accordian-fold 'granny nanny' journal

I just returned from the second of two trips to Texas to provide childcare for some of our grandkids. For each trip, I sketched in one side of this accordian-fold journal, which I bought from Cathy 'Kate' Johnson on eBay last year -- I call it my 'granny nanny' journal.

The first side was done in March when our eldest son took a group of students to Alaska on a mission trip and I helped out at home with his kids, Jayna, Josiah, and Judah. Now I have just returned from Texas again -- this time staying with our daughter's daughter, Mikala, while her parents were in Scotland.

side 1 - early March in Richmond, TX

side 2 - June in northwest Houston

This journal form especially worked well when Mikala wanted me to draw her new kitten, Oreo. At 9 months old, this Maine Coon cat is already as large as my over-sized 11 year old Maine Coon, Bearcat! We decided that he was too big for one page to contain him . . . . so he takes up 3 pages, along with sketches from her volleyball workshop and a day we picked blackberries:

Individual sketches can be seen on my blog, in the March 2013 and June / July 2013 entries. I also took a watercolor Moleskine with me --- haven't finished posting the sketches from it yet.

Emergency Preparedness...

...so once in a LONG while I forget my journal or don't want to go back out to the studio for it...thank goodness I've got my accordion folder in the Jeep!

The other day we talked about finding time to sketch...this is one way I do it, as noted, I keep supplies handy EVERYWHERE.

I didn't have much time to do the two quick parking-lot landscapes, but LOTS of time while J. shopped in the Home Depot the other day...I was very glad I had my folding journal in the car!

This is out by our library, where I often sketch while waiting...

Here's the lovely bright colors at Home Depot...

And on the way home, the parking lot at WalMart...J. parked so I had a better view!

Actually, I keep an accordion folder in both vehicles, one close to the computer, and sometimes one in the bedroom...I make them from scraps when I bind my journals!

Accordion-fold journal--video

We talked about how you can make images that go across the fold in this type of book, tying the images together and forming a more or less cohesive whole...this video I did a few years ago shows how that works.

Go with the flow...those accordion sketchbooks

 

Part of the fun of the accordion journal is letting the image flow from page to page...it's a bit tricky unless you have a flat surface to work on, but it IS a lot of fun.  Nice design challenge!

(You can click on the image to see it larger) 

This is my California Journal, showing the flowers that were in bloom, bits of a courtyard, the mountains, my husband, and to the far right, my mother-in-law's nasturtiums and the start of a 3-page spread of the ocean.  I take it with me every time I go out there (my husband's dad still lives there) and add to it or not, as the spirit moves...I don't normally set aside a journal for a theme like this, but the accordions seem to lend themselves to that especially well.