This is how a perpetual journal works. The pages are marked with the dates of the 52 weeks of the year (i.e... January 1-7, January 8-14...). The dating of these weeks (in the upper left corner) is not tied to a specific year. The artist uses the journal to record observations during a particular week of the year. This process continues and the artist can return to the same week in subsequent (perpetual) years. Eventually, a page is filled up with multilayered drawings of consecutive years on one page.

The beauty of this process is the repetitive return to each week and learning the changes in the seasons, the effects of climate change, and the development of artistic skills. This process also lowers the bar for perfection and makes the journal process and botanical art more accessible.