GIT: Passport to Art Catch-Up

I've been doing a lot of cutting and gluing (plus a little painting and journaling) in the altered book class "Passport to Art" class I've been taking. Glue it Tuesday, hosted by Artsyville seemed like the perfect opportunity to share my recent pages. The page up top is a simple one responding to a prompt to write about a special place with strong memories for you and to use flowers. Since my altered book had a gorgeous picture of Yosemite and it's a magical place for me, I created the very simple page above. I added a few brushes of gesso to allow journaling for three specific memories and a little little journaling  booklet with a flower girl art doll. 

The next two pages are a bit more interactive.  The emphasis in the top photo is on the page and a half on the left. It responds to a prompt about my favorite form of travel, which is train travel.  The journaling talks about train trips we took when Henry was little and the connection this has to my family history because both my grandfathers worked for railroads in Mexico and Texas. I included copies of tickets that my mother used in 1948 to travel on the Mexican Railroad and the Missouri Pacific Line.
The emphasis in the bottom photo is on the page and a half on the right. It responds to a prompt about packing, and it includes some of my tips for packing. I used more map paper and some Gibson girl stamped images. You can click on the images to see them in more detail.

My final page to share today responds to the prompt to create a visa. I cut up copies of my grandmother's travel documents and glued them to my page. I added a little journaling to a photo I added to the right hand page: "My grandmother got a visa and crossed borders to create a new life." These documents were used, in lieu of a passport by my grandmother when she crossed the  border. In the photo on the Identification Certificate, my mom is the little girl on the right. I love having these personal heritage documents and feel they add depth and meaning to my art work.
My altered book is looking very different than Bernice's book (see a sample here), the hostess of the class. But that's okay. I'm really enjoying exploring the meaning of travel in my life and I'm using elements which speak to me. I have been surprised to realize how much traveling I have done and how important it is to my identity.  What about you? Are you a big traveler? Is it important to defining who you are?