Like I used to didn't know,
A junk journal is a handmade book
made out of throwaways like traffic tickets
and fake money, painted-over advertisements,
a stranger's grocery list you find at the car wash,
game cards, handmade papers, envelopes,
your kids' algebra homework, junk mail....
Stuff like that.
On a series of texts to Nana and me, Day documented
the making of a junk journal
while in "coronavirus lockdown."
Step One--Start cleaning your studio
Step Two--Wonder why in the world you have so many cords in here.
Step Three--Hang up your quilt in progress so you can play with paper.
Step Four--Find a box of twin extra-long sheets you ordered and wonder
if you can still return them
Step Five--Tear out all the pages from last year's calendar because
(a) it's been sitting on your floor since December 31 and
(b) you might want to print on them later.
Step Six--Whip up a cloth bag for the quilt you made for one of Tom's colleague's baby.
Step Seven--Stop texting because the paper party is ready to begin.
At the end of the day, she sent us a video of herself turning the pages of her bound book. The green book (above, right) is a vintage mystery novel. She took out all its pages and bound her junk journal with it. The wrapped packages on the table are dyed and painted pages I sent her from my stash that found their way into the book.
She used a couple of vintage Bingo cards I had sent her, several dyed papers, gel printed envelopes, a Smithsonian map, and folded paper bags. She even sewed together a patchwork of some tea-stained tea bags I sent her.
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