and why is Journaling so Joyous !?

I have always been a journaller.....and I think i might blame my mum !!!  Always giving me special notebooks with tantilising super sharp pencils, which was highly invitational to my chatty mind! I also owned those wonderful lockable diaries which I filled, with written and visual stream of consciousness snippets as well my stories, scrap pictures and poems .....throughout the tween and teen years.....

And not just me, maybe you too!  Our captivation with Facebook is testament to the fact that we are quite driven to document our daily lives, our thoughts and our hobbies, and so an art journal can become a place where we do just that: document our inner world and yet dialogue with our selves rather than an outer audience.

Sometimes pages can be all about some positive self talk !!





Sometimes a page might be sketchy and all about what I have seen that day 

But why bother to Art Journal ?

As a practicing artist and art teacher, an art journal can be a wonderful place to play, experiment and articulate those thoughts and our daily experiences, without words and without it taking the shape of a conventional diary. An art journal  can grow into a place to source new ideas, grow inspirations, and play with the dreams that flow in and out of our conscious or even sub conscious mind.

The great thing about any kind of Art Journaling is that you do not have to be an expert in any special art method ! And you do not need an art studio.

Art Journaling can be Art-on-the-Go, can happen in a small space and is for absolutely anyone who fancies a creative dabble and a play. It can be as shareable as you like……you may not wish to share your journal pages with anyone at all !!!

If you’re put off by the word ‘journal’ and envisage tomes of self-reflective writing, don’t worry! Art Journaling is 50% of “Play” which means experiments with materials, colours, textures and patterns ...........

And 50% of “Something to Say” which really means to give a voice to something calling to be expressed...... ie: the impending departure of number one son ! 

Some pages are all about doodling anyway !!!

I use many kinds of sketchbooks, many of have been made for me or given to me and I do have a whole collection of luscious bookage waiting to be filled! I also make my own books using watercolour paper, stencils and a range of mixed media methods just like these.

So if you have a compulsion to fiddle, dream and play inside a sketchbook, to experiment in the privacy of your own journal......to play being arty where no one can see or judge you !

Visual Journals are a voyage of discovery where ideas, imaginings and observations can be brought into existence. They are sites for gathering information, exploring possibilities, making connections, resolving problems and thinking through the stuff of everyday. 

Kit Grauer

On the Art Journal Junkies workshop in New Orleans 

Me at Desigual and the Artwalk with Vicky

Doodle Play

A positive psychology self talk page ! 

Within us all there is a silent language that chats inside our head each and every day, if you would like to process some of your minds chatty thoughts, or ponder some of your own thoughtful questions, celebrate your daily small and wonderful moments.....

• Come and learn to Art Journal with Claire and I, on the Joyous Journalling weekend coming up !!
  
• Come and play you may not know yet what you have to say..... your art pages will give you a place to play and perhaps reveal the truth of inner world far more fluently than words can alone. ....

Joyous Journallers from May are coming back  Why don't you join us....

get in touch with me 

Katie Flowers on 

wildatartweekly@gmail.com

to find out more !!!!

If you have attended a previous JJ weekend then please feel free to drop in for one day this time round.

Family Magic with Mums and Daughters !

This last weekend saw Claire and I once more in the gorgeous harbour-side room of the Aberdeen Boat Club with 7 wonderful Mums and their Daughters who had come to take part in our second Mums and Daughters Art workshop day.

 We doodled together 

 We chatted as mums....

 and as daughters 

 Sharing ideas

 We wrote to our mums... 

 We wrote to our daughters

 We shared those thoughts 

 

 We made secret pockets to collect our special momentos

 We then collected pictures and words to express our favourite thoughts about each other 

 Created "ourselves" within our love letter 

 Sharing our process side by side with our mums all the way 

 Just look at the amazing "love shrines" we made to each other! 

 Then we showed each other 

Two of our mums had come for the second time with their other daughter, which is testament to the value that they place on spending that kind of quality time with each sibling equally. 
Its a great privilege for Claire and I, to share the conversations that prove to us that we all have similar or parallel feelings about parenthood, and that it really is OK !  Most of all to witness the unfolding of such a gentle creative process and the intimacy that it creates between mums and their daughters. 

If you would like to join our Springtime Mum and Daughter workshops, 

contact me 

Katie Flowers 

on

wildatartweekly@gmail.com

What our mums say:

Thank you so much to both you and Claire for a really wonderful day on Saturday. Marianne came home and continued her doodling with my youngest with her new pens! I would love to do another day with you so do keep me posted on upcoming events.

Donna Titley

Thanks again as it was truly wonderful day and the main takeaway for me was just how seldom we actually carve out time to really be with our children whilst they are still small and young enough to appreciate it rather than just taking them places and dropping them off. The pace of day was perfect to get you into the mood of slowing down and being in the moment. It was also really nice not to have too many activities packed in. Lunch being provided meant it was hassle free and such a nice way to divide the day up.

Cat Preston

It was really lovely to have a whole day to just be with Ava (given that I have two daughters) and create side by side with her. Ava is very inspiring to me, because she is such a creative little being.
I think personally because I had already done the workshop with Lily, it was important for (and to) Ava to have the same experience as she really looks up to her older sister. It also was my need to give them both the opportunity to experience the workshop, especially after I had such a wonderful time with Lily. What was great was that the experience felt different with both children, so I would def. encourage other mothers who have more then one daughter to do the workshop, because it won't feel the same twice.

Erin Wright

A special honouring to my very own mum Bernadette who is the inspiration of so much that I do today :