Showing your story

The making of a good story sometimes takes many forms… journals, diaries, post-it notes, even google documents.  For me, my stories are art.

Even more direct… FOUND ART.

(A Beautiful Existence, my personal storybook)

My stories take some time to put together.  I collect bits of ephemera and fabrics and every 2-4 years find myself “redefining” myself, my personal style, my dedications and goals into a storybook of sorts; taking all those found bits of inspiration and taping, glueing, copying, coloring and sketching them into who I am or want to become.  A life’s work of sorts.

(pages from my personal storybook)

Once I’ve acquired quite a bit of ephemera I will categorize them into “areas of interest”.  If it’s a personal story, then I will take items I want to buy, hairstyles I want, ideas for things to explore and learn, etc. and group them into sections of my book.  I will often color-code these sections (like if you were putting together a presentation for a meeting) and sometimes even put tabs on the sections.  I usually use slip-covers for each page and bind them in a three-ring but won’t go so far as to create an index.  The complexities need to stop somewhere for goodness sake!

When they have been grouped that is where the creative side starts to emerge.  I look at the blank paper and jigsaw the pieces into a miss-match of information on that topic often highlighting and making random notes about objects along the way.  I’ve found that I like to circle and emphasize things with exclamation points and underlines, but this is where the real YOU comes out.  Design it however you want.  Feng-shui the book to your liking, because you are creating your own story here.

When my books are complete (which can take months depending on my inspiration and the coming-together of the visual and informational pieces) I will keep them in plain sight as a sort of “reference” document.  Often turning to them before I go shopping or start creating my latest Amazon.com list.  Whatever form these storybooks take in your life just appreciate the fact that you’ve created something one-of-a-kind, truly original about who you are in a mixture of words, paper and creativity.  When you look back it will help remind you of the different inspirations and periods of your life, page by page.