If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, there is a short introduction here. All of the previous posts can be found archived here. Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day! No need to finish anything or even like it. If you've done some art journaling this week, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday or #artjournalingwithjulie so that we can all take a peek. You can find my favorite art journaling supplies HERE.
Here are four reasons that I keep an art journal:
ONE: It's a place to put everything.
This might be a silly reason to some people, but I *hate* throwing things away. A palette covered in leftover paint must be used up! A scrap of paper or an abandoned collage. Some tags stamped and doodled on. All of these things must find a home and my art journal is that home. Since I started creating Junque Journals, I never feel that anything is wasted. It's a wonderful feeling to glue all of those random art leftovers into my art journal. I know that I've found a safe space for them!
The stars in this spread are made from strips of my son's art. I pieced them together and then cut them into star shapes and mounted them onto black cardstock. Now every time I look at this spread in my art journal, I think of the time we've spent making art together. Much better than having them end up in the trash!
TWO: It's a space for practice.
I use my art journal as a place to practice. Most days it doesn't feel like I'm making any progress, but when I flip through the years, I can see it.
2012
2014
2018
2020
2023
(This spread is from my upcoming art journaling class!)
It's one of the many reasons I believe in the "Art Journal Every Day" philosophy. Progress comes from practice. And even though ten minutes of art a day doesn't seem like it can change your life, it has unequivocally changed mine. I am better at drawing faces because of my daily art journal practice. Period.
THREE: It's therapeutic.
Whether it's the brain dump of writing meaningless chatter onto the page…
…or the quiet meditation of playing with paint and paper…
I find that time spent in my art journal banishes my bad mood and sends much needed serotonin coursing through my body.
FOUR: It's an incredibly flexible art form.
You want to draw?
You want to stamp?
You want to paint?
You want to create big botanicals?
You want to use collage?
You want to do fancy lettering?
You want to draw a face?
Whatever you want to do, you can do it in an art journal.
The fact is, I get bored really easily. I don't like to do the same thing over and over and over again. I'm always looking for what's new and what's exciting to me right now. My art journal is so flexible. I can work with a wide variety of mediums and subjects and never get bored. I love it!
Why do you art journal? I'd love to know!
Thanks for stopping by!
Dear Julie! Thanks for sharing some of your art journal pages. It’s very inspiring and I especially like the last page with the capital A. That’s one of the things I want to try with the alphabet. I also like your comment that you don’t like to do the same thing over and over again. As a beginner I just love to experiment and see what I like – an endless story!
Rikka
Knowing what you like is definitely a key to finding your way!