“To find your creative muse you have to go to a place within yourself where no one else has ever been. Experiment, brake the rules, make mistakes, grow and most of all ... Have fun while doing it! Don't wait for inspiration to come to you .. go out and find it.Never loose the child within you because within the child you will find your imagination. Be creative and be inspired and you will live a life filled with wonderful creative blessings."

Please visit my new blog.

Please visit my new blog.
Get inspired and learn an easy way to keep an art journal.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

What is an Art Journal?

There are so many ways one can look at an art journal and to every person it has a different meaning and they also treat their journals differently. I think one thing we all have in common is that our art journal is a place where we can explore our own creativity in our own unique way. 
There are so many different things one can do. You can paste pictures and objects, you can draw, paint, collage and really do anything your heart desires because there are no rules.

I think the biggest obstacle to overcome is to try and create the perfect page. Art journaling should never be about creating perfect art.  It is about experimenting, working out feelings, exploring different techniques, discover how different colors communicate with each other, shapes, forms, shadows, and all of this in a way only you can do it. 

We get so discouraged when we look at other people's art and then we get so demotivated because we think we will never be able to create those masterpieces but we are wrong! Don't get too hung up about your work and don't worry about the outcome. Simply keep exploring! Keep playing and don't you ever stop because beauty is just an illusion which there is no answer to. What makes something beautiful or ugly? Is there a correct answer for this? No! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is it not? 

I have seen many online journal pages. Some with the most beautiful layouts and some with the most beautiful paintings or drawings but then there are some with only a picture from a magazine or maybe a small sketch and some writing to accompany it and sometimes it is those 'imperfect'  pages that touches my soul. The ones that tell me something about the feelings that person was feeling on that specific day or a place they have been.  It can be the color of the page or just one word but the bottom line is the emotion a page projects and that is what really touches me. I think that is what art journaling should be. It must be a book that tells as something about the life with all it's struggles and laughter. It is a journey through life in a creative way.

So keep on doodling, make lists, paint, collage, write and express yourself. Fill your pages with your way of doing it. Make your own rules, create your own sacred place within these pages and leave your marks because it is your way of doing it and no one on earth can do it the way you do it and that my friends is what makes you unique! You are the king of your own castle so enjoy the process. Live your life to the fullest and do whatever you want to do in your journal.
Happy journaling!

Here are some of my pages that I have been busy with  this week. 



9 comments:

  1. I wish everyone could read this. Some people who have just started journaling are wondering if they're doing it "right". That's like asking if your breathing the right way. There is no wrong or right way--it's just your way of journaling in any form. If I could put all my practice papers and sketches in one big book--it would be a really big journal :)

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  2. U are so right... even so, I look at your pages and can't help but be envious... I haven't been journaling for long but I can see a lot of me in the pages..Some people think my pages are super positive and assume I am .. I create those pages because at times I wish I were super positive..My life isn't as happy as it should be and making happy pages gets me out of that sad feeling.

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  3. Wonderful post.. well said! xx

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  4. Very cool. I have wanted to make one for awhile but haven't found the courage yet. Your art is amazing.

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  5. @Diane Beautiful way of saying it ... 'asking if it is like breathing the right way' Journaling doesn't have to be in book form and loose pages can also be turned into a book at a later stage .. great project to be working on too :)

    @Kalei's Best Friend I know exactly what you mean by saying people think you are super positive because of your pages but I know better because when I am really down I always try to cheer myself up by making super positive pages too. It's a way of trying to heal ourselves and a way of working through our own feelings. Specially people like us who find it difficult to show our real emotions..... It's like running away from everything and our journals is a safe place and a place where we can make ourselves feel better.

    Thank you Pat for the visit :)

    @Little Messy Missy .. You don't have to be afraid of what people will say about your journal.You don't even have to show it to the world. I show only what I want to show and not all my pages are for the world to see. The important thing is to jump in and create. You will have so much fun! :)

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  6. This is such a great post! I'm so glad you shared!

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  7. What fantastic pages!!

    With your interest in art, I'm wondering if you would consider joining a community art piece (I'm extending the deadline until the end of april). I would be honored to have you. If you have time and interest, please check it out here:

    http://acommunityartproject.blogspot.com/2011/02/project.html

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  8. Me encanta esta página. Yo recién comienzo a dar primeros pasos en este mundo. Hago scrapbooking y me encanta pintar arabescos y doodles, Lo que habla sobre el artista que llevamos dentro es hermoso y da mucho ánimo saber que no es la perfección lo que buscamos, sino la expresión del alma.
    Gracias y continuaré visitándola.

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  9. Thank-you for those wonderful words of wisdom! I've not picked up a paint brush in about 6 months or more and was feeling a little "stuck" in exploring my creativity.

    You've re-inspired me to look past my self doubt and get some things on to paper again!

    Thank-you!

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