Visual Journaling with Maureen Burdock

Use your sketchbook to become more alive and more ready to tell your story. Maureen Burdock gives you a bouquet of techniques to explode your visual vocabulary!

Visual journals have played a vital role in many successful artists’ practices.

They’re a form of autographics (autobiographical graphic narratives)!

In this 4-week course, we will look closely at visual journals, notebooks, and illustrated letters by well-known artists.

Starts July 1, 2025 and runs for Four Tuesdays

7:00-9:00 PM Eastern /
4:00-6:00 PM Pacific

  • July 1

  • July 8

  • July 15

  • July 22

Price: $229 USD

20% discount to Saw Members enrolled in Comics Flow. Go to the SAW network to learn more…

One session not enough? We hear you.

There will be A SECOND SESSION that FOLLOWS THE FIRST! The first session begins July 1 and the second will start on August 5.

You can sign up for one or sign up for both at a discount.

Image by Remedio Varo

Session two - Four Tuesdays, August 2025

7:00-9:00 PM Eastern /
4:00-6:00 PM Pacific

  • August 5

  • August 12

  • August 19

  • August 26

Price: $229 USD

If you want to sign up for both, sign up for session 1 and you will be asked if you want to join session 2 for a discounted price of $179.

Remedio Varo sketchbook image

Visual journals have long been an essential part of many artists’ creative practices—serving as a powerful tool for reflection, experimentation, and storytelling.

As a form of autographics (autobiographical graphic narratives), they offer a unique window into the self through image and text.

This summer, we’re offering eight weeks of in-depth exploration and creative growth centered on this rich, expressive medium.

  • Draw inspiration from these celebrated artists’ intimate writings and sketches.

  • Learn about ideas and experiment with techniques they used to inspire their work.

  • Play with prompts to start (or deepen!) your own visual journaling practice!

We will read and talk about the journals and notebooks of:

  • Leonardo da Vinci

  • Remedios Varo

  • Frida Kahlo

  • Vincent Van Gogh

Make space for creativity and self-discovery—let visual journaling inspire how you tell stories.

  • Maureen Burdock

    Maureen Burdock

    Maureen Burdock was born in the Black Forest, Germany, and grew up on a steady diet of fairy tales and classic children's literature. She moved to the Chicago area with her mother after first grade.

    Burdock won her first prize for an illustrated short story about two hot dogs who bravely escape from a frying pan…only to be carried off by a stray dog! The award included a personal meeting with a published children’s book author. Burdock knew then that her destiny was to become a writer and illustrator.

    Her work has been exhibited and published widely, and she has taught writing, comics, and humanities courses in academic settings and beyond. Graphic Mundi Press published her graphic memoir, Queen of Snails, in November of 2022.

    Her third graphic novel, Sleepless Planet: A Graphic Guide to Healing from Insomnia, is available for pre-order and will be released in November 2025.

    Burdock lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her wife and boxer dog.