Journal Craft Inspirations

Head on over to d’Blogga the site of Dawn deVries Sokol for NaNoJouMo – National Nonstop Journaling Month.

“I was just contemplating my own version of NaNoWriMo. (For those of you unfamiliar with this term, NaNoWriMo is held during the month of November, encouraging writers everywhere to write a 175-page novel by midnight, Nov. 30.) …. .. but I’m also starting NaNoJouMo, an idea borne out of a Twitter conversation between myself and Pam McClung and brought to fruition here…It stands for National Nonstop Journaling Month!

Each day during November, I will post a word to get you art journaling. A journal jump of sorts—one word a day to inspire or get you thinking. The goal is to journal SOMETHING in your art journal. DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A FULL PAGE…can be a doodle, maybe painting some backgrounds, doing some collage…just SOMETHING every day in your art journal during November. Even if it’s just moving a pencil across the page in a crooked line…”

Dawn is the author of 1,000 Artist Journal Pages: Personal Pages and Inspirations, and will be providing a journal prompt a day during November – entries are being posted in a NaNoJoMo Flickr group

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So, here is a challenge for you all – to sketch your favourite sketching supplies.  What are the items you use most when sketching ‘out-and-about’?

Vicky has has come up with some innovative uses for a sock cuff and an SD card holder… and created a wonderful journal page too.

From the Journal of Vicky Williamson – click on the image to view more of Vicky’s work Image copyright of the Artist

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Trish Bee has put together some wonderful prompts for your art journal inspired by the alphabet.  For each letter you will find ideas for Themes, Colours, Art Products and Techniques – take a look at the examples for A -

Theme Ideas: Altered, Assemblage, Abstract, Alphabet, All About Me, Africa, Ancient History/Civilisations, Animals, Angels, Around The World, Art, Art Nouveau, Asia, Autumn, Antique, Aircraft, Anatomy, Aquatic, Apostles, Artemis.

Colours: Aquamarine, Amethyst, Aubergine, Air Force blue, Alabaster, Alice Blue, Alizarin, Almond, Amaranth, Amarillo, Amber, Anaranjado, Antique White, Apple Green, Apricot, Aqua, Aquamarine, Army Green, Ash, Asparagus, Atomic Tangerine, Auburn, Azul, Azure

Art Products and Brandnames: Angelina Fibres, Adirondack, Acrylic Wax, Alcohol Inks, Acrylic Paints, Acetate, Archival ink, Adhesives, Air-dry clay, Acetone

Techniques: Angelina Fibers/Film, Airbrushing, Acetone Transfers, Alcohol Ink Smooshing, Antiqued Vellum, Acrylic Paint Backgrounds

So if you are looking for some inspiration for your Art Journal, head on over to her Squidoo page for B to Z….

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Keep a record of the books you have read by creating a journal spread.

“Just finished reading Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’ and felt inspired to do a journal page. I wanted to try out a new material – Safmat, a transparent film, from Letraset that you can print onto. I edited a couple of photos of winter trees in photoshop and printed them onto the Safmat. I then peeled off the backing and stuck the transparent film with the printed image into my Moleskine sketchbook. I had used a grey PanPastel on the page first, deliberately patchy, to create the dusty landscape depicted in the book.

Quite pleased with the Safmat, it is very thin and ‘almost’ invisible, so a good way of getting photos into your journal without creating too much bulk.”

From the journal of Gill McCowen
(Click on the image to view original)
Image copyright of the artist

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Well, you know how it is the little everyday things that bring back the memories?  Try journaling what you find in your pocket… 

It’s a topic you can re-visit from time to time, as Jerrie has indicated on her page.

From the journal of Jerrie Hall

I love John’s take on this, as he has included himself in the page…

From the Journal of John Payne
(Click on the image to view John’s blog)

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A great way to bring back memories of places you have visited or lived in, is to draw a floorplan – as shown in these two wonderful examples -

Home in Japan - Jerrie Hall

“All of us have special places that we want to remember…I was thinking about our 1st home in Yokuska, Japan…..40 years ago. I really wanted to remember the floor plan and as much of what we had in there…
It was a struggle to pull all of these old memories out of my brain….but on the most part, this was successful.”

Watercolour pencil in Moleskine Sketchbook

From the journal of Jerrie Hall

Childhood Home – John Payne

“I decided to do a spread of our city home before we moved to our final home in the country. It was enjoyable to try to remember all the details. Even talked to my Mom for a little help remembering.”

Watercolour pencil in Moleskine Sketchbook

From the journal of John Payne

 

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Use a favourite poem or quote as the basis of a journal page

“I was inspired by this quote by Tom Stoppard – ‘Every Exit is an Entry somewhere else’. I thought of a person moving from room to room and thought it would make an interesting page if viewed from above. I used the fold of the page to repesent the division betwen rooms”
Soft pastels in a Moleskine sketchbook From the journal of Gill McCowen
(Click on the image to view original)

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How are you feeling today – happy, sad, tired…?  Use this feeling to create a page.
Let’s say you are feeling sad, what colour resonates with this feeling?
Write about what happened to make you feel that way?
List five other things that make you sad.
What is your best antidote to feeling sad – record this too…

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