We are all so busy these days. I sometimes feel like conversations are limited to bullet points; you know, catching up on the high points (or low points) and so much is left unshared. As I get older, these bullet points are taken up with more health related items than I would like to admit.

I think that is one reason art journaling memories is so appealing to me. I am not just highlighting the main point of something, the “art” part of it allows me to include details and sometimes hidden layers and meaning. While I am creating the page I revisit the memory with no hurry; I can include the details that found a place in my heart and find a way to incorporate them onto my pages.

For instance, I can tell you that I lived in Mexico on and off until I was eighteen, and that I was born in Mexico City: bullet points. But when I think of the times I lived there, I think of all the trips we took to small villages and towns outside of Mexico City; some with my dad’s work but many were just family outings. In particular, I think of the streets in these little towns, most of which I remember being narrow cobblestoned streets.

I also remember going to the Bazar Sabado, an incredible market that took us hours to go through. It took up several buildings and spilled out into cobblestone streets in a very old part of Mexico City. Flowers, art, fruits, vegetables, cheese, butchers, tortillas, clothing, furniture, glass that was literally being blown as you watched, and strolling musicians; these sights and sounds are as rich in my memory as if I was there yesterday.

So for my art journaling memories, when I think of Mexico, I think of cobblestones.