Here is a speech i did about art journalling two weeks ago supported lovingly by my Dirty Footprinted sister in paint Connie Hozvicka - there were images to support my speech - just to explain the reference...
Art Journalling is a way of using your hands to bypass your head and record your inner and outer world without rules… You are limited by your imagination and materials only. Art journaling is done worldwide – the next few images are by artists I admire and have worked with – this one is Connie Hozvicka. All that is required for art journaling is a book with any kind of tools or art supplies you like. And it is as varied as the people who practise it.
Some art journallers create works of art that they make for public viewing.
Some art journallers use their pages as a visual diary, recording what happens in their day.
Some art journallers make works of heart that are purely personal made for their eyes only.
My work with art journaling started because I had all these creative urges and no sense of skill. I had been told at school I wasn’t arty – I didn’t have the hang of making the bowl of fruit look like a bowl of fruit. 6 my god what have i done But I figured if I only did it for myself what would it matter how huckery it looked. So a got a hard backed book and started.
I quickly found that when I could make some time to step up to the page I discovered something every time. That revelations lived on the other side of being brave and turning up to the page.
I could record something simple like a family holiday or something big like the death of a friend and the page would welcome them both.
My art journal has become a kind of altar where I can lay down my life and gently look, understand and celebrate things.
I am now a firm believer in the power of creativity to move people through both the good and the bad in life. Having a journal where you can show the world if you like or se or glue up the pages so that no one will ever see it is a deeply precious repository.
There are no rules with the art journaling I do. Well that is not true. I try to turn up bravely, trust what arises and aim for a work of heart not a work of art. The pieces can take hours or minutes depending on what happens on that page. I can use any number of tools and techniques. I have used cardboard boxes and upcycled books.
Trusting that image and symbol is the language of the subconscious I believe allowing space for a conversation to develop on the page between symbol, image and the art maker is a deeply moving and powerful act.
I am running an art journaling group on Monday’s at the Quarry. We have really clear boundaries including a focus on process and not product, a no comment policy meaning we don’t comment either positively or negatively ) and a no talking while we work policy. This is so that we create a space where the deep movement arises as each woman attends to her work and her Self.
We have a theme for each session to provide a focus for the group and there is a synergy when women who are committed to turning up for themselves and their creative process focus on a singular theme. Although of course each creation is as different as the woman making them. It is a space for creativity to flourish and release the need to make the bowl of flowers colouring in the lines kind of creativity to be all that is valued.
I believe art journaling makes a space for the soul to turn up. For our subconscious to send us “letters from home”. Some of the images in my art journal make sense only to me and some make universal sense. Making sense is not even the most important thing. It is the making that counts.
It provides a space for creativity to arise. I believe that creativity is like a spring – the more the ground is tended to around the spring the healthier the flow. Art journaling primes the pump and has nourished my painting, my writing and my work as a leader of womens’ workshops.
Living as we do in such a fast paced production oriented world the magic and blessing of turning up to the page with an open heart and a willingness to discover allows us to learn, experience and tend to our Self. It is subversive to turn up to play and allow and not to focus on product.
Engaging with creativity changes the world. Creativity is like a beautiful contagion that can heal and mend. Art journaling creates a reliquary of my life and I believe singing over the bones of our lives in this way is healing and whole-making.
I would love to hear about your Art Journalling! I am on a blog hop curated by Connie that you might find inspiring!
Art Journalling is a way of using your hands to bypass your head and record your inner and outer world without rules… You are limited by your imagination and materials only. Art journaling is done worldwide – the next few images are by artists I admire and have worked with – this one is Connie Hozvicka. All that is required for art journaling is a book with any kind of tools or art supplies you like. And it is as varied as the people who practise it.
Some art journallers create works of art that they make for public viewing.
Some art journallers use their pages as a visual diary, recording what happens in their day.
Some art journallers make works of heart that are purely personal made for their eyes only.
My work with art journaling started because I had all these creative urges and no sense of skill. I had been told at school I wasn’t arty – I didn’t have the hang of making the bowl of fruit look like a bowl of fruit. 6 my god what have i done But I figured if I only did it for myself what would it matter how huckery it looked. So a got a hard backed book and started.
I quickly found that when I could make some time to step up to the page I discovered something every time. That revelations lived on the other side of being brave and turning up to the page.
I could record something simple like a family holiday or something big like the death of a friend and the page would welcome them both.
My art journal has become a kind of altar where I can lay down my life and gently look, understand and celebrate things.
I am now a firm believer in the power of creativity to move people through both the good and the bad in life. Having a journal where you can show the world if you like or se or glue up the pages so that no one will ever see it is a deeply precious repository.
There are no rules with the art journaling I do. Well that is not true. I try to turn up bravely, trust what arises and aim for a work of heart not a work of art. The pieces can take hours or minutes depending on what happens on that page. I can use any number of tools and techniques. I have used cardboard boxes and upcycled books.
Trusting that image and symbol is the language of the subconscious I believe allowing space for a conversation to develop on the page between symbol, image and the art maker is a deeply moving and powerful act.
I am running an art journaling group on Monday’s at the Quarry. We have really clear boundaries including a focus on process and not product, a no comment policy meaning we don’t comment either positively or negatively ) and a no talking while we work policy. This is so that we create a space where the deep movement arises as each woman attends to her work and her Self.
We have a theme for each session to provide a focus for the group and there is a synergy when women who are committed to turning up for themselves and their creative process focus on a singular theme. Although of course each creation is as different as the woman making them. It is a space for creativity to flourish and release the need to make the bowl of flowers colouring in the lines kind of creativity to be all that is valued.
I believe art journaling makes a space for the soul to turn up. For our subconscious to send us “letters from home”. Some of the images in my art journal make sense only to me and some make universal sense. Making sense is not even the most important thing. It is the making that counts.
It provides a space for creativity to arise. I believe that creativity is like a spring – the more the ground is tended to around the spring the healthier the flow. Art journaling primes the pump and has nourished my painting, my writing and my work as a leader of womens’ workshops.
Living as we do in such a fast paced production oriented world the magic and blessing of turning up to the page with an open heart and a willingness to discover allows us to learn, experience and tend to our Self. It is subversive to turn up to play and allow and not to focus on product.
Engaging with creativity changes the world. Creativity is like a beautiful contagion that can heal and mend. Art journaling creates a reliquary of my life and I believe singing over the bones of our lives in this way is healing and whole-making.
I would love to hear about your Art Journalling! I am on a blog hop curated by Connie that you might find inspiring!
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