Summer Journaling with Tara

Cloud 9 instructor, Tara Larsen Chang, recently went to Ireland. Here she shares a bit about her experience and some of her sketches.

Tara is teaching a one day workshop on Summer Journaling on July 7. Click here for more info and to register!

Summer Journaling by Tara Larsen Chang

I recently returned from an amazing two week trip to Ireland. This is a place that I’ve never been to before, but have wanted to visit for decades. The tour that I participated in crammed in so many places and things of note that there is no way I could have remembered and kept track of them all without keeping some kind of record as we went along. Therefore, the most important item I ended up packing was my Travel Journal (and the accompanying materials I brought to go along with it).

In recording our experiences, our first instinct when traveling (or gardening, or eating something exotic, etc.) is probably to snap a photo – which can be great, and helpful, and makes Instagram a visually interesting place to frequent. But what happens if we record more of those scenes by hand?

If I can do even a cursory drawing, and take some notes in my sketchbook (many times later augmented by photos taken on location) I find that my memory of the experience is increased dramatically. The sights, the smells, the feel of the grass, the temperature of the air – the entire sensory experience – is enhanced by recording it while I am actually there. 

You can use any number of ways to record your impressions – drawing, painting, collage, plant pressings, combined with hand lettering and the written word.  I’ll be going over these and more at my workshop; Summer Journaling – for Adults and Teens, at Cloud 9 Art School on July 7th. 

In addition to making a beautiful keepsake, you can learn to enhance your ability to be present, as well as your observational skills. Listen. Look. Learn about the world around you. Just be. You’ll be surprised by how much you can learn from simply stopping to observe the world around you. Just remember to jot down or sketch as you go. That way everything remains fresh in your memories. (See here to register, or for more information).

Check out our Adult Classes for a list of workshops taught by Tara.