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