When you join on the FREE tier of my Patreon, you get access to a set of monthly Digital Art Papers. Here is the current one for the month that you can use in your creative project. We release the October papers on the 1st October.
Make sure that you sign up to our FREE Patreon to access the next set of papers and to check the September ones out.
Welcome to Day 1 of
the Ultimate Blog Challenge that will be taking place for the month of
July. Over the next 31 days I am going
to be sharing different ways to encourage yourself to be more creative and I will share the different ways being creative has encouraged and inspired me. If you give them a try they may encourage and inspire you too!
Today we look at Art
Journaling - which can come in a variety of forms and everyone has their own style. Essentially art journaling is a great
way to express your creative thoughts and emotions or just have a play with
your art supplies. In your art journal you can add color, layers and find ways
to represent how you feel on paper.
I love creating my own Art Journals and work in a variety of ways in them.
Sometimes I might not be able to
articulate what is on my mind, so I start with color on the page and create a series of backgrounds. I might also do some mark-making adding
shapes and patterns, and will also use stamps and stencils. Spending time on the activity helps relax me
and enables me to process my thoughts.
In this video I share an example of art journals I created using recycled materials
Where do you start?
You are going to start
from where you are. Look at your supplies, and start there, and of course if you have a wide selection
of supplies don’t try and use everything.
An example of some of the things you can use are paints, paper ephemera,
magazines, markers, glue, or fabric scraps - whatever you feel like playing with.
There are no rules. It is not about creating “beautiful” pages, but about
making space for expression and experimentation.
Start by creating a
background. You can use washes of color, collage pieces, or even scribbles.
From there, follow your instinct. Perhaps a word or phrase comes to you.
Maybe you draw a shape that reflects how you feel. You might choose to layer
materials or textures that tell a silent story. You can
also write a sentence on the page: “Today I feel…” Then start to build color,
shape, or texture around that feeling. Layer over it if you want.
Art Journal Variety
Art journaling offers a daily creative check-in. Even ten minutes can help you reconnect. Your journal is a creative playground that you can tap into
whenever the mood takes you. Over time you might even get the urge to create
your own journals. Allow yourself to go with the flow and see what your
needs are at the time.
Remember: your art
journal is your well. You can use it to refill, restore and reflect
Takeaway Nuggets:
Art journaling invites you to blend
emotion, imagery, and reflection into your creative practice.
There are no rules - go at your own pace!
Check out some of the free and paid resources below to enhance your creative journey
Course Platform - there are a variety of FREE courses and resources for you to use in your creative practice.
FREE Tier - Patreon - I have a Free Tier on Patreon that has a selection of early release posts and monthly Digital Download Papers for you to use in your creative projects - Learn More Here
YouTube - Weekly Videos to encourage your creative practice, Slow stitching, art journaling and Artists chats - Learn More Here
Check out Filling the Creative Well which helps you establish your creative practice. In the course Filling the Creative Well, your journal is also a place to answer questions, encourage and motivate you, some days you need a reminder and so filling it with encouraging words so that you can come back to it, especially in those days where you are in a valley is really important. .
Realityarts - Creativity Book Shop - Some really great titles for you to dive in
Creative Resources
Affiliate Links
Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you purchase a product after clicking an affiliate link, I receive a small percentage of the sale for referring you. I only have links to products that I would buy myself. Purchasing through affiliate links is an easy, painless way to help out your favorite artists/bloggers at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!