Found Objects #13: Mixed Media Swiss Travel Diary

Illustrating my trip to Switzerland through experimental storytelling and visual techniques

At the beginning of January, before the winter/spring academic semester began, I visited my sister for a week in Switzerland. We spent some time at her apartment in Geneva and skied for a few days in the Swiss Alps. It was magical!

While on the trip, I decided to make a mixed media, illustrated travel diary. Last semester, I assigned a similar sketchbook project to my students, and I had been wanting to make one of my own. With this in mind, I saved all of the tickets, boarding passes, maps, newspapers, and brochures that I accumulated along the way.

I snagged this free Journal Des Bains from the sauna, and I was pleasantly surprised to see so much art and illustration throughout the publication. I wish that more publications hired artists here.

When I returned home, I dug out drawing supplies that I hadn’t touched in years — toned Canson pastel paper, Caran d’Ache wax crayons, rub-on letters, various types of colored pencils, acrylic ink, pens, markers, and more!

I cut 9”x12” toned Canson pastel paper in half, folded those pages in half, and glued the spreads together with Yes! paste. I used the board from the drawing pad for the cover and back cover.

Before I began crafting the visuals, I drafted a loose 32-page narrative and worked in a linear fashion. The first few spreads were experiments with media and techniques. (I later edited this spread.)

The first two pages of the story.

These sauna pages are among my favorites!

I used to make collages all the time, but due to moving so frequently and living in small spaces, I’ve spent the last few years primarily working with digital media and basic drawing materials. It felt great to get a little messy and play with materials in a low-pressure way. I am sure that I will make another one of these books in the future. It was so much fun!

A print version of this 32-page book is the January/February issue of my zine subscription. I will be receiving these zines from the printer in a couple of weeks. If you would like a copy, upgrade to a paid subscription before March 1st. Alternatively, you can see a flip-through video of the book on my Instagram.

Thank you all for being here!