Date Stamp

What time of year do the sasanquas bloom? When did I take that workshop from Margaret Hoybach? How long have I been painting? How has my work changed over time? How long has it been since I worked on my journal?

Page from Margaret Hoybach’s workshop 2004

Do you ever ask yourself questions like this? Do you go back to your journals and notebooks to find the answers? Did you date your work?

Watercolor of my garden 20 years ago

I’ve been putting the date on my work since I was in school. I learned early that my time memory is undependable. If I think it’s been 10 years since something happened, it may have been 5 years or, more likely, 20 years. So I’ve been dating my art journals since I started drawing and painting. It’s a pleasure to go back and see how much work I accumulated page by page.

The sasanquas bloom in November.

Journal page, November 16, 2017. Do you see the date?

A couple of years ago, I started using an old-fashioned date stamp. It’s the kind you have to turn the little dial and line up the rubber numbers to form the date. I like it as a design element on pages that have other bits of text. But the real advantage is that it makes me aware of gaps in my studio practice. When I go into the studio and have to advance the date more than a couple of days, I know haven’t been keeping priority on my studio time. I’m happier when I can turn the stamp and thump it on a new page every day.

Detail of journal page, December 20, 2018

Do you date every page of your journal? Why do you think it’s important to do so?