Commonplace Media Book
I have ADHD and Autism, so I have a chaotic blend of wanting to know all things, while struggling to remember them.
I recently watched Mia’s Digital Diary on YouTube, and apart from discovering a chaotic kindred spirit, I very much enjoyed Mia’s take on the commonplace book, particularly for media.
Commonplace books (or commonplaces) are personal notebooks used to compile information found useful to the owner (such as quotes, ideas, gossip, prayers etc). They date from antiquity, but were kept particularly during the Renaissance and in the nineteenth century.
I have seen many people online talk about commonplace journals, and (with my sincerest apologies) I found them dreadfully dull. What stood out for me with Mia’s journal, was the use of media, like collage, and drawing.
Pinterest is my happy place
Like many people, I have been keeping a commonplace media journal for years without really thinking about it. Pinterest (if you’ve never heard of it) is an online social media/search engine, that permits the digital hoarding of memes, recipes, and bathroom remodel ideas. Many people pin things, and never try them, I’m one of the rare people that uses Pinterest regularly.
When it occurred to me that Pinterest was the online version of my commonplace journal, I set about downloading my favourite pins, and creating a collaged book of them. I had a couple of criteria:
Only use my favourite images, not just content for contents sake
Perfection is the enemy. The goal is to save my favourite images in the least consequence way (I tend to overthink.. everything)
Use up as many of my stickers as I can. Seems wasteful, but I have hoarded stickers, even ones I have made, waiting for the “perfect” use. I’ve stopped creating stickers (or buying them) because I ‘have too many’, so this would be a great way to showcase them, and clear some room for new creation.
I loved every minute of it
Well mostly every minute, I lost interest near the end, becuase thats how ADHD works. Would I do it again? Absolutely.
Not only did I get an analog (yes that word is getting overused at the moment, but it applies here) version of Pinterest to always keep, but it was a great low effort low risk art project, to help me let go of always trying to get things perfect (and refusing to do them if I couldn’t get them so). I filmed a flip through if you wanna check it out! I
ll alsolink my Pinterest below in case you want any of the images I sued for you own books!
Kerrie x