Saturday, August 7, 2010

What is Art Journaling?

A question came up yesterday from an Art League member who wants to join the Friday group, as to what is this exactly? So, it occurred to me that others might be wondering about this, also. Here's the content of my answer to her:

In her book, Artists’ journals & sketchbooks, mixed-media artist, Lynne Perrella says it this way, “Journals are something that we create for ourselves alone – not merely a self-indulgent activity, but something worthwhile, important and vastly creative and self-revelatory. There is no pressure to make them “come out right”, and the time we give to creating our personal pages, finding our authentic voice, and letting it sing is time well spent. Silence your inner critic, and begin to think of your art journal as a companion, a muse, a soul mate.”


I say it this way, If this sounds to lofty an endeavor, just think of it as a journal with text & images you want to put somewhere safe before the idea gets away. A memory, a moment, a feeling, an opportunity to play with a new technique or media, safely stored in the pages of your journal. Which, by the way, you do not have to share with anyone unless you so choose. It’s really all about keeping all this important stuff in one place so it doesn’t get forgotten. And if time is limited, you know just where to find it when you want to continue or expand an idea.

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