Flowers from the garden, some French ephemera, some swirly paper and doodly lines, a Tibetan prayer flag . . . .
I don't always even need to add words, although I guess I usually do.
This act of visual journaling is so pleasing, so cathartic.
Just like the teenage girl's diary where all is spilled, all the secrets and dislikes and crushes of the day; just the act of making images out of this and that feels so satisfying.
It has been said "we don't find meaning, we make meaning," and I think that's the key.
To create meets some inner need to have a voice, and worrying about perfection or making art for the wall are not that means, a journal allows us the freedom to make a mess out of what we see and think, and thus know it better.
Hooray for that!
"We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten our former states, except in early spring when we slightly recall being green again." --Rumi
I love your assertion that "worrying about perfection or making art for the wall" are not the way to have your creative voice heard. I've recently been on a mission to loosen up my own work. To step back, take chances, not get so wrapped up in the perfection of the details but to embrace spontaneity and all the happy accidents that come along with it.
ReplyDeleteI've made it a priority to sketch in my sketchbook everyday and make myself post them for feedback (as scary as that seems right now). I'd love to hear your comments.. www.thenoodlefactory.blogspot.com
Jeanne -- yup that's exactly it. it takes drawing and drawing and drawing and a bit more drawing to get to the point where you can let go and just make mistakes. there are many tricks, one is to sketch quickly for ten or twenty minutes on newsprint and then throw away all the drawings. knowing you are seeking feedback might be the exact wrong way to loosen up -- as soon as you think you will be showing your work, you get more careful. that needs to come later. keep it up, your work looks great!
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