Looking around all the wonderful work posted here in blogland, I started thinking… I wonder how many people have a desire to be more creative but just don’t know how or where to start?
I know that was me a few years ago, and it was the idea of documenting a trip to France in a more visual way that got me started in journaling. From there my creative journey has broadened, inspired by much that I have seen here on the web and some wonderful online workshops along the way. A journey that has enriched and nourished me in more ways than I can say.
So, how can we inspire others to take their first tentative steps on the creative path? Perhaps by sharing our stories we will encourage others?
So, I am asking a favour – write a post about what got you started on YOUR creative journey, and the blocks you had to overcome. Then leave a comment below with a link back to your post. And please spread the word – ask all your friends to participate. Let’s inspire others to create!
If you use waterbrushes, here is another tip from a seasoned journaler-on-the-go – cut the cuffs of old socks before you throw them away, slip one on your wrist and use it to clean your brush instead of carrying paper towels around with you which have a nasty habit of blowing away at the slightest gust of wind. An old tennis wristband would also work well.
If you want to pick up some excellent skills on watercolour journaling then head on over to Laure’s other website Imaginary Trips and check out her online classes.
Well, the time has come to take that well earned summer break - long lazy days on the beach; the buzz and excitement of street markets; the unusual sights, smells and sounds of foreign lands. Wherever you are going make sure you take your journal with you. Take the time to slow down, really look around you and capture the magic, it will make your trip extra special.
Diana created a wonderful journal for her trip to Maine, she has taken the time to capture all the little items that caught her eye
“I made a 5-1/2 x 7 ring-bound journal with scrapbook and watercolor paper pages and used a Maine map for the covers. Took this on our trip to the Maine coast and journaled and sketched and now I have a wonderful little book of memories of our trip.
I draw with Faber Castel Pitt Artist Pens and paint from a travel watercolor kit. The ring-bound set up worked well to add things on the trip and so the pages laid flat to draw and paint”
From the journal of Diane (Click on images to view original on Diane’s Flickr stream)
Image copyright of the artist.
I LOVE using PanPastels for my journal backgrounds – sometimes it is great not to have to wait for paint to dry… I especially love the soft subtle blending that can be achieved, and the wonderful tactile feel of the pages. I have been using them in my gratitude journal, and thought I would share some pre-prepared background pages -
The page bottom left (above) was created by applying Phthalo Blue and Hansa Yellow Shade and blending them where they meet. The flowers were created by stamping with Versamark, and then dusting very lightly over the stamping with Chromium Oxide Green for the stems/leaves and Red Iron Oxide shade for the flowers.
The page top right was created by blending Yellow Ochre and Permanent Red and then erasing the swirls with a pencil eraser (Pan Pastels erase very easily). The page bottom right was created by laying down a base coat of Yellow Ochre, and then dusting Red Iron Oxide shade over a Tim Holtz mask.
For most pages, simply rubbing well with a paper towel after applying the Pastel is enough to ‘fix’ the pages, however when applying over a mask or through a stencil, it may be necessary to use a fixative spray, although I haven’t done that yet with this page and it is holding up pretty well.
I also find that PanPastel can be easily used on smooth paper – usually soft pastel requires a paper with some ‘tooth’, but it is easy to get smooth ‘washes’ of colour on very smooth paper with this product as it is so low in dust and has an almost creamy consistency.
Well, there are many well documented benefits to Journaling, but losing weight is a new one on me… maybe I should try it Sandy always produces stunning visual journal pages, click on the image to see more on her Flickr photostream.
Inspired by Liz Steele (borromini bear)
and her quest to lose a few pounds – I tried the same approach yesterday – It does slow me down!
From the journal of Sandy
(Click on the image to view original)
Image copyright of the artist
If you have enjoyed this post please leave a comment for the artist
For anyone who has not come across Roz Stendahl you have been missing a treat, she has been keeping sketchbook journals since she was a child and has been making her own hand-bound journals for over 25 years. Her journals are a visual delight – a combination of her love for nature and the everyday. Roz is very active in the Everyday Matters group and regularly dispenses useful information on sketching, journaling and materials. On her blog Roz Wound Up, she has recently published an informative series on page layout (see links at the bottom of this post), culminating in this video – a brief glimpse through one of her journals.
This video shows lots of good ideas of how to incorporate sketches and other items you want to insert in your journal without putting undue pressure on the spine and binding of your book. As a prolific journaler, Roz regularly fills 14 books a year, she has developed an indexing system (which you can see on the last page of her journal in the video) – read about her system here.
Informative posts by Roz you may like to check out (all links open in a new window) -
I will leave you with some wise words from Roz from her recent post Why Journal?
“…. You might have just created 30 pages of the ugliest sketches and paintings and idiotic writing on the planet—it still doesn’t make your internal critic right. It’s a step, one that you took, despite the chattering of that internal critic. Future steps will be easier because you took one. (And this will continue to be true every day you take such a step.)
You hold in your hands a document which says “I allowed myself to create; I allowed myself to take risks.” I think creative risks are like loose rocks on a hillside. We scramble over them, slipping at times, at other times finding sure footing, so that we can get to the top of the hill and have a better view.
I think having a better view (of ourselves, our creative process, our place in the world, the larger world, the people in our world) is what regular journaling is all about.
Why do you journal? What goals does it meet? What benefits do you derive from it? It’s good to ask these questions. The answers will be unique to you and tell you something about yourself.
Remember: just because it has great benefits doesn’t mean it can’t also be fun!”
Spring is well and truly here in the Northern Hemisphere, and thoughts turn to gardening. The seasons and wonderful fruits of nature are great fodder for your journal. Here, Susan has created a beautiful Garden Journal with photos of flowers from her garden, drawn plans and photographed progress of her vegetable garden.
dahlias from the garden of a “flatting” son brought home to “roost” and the spectacular cardoon.
Rotation garden plans and the garden hoed and marked out.
I had fun making this journal from an old book - just used gesso washes, stamps, fabric paper, and leftover bits of tissue and paper from other projects. My lovely 107 year old villa and the fields surrounding it are my inspiration.
Oh, and if you are wondering how to get incredible blooms like this in January – then I’m afraid you will have to re-locate to New Zealand…
From the journal of Susan Shelley
(Click on the images to view originals, or click here to view more images of her Garden Journal)
Image copyright of the artist
If you have enjoyed this post please leave a comment for the artist
Zom Osborne has written a wonderful article on Art Journaling on her blog -
What is it about art journaling that makes me love it so much?
I like that it’s in a book. I have always loved books, and I love working in a book. I can take it with me, and the pages turn and I can close it and it’s like I have my own little world under my arm or in my bag.
I love that I get to write in my book. I also love that it isn’t just writing. I love that I get to use different pens in pretty colours when I write. I have an excuse to buy lots of pens.
I love that I can do anything I want in there. I can draw or paint or collage or write, and one isn’t ‘better’ than another. I don’t have to worry about what it looks like or how it will turn out. I really really like that.
I love that I get to use pretty colours and buy new materials that I can try out. I also love that I can use ugly colours and use stuff out of the bin and recycle useless stuff.
I love that I sometimes write really deep stuff and get these wonderful insights into my self and the world. I also love that I can write really shallow stuff like lists of stuff I want to buy or complain about petty things, hee hee.
Kelly’s journal pages are always a wonderful mix of colours and images – she is a master of collage. She has recently started an online workshop – A Life Made by Hand
Journaling isn’t about pretty pages. It isn’t about creating a work of art, either. It’s about learning and exploring who you are. It’s about blending the idea of an artist’s sketchbook/workbook, self exploration and introspective diary keeping. It’s any and all of those things, and so much more.
I love Elaine’s daily journal pages – always with a little weather report. This is a page she produced at the end of 2008, looking forward to the year ahead. A very simple way to record those resolutions
My short list… for 2009
From the journal of Elaine Magliacane
(Click on the image to view original)
Image copyright of the artist
If you have enjoyed this post please leave a comment for the artist
Sandy always produces stunning visual journal pages, click on the image to see more on her Flickr photostream.
