I am Theo Wren, a Montreal resident who draws maps of very small journeys. My atlas is interested in the stretch between a front door and a library, the route that avoids the windiest corner, and the bench you can reach before your coffee goes cold. These are maps of attention as much as distance.
On Saturday mornings I take a notebook on a familiar loop and look for one thing I have stopped seeing. Last week it was a narrow passage beside a pale brick wall. The week before, a row of repaired steps changed how I understood the slope of a street. Repeating a walk makes those small changes easier to notice.
The diagrams here are personal studies. I simplify corners, move labels, and make generous space for notes about shade and sound. A route line can show where I went, but the surrounding words explain why I slowed down. A useful map should leave room for the person doing the walking.
If you are new to the atlas, begin with the three-stop exercise on the routes page. It works in any neighborhood and does not require precise drawing. All you need is an ordinary errand, a little extra time, and a willingness to notice the place between the places you intended to visit.
Follow the three-stop exercise