When is a journal not a journal?

I find it really, really hard to put my inner thoughts into writing - this almost certainly relates to the fact that I find it even harder to put my thoughts and feelings into words and tend to bottle up emotions rather than expressing them like I should! Yet art lets me express my feelings and gives me a window to explore these feelings without feeling that I'll be judged.

Dancer from my sketchbook

There is only one page of 'real' journalling in my art journal to date. I hate that page. It feels impulsive, immature and most of all raw. I never read it because when I wrote it I managed to tap into a side of me I try and keep hidden. I'm unlikely to ever show that page to anyone. I'd like to create more written pages but it feels false to me to write down everything that I did in a day. Largely because nothing really that exciting happens!

Yet, I still consider my sketchbook to be a journal/diary style endeavor - every page represents a different day and mood that I was in when I created it. But how much worth does it have as a recollection of my life at this moment in time? Very little. There's no massive revelations in it or astute observations about the world. It's just me creating.

And that's ok.

It's ok to have a journal that's not really a journal. It's ok to have a space just to document your feelings and the odd day. And it's ok to never write if you don't want to.

Part of my ease with this probably comes from the fact that my smashbook documents a lot of the more personal things in my life - events, people and places. But still it's not massively writing heavy. Again my enjoyment of pictures over words wins out.

And that's ok too.

Art Journal Page Progression

My art journal/sketchbook has progressed quite a lot since I started it, when it was originally just a place for sketches. The only rule in my sketchbook now is 'No removal of pages'. If it sucks, it doesn't matter, it stays. 

I thought it might be interesting to see how I go about creating a page, as I'm still pretty new to the idea and as always, am still learning. So here we go, one of my pages from start to finish! 

You may notice that this double page spread has streaks of green paint on it, ahem, because I'm not exactly the neatest worker. Yes, the page before this is green. But it's ok, because the first thing to do is to prime the page using Gesso.

Gesso is pretty amazing stuff. The pages in my sketch book aren't that thick - it's a cheap, generic one from an arts store. If you have a watercolour/acrylic paper sketchbook you almost certainly won't need to do this but if you're working on paper that's a little thin, it's a great first step. Gesso will add thickness and if you desire, a little texture to your pages.

As you can see, although the pages are slightly crinkled now they're a hell of a lot more of a blank canvas to work on. The second page has some texture added for next time.

Using a dry small paintbrush, I attacked the page with acrylic mixed with gesso in various quantities. You can do anything you want for the background, but I tend to go with acrylic as it adds depth and texture as well. Next time though I want to use watercolours for a more washed out feel.

I've had this song stuck in my head for some time now, so it was the first quote that came to mind. It's written on washi tape. The background doesn't really correlate but meh. I stenciled in black acrylic a flower and wrote the final word of the lyric in large print.

Everyone needs a cloud!

And what does every cloud need? Some sparkle.

The above three series are to show that you can muck up and fix it - it doesn't matter! I wanted to stamp a flower border along the bottom but the ink wouldn't stick and I positioned it wrong. No worries, stick something over the top!

Glossy accents on the flower.

The bottom corner looked a little bare, so I stenciled another flower, glitter glued and put glossy accents on it.

A few more details and it's done!

I hope you can see how I progress with my pages. I'd love to see how you do yours and what inspires you to make a page; do you work off of quotes and lyrics or photos and craft materials you have lying around?

Art Journalling - Favourite Five Blogs

Art journalling is something I've really been getting into over the last few months - and I'll be honest, I tend to spend my free time browsing pinterest nowadays rather than updating either of my blogs or shamefully, doing my own crafty pursuits! Along the way I've discovered some fantastic blogs that are incredibly inspiring and always have me craving some along time with my own journals.

What makes a great art journal blog? Clear photos, progression through the design and most of all, an inspiring attitude. It doesn't matter if you produce perfect art or if you only use two pencils and some string. It's about the passion.

Without further ado, in no particular order...

Artisty Crafty by Marta Lapkowska

Marta combines beautiful materials with a clear understanding for composition in all her projects; I absolutely love her use of 3D elements in her pieces. As her art journals are made from old hardback books, her work has an extra dimension that is often missing from plain page journals. I now really want to use a book as a journal but would feel a bit silly running four at once! I love how bold she is with colour use as well.

http://artistycrafty.blogspot.ie/

Notes on Paper by Julie Kirk

Whilst Julie from Notes on Paper is strictly an art journalist, but rather a paper crafter for all occasions, her tutorial on how to compose an art journal page from the very start is one of the first ones that I saw that got me working on my own journal. In contrast to Marta and the others in this list, she use a lined notebook as part of a 'Learn Something New Everyday' Journal - which gives a fantastic effect of relieving the pressure of a plain page in a sketchbook. And the tips she provides are really great for the novice journaller; it can be really easy to get bogged down  feeling that you need to have lots of different expenive materials to create something special.

http://notesonpaper.blogspot.co.uk/

Pink Suede Shoe

I think the most inspiring thing I find about Pinksuedeshoe.com is that her style is so simple, and yet so beautiful and effective. Her journal pages are uncomplicated and just a true reflection of her thoughts and desires at that moment - isn't that really what we all aim for in a journal? Plus her sewing items are absolutely gorgeous too. 

http://pinksuedeshoe.com/

Words of Me Project

Words of Me never fails to produce a beautiful page, which always has a deep meaning and highly creative depth to it. She manages to combine colours and elements in a manor of which I can just dream - it's stunning. Her tag line for her blog is 'I hope I've inspired you to tell your story'; which she truly has for me. Reading through her blog gives me a lot of things to think about that are not limited to the wonderful art journalling pages she posts. We could all use a little bit of her positivity I think!

http://wordsofmeproject.blogspot.co.uk/

Annawhocropsalot

Anna manages to do what I so wish I could - she creates not only a useful diary page, but also one that is absolutely beautifully busy and creative. Her diaries are the ones that I could see being passed down from mother to child to grandchild and each generation getting as much joy and energy out of as the last. Her art journal pages and scrapbook pages are no exception either. 

http://annawhocropsalot.blogspot.ca

So go ahead and check them all out! Who's your favourite art journal blogger? What inspires you to create? And do you have a blog yourself? I'm always looking for more to follow :) I'll do a post with my favourite pages soon for you all to see inside my journal!