the art of modern memory keeping

If you’ve followed along here for any length of time, you know I have always used this space as a sort of visual and written journal, sharing a bit of everything from soulful lessons and family milestones to favorite foods and finds. I’ve used Instagram in a similar way, a micro visual journal cataloguing smaller, quicker pieces and thoughts. Over the years, I’ve written millions of words and taken thousands of images, but almost all of them still live online or on my hard drive. Some are edited and neatly filed, waiting to be printed, others simply exist there. Depressing, I know.

As my children are growing, they love coming here and reading funny quotes or things they did when they were little. They love scrolling through my Instagram feed and seeing how much they’ve grown and changed and remembering fun adventures or simple daily moments. Since I first discovered Artifact Uprising a couple of years ago, I have brainstormed large family journals that would collaborate the two places and provide them something tangible to flip through and enjoy. It sounds noble, yes? I’ve done a few small things, photo books and prints, but nothing that incorporated my writing, their silly words, and the images in one place. Then I found Ronnie, an Australian graphic designer, mother, writer, and the beautiful memory keeper behind The Shoemakers Daughter (formerly Pink Ronnie), also the co-founder of life:captured inc. Ronnie’s aesthetic is simple and alluring, and somehow she manages to seamlessly transform her beautiful online content into even lovelier family books. She isn’t just wanting to do it like me–she is actually doing it–creating beautiful keepsakes in the midst of marriage and work and mothering four young boys. I wanted to–needed to–learn from her.

Fortunately, Ronnie and her co-founder, Trish, began offering online courses via life:captured, sharing some of their skill sets in modern memory keeping (for those of us who may have a difficult time making it to Australia for one of their local workshops). Each of these classes offers something a little different that compliments the next, but most importantly, they help equip anyone interested in translating digital memory keeping into something we can touch and hold and pass on to someone else.

Since I am the most excited about creating family books, this month, I began taking life:captured’s Intro to Adobe InDesign, a course teaching the basics of a new-to-me graphic design software. I know our family life is busier than ever. I know I have a million other things to do (including sleeping more). But I also know some element of that busyness won’t give way for several years. I also know technology can be temperamental. Hard drives crash, programs glitch, accounts get deleted, and back-up hard drives sit in the closet loaded with unused/un-enjoyed files. Life is happening, but I want to create in the midst of it. I want for my children to enjoy our memories now, not only in ten years. While I know my limitations and that I won’t be able to accomplish everything I want, I am loving this class and feeling empowered to move in the right direction.

The InDesign course includes several brief, easy to follow videos, complimenting printable notes, and a class forum for questions and sharing among other “classmates.” Plus, I can work on each lesson as I can and in the time-frame that works for me–something I love. I’ll be sure to share my progress and of course our first family book when I complete it.

All images by the life:captured inc, used with permission.