journal

I always wanted to combine my art with writing because I had more contact with writers when I was younger than artists. I wanted to write a big fantasy series, my favorite authors being JK Rowling and Cassandra Clare (yikes in hindsight). For a while writing was more of a secondary interest next to drawing, which was easier for me in my mind, but recently I’ve started really dedicating myself to writing for comics I want to publish someday. My Compost Journal is my favorite thing to write in because I don’t feel pressured to get everything right on the first go. For a long time I struggled with writing because I couldn’t stop trying to write the “perfect first draft”, which is kind of antithetical to what a first draft is to begin with. My compost journal is where I can scream and scribble and (sometimes) write as long and as loud as I want.

I think everyone should have a compost journal. It can be just as personal as any other piece of art, if not more personal specifically because it’s such a private object. My compost journal is not meant to be looked through like my sketchbook. My sketchbook is me as I present myself to others. My compost journal is me as I am. At some point when I was writing in it, it became less of a book and more of a laundry pile that I was constantly throwing my feelings and junk thoughts onto. I think I appreciate having my compost journal so much because I’m not making it with the intention of having an audience.