Fighting the Tyrrany of the Logbook

Until recently, I felt as if I've been a prisoner of the blank white rectangle. When I realized I would not have some wonderful anectdote or reflection on each letterbox I visited, I just started stamping into my logbook in order—generally including a note of the date, but not much else. My logbooks didn't evoke much response when I looked through them.

I like a chronological logbook too. It's like my own letterboxing diary and I love leafing back through it. I just look wistfully at some of those gorgeous neat and clean, lined with tissue paper books. *sigh* My logbooks definately are of a guerilla boxer. Inky fingerprints, smudged images restamped, notes written all over...

LockWench

I like her style. LockWench is unfettered by an impossible quest for perfection; she has really lived her letterboxing travels.

After a nature journaling workshop, I branched out in my logbook, giving me a way to enjoy my hikes even more. Although I'm no artist, no photographer, I sit and sketch or paint some small detail I encounter on my walk. When I'm with others who have little patience for me sitting and staring, I photograph beauty I admire yet fear to forget. Even though these pictures are not masterpieces, they compel me to really see and they help me to remember.

I've taken to stamping in at letterboxes on separate pieces of glossy paper; they take the ink beautifully, and I don't worry about messing up my logbook with a sloppy stamp. I'm also able to group the stamps thematically, putting a series together, for instance. When we attended the Wandering in Wonderland Great Lakes Gathering, I bought an inexpensive copy of Alice in Wonderland that had illustrations and plenty of white space. Rather than stamping in on pieces of paper, I stamped right into the book and asked other letterboxers to stamp in there too.

One of the attractions of letterboxing is the opportunities it presents for creativity. At first, I was happy to be bookbinding as I created logbooks. I enjoyed writing clues and the stories that went with them. Then, resigned to my crude carving efforts, I started producing better stamps. Now, I experiment with altered books, photography, sketching and painting. While I try my best, I've made my peace with imperfection and I take more risks. Isn't that the essence of creativity?