Food Journal 2024

​This is a short food journal written and illustrated for my class IL263 Advanced Pictorial Problem Solving, depicting a series of watercolor food paintings accompanied by short blurbs and labeled with the dates that I had experienced them. It was my first time combining writing and illustration in a cohesive piece, and I genuinely enjoyed the process. In other pieces, I had felt that my writing did not completely cover what I wanted to say or my illustrations did not speak at a deeper level to a common audience. By merging these two forms of art, they were able to fill the gaps of the other. It felt complete, and that’s why I experienced so much joy putting everything together.

It was also the first time I tried writing in such a casual way. I was so used to academic writing that it took me a while to break down those strict walls and have fun describing my foodie experiences. It forced me to really dive into my memories and explore those experiences, which the process of my watercolor paintings had tremendously helped with. Food is such a strong connection to experiences and emotions that can inspire both writing and illustration. I hope to continue this series in the future!