thoughts on art journaling and a tutorial

I took my travel journal to the beach with friends last weekend not thinking I'd have any time to work in it but wanting to take it along just in case and I actually got a few pages done. It seems like I feel most inspired to journal when I'm away from home. Maybe from the living room floor, life just seems a little too mundane to warrant preserving it forever. I need to get myself out of that mindset, though. These every day routines with the kids and the dogs and the craziness are what I'm going to long for some day.

 

Visual journaling is a kind of poor man's art form, so to speak. Art that is instantly accessible to everyone at any time. I think we can all identify with the urge to document our lives in some way and it is a natural response to rely on pictures to tell the story, especially when we don't particularly have the words for it ourselves. Words are important, essential to clear communication, but when propped up next to an image, they take on a whole new kind of urgency. They appeal to the heart and the mind simultaneously.

 

 

I've had several requests for a tutorial on journal making and had been giving it some thought until I discovered something yesterday that gets me off the hook. Stampington & Company and Traci Bautista have put together a how-to video for making simple journals that's great and pretty much covers all the bases to get you started in the right direction. I'm not sure if they plan on offering these videos for a fee later, but this one you can watch for free here. Check it out and if you have any other specific questions, let me know and I'll address those later. Another good resource that I always point people to when talking about book making is Teesha Moore's downloadable instructions on How To Make Your Own Journal. I've used her method many times and its quick, easy and lends itself to lots of personalization.

 

So, no more excuses, go make your own journal! And if you're just not up for that right now, I'll be putting a ton of new journals up for sale very soon. I'm finishing the last touches now, so check back here in a few days or email me (see top right side bar) to join my mailing list and be the first to find out when the store is stocked.

Comments

[Hagit]

Your journal is beautiful! And thanks for the link, I'm offto watch the video :)

[jessica loughrey]

love these pages! especially the one with the pink girl silhouette (reminds me of the stuff i've been doing in spray paint) and the one of the two shadows. speaking of making journals...i need to go work on my new one as my old one is stuffed..thanks as always for the inspiration. i just love everything you do on your pages!

[pilar]

Good for you for art journaling. I admire your dedication and patience. I am awful about keeping an art journal or design book. I often opt for scraps of paper and am not very organized.

[brandi]

I love what you have said

"Words are important, essential to clear communication, but when propped up next to an image, they take on a whole new kind of urgency. They appeal to the heart and the mind simultaneously."

I never really stopped to think about when words are combined with a image that they are appealing to the heart and mind simultaneously. HMMMM... I LIKE that!!