Your personal journal has many roles. It can be a confidante, a therapist, a sounding board and also a blank canvas. You can fill it with drawings, collages, designs and words in any way you want. Art journaling is like being a kid again – you can cut loose, be bold and let your creativity go wild! Here are a few activities to get in touch with your inner artist (and yes, you do have one).
Everyday Art Journaling
1. The Perfect…
Close your eyes and imagine that you are in a place where you feel calm, happy and completely at peace with yourself. Where are you? What do you see when you look around? What can you reach out and touch? What smells and sounds surround you? Is anyone else there, or are you alone? What details make this place exceptional?
Open your eyes, and sketch the place you saw in your imagination. Maybe it’s the perfect garden, a serene oasis of oak trees, fragrant flowers, walking paths and a gazebo for picnicking. Or maybe it’s the restaurant you’ve always wanted to open – warm wood furniture, lots of windows, an open kitchen bustling with cooks and big family-style tables packed with happy diners enjoying healthy, simple, home-cooked food. Draw every detail you can think of to make it come to life.
2. Can I Quote You?
Find a quote that has great significance for you. This can be from any source – a book, a song, a poem, even a saying from your mother. With a set of colored pencils, write the quote in the middle of the page, and create an illustration or design to go along with it. There are no rules for this (art journaling is all about free expression), so use colors, shapes, symbols and figures that you like and represent your interpretation of the words.
3. Stuck on You
Start by picking a theme, any theme that appeals to your mood. It can be an emotion, such as love, hope or sadness, or something else that’s on your mind, such as adventure, faith or friendship. Look through a stack of old magazines and cut out images and words that fit your theme. Create a collage in your personal journal with your cutouts.
We'd love to hear from you! How about sending us a sample of your art journaling?
Maybe Mari's Fav Quotes Free eBook will give you some ideas, get you started: