nazarian]
·
“The reality of the creative process is that it
often requires persistence, the ability to stick with a process until it makes
sense.” [Jonah Lehrer, “Imagine,” p. 56]
·
“The mind is its own place.” [Louise Penney, “A
Rule Against Murder,” p. 303]
·
“Often in life you get what you give.”
[Anonymous]
