Several years ago, I was going through an emotional time in my life. I needed some sort of creative outlet that would help to get my thoughts out of my head and onto paper. For years I have been creating collages on canvas with pieces of 3D objects and I also did that in sketchbooks to fill them when I took art courses. Everything comes back into your life for a reason, in some way, shape or form and Art Journaling was what I needed. What is Art Journaling you might ask? Simply put, it is creatively journaling with other mediums - paint, found objects, old books, anything that your heart can think of, can be used in an art journal. It's an alternative way to get your emotions and thoughts out on paper, rather than simply writing them down (which you can do as while, the skies the limit).
How to Get Started
Always start with a good quality journal or sketchbook, with fairly thick paper since you are going to be layering materials onto the page. And have fun with it picking one out! Sometimes, I even collaged the cover of my sketchbooks to make them more interesting. When I was taking the course - well it was more like an support group with art journal lessons, we started out with this notion by Carolyn Dube "Permission to Play". It's the idea of giving yourself that space to be creative and to have fun, without any pressure to make something perfect. In fact, the goal is to let that go entirely. I had trouble at first, however once you get started, it becomes easier. Dube's whole blog is full of videos, tutorials and ideas that you can get to start your own art journaling experience. Don't worry about all the products that she promotes are her site - she is also a business owner. You can use Modge Podge glue or white glue, however sponge brushes are a must! Collect old magazines and books that are falling apart as ways to get inspiration or to create backgrounds. Acrylic or water colour paint is also a great background, keeping in mind that you will be layering images, words and possibly objects onto the page. Less is always more when it comes to the initial paint on the page. Once you have the background, play and work with the materials, that you have on hand. If you feel like that page is done, continue to fill another page. I always return to an art journal and add onto pages that were completed for me at the time, but with time and new ideas, I added more stuff to it the piece. If you are having trouble getting ideas, this article "Top Ten Art Therapy Visual Journaling Prompts" might help.
Something Else That is Fun
While I was preparing for this week's blog, I was trying to think of some ideas that would be fun and enjoyable to get through the beginnings of winter. I dug through my resources and come across this wonderful book that was fun and easy to use. "Craft-a-Doodle" has 75 different creative exercises that were devised by 18 artists. There is even a template that you could use as a cross-stitch pattern. I tried out some of the doodles to get my in the creative mood and they were quite lovely and really lifted my spirits. There were images and there where abstract exercises that could help to fill your background or that blank corner of the page. Check out this book, there appears to be an earlier edition that was 73 doodle exercises, in any case, the two are fairly inexpensive when it comes to craft books. Or there are other examples of doodle exercises if you go to google images. I hope that you have a great time explore this cool book or if you decide to take up art journaling, let us know how it goes! Until next week folks!
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