When I think of scrapbooking it reignites fond memories of childhood - the hours spent with my Mum cutting and pasting all the doodles, train tickets and other equally meaningless - yet priceless - things from travels abroad. To artists, designers and creatives alike scrapbooks house the uninhibited and raw inner workings of the mind - it is this imperfect, unpressurised environment that has drawn me back to one of my childhood past-times.
You may wonder why don't already do this, or argue that a blog is the modern way , however I think the different varieties a very different to each other, and personal to the individual. To me a scrapbook is very different from a sketchbook - my sketchbooks are not pristine, yet I treat each blank page like a canvas...wanting to create beautiful images within its covers. My blog is a way for me to document and share with others the things I find interesting and inspirational, but with no physical cutting, pasting, tearing and folding. A scrapbook is more a place of random thought, of everyday trivia and most importantly a source of great inspiration.
It is not that I have been struggling to come up with ideas recently, or that I have been unhappy with my design work...but the process has been making me properly unhappy (sob, sob!). The forced nature of trying to put together a 'commercial' portfolio and rather soul destroying job of working in high-street fashion has left me wanting more. I am only ever truly happy when I am creating, making, sewing, doodling...just letting my imagination run away with me. NOT when I'm being categorised into little boxes, pushed and shoved around and having boss men suck up any creative juice I may have left. Enter the Scrapbook!
The recent issue of Lula has a beautiful feature on scrapbooking (if I type, say or think that word anymore the word itself will become extinct), interviewing creative professionals about theirs and what makes them special:
"The creation of a scrapbook relies on childlike wonder at being alive, a magpie's eye and the fascination with the environment that compels one to record what they see and experience. The scrapbook not only lies at the very heart of creativity, it has become an art form all of its own."
Peter Beard (Artist)
Clemence Poesy (Actress)
Alison Mosshart (Musician)
Shona Heath (Set Designer)
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