that can be intimidating.
I use my journal to find my voice. yes, it uses art to get there, but I feel like the main goal is not to make a pretty book, but to mine the inner gems of my subconscious that are otherwise hard to get to.
When I was just writing words, I too often ended up with a daily to-do list, or a gripe-fest. (anyone with a family will understand this!)
I wanted to figure out what I was really thinking/feeling.
Get to those inner thoughts that are really meaningful and worth writing down for the future me to re-read and remember.
and I found that doing some collage and playing with color first would help me get there - help me find the more authentic voice.
So now my pages are often about the words, but the words come after the messing around with images and color.
sometimes the result isn't pretty or polished looking - but this journal isn't about making pictures to hang on the wall in a frame, so I try to let go of the feeling I want to go OOOH and AAAH at the pages.
and having said that, when a page makes me OOH and AAH, it does make me happy.
If prettiness happens, so be it.
I just try not to judge.
We have enough self-criticism in this world without our journal becoming one more place we need to prove something!
bits and pieces of my day, thoughts and feelings, words that (hopefully) will mean something in the long haul, that is what ends up in my journal - call it Soul Collage:
I am so happy to have come across your blog. You are so right about journaling. I teach art journaling classes locally and sometimes the hardest thing for someone who is new to this is... to just let themselves go and to stop judging themselves and their art. I invite you to visit my blog when you have a chance. it's www.recycledrealities.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI am still scared to begin with journaling but i come back here! Beauiful;o)
ReplyDeleteBravo! I love what you said about personal art journals. I think this is why I've never started one even though I've always wanted to do so. I'm going to rejig my thinking! Enough with self-criticism...rather defeats the purpose of them, doesn't it? Thanks for your lovely comment on my blog.
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