Prior to keeping journals, I would sketch concepts on paper scraps, Post-It notes, and in unorganized notebooks, but by doing so valuable ideas were being discarded and lost. At the same time I also found myself greatly attracted to the art journals famous artists — Freda Khalo, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh to name a few.

But unlike theirs, my journals are not solely fine art, and instead I create a collision of art, graphic design, and product design reflecting my short attention span and occasional disorganization. Yet drawing and painting in a succession of journals has helped me remember which ideas were important to me throughout specific stages of my art-making career.

When selecting gifts for young family members or the children of friends and colleagues, I often select small watercolor sets, pencil kits, and nicely-bound journals with high-quality paper. I urge young people write and draw in the journals regularly while paying no attention to how confident they are in their writing or drawing skills. Although all of us, young and old, are immersed in digital technology, I wish there was a way to instill generational appreciation for paper and recording our ideas on it.